Miniature engraving bundles!

...and another week of printing the rider engraving.

So here’s the final packaging for the miniatures release. I made a simple unboxing video so you can see how it looks. I was printing all day so excuse my hands looking a state. Each set has x5 random prints.

You should get an email over the next few days with details. Release will be before the end of June. If your not on my newsletter add yourself at the bottom of the shop page here. I’ll be sending out another reminder a day or so before the release. I’ll also say it one more time. This won’t be the only miniatures release. Most of the reason i’ve taken so long on it is because i’ve been building a system where i can keep it as something i can periodically release and add to over time.

I went pretty overboard with the packaging. I think because any way to slow down the unboxing makes the whole experience a little sweeter. The only thing thats going to change in the future is the foam in the card boxes. Everything else including the packets for the individual prints are recyclable or biodegradable. Sadly the foam in the first 250 came with them and so i left them in. Future releases i’ll have my boxes made without those and i’ll replace the cushion for something else.

I did plan to spend this week painting outside but a front of wet weather seems to have drifted over london. Instead of lurking around waiting for walls to dry i decided to just crack on with printing the rider engraving.

I’ve printed about 170 so far. The first fifty or so stand out as the darkest blacks. I feel the bur of the lines held extra ink. I guess after fifty passes through the rollers and all the wiping the plate becomes flat and steady. I can feel it in the wiping. It feels easier and it wipes back evenly compared to the first fifty or so. In the beginning it took more time to wipe and had stubborn patches. Looking at the images side by side though i’d say how its printing now is exactly how i engraved it and exactly how i want it. The finest lines are completely clear and all the gradients in the crosshatching express perfectly. I just hope it holds out now for the next few months of printing.

So with each session behind me what i do is stick a print on the wall next to the hotplate. So i have a nice crisp dark impression from around the 100 mark pinned to the wall as a reference to check everything coming off the pres. If there’s a consistent difference in the overall tone of the print i stop and asses what i’m doing to make sure its not to do with my wiping, hot plate temp, paper soaking times or any number of things that can affect the print. The day will come eventually when the abrasion of the wiping and the heavy rollers eventually wear the image to a point where i can’t compensate with my skills as a printer. That’s when i retire the plate and get a final edition number.

I’m keeping all my prints numbered in order as they come off the press. This is something i don’t often do with limited runs as i just number them in whatever order they end up in. Mostly because i do runs that don’t go on long enough to show any wear. I feel with this engraving it’s important to use the numbering to show the life of the plate. So early prints can end up being of more value to collectors. If i’m honest though i have a feeling that i’m so attentive to the print quality i’ll stop printing quite early rather than letting it wear.

One thing that’s come from printing the rider and working with the miniatures is a profound sense of being on the correct path. I feel like both of these releases manage to achieve something i’ve wanted for a long time in my work. The miniatures fulfill this desire to make something that’s personal, like a tiny treasure or talisman. Something i made personally for you even though we don’t know each other. It sounds stupid but i can’t find a better way to put it. Maybe there’s a part in being an artist that’s trying to bridge a gap in communication or understanding. Either way i’ll likely be doing these until i’m too old to hold a burin.

The rider plate feels different to my older prints because of the time i’ve driven into it. It’s not just a facsimile or expression of my work. It’s something that pushed me out into uncomfortable waters and back again several times over a few years. I’ve had times where i’ve been an existential mess. In contrast i also had times where i tapped into a flow like i’ve never had before, where i felt like i could see every interconnected line ahead. I’m just a glutton for punishment. I learnt so much from working on a plate for two years that i think that level of commitment is what i need to do from now on.

I also really enjoyed the communication with you peeps and how much you’ve come along for the ride(er). When this hangs on your wall its not just a picture, it’s a long journey with us weaved together and i think that means something.