Margaret Street, Birmingham School of Art.
The dedicated Fine Art printmaking Room has been in operation for many years from the original municipal room of fine art and industrial print. For the last decade it has been looked after by master printmaker and senior technician Justin Sanders. It is a place of collaboration and sharing of art, creativity and skills across the range of techniques including stone litho, silk screen serigraphy, lino and wood cut, intaglio, including etching, mezzotint, and aquatint. Justin has supported students with this variety of printmaking while always open to new print opportunities particularly the interface between analogue and digital image making. One such procedure is photogravure which uses light-sensitive, very thin steel backed, polymer coated plates to create a continuous tone image with fine detail and a wide tonal range.
Recently he worked with Phd Researcher Jonnie Turpie and Digital technician Laura Gale to test techniques and measurements for direct to plate making in contrast to the traditional analogue preparation for polymer plates that uses a stochastic screen and positive image to expose the plate. ‘Direct to plate’ offers the possibility of printing the image from a digital file through an inkjet printer direct onto the polymer plate. The plate is then developed in water before being dried in sunlight before being inked and printed using traditional etching techniques
In the month of October 2024 international photography duo Anderson and Low came to the print room with an interest in photo polymer printing of their new images from the natural world. This became the focus on Mondays and Fridays in the print room as they experimented with the process from digital photography to hand inked print. The team were joined by PhD researcher Jo Gane, studio assistant Taiba Akhtar and undergraduate students who wanted to follow their creative senses into printmaking. What developed with this generous group was a collegiate atmosphere where each shared each other’s work, learning together and bringing confidence though celebration and supportive discussion. An informal group of photos reflecting this print room experience are collated in the following galleries.
Jonnie Turpie
