Print with

Collage
& Stitch

Techniques for
Mixed-Media
Printmaking
Va l H o l m e s

Introduction
What is Collography?

Most print techniques require the printmaker

Intaglio printing is usually associated with

to take things away from the surface of the chosen

etched metal, a process which is achieved either by

material, so the printing surface is incised rather than

taking away the surface with special tools or by a

raised, in order to create the printing plate. The plate

process known as aqua forte, with which the metal is

may then be printed intaglio: this means that the

first varnished, the varnish is drawn into, and this is

holes or lines created in the plate will be filled with

then placed in a bath of acid or a similar substance

ink. This is done by applying ink and then wiping it

(there are a few methods to choose from) so that the

off the main surface of the plate. During the printing

design is etched into the plate where the varnish has

process the paper finds the ink and reproduces the

been taken away.

image carved into the plate. The plate can also be

The second method of relief printing is most

made to be printed in relief: in this case the plate

often associated with woodblock or lino printing, in

will usually have the ink applied with a roller to the

which areas of the material are gouged out, leaving a

parts of the plate left in relief, instead of into the parts

structure in relief for printing. In the first case a press

taken away. The paper is then applied to the inked

is essential, in the second case it is not.

plate.

Print with Coll age & Stitch

Collography is different from the above

methods because it involves adding things to the plate
instead of taking them away. Different materials can
be used to form the base structure of the plate, from
cardboard to wood, plastic to old lino. As for what
can be added, the range is almost as large and varied
as the number of artists working in this medium.

Collagraph on watercolor paper using

oil-based inks. The plate was made from
cardboard with machine stitching, stitched
on synthetic satin and sandpaper. Some of
the inks were diluted, and there are several
layers of color before the final black.

Classically, cut card and carborundum (an abrasive

substance also known as silicon carbide) are most
commonly used, but also acrylic texture mediums,
sandpaper, string, threads, fabric, rice, and organic
materials, all of which will be discussed in this book.
The resulting plate can be printed using either an
intaglio method or in relief, or both at the same time,
and it may be printed with or without a press.
introduction

CHAPTER < 7 >

Embroidering the Print

As we have seen, a collographic plate, unless very

to the work using the methods described in Chapter

well protected with hard varnish, will give about

Four, you may find that the developed color prints

ten to twenty prints. The prints, even if made with

are excellent, but that some of the pieces are not

only one color, may vary from print to print, as the

developed enough.

materials glued or stitched to the plate gradually get

When I look at a collection of prints that I

flattened by the pressure of the press or the rubbing

have made from a collographic plate, I find some

that it is subjected to. For this reason it is difficult to

that are good paper works in their own right and

do a classic edition that will be numbered, so why not

really need nothing else added to them, whereas

experiment instead.

others that disappoint me in some way will require

If you are working with one simple color, it

more treatment. This provides a new challenge and

may be interesting to print on different papers and

a chance to be inspired by the print and to continue

textile surfaces rather than on one kind of paper

the experiments with the image. Working in this way,

(see Chapter Five), in which case certain pieces

I can go in many directions.

could be used for embroidery experimentation. If

The great thing about printing is that it gives

you have experimented with adding different colors

you a number of similar starting points quite quickly

Print with Coll age & Stitch

Collagraph on watercolor
paper. The plate was
made from sandpaper
and machine stitching on
cardboard. Color added
with a roller. The row of
vines are embroidered
once again to underline
the image.

that you can then experiment with, in order to more

to underline aspects that will lead to a greater

fully understand the original marks and textures

understanding of the image. Or on the contrary, the

present. The learning advantage is evident, as you

original intention of the image can be ignored, and

can easily experiment with an image and the textile

the printed marks related to as abstract elements to

marks that can be made in relation to it, in a series of

inspire something completely new. An abstract print

developed works.

may inspire a realistic version that could be suggested

If the original image was realistic, this realism

can be enhanced with the choice of embroidery

Print with Coll age & Stitch

or added to with embroidery.

Mixed-media piece starting with a

collagraph on muslin stitched onto
watercolor paper in oil-based ink. The
piece was then colored in places with
water-based inks. Painted adhesive
webbing was added and then machine
stitching. Little of the original print, which
was in fact a landscape, remains.

embroidering the print

Print with

Collage & Stitch

Learn the secrets of todays
hottest textile art technique
The enthralling popularity of collography is taking textile artists
to new and explosive heights. In her new book, Print with Collage
& Stitch, Val Holmes shares everything you need to know about
the exciting effects of combining almost endless permutations of
collage, stitch, and print and how to incorporate these effects into
your own stitched textile work.
Included is invaluable information on embroidered collography
plate making, choosing the right printing surface, combining paper
and fabric, embroidering onto prints, and how to work in a series.
Whether you are new to mixed media or you cant wait to expand
your work, Print with Collage & Stitch is your go-to resource for
collography.

Val Holmes is a wellknown teacher and embroiderer. She contributed a series

of articles to Stitch magazine
and is the author of numerous books, including Gardens
in Embroidery, The Machine
Embroiderers Workbook, The
Encyclopedia of Machine
Embroidery, Creative
Recycling in Embroidery, and
Broderie Machine.

CONTEnts
Making the plate
Introducing brodagraphy
Printing from the plate
without a press
Printing with a press
Surfaces for print
Collography for paper
relief
Embroidering the print
The monotype
Conclusion
Appendix: The press
Suppliers
Paperback
8.5 x 10.8, 128 pages
ISBN 978-1-59668-589-5
$26.95
Available May 2012