Sunday, June 28, 2020

Unintended progression

©2020 Barry Smith - May we all be ok in these trying times.
It was a rainy day today so the opportunity to 'fix' the patina on the leaves and do the final grind was not too be had.

On Saturday I decided to print a R U OK? card - quite a few people are not ok at the moment. I deliberately chose random and worn wood type because I think it tends to match how many folk might feel; and it has a unique aged character.

©2020 Barry Smith - Couple of different versions - one just looked too uniform and the question marks on one were too inconsequential
©2020 Barry Smith - Final version in the drying rack - I used Pantone Orange as it suggests hope and healing
Choosing the type also had me looking for suitable wood type question marks. Strangely we don't have many in our collection - we will need to keep our eyes out for more. When I gathered our collection together it suggested to me a connection with a micro poster (A6) about taking action. I planned to print (If not now then when?). I decided to print the poster in two colours - the orange I used on R U OK? and black. To do a single print for each poster meant hand inking the font and questions separately with two separate rollers; and then printing.

©2020 Barry Smith - Not a bad outcome - the question marks are quite worn but that also gives the poster a bit of added character
©2020 Barry Smith - Tape used to adjust the height of the worn wood type
When I finished the micro posters I thought I might print off a few post cards using one colour. This caught Fiona's eye at the same time she spied a test wood printed mini poster (A5 size Be the change) that was in black still sitting on the gallery press. Her creativity went into action and she suggested we could experiment with an overprint. With a bit of measuring and registering we managed to print a poster that combined two posters. I found a couple more of the Be the change trial mini posters - so I over printed them.

©2020 Barry Smith - Bringing two themes together in the one poster
This led me to think it would be useful to do limited edition of the combination poster. I have now printed the orange section; and later I will overprint with the black.

©2020 Barry Smith - Orange layer of the combo poster printed.
You can see why I used the title Unintended progression - one thing just led to another.

3 comments:

  1. love seeing where the processes take you two, thanks for all you share!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with MO Crow. It looks like fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MC and P - I think it is important for we creatives to share our processes - both the successful and unsuccessful. P - more fun when you are willing to experiment and also make mistakes. Go well and create well. B

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcomed - it is good to connect with fellow travellers.