Small Scallop Shell Gyotaku

Making this print was so much fun!  Here I've used a scallop shell that was donated to me by a marine biologist who lives locally. 

The paper I bought in Tokyo on a recent visit and it's got a gold fleck in it for some added sparkle.  The paper measures 17cm by 14cm so it's a lovely cute print. 

The print is made using the finest quality Acrylic ink and each colour layer has been added seperately so the colours remain seperate from one another. 

I always find it difficult to explain my process to people but I'll attempt to do so here.  I take a real shell, then I put ink onto it.  Then I press the paper over the surface of the shell.  Here I have done this once with blue ink, once with red ink and once with yellow ink.  So the shell has been inked 3 times and pressed onto the paper 3 times. 

Once the print is made, it needs to be made flat.  For this I use the Japanese method known as Urauchi or here in the west, Wet mounting. 

Wet mounting is done by putting a very thin glue over the back of the print and then pressing a second sheet of paper over the back of the print.  In doing so you can remove all the creases from the paper and the second sheet bonds to the first making the print thicker and better for framing or mounting on board.  On the video the backing paper is clearly visible, this will be cut down to the same size as the print for framing.

I'm always very happy to answer questions about my art, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you need more information.  I'm also happy to receive studio visits here on Anglesey so if you're passing let me know and let's see if we can arrange a time that suits us both.

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