Stone Lithography

Experimental Stone Lithography, Jane Elizabeth Bennett, 2018

Upskilling with Stone Lithography

Stone Lithography is a skill that I have always wanted to obtain, but it has always seemed to be closer to witchcraft than printmaking.

I think that is part of the magic, taking a stone, drawing materials and array of chemicals, and after many hours of rubbing, flapping and mixing various chemicals a body of work will begin to form.

Jane Elizabeth Bennett, 2018 Using the Offset Press for Lithography
Jane Elizabeth Bennett, 2018 Using the Scraper Press for Stone Lithography

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Outcome – An Exhibition

Outcome – An Exhibition of Three Postgraduate Projects

If you have followed my research for some time you will already know about the philosophical, neurological and political undercurrents that inspire and drive my practice. With the exhibition of Outcome coming to an end, it seems like an appropriate time to examine these ideas and being my Fellowship to a close.

A Thousand Plateaus and Soft Ground Etching

My Fellowship began with soft ground etching. After beginning to read the work of Deleuze and Guattari my first inclination was to begin to explore it physically. For me, the most intuitive way was through the medium of soft ground etching. Adapting the traditional method to suit my needs I allowed the allowed impure water to settle and oxidize on the plates. As the oxidization formed it created pathways that formed streams, which in turn informed the soft ground and eventual etch.

Outcome, Artlab, PhD Fellowship and AA2A 2017 2018 Exhibition Jane Elizabeth Bennett Close Up Etching
‘Outcome’, Artlab, Ph.D. Fellowship and AA2A 2017 2018 Exhibition Jane Elizabeth Bennett Close Up Etching

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A Ph.D. Development Fellowship with UCLan

I have had a fantastic time during the last year, working hard on my Ph.D. Development Fellowship.

The Artlab Contemporary Printmaking Studios is about to close down for the annual Summer break, and most of the Academic staff have left to take on their own research projects. For me, this means that for me the Ph.D. Development Fellowship has come to a close. Over the last year, I have immersed myself in new texts, written proposals and grown a professional academic network; something that I think would have been difficult to fully commit to without the support and guidance provided during this time.

I’d especially like to thank the staff at the Unversity of Central Lancashire

Dr. Andrew Broadey

Tracy Hill

Magda Stawarska-Beavan

Bev Lamey

All that is left to do now is organize the Ph.D. Development Fellowship, Artlab Fellowship, and AA2A Programme Exhibitions which will take place in the PR1 Gallery between the 16th December 2017 and 11th February 2018. I look forward to showing prints and installed works from my ‘1000 Plateaus’ project.

1000 Plateaus, Jane Elizabeth Bennett, Etching 2017 ©

I’d also like to announce that, due to this fellowship I have exciting new prospects on the horizon! I will be announcing these projects over the coming year.

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Printing with Impurity and the Rhizome

As the academic year comes to a close and the printmaking studio empties of frantic students I have found some time to begin experimenting with impurities and the rhizome.

I have been very kindly given a number of large, lightly etched zinc plates. My usual practice is to, grain, aquatint and etch zinc multiple times with a deep bite, so the light etch would not interfere with my work, but as I occasionally laminate plates with photopolymer it is best to start with a neat surface.

Whilst graining the plates by hand, using a medium carborundum, block and sandpaper I removed a substantial layer of the original etch. As hand graining with a block is a laborious process I broke the monotony by periodically inking and printing the plates. I thought that if nothing else I would be left with a series of prints showing the reduction of an etch and the appearance of a ghost like ‘nothingness’.

intaglio, printmaking, etching, impurities, soft-ground experimental
Air dried hand grained zinc plates, UCLAN Printmaking Department

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PhD Fellowship Award

Fellowship Award for PhD Development

I am delighted to announce that I have been awarded a PhD Development Fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire.

This Fellowship has been created to allow individuals a space in which to develop their PhD research question.

Since graduating from my Masters Degree in Site and Archive Intervention  I have wanted to undertake a PhD. I have however been more focussed on developing myself professionally and travelling extensively.

During my Master’s Degree, I explored several themes. Kant’s Sublime, Camus’ Absurdity and audience relationship to immersive installation. This research culminated in a large-scale interactive installation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvtEYpMqTIQ

After graduating from my Masters with a high Distinction I have been left with a love of research. Now I have the ambition to enhance my practice with the knowledge and methodologies that researchers possess.

For this reason, I am pleased to have been awarded the PhD Development Fellowship, from the University of Central Lancashire.

The Fellowship will allow me access to the University of Central Lancashire’s Fine Art, Printmaking and Digital Facilities. The access provided will enable me to develop a new body of experimental work, that will inform my PhD research question.

I am most pleased to be returning to Victoria building which is the home of Art, Design and Fashion for the campus. The building houses a fantastic Printmaking facility staffed by two internationally acclaimed artists Tracy Hill and Magda Stawarska-Beavan. Since being granted the Fellowship, I have already designated myself a workspace and schedule. Over the coming weeks, I will be constructing more complex embossed works and advancing my practical printmaking skills.

In addition to the printmaking facility Victoria building is home to the Metal and 3D Workshop. The facility houses laser cutting equipment, specifically set to etch and cut perspex, a diverse material that I love to work with. I have a number of ideas for installations, sculptures and interdisciplinary works that will benefit from access to these facilities. I look forward to my induction into this workshop.

As part of the Fellowship, I will have access to the Hanover Building where Fine Art is situated.

Working in association with the Fine Art Department is something that I am particularly enthusiastic about. I will receive mentoring from academic staff in how best to prepare my practice for the rigours of a PhD and how to deliver my work within this context.

By working within this environment alongside staff and students, I will hone my established skill set and diversify my professional capabilities.

To say that I am grateful for the opportunity is an understatement, as is, to say that I am excited. I look forward to presenting new work over the duration of this Fellowship.

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