Printed Fan

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Use plastic netting bags from supermarket to create texture

Create a printing plate by sticking textures and shapes from thin card/fabric/netting to card. If you want to reuse, seal plate with button polish or varnish. Ink up and press Japanese paper onto plate with back of spoon.

Carefully tear print (or cut) to fit spokes. Leave a margin at each end (to ensure you have enough to cover the spokes) and trim later if required.

Calculate distance between spokes and use a protractor to create a template. blu-tac spokes to template but leave one fan end free.

Dot gilding glue on print and apply gold leaf

Apply glue to spokes and press print down

Glue fan end to right side of print

Closed fan

I have entered this in the Recycle, Re-purpose and Re-invent challenge, please see links below.

Here is my fan.  I made it from a collagraph print on Japanese paper.  I made the printing plate from recycled card and plastic netting bags that citrus fruit is sold in.  I bought the pear wood fan spokes from a Spanish website.

To make the printing plate, I cut and stuck pieces of the bags to a piece of card along with some card and paper to create a flowing, lacy texture.

Then I inked up the plate and took a print by pressing the paper onto the plate using the back of a spoon.  I used oil-based, sienna brown and black printing inks on Japanese paper which is very thin and easily takes up the ink, looks good torn rather than cut and is also very strong like a fabric.

Then I set out the fan spokes to the exact position.  To do this, I counted the spokes, calculated the degrees between each spoke and used a protractor to draw a template.  I blu-tacked each spoke to the template to keep them steady but keep one fan end free (so that the fan closes correctly).  I then marked up and tore the print to fit the fan spokes.

Next, I applied gold leaf very sparsely to  a few small areas of the print.  Then I applied glue to the spokes (except one fan end) and pressed the paper firmly and gently to the spokes.

Then I turned it over and glued the remaining fan end to the right side of the print.  When dry, I carefully folded it up ensuring the folds of each spoke were aligned with the fan end and then creased each fold firmly.  I rather like the torn edges but they could be cut to fit.