INK Magazine – University of Lincoln by inkmagazinelincoln

ISSUE ONE

INK MAGAZINE Issue One – Spring 2022 School of Design College of Arts University of Lincoln Brayford Pool Lincoln, LN6 7TS Published by: The Lincoln School of Design Editors: Jantze Holmes & Barrie Tullett Contributors: Jawad Ali Welcome to INK magazine – a showcase for the work of Sarah Allana students and staff at the University of Lincoln. Our first issue Jessica Bhatti focuses on the College of Arts, with contributions from Rosie Byrne courses across the School of Design. Martyna Chrzanowska INK has been printed in an edition of 100 copies using Carrwyn Davies our Risograph printers. Risographs are stencil duplicating Harriet Dodson machines that use soy-based inks to print a single colour at a Alice Fletcher time. Each new colour requires a separate ink drum, and the Poppy Fulton paper is run back through the printer each time a new colour Jeremy Goffin is required. Owen Griffiths The quality of colour, and the overprinting of inks are Cobi Jones features of the process, as are the differences in registration Juliette Le Mare due to the sheets being overprinted – and it means that each Tracey Means copy of the magazine is unique. Oonagh Monaghan A digital copy of INK is also available at : Emma Osbourn issuu.com/inkmagazinelincoln/docs/ink_magazine_one Hazel Roberts And we’re on Instagram: @inkmagazinelincoln Mark Simmonds Please do get in touch if you are interested in the courses Allyce Waby we offer – a list of contacts can be found on the last page. We hope you enjoy INK, and we’re already looking forward Inside Cover: Hazel Roberts, 2022 to sharing issue two with you. The Editors

Streams of Consciousness is based around the idea of ‘letting go’ of the creative process. Most of these images are from sketchbooks, and have never seen the light of day. The beauty of the workbook process is the fact that there is no real audience, or pressure, they are just visualisations of feelings that are inspired and informed by time spent amongst the surfing community.

Photograph: Graeme Oxby

JAR JAR BLUES

The 21st Century Cyanotype, from paper to fabric…

Cobi Jones — The Secret Life of Prussian Blue, 2022

The cyanotype process was discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1842, although his interest in the process was to do with the chemistry rather than its photographic potential. A year later in 1843, his friend the botanist Anna Atkins, created the first cameraless ‘photogenic drawings’ (the Greek word photos means light whilst graphé means drawing) which set the template for the

complicated than the power of sunlight – one of the joys of this process is that it does not require a camera, specialist optics or lenses, a dark-room, or access to digital printers to produce – and the range of work, and mediums, possible from cyanotypes is stunning. In a nod to Anna Atkins’ original photographic book, 3rd year Graphic Design student Cobi Jones turned to the cyanotype

visual language of the cyanotype. These were published in Photographs of British Algae which is not only the first documented book to be illustrated with photographic imagery, she is also considered to be the first woman to create a photograph. The visual tradition of Atkins’ work lives on, nearly 180 years later, and can be seen in the cyanotypes of Tracey Means (opposite), whose work uses nothing more

process when answering a project brief about The Secret Life of Prussian Blue: The First Modern Pigment. Prussian Blue is the particular shade of blue created by the cyanotype process, and the chemical that is used to create the light sensitive solution can be applied to any surface, including linen, which led Cobi to work with the technical staff, Emma Osbourn and Polly Lancaster, to produce a fabric book as the final piece for the project.

Hazel Roberts — Layers, 2022

The book was created by typesetting the artwork using Adobe InDesign (part of the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription that all students in the School of Design have access to), the finished pages were then printed onto acetate sheets and these ‘plates’ were used to expose the artwork onto the chemically treated fabric pages that would go on to become the final book. Cobi was drawn to the idea as he was fascinated by the ‘magic’ of the photographic process and the element of chance which, although frustrating if elements of the work didn’t come out as originally planned, did lead to the happy accidents that are a core part of the ‘allure of the handmade’.

The printmaking technician, Emma Osbourn was equally fascinated by the possibilities of the process and her experimental pieces seek to explore the potential of the method so that students working with cyanotypes can fully engage with this creative medium. Similarly, Manchester based artist & printmaker Hazel Roberts, has produced a breathtaking series of A3 sized experimental cyanotype works to inspire her own students – these explore abstract composition, layering and the possibilities of play within the creative process. Her work is heavily influenced by Dadaist methodologies, Constructivism, and the love of manual processes. Opposite: Emma Osbourn — Experiment #1, 2022

The Journey of a Book

Juliette Le Mare The Tragedy on Smalls Island

Lighthouses of the World I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse. They were built only to serve — George Bernard Shaw Every year the Graphic Design students are set the projects from the International Society of Typographic Designers Student Assessment Scheme. A range of five project briefs, all open ended, but all with an emphasis on typographic skill and typographic rigour. Typography is a core element of the course, and understanding the rules of it are essential to a successful career in the industry. The ISTD Student Awards scheme is close to the heart of the Programme Leader for Graphic Design, Barrie Tullett who has been awarded Fellowship of the society and is part of the Education Panel – regularly setting project briefs and taking part in the student assessments. Juliette Le Mare’s project solution was a very ambitious one –it took her to each of the technical workshops as she developed and refined her ideas utilising a range of processes available to her at the University.

Embossing

The first process was the embossing on the cover. Juliette worked with Emma Osbourn and Ross Oliver to make the positive and negative dies that would be used to create the embossed and debossed contour lines of the island.

Foil Blocking

Silver Ink

The heat press is used to create areas of silver foil on the pages of the book – the foil references the use of mercury in the lighthouse filaments, which poisoned many of the Lighthouse Keepers.

The other method for printing in silver, is to screen print using silver ink. The final effect is very different from the foil blocking method, but is easier to control and gives a more dependable outcome.

Black on Black Ink

Making the Book

To create the feeling of paranoia and the hallucinations that the mercury caused, Juliette wanted to use black text on black paper. There are several ways to do this, including laser-printing on a specialist paper.

In consultation with the Book Arts’ Technician, it was agreed that a Layflat Book was the best way to make the final publication, as it allowed for the different processes to be combined easily.

Juliette Le Mare — The Tradgedy of Smalls Island, page layouts

The original brief

For more information about the International Society of Typographic Designers, go to: www.istd.org.uk

The University of Lincoln Library is hoping to develop a new Zine collection housed on the ground floor of the main Library. Zines are a fantastic resource for many staff and students across the whole University community. They will be of interest not only to art and design related subjects but also those in social, political and humanities subject disciplines and potentially those outside of the institution. The word ‘zine’ comes from the word ‘fanzine’ so emerged originally from the 1930s as fans of science fiction produced these ‘fanzines’. These non-traditional publications are self-published (written/edited, illustrated, copied, assembled, and distributed); they are motivated by desire for communication or self-expression (not profit, fame, or a grade). They have their roots in social and political activism e.g. punk, LGBTQ+ etc. and are usually a small publication which tend to be produced from materials to hand by individuals, photocopied and distributed cheaply. Zines have a small distribution (5-3000 copies) and are underground or alternative in content or flavour; they are free of paid advertising. They are a popular medium in the art and design world, but they are also produced for all sorts of reasons - music zines, travel zines, literary zines. The modern zine bears little resemblance to its cousin the ‘fanzine’. The Library is working to diversify materials and challenge white-centred, heteronormative practices which impact our collections, users, and services. The

University of Lincoln is committed to long term goals around decolonisation and equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) projects and the Library is central to this work. An intersectional approach considers the many parts of a person’s identity, and the aim of the zine collection will be to be more representative of marginalised voices. It would be great to get staff and student input into the collection either with existing zine donations or student projects around EDI and decolonisation. Why are they important? They provide an alternative point of view something is said by someone who wants to express it. Producing a zine allows individual expression - no editorial board - simply a direct link to an individual’s opinion or artistic expression. Zines provide an insight into today’s modern popular culture - a direct and unfiltered view of an individual’s interpretation at the time. Historically important - letters were a principal form of communication but in our digital world, a lot of this type of history is disappearing. If we do not preserve zines, historians will have to write about our era from secondary sources. Books about Do you want to make a zine and donate it to the Fanzines Library collection? Would you like to find out more from the about zines? Do you know about a zine that you think Library we should have in the Library?

To find out more, look at the School of Design Library Subject Guide – https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/design/zines which includes a form where students and staff are invited to ‘suggest a zine’ for the collection. You can also contact Subject Librarian, Oonagh Monaghan (omonaghan@lincoln.ac.uk).

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