Two Olives Studio Journal

Part 4 - Care & Storage of Photopolymer Plates

2009-10-26T16:14:00+00:00

This is the the final of four photopolymer plate sets of instruction that I will be posting. If you have purchased a Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate kit from me, everything you need to know is contained in these documents.

Part 4 – Care & Storage of Photopolymer Plates

This lesson covers guidelines for care and storage of photopolymer plates. The information contained is for your own personal use and may not be copied or distributed in any way without permission. If you would like to link to this lesson, please link to this post and not directly to the PDF. Thank you!

Download Photopolymer Plate Instructions Part 4 – How do I use, clean & store my photopolymer plates?

Part 3 - Developing Plates With Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit

2009-10-26T15:29:35+00:00

This is the third of four photopolymer plate sets of instruction that I will be posting. If you have purchased a Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate kit from me, everything you need to know is contained in these documents.

Part 3 – Developing Plates with Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit

This lesson covers guidelines for developing plates with your Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit. The information contained is for your own personal use and may not be copied or distributed in any way without permission. If you would like to link to this lesson, please link to this post and not directly to the PDF. Thank you!

Download Photopolymer Plate Instructions Part 3: Developing plates with Two Olives Studio Kit

Part 2 - How to Assemble Your Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit

2009-10-26T15:12:40+00:00

This is the second of four photopolymer plate sets of instruction that I will be posting. If you have purchased a Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate kit from me, everything you need to know is contained in these documents.

Part 2 – How to Assemble Your Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit

This lesson covers guidelines for assembling your Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit. The information contained is for your own personal use and may not be copied or distributed in any way without permission. If you would like to link to this lesson, please link to this post and not directly to the PDF. Thank you!

Download Photopolymer Plate Instructions Part 2: How to Assemble Your Kit

Part 1 - Art Requirements for Photopolymer Plates

2009-08-20T15:56:50+00:00

Thank you all for your patience, comments & support as we have been working the bugs out of these instructions.

This is the first of four photopolymer plate lessons that I will be posting. If you have purchased a Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate kit from me, everything you need to know is contained in these documents.

Part 1 – Photopolymer Plate Instructions, Art Requirements

This lesson covers guidelines for choosing the artwork and directions for printing on photonegative film. The information contained is for your own personal use and may not be copied or distributed in any way without permission. If you would like to link to this lesson, please link to this post and not directly to the PDF. Thank you!

Download Photopolymer Plate Lesson 1: Art Requirements

I am an enamelist…

2009-05-15T18:46:07+00:00

Recently, I had the privilege of studying with Merry-Lee Rae in Watsonville, CA. She is a master enamelist and I am excited to be off and running with fine enameling work. While there, we came up with a new way of identifying ourselves – “Hi. My name is _________ and I am an enamelist”. As a ceramic artist who is a friend of mine said “All those tiny grains. Why would anybody do that?” What can I say – I am happiest immersed in the world of detail – the smaller the better! I am looking forward to combining enamel work with fine silver textures – I am working hard to get my designs from paper to metal.

Scenes from Watsonville:

Look for me at the SNAG Conference in Philadelphia next week, Bead & Button June 2-7, and the Metal Clay World Conference in July.

NEW CLASS SECTION ADDED: Kalmbach has added a new section of the Kiln Fired Enameling Class Register Now

Photopolymer Plates Part Two: How to use a Stouffer Gage

2009-03-03T18:40:01+00:00

In order to determine how long an exposure should be, the printing industry standard is the Stouffer Gauge. This is a piece of continuous tone film that is 1/2” x 5”. The first step shown is #2 which is a light grey, progressing up to #21 which is a very saturated black. Photopolymer plates each have a target exposure on the Stouffer Gauge for optimal results. For a 145HSB plate from Boxcar Press, the 21-step exposure scale target is 19-20. The way to determine your length of exposure is to cut a 1/2“x5” piece of photopolymer, weight the film strip ink side down under glass, then expose your strip at an initial time. Wash your plate out after your exposure under tepid water using a soft brush. The image will be solid up to a certain number on the scale, then it will start to have pinholes and disappear entirely. If 1 hour yields a result of 3 and your goal is 12, you have to multiply by 4.0, so you would need to expose for 12 hours.

Rules for Increasing Exposure Time:
To increase by 1 Step, multiply original exposure by 1.4
2 STEPS X2.0
3 STEPS X2.8
4 STEPS X4.0

This is the answer to getting consistent great results with your photopolymer plates. Check back for Part 3 soon!

Photopolymer Plates Part One

2009-02-17T16:27:37+00:00

Photopolymer plates are one of my favorite ways of translating texture to metal clay. Many of you have asked what is different about my photopolymer plate kit. When I started using photopolymer plates, I had really inconsistent results. Often, my plates were somewhat sticky, or the detail wasn’t as crisp as I hoped it would be. This sent me off into a rather scientific direction to understand how exactly the plates work. What I found was that they were intended to be developed under very strong UV lights – some of them over twelve feet long. Maybe this is why my black light wasn’t working so well.

The manufacturers data for the plates calls for specific lighting levels. My husband Craig, who teaches lighting design at Parson’s, helped me select stronger UV lighting that is safe for human exposure. The standard for testing results from an exposure is the Stouffer gage. For fine detail, the reading should be 18-19. With a standard UV light, it took me 20 hours to get a reading of 11-12. Using a different UV light source, I am able to develop plates reaching an acceptable reading within an hour. I noticed immediately the marked change in the detail that the plates held, and the wash-out was much cleaner. Given that this technology is used for printing, it didn’t make sense to me that half-tone art wouldn’t work. I tried it and had amazing results. Check back for Part Two coming soon. Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit

Welcome!

2009-02-16T03:27:06+00:00

Welcome to my new website! Thank you to everyone who has pulled me into the modern era here. I want to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to my son, Jake Paul, who has worked tirelessly and endlessly on the development of this website. It’s the dead of winter here in Pennsylvania, but my witch hazel plant is emblazoned with bright yellow blooms. Always a reminder to look closely for the hope and beauty that is within.