"got to be starting something"

like the song, I started out with 

"wanna be starting something"

and eventually the "wanna" became "got to" and things finally start to happen

this time it's to do with a long-held desire to experiment with various print-making techniques and over time I've enrolled in a few courses that focus on some aspect or another, bought a few supplies and tried one or two things

this last week I've begun again, working through one of them by Anita Lehmann (same instructor as the Landscapes course I've been posting about recently) though with an upcoming trip to the Yukon I won't be getting very far until my return in August

nevertheless, a start was made

beginning with mono printing, working in the subtractive, where the plate is fully inked and then ink removed using a tool or tools of some sort to create the desired image

for the first session I used the edge of the brayer

it took a while to get the evenness of the ink layer sorted out, longer still to get the dampness of the paper at the right level but after a few unsuccessful attempts I finally pulled a few prints I was pretty delighted with

the first image shown is of the plate, inked up with the marks made

rolling the brayer up the the plate, switching the angle, curving this way and that, I seem to have created a tangle of growth - no plant in particular, just playing with the edges, angles, speed and curves

 next is the resulting print

I love the texture and line of the stems, the way the leaves curl and bend

there's nothing at all contrived about it, nothing was planned - I just made a mark, liked it and did more

this way and that, until it felt like enough

so I tried again, this time printing on a lightweight Awagami paper in pale green

this version seems even more of a tangle and I like the effect of the green

for first efforts I'm pleased and will continue with the subtractive process for a bit and then move to additive, making marks on a clean plate

I may even begin with the same motions as I used here, just to have a comparison

it feels good to have finally got beyond the gate