Make a collagraph

You will need:

• scissors
• paper, card, textured fabrics and materials, even bubble wrap
• strong PVA glue or double sided tape
• paints or printing inks (water based) acrylics are good but you can also add a little PVA to ready mixed paints to make them work on different materials

Instructions

1. Protect your working surface with newspaper or an old cloth. Wear an apron or old clothes
2. Use a stiff piece of card as a base. Cut or tear shapes from your materials. Stick them on the card
3. Using a printing roller or large paintbrush, apply one or two colours to your collagraph. Move the painted collagraph to a clean space
4. Use a clean sheet of paper and lay it over the top. Smooth it with your flat hand
5. Peel the paper off from one end. You have a print. Repeat from step 2 to make more prints. Decide if your prints need more or less paint applying to the collagraph.

Other tips and ideas

• use the prints you don’t like for collage materials
• use pencils, pastels and paints on top of a finished print for more detail
• try using found objects like leaves or string as new textures
• start with simple designs and get more complex once you are happy
• use different colours over the first print to make layers

Download collagraph printing instructions (pdf)