Journey to the Arctic Circle
In September 2011 Peter traveled to the city of Pangnirtung on Baffin Island to train Inuit print makers of different skill levels his techniques.
Recruited by the Kyra Fisher, General Manager of the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts, Peter spent an entire month surrounded by the landscape and artists of the north.
While there he met Matty McNair, of North Winds Polar Expeditions.
Above: the Arctic Adventure and Polar Expedition leader over looks the landscape
The Print Training
Above: Jolly, Eena, Becky, and Ann in the studio
Peter brought his own set of methods to the Inuit artists and printmakers, working with the artists there to translate their images into prints. Below is a spackled plexiglass plate capturing the gesture of the artist’s marks around the airplane shapes.
And although Peter traveled there to teach he learned a couple tricks himself from the artist’s there.
Below: Andrew waxing sheets of Mayfair Paper for stencil printing.
And on Peter’s return, in the collaborative spirit of New Leaf Editions, we began printing the first half of the collagraph type spackle print, created by artist Elisapee Ishulutaq, to be sent back to the Pangnirtung studio and finished by a printer with stencil techniques.
This complicated little viscosity print involves inking the plate with stiff ink in the recessed areas and wiped clean, then surface rolled with a loser ink over top. If done correctly the two colours don’t mix and no transfer occurs on the roller.
The other prints New Leaf has been working on for Artist Elisapee Ishulutaq are the little warrior men below
New Leaf created softground/spit bite plates to capture the character of her drawings as closely as possible, the two original drawings are in the middle. Above and below are the prints we created after the drawings.
Below: Lesley spit bites a total of six plates to mimic the soft crayon pastel drawings
Here you can see the original drawing and below it the print
Below: The printing sequence, three plates a la poupee
Above: The little warrior wall
