Double Perf is a series of prints, and accompanying film, blending printmaking and experimental filmmaking. Interchanging techniques were used like printing from collagraph plates made out of 16mm film, and rolling an inked brayer over actual pieces of 16mm film, then projected. It’s a mix of linocut, monotype, collagraph, hand cut stencils, and chine colle. Double Perf aims to explore these mediums through movement; both within the frames and between them.
Here are some works in progress and behind the scenes. First up a brayer roll on 16mm film. The little 1/2 inch Takach brayer worked great for this one..
I saw they were using these daiso drain covers as collagraph / monotype material so I picked some up. The patterns are cool and the sticker is just sturdy enough to cover the emulsion to withstand a round a bleaching. But a little too long in the bath and you get a lot of decay around the edges, which actually adds some nice texture.
Daiso drain sticker collaging on 16mm film, pre bleach (March 2023)
bleached 👌
I know now to take these drain cover stickers off immediately after bleacking because they leave a lot of residue if you let them dry. I spent hours pealing off leftover residue using other pieces of tape before I knew that and it was not fun. (goo gone did not work either just fyi)
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and back to paper....
This was the first pass so there's the chine colle on top, and a couple of newsprint stencil masks under that then the collagraph plate.
For each successive run through the press I'd lift up one side of the paper and cut and rip off half the newsprint stencil, then set it down and do the same for the other half. Then run it through again. The first pass after the chine colle the plate still had too much ink on it so I ran a sheet of newsprint through it. (having to lift up each side of the print to keep it registered). So I believe this was 4 passes through the press in total. Kind of a miracle the registration stayed as accurate as it did.. (February 2023)
'Infinite Perf' (12 x 18 inch) Collagraph / Stencil / Chine Colle' 2023
'Between Frames' (21 x 23 inch) Linocut 2023
'Light Leak' (29 x 20 inch) Monotype / Stencil 2023
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A little reticulation with watercolors and coffee. .
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The WTMJ Project. . .
In college I worked at the UWM Archives restoring 16mm WTMJ newsfilm. I saved all the frames that were going to get tossed and spliced them into a big single frame loop. I tried running it on a projector but it was not happening with that many splices. I digitized the frames myself with a makeshift optical printer I janked together with a DSLR, some bellows, and a hacked apart 16mm projector.
