Steve and Emma talked us through a variety of examples of print work done at the college, as well as some samples that Emma had prepared a few days earlier. Steve emphasised the importance of experimentation with this stage of the course, and noted that we shouldn't be discouraged if our efforts do not always work out as planned. He presented a few variations on the same template, to demonstrate this.
We were asked to create a print plate based on work done in the fine art lessons previously. Personally, this wasn't something I was keen to do so much as the results from the fine art class, or at least the previous class, had not been too productive in my eyes, but I found a drawing (charcoal with lines marked out in rough masking tape on A5 paper - I will upload this) that I felt could fit the requirements, and set about creating a plate based upon it. This plate was finished only just in time for the end of the lesson. For the next session we have been asked to prepare around 5-10 sheets for us to print onto next week. I should prepare my plate in advance with PVA also, as Steve noted it might take around a day to dry properly, and if it is not ready by the lesson beginning then I will not be able to use it.
We also covered collographs and have been asked to prepare a collograph on one A5 board, which Emma provided. I need to look this up in some more detail to understand just what is required for this, as I wasn't entirely clear on this from the lesson itself. I have some accompanying handouts from the lesson that should fill me in on this.
