If you have been reading me regularly, you know how much I like to explore new mediums and techniques. Since last winter, I have been concentrating my “research” on printmaking. My July 21 blog described linocut printing in a bit more detail. More recently, I discovered “Chine collé” (sounds like sheen colay), and thought that today I would explain what that is. “Chine collé” is a printing technique that involves adding color or texture to a print by gluing paper to all or parts of the print. The name “Chine collé” comes from the fact that originally, fine papers made in China or Japan were used. And of course collé is simply glued. So a rough translation would be glued paper from China. This is not a new technique, and was used by such artists as Matisse and Delacroix. The simple diagram above illustrates the principle of Chine collé. The base block is carved and inked as usual for printing on a normal piece of paper. Before printing, a piece (or pieces) of colored or textured paper, which can be either cut or ripped to fit the desired part of the design, is covered with glue on the back and placed on the inked block, glue side up. In the example, the smiley-face’s “hat” will be colored green in the final print. During printing, all the ink-covered marks on the block will of course transfer to the large sheet of paper, including any marks in the hat area, but these will be printed onto the colored piece of paper, which the printing process will simultaneously press and glue to the larger sheet of paper (the final print). There are several difficulties in this technique. One is finding special colored paper to use. You could in theory use any paper, but it should be thin enough to not interfere with the base paper, yet thick enough to not tear when applying glue to it. I had a look around local shops but couldn’t really find anything I liked. I looked at scrapbooking paper, but none of it was what I wanted. I did use some that I had from previous projects to do experiments. That’s the good thing about being an art supply “collector”! I found some suitable papers at a large online US art supplier, but the shipping charges were outlandish! Thankfully, I finally found some gorgeous yet reasonably priced papers from a small supplier in western Canada. I haven’t tried them yet, but I am looking forward to it! Another difficulty is actually placing the glued piece of paper on the block for printing. The block is already covered in ink, so you have to be very careful to get the small piece of paper in the right spot on the first try if you don't want extra ink marks! And once you get it in the right spot, you have to get it to stay there (remember the side facing you is covered in glue!) A third difficulty is finding the right glue! Traditionally, Nori paste is used, but it proves to be next to impossible to find in Canada at a reasonable price. I finally resorted to making some myself (why not!!) from rice. Not difficult, just a little time consuming. But even with the difficulties, I really like this technique, and all the possibilities it has opened up! I am actually surprised that I like it so much, because I never really cared for “collage” in any shape or form, as I always (perhaps wrongly) considered it cheating or the “easy way” to do art. But I guess Chine collé has enough “struggle” for me to make it "genuine". I am having a great time experimenting with it, and I plan to continue doing so for a while (or until the next squirrel flashes by!) Leave a comment to let me know how you like it, or to give me ideas on projects that would be suitable for “Chine collé”!
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
March 2023
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