Stick and Potato-Cut Printing

Allan Smith

• Publisher: Ghose Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781473357891
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

PLATE 1 (See frontispiece)

STICK AND POTATO-CUT PRINTING

STICK and potato-cut printing are done respectively with a wooden stick and the cut end of a potato. Impressions may be made either on paper or on fabric, but for obvious reasons it is better to begin with the former.

If a square, flat-ended stick is dipped into ink or paint and pressed on to a sheet of paper, it leaves a square impression, and a pattern can be formed by repeating the impression at regular intervals. The end of the stick or potato can be of any shape or size, and numberless patterns can be produced by the grouping of various impressions. Instead of a stick or potato, a piece of rubber can be used.

It is not necessary, however, to use only a plain flat surface as in Fig. 3. V-shaped grooves can be made with a knife, chisel, or needle file, and a pattern formed as in Figs. 1 and 2. Geometric, abstract or natural forms may be used, as long as they are treated in such a way as to be easily cut out of the material. For example, a hard wood like box or beech enables finer cuts to be made than a soft wood like pine, while the still softer surface of a potato demands a very simple treatment. For large units, linoleum can be glued to the end of the stick, as in Fig. 1.

Geometric and abstract forms lend themselves more readily to printing than natural forms. The latter have to be very much simplified before they can be cut out of the material.

In Fig. 1 are shown a square and a round stick with V-shaped grooves cut in them to form a pattern. Fig. 1a shows the impressions obtained. The white parts correspond to the grooves. Impressions will always be the reverse of the design on the stick, a fact to be remembered, particularly when letters or numerals are being printed.

Figs. 2 and 2a show triangular and hexagonal sticks and impressions taken from them. Figs. 3 and 3a show small plain sticks and their impressions: these can be grouped to make numberless different patterns.

Fig. 4 shows a potato cut to give a large surface on which the pattern can be cut. Enough potato has been left for it to be firmly held when printing, and the sides are sloped both to withstand pressure when printing and to make it easy to fit the repetitions accurately.

Fig. 4a shows an impression made from this potato cut, and Fig. 4b shows how the design could be further developed if desired.

Colours to use for printing on paper are tube water-colours and poster or showcard colours, and for fabric printing, specially prepared fabric-printing colours. If a stick is used, it is better to mix the paint with Gloy or some other paste to make it slightly sticky, but this is not necessary for potato-cuts. Special colours for stick-printing can be obtained, and, particularly if large sticks are being used, are of some advantage.

Whatever colours are being used should be spread evenly on glass or on a piece of felt (this can be cut from an old hat) and should not be made too thin. The stick or potato is pressed f...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Preface
• Contents
• 1 Stick and Potato-cut Printing
• 2 Various patterns made with the same unit
• 3 Printing with a cut potato
• 4 Borders based on squares
• 5 All-over patterns based on squares
• 6 All-over patterns based on circles
• 7 Development of counterchange patterns
• 8 Further developments
• 9 Units suggested by plants
• 10 Patterns based on hawthorn
• 11 Stick and potato-cut printing applied to book covers
• 12 Borders applied to objects