Collagraphy

This article is about the printmaking process. For the photographic process, see Collotype. For decorative writing, see Calligraphy.
Collagraphs demonstrating both relief and intaglio-inking.

Collagraphy (sometimes spelled collography) is a printmaking process in which materials are glued or sealed to a rigid substrate (such as paperboard or wood) to create a plate.[1] Once inked, the plate becomes a tool for imprinting the design onto paper or another medium. The resulting print is termed a collagraph. The term "collagraph" was coined by Glen Alps in the 1950s, and is derived from the Greek word koll or kolla, meaning glue, and graph, meaning the activity of drawing.[2]

Examples of collagraph plates using a variety of materials.

Artists use a variety of materials in collagraphy, including yarn, fabric, tape, different varieties of cut paper or card, leaves, and acrylic mediums.[3][2] The application of ink onto the collagraph plate is versatile, consisting of intaglio-inking into recesses, brayer or paintbrush inking onto relief surfaces, or a combination of these methods. A print can be made with or without use of a press.[4]

  1. ^ Zeng, Natasha (2015-12-17). "Experiments in Truth: Collagraph Printmaking, Environmental Stewardship, School Psychology, Social Change, and Virtues & Vices". Wheaton Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  2. ^ a b MacKenzie, Susie (2019). Making Collagraph Prints. Crowood Press. ISBN 9781785005824. OCLC 1112656269.
  3. ^ "Collagraph Printmaking [Lesson Plan]" (PDF). Dick Blick. 2008.
  4. ^ Oldfield, Vicky (2023). Mixed-Media Collagraph Prints: Creative Techniques. Crowood Press. ISBN 9780719841071. OCLC 1391439355.