Showing posts with label tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tools. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Hand tooling with gold
I have spent an interesting summer week with Gianfranco Mombelli, who came from Switzerland to teach us hand tooling and gilding. I have never really done gilding with gold leaf so I learnt lots - even if I wasn't always around. My dear white enamel stove from the 60's ended his earthly life in the middle of the week with a loud crack and some smoke and soot, so I had to take one day off looking for a new one. To be honest I learnt so much on Monday that I just spent the rest of the week digesting all the information and pondering about different ideas and approaches. I did find a new stove too.
During the week I also bought a couple of pallets and punches which are pictured above. I don't own a great many tools so I'm always happy when I have the chance to buy some. Hand tooling with pallets and leaf gold was my favourite part of the week because it was easy enough for me to handle and I've always liked polishing my skills detail by detail. I have previously tooled with foil and found tooling with gold leaf much more delightful and rewarding. I created my first title with brass type and typeholder, tooled a bit of this and that, and practised some basic edge gilding with Franco.
This is my very first gilt edge, which was done with paste, Aurofix and gold leaf. It was surprisingly difficult to take a decent picture.. then again, now no-one can see how crappy the edge really is. Some parts of the edge dried so fast that the gold flaked off, some parts were just fine, and some parts still showed marks from the scraper. Ha! Always do your best with the prepping. I'm happy with it anyway, because I finally understand the process and am ready to practice on my own. Always do your best with the prepping, and always make sure your scraper has been sharpened the right way.
During the week I also bought a couple of pallets and punches which are pictured above. I don't own a great many tools so I'm always happy when I have the chance to buy some. Hand tooling with pallets and leaf gold was my favourite part of the week because it was easy enough for me to handle and I've always liked polishing my skills detail by detail. I have previously tooled with foil and found tooling with gold leaf much more delightful and rewarding. I created my first title with brass type and typeholder, tooled a bit of this and that, and practised some basic edge gilding with Franco.
This is my very first gilt edge, which was done with paste, Aurofix and gold leaf. It was surprisingly difficult to take a decent picture.. then again, now no-one can see how crappy the edge really is. Some parts of the edge dried so fast that the gold flaked off, some parts were just fine, and some parts still showed marks from the scraper. Ha! Always do your best with the prepping. I'm happy with it anyway, because I finally understand the process and am ready to practice on my own. Always do your best with the prepping, and always make sure your scraper has been sharpened the right way.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Ink and other
When it comes to the process of drawing itself, I have never been very picky. For some reason I have come to think that one should be able to do good work regardless of the tools and media used; My collection of drawing and painting equipment probably reflects this stubborn world view. I only want the tools to be pleasant and practical, which means that I like to use all sorts of rubbish like children's felt-tip pens. My excuse is that they are cheap and blend beautifully with water! Because I draw mostly just to amuse myself and place more value on the process, I don't care about whether my drawings exist nice and bright after I'm long gone. Then again, this doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant of what I draw with:
The picture above shows the few tools I use the most, excluding a bigger round brush which is my universal acrylic and ink brush. I use lots of Indian ink which I keep in the glass inkwell pictured. I found the well from a swap meet: First bought the empty well and then found the funny metal-topped cork from a table nearby. I love finds like this. My inkwell is full of old metal nibs which have detached themselves from various ink pens. Naturally, it would be way too cumbersome to empty the bottle once in a while and save the nibs.. wouldn't it?
My favourite pen is a dip pen: I like dip pens because they're nice to use and also much more versatile than ballpoint pens or standard fineliners. In a way they're everlasting, too.. I only use wooden handles because many years ago I accidentally bought a set of them from a fleamarket, immediately falling in love. Before finding these old handles I had used the popular calligraphy handles that come with a metal gripper (the rose shaped opening in which you are supposed to attach the nib). The metal gripper is downright annoying and nothing else: I still have a couple of those handles which I from time to time try to use and always end up dropping or losing the nib somewhere. The vintage wooden handles are extraordinary, even though the thinnest ones sometimes split a bit and need some repair with a masking tape. Gentle loving!
The picture above shows the few tools I use the most, excluding a bigger round brush which is my universal acrylic and ink brush. I use lots of Indian ink which I keep in the glass inkwell pictured. I found the well from a swap meet: First bought the empty well and then found the funny metal-topped cork from a table nearby. I love finds like this. My inkwell is full of old metal nibs which have detached themselves from various ink pens. Naturally, it would be way too cumbersome to empty the bottle once in a while and save the nibs.. wouldn't it?
My favourite pen is a dip pen: I like dip pens because they're nice to use and also much more versatile than ballpoint pens or standard fineliners. In a way they're everlasting, too.. I only use wooden handles because many years ago I accidentally bought a set of them from a fleamarket, immediately falling in love. Before finding these old handles I had used the popular calligraphy handles that come with a metal gripper (the rose shaped opening in which you are supposed to attach the nib). The metal gripper is downright annoying and nothing else: I still have a couple of those handles which I from time to time try to use and always end up dropping or losing the nib somewhere. The vintage wooden handles are extraordinary, even though the thinnest ones sometimes split a bit and need some repair with a masking tape. Gentle loving!
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
White
The new issue of ArtTrader magazine has a nice little article on white pens that also features my ATC of universal self-pity (the one pictured).White gel pens truly are annoying creatures, it's hard to find a proper one that works well on different sorts of surfaces and doesn't get clogged all the time -
I'm a Gelly Roll man, or more like used to be, because about a couple of months ago I ran out of white Gelly Roll and haven't bought a new one because I'm so lazy. So I accidentally found Daler-Rowney's permanent white acrylic ink to be the easiest and also the most versatile medium for the sort of things I make. I have never really paid too much attention to the tools and things I use but gel pens have started to feel like so much plastic rubbish for so little fun, to be honest. I rarely need to write white text in guerrilla situations anyway so the bottled ink is just fine. Hooray for that and a glass of gin.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
On the edge
(Jesus, I stole that title from some ancient bookbinding article)
I spent the whole day today trimming book blocks:
The tools of the trade:
This great basic plough, along with the beechwood cutting/laying press, is manufactured by J. Hewit & Sons - who by the way have the most oustanding service, remember them if you ever need to mail order any bookbinding tools or machinery. I got these both a couple of years ago and they're brilliant.
When I was studying bookbinding I never had the chance to use a plough, so I taught myself. The basics are very simple - Decide how much you need to cut off the edge, cover the book with a couple of loose mill boards, fasten with masking tape, put the book in the press. Stand or sit with the press leaning to your stomach. Don't try to plough too fast: Only cut a couple of papers at one time, turn the handle a bit tighter every time you pull the plough up ie. towards yourself. You can always rush it through like crazy if you want, but you'll usually end up with a ruined, torn edge. With some time and patience you'll get edges that are smooth enough to gild - to me bookbinding is about slow pleasure, anyway.
The best thing is, it doesn't even matter what kind of shit edge you have. This book was bound of nice drawing paper I repurposed from a big, ugly guestbook I never used for anything. I'm not the most pedant bookbinder so if I already know I'm about to trim the edges I just cobble something together and then trim it nicely afterwards. Here are some random wonky blocks from today:
I spent the whole day today trimming book blocks:
The tools of the trade:
This great basic plough, along with the beechwood cutting/laying press, is manufactured by J. Hewit & Sons - who by the way have the most oustanding service, remember them if you ever need to mail order any bookbinding tools or machinery. I got these both a couple of years ago and they're brilliant.
When I was studying bookbinding I never had the chance to use a plough, so I taught myself. The basics are very simple - Decide how much you need to cut off the edge, cover the book with a couple of loose mill boards, fasten with masking tape, put the book in the press. Stand or sit with the press leaning to your stomach. Don't try to plough too fast: Only cut a couple of papers at one time, turn the handle a bit tighter every time you pull the plough up ie. towards yourself. You can always rush it through like crazy if you want, but you'll usually end up with a ruined, torn edge. With some time and patience you'll get edges that are smooth enough to gild - to me bookbinding is about slow pleasure, anyway.
The best thing is, it doesn't even matter what kind of shit edge you have. This book was bound of nice drawing paper I repurposed from a big, ugly guestbook I never used for anything. I'm not the most pedant bookbinder so if I already know I'm about to trim the edges I just cobble something together and then trim it nicely afterwards. Here are some random wonky blocks from today:
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