Organic Collagraphs

I am calling these plates 'organic' collagraphs as they have been constructed using dried plant material. The first two, the hydrangeas and leaves, are also on organza glued to matcard. I found the organza very difficult to work with. The first time I tried rubbing the ink on with a piece of material and the second time I tried brushing it on. Neither method worked very well. The dried hydrangeas were quite flat until I tried to stick them to the plate with gel medium and matte medium at which time they decided to plump up, making them thick again. They went through the press just fine but the amount of glue needed to make them stay down then seeps out around the edges making for a sloppy looking print.

The gingko leaves were better but the stems needed a lot of glue to stay flat and the ink didn't stay on the glue resulting in the white edges which looks too messy for me. The corrugated cardboard also had the same effect.

Out of the four attempts I think I will re-work the two gingko ones with oil pastel and see what happens. The other two will get ripped up for collage material.

All being said, I won't try that method again but will attempt making a cast of the fresh flowers and leaves next time in modelling paste or plaster of paris and applying that to the plate, which will also be masonite instead of matcard as it is much sturdier.

Not a wasted effort - nothing ventured, nothing gained!