Proposal Abstract

Equipment: Litho press, etching press, felt, roller, glass plate, work table, scissors, knife, cutting board, hair dryer

Material: Printmaking paper, thin Asian paper, tarlatan, lithography black ink, Methyl cellulose glue (archival glue).

Chine-collé is a traditional technique that uses the beautiful texture and colour of different delicate papers to print etchings or lithographs. It is a very difficult technique which requires gluing thin paper of printed images onto other printmaking papers and surfaces without making any wrinkles or making the image fall off due to lack of glue, lack of pressure, etc.

For chine-collé, it is crucial to understand the materials used, such as paper and glue. It is particularly important to make sure the paper or glue that is being used is pH neutral and that all materials are archival. Also, it is important to understand how much pressure you have to apply in the press so that it works with etchings and lithographs.

In this demonstration, we will print an image onto a thin, delicate Asian paper with lithography, dry the printed image thoroughly, and uniformly pre-glue the delicate paper using methyl-cellulose glue. Then we glue the thin dried paper completely onto a piece of printmaking paper of a different colour or texture using a press (etching or lithograph). The paper printed should be dried entirely.

Additionally, there will be a step-by-step demonstration on various types of pH neutral glues, such as rice or wheat flour, explaining how to make these kinds of glues and how to store them for later use. We will also demonstrate how to make homemade neutral glue when you can’t get readymade commercial neutral glue.