We were absolutely amazed by the outstanding quality of the submissions to our Annual Printmaking Competition! A big congratulations is in order for the talented printmakers who have advanced to the final stage of the competition and secured a spot in the upcoming exhibition. We’re thrilled to invite you to this remarkable showcase of creativity.
Prepare to be dazzled by the finest examples of contemporary printmaking from all corners of the United Kingdom. Our exhibition promises to be an inspiring journey through the world of printmaking, featuring the incredible skills and perspectives of artists who have truly pushed the boundaries of this captivating art form.
What’s even more exciting is that the competition winners will be revealed during an exclusive private view on the 9th of September from 6-8 pm at Ironbridge Fine Arts. Mark your calendar and be a part of this momentous occasion where we celebrate the achievements of these exceptional printmakers.
We hope you can join us for this unforgettable evening. It’s a fantastic opportunity to mingle with fellow printmaking enthusiasts, gain insights into the creative process, and be among the first to congratulate the winners in person.
Thank you for your continued support, we look forward to sharing this exciting celebration of printmaking with you.
To really get thing festive the processes discussed could be used to make the following things, christmas cards, wrapping paper, place settings for your christmas tables and much more. Or maybe it’s just a nice christmas gift for the grandparents to get framed.
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
Our printing runners come in many different thicknesses, they are hard wearing acrylic so they will last you thousands of prints. They are used to line your press bed, if you have one of our presses they come with a system that secures them to your press, and your top roller is dropped down onto your runners so you can just kiss your plate with your top roller.
When using runners, you should have a sandwich (packing paper, plate, print paper) at the same height or slightly higher than the runners so that when you pull your print through you are kissing the paper to the plate to create a perfect print. You can have your plate at the top of the sandwich and the paper you are printing on right next to the roller but if you find you get what looks like slipping you will want to put your plate at the bottom of the sandwich next to the bed. The thicker the runners and the more packing the likelihood of slipping reduces massively.
For example with the 4mm thick runners you will be able to print any thickness of plate up to around 4mm thick. For example, Hessian backed Lino is 3.2mm thick, easy cut Lino is 3mm thick. To print these thicknesses of plates with your 4mm thick runners you will just add the missing milli-meters by adding what we call packing paper on top or underneath your plate.
Are you wanting to print thick plates on your etching press? Our presses can fit up to 50mm through our rollers.
The runners we have developed provide a quick and easy switch from printing relief to intaglio. This method took years of printing to find out what does and doesn’t work, but we are so happy to have our simple method in place.
To purchase our runners you can find them here.
Thank you for reading!
Happy Printmaking!
All the best,
Ellie & The Team!
Tag us using the Hashtags…
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
“I am a printmaker and photographer living and working in Cornwall. Since graduating from Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University in 2020 I have continued with my printmaking practice from my studio in Falmouth.”
How did you or your organization get into printmaking?“I have been taking photographs since I was ten years old, however it was at university
that I discovered a love of printmaking. I attended a range of printmaking workshops in
my first term and really enjoyed the tactility of the process and how it allowed me to
combine my background in photography with my love of craft. I became particularly
interested in photo etching which I continue to specialise in today.”
“An innate love for the natural world has always been at the forefront of my inspiration.
This is extended through to my practise where I aim to encapsulate the solace that
nature can bring us by documenting its different shapes, textures and forms. I
predominantly use the printmaking technique, photo etching. A continuance of my
meticulous observational and photographic process, each etching is carefully printed by
hand using my Gunning Etching press, making every outcome unique.”
How do you plan to take your artwork forward?“In my studio I have an ideas board and notebooks filled to the brim with ideas for future work! I would love to explore the capabilities of my press further by incorporating different printmaking techniques into my artwork as well as producing work of a larger scale. I think my art will always focus on the natural world and our human connection to it as it’s a topic I am so deeply engaged with. There is a never–ending abundance of inspiration that can be found outside, so I don’t think I will ever be out of new ideas! I am looking forward to developing these further to create and share meaningful and relatable works.”
“I received rave recommendations from friends who also have a Gunning Etching press
and most of the printmakers I follow and admire online also seem to have this press too. After speaking to Jenny and Ellie it seemed like the perfect choice for me! It has the power of the old traditional presses I was used to working with at university, but without the high expense and bulkiness! It fits perfectly in my little home studio and it has really helped me to continue with my practise post– uni.”
“I really love the gears on my press, which was an addition recommended to me by Jenny. It allows me to roll my plates through the press really smoothly and with little exertion, helping me create super clean prints!”
“It doesn’t, yet. I will get on that right away!”
“I would say to definitely get in touch with Jenny, Ellie and the team at Ironbridge. They
were so useful in answering all of my questions and helping me find the right fit for my
printmaking needs. Chatting to them helped me understand some of the requirements I
didn’t even realise I had. The level of customer service is second to none, and even after
purchasing my press they have been more than happy to answer my additional queries
about printmaking materials etc!”
To see more off Sophie’s work you can find her on emails at hello@sophietwining.com, instagram at @sophietwining or browse her website.
Thank you for reading!
Happy Printmaking!
All the best,
Ellie & The Team!
Tag us using the Hashtags…
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
“I’m a fine art printmaker and painter living in the Brecon Beacons national park, South Wales, UK. I grew up in Dagenham (N.East London) but I have lived in Wales for over 40 years.
I taught in a secondary comprehensive school near to Merthyr Tydfil for 30+ years until about 7 years ago. I started seriously painting and printing for myself again around 5 years ago and things have taken off from there. Now I call myself a ‘full-time’ artist.”
“I did a strange university degree at Aberystwyth. Visual Art. I ended up specializing in graphics and book illustration. I was making some fairly simple prints at the time.
I did my final dissertation on Edward Bawden and actually went to visit him at his home and studio. I even had the cheek to send him one of my prints and I have a lovely letter critiquing the work. That Bawden, Ravillious, Nash, group of artists from the 30, 40, 50s have been a longtime influence. It’s great to see them having a lot more attention now: very much deserved.”
“My linocuts use a reduction method, using a single piece of lino. This is progressively cut away and overprinted onto paper several times, in a succession of tones, to build up the final image. There are usually around 5 layers of cutting and printing, after that I feel a print loses a bit of the graphic quality that is a part of the attraction of lino.
The prints are mostly of the animals I have seen on walks through the local landscape, within a couple of miles of home. I’m lucky to live in the beautiful Usk valley, within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
I try to catch some of the magic in the way the animals move and live within their environment, trying to imagine what it’s like to be them, their size, in that place.
I paint and draw a lot as well as make prints. I find that my printing influences my painting and vice versa. I’ve developed a design technique for my prints that involves making an acrylic painting first. This helps to organise the range of tones that will later be turned into layers of cutting and printing in the final reduction linocut. You can read more about this technique and others in my blog on my website.”
“Several of my designs have now been published as greetings cards by Art Angels and another (the Frosty Hare) is due to be ready for Christmas. I was lucky (and a bit cheeky) they were the first company I approached about using my work simply because they printed Angie Lewin’s and Edward Bawden’s work. Fate!
I’ve a calendar being published by Flametree for 2023 and another being put together for 2024. Cards (and I hope calendars) are great little adverts for your work. You get two audiences, the person buying and the person receiving. I get many inquiries for prints from this.
I’ve recently been experimenting with some different printing techniques. I’ve always enjoyed making (and teaching) collagraphs but I’ve also started using carborundum in PVA on Perspex to get a softer, more painterly result. Along similar lines, I’ve also started to teach myself a bit of mezzotint but I still need a lot of practice.”
“The Gunning press is simple to use and versatile. I have the number 3 with the 6 1/2 inch top roller and the large round wheel. I quickly managed to make it work for me and the way I print with only a couple of changes to my printing method.
Registration is key to successful reduction linocut printing. I use the Burnes Tientes pins or the registration pins provided by Ironbridge Fine arts and a slippy layer of Teflon baking parchment on top of the paper to help to stop it being moved by the roller during printing.”
“Easy height and tension adjustment. The large round wheel and the direct drive is simple and it allows you to feel exactly how the plate is going through the press.”
“Myfanwy!”
What would you say to someone thinking about purchasing a Gunning etching press?“Have a go first, organize a visit to Ironbridge, Jenny will talk you through every different option and work with you find the best fit for you and your plates.”
“Technique is secondary to what you want to say. Everyone has something that makes them an individual, express it and enjoy it. Don’t feel you have to work in a certain way because ‘that’s what artists do’.
Everyone can draw and paint! Practice can make you better and the rest is just your style, it’s what makes your work interesting.”
To see more off Martin’s work you can find him on facebook @martin.truefittbakerart , instagram at @truefittbakerart or browse his website.
Thank you for reading!
Happy Printmaking!
All the best,
Ellie & The Team!
Tag us using the Hashtags…
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
“I have been looking for a press for years that would fit into a domestic space – ie not to heavy. I visited Ironbridge on the off chance whilst visiting my mother who lives in the nearing town of Bridgnorth. I came across Jenny at Ironbridge fine arts and the most gorgeous Gunning Etching press, it was a perfect solution to my needs – a strong large press that can be taken apart easily and is not to heavy.”
“One thing that drew me to the press straight away and will always be my favourite feature on my press is the massive large round wheel it’s so stylish and practical I love it. I would definitely recommend it as an upgrade option”
“I studied Printmaking at university in the late 90s and have been printmaking in some way or other since then, I think it’s fair to say I fell in love with printmaking. As an artist and printmaker with over 20 years experience of making and exhibiting work. I am based in Lancaster in the Northwest of England working from my own studio and also teaching regularly in print rooms around the country.”
“I would describe my work as messy, scratchy lines and lively compositions of birds jumping out of the plates, aiming to capture the frantic movement and energy. Mainly with intaglio printmaking methods preferring Collagraph and metal plate etchings. My work always starts with drawing and the technical challenge of turning a simple piece of metal or card into a piece of art. “
“She is called Gillian – after Gillian Anderson”
“The press is a great work horse and perfect for relief of intaglio prints – all the sizes and extras mean you can build a perfect solution for your individual studio – ie with a stand and lockable wheels or without – affordable prices too compared to other makes.”
“I love my press and it has given me the total freedom to work in my own studio, I only wish I had a larger space and then I could get a Number 4 XL.”
“Jenny’s work is original and so striking, her technical ability as a printmaker and her imagery is excellent. She is also prolific in her making and each piece is beautiful in its own right. A brilliant printmaker!” Said Jenny Gunning
Jenny is fabulous printmake we can’t wait to see more of her work and watch her continue to grow as a printmaker. she is lucky enough to have won £150.00 worth of printmaking materials from ourselves.
To see more off Jenny’s work you can find her on instagram as @jenny.mccabe or browse her website https://www.jennymccabe.co.uk/
Thank you for reading!
Happy Printmaking!
All the best,
Ellie & The Team!
Tag us using the Hashtags…
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
A traditional oil based ink perfect for printing onto raised surfaces such as your lino’s and woodblocks.
Relief printing is perhaps the broadest type of printmaking and has recently seen a resurgence of interest. It uses plates made from a variety of materials such as lino, wood, card, metal and cloth.
A popular and reliable formulation – provides vibrant, light fast prints from all types of relief plates
As well as highly pigmented formulations, Cranfield traditional relief inks also benefit from a careful mix of traditional linseed oils. These are chosen and blended to provide a viscosity and structure to the ink – along with that unique linseed smell. This keeps the relief print as fresh and bright as the day it was created.
A safe wash based ink perfect for printing onto raised surfaces such as your lino’s and woodblocks.
Relief printing is perhaps the broadest type of printmaking and has recently seen a resurgence of interest. It uses plates made from a variety of materials such as lino, wood, card, metal and cloth.
We have a wide range of safe wash relief inks which allow for non toxic printing methods and a solvent free way of cleaning. Our safe wash inks are oil based however are water soluble so they can be easily cleaned with liquid soap and water.
Caligo Safe Wash Relief inks are suitable for both damped and dry paper and deliver strong crisp results.
Beautiful pigments, finely ground into the purest oil for archival results.
A traditional oil based ink perfect for pushing into intaglio plates such as dry-points, etchings and photo polymere’s.
A consistently reliable formulation – provides rich prints from all types of Intaglio plates.
As well as highly pigmented formulations, Cranfield traditional etching inks also benefit from a careful mix of traditional linseed oils. These are chosen and blended to provide a viscosity and structure to the ink – along with that unique linseed smell. This keeps the etching as fresh and bright as the day it was created
A safe wash based ink perfect for pushing into intaglio plates such as dry-points, etchings and photo polymere’s.
We have a wide range of safe wash etching inks which allow for non toxic printing methods and a solvent free way of cleaning. Our safe wash inks are oil based however are water soluble so they can be easily cleaned with liquid soap and water.
Beautiful pigments, finely ground into the purest oil for archival results.
The majority of our ink comes in 75ml tubes, these small easy tubes make it easy and fast to dispence ink with storing it in an easy way which prevents ink drying out. These sized inks are perfect for a printmaker wanting to sample a new colour or for someone or for someone just starting out.
Some of our key colours such as your magenta, black and white are available in 300 gram tubes. These tubes are placed into a seleant/caulking guns to dispense the ink with ease and little mess caused. These tubes are fantastic for a busy printmaker they make for a clean print run with little ink waste.
We stock silver, gold and copper in our traditional relief range. These colours allow for a beautiful metallic print with shimmering qualities showing through from the beautiful pigmented ink.
Extenders are stocked in all ranges and are simply like any other ink except include no pigment so that they are completely transparent and offer the ability to mix with other inks creating transparency with in colour.
A specialist washable oil that you can add to your Safe Wash Inks when you need to thin and dilute your ink. It makes your inks thinner, reduces viscosity, increases flow and increases transparency.
This oil modifier is made with the same linseed oil medium we use to make the safe wash inks. It is therefore an ‘oily’ rather than ‘inky’ modifier. If you need to increase transparency but maintain the body of you ink use Caligo Safe Wash Extender.
Caligo Safe Wash Oil is Ideal for Monoprinting and Carborundum printing when you need to thin and dilute your inks
Also suitablle for Viscosity Printing applications when you need to reduce viscosity and increase the flow of your inks.
Thank you for reading!
Happy Printmaking!
All the best,
Ellie & The Team!
Tag us using the Hashtags…
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
Shrewsbury high school are the latest and luckiest owners of a Gunning etching press No.2!
Dave, a member of our team delivered and trained Shrewsbury High’s staff members on how to assemble, set up and print on their brand new Gunning etching press.
The students at Shrewsbury high school have decided their Gunning etching press needed its own personal nickname. Students and staff set up a competition suggesting different names until the name ‘Papilon printing press’ was picked.
Students and staff have been so excited to print on Papilon, they have been and visited us here in Ironbridge for an Etching workshop were they learnt how to etch with specialist printmaker Jenny. A group of 5 students spent the day learning how to etch into metal creating their own steel plates.
Students at Shrewsbury High have and are continuing to create some beautiful prints in their own print studio at Shrewsbury high using the printmaking processes taught to them from our team here at Ironbridge printmakers.
We are so excited to see what they continue to print.
Thank you for reading!
Happy Printmaking!
All the best,
Ellie & The Team!
Tag us using the Hashtags…
@Ironbridgeprintmakers @Gunningetchingpress #GunningEtchingPresses #GunningEtchingPress #JennyGunningPrintmaker
If you have read to the bottom of this blog you are entitled to a free gift, please email Jenny@IronbridgefineArts.co.uk with your preferred printing Relief or Intaglio to claim. Postage of £6.99 will still apply.
Jenny Gunning Photogravure The Ironbridge
£ 40.00
Hungry Hedgehog Reduction Linocut Print by Martin Truefitt-Baker - SOLD
£ 180.00 – £ 285.00
Etching Printing Press No. 2
by Gordon Yapp, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Etching Printing Press No.1
by Fiona Thomson