On the 9th Day of New Years...

... I would like to present to you...

… nine printed errors...

... eight adapted palettes…

… seven Schitt shoes…

… six movie dresses…

… five gold wings…

… four paper pests…

… three growing bathers… 

... two storytellers...

... and a lazy day in space.

Print errors are normally a pain in the ass. Something that can ruin your final product enough that you have to resign it to the bin, but with risograph, the errors are part of the charm, they're part of why they're loved.

Originally developed in Japan by Noboru Hayama in 1946, the risograph printer was based on stencil duplicators known as a mimeograph. This machine created a stencil through which ink was forced to create a duplicate, the risograph (RISO, the name if Hayama's company translating to "ideal") was developed as a hybrid, somewhere between a traditional photocopier print and a screen print/mimeograph. It was designed to produce single colour copies at high speed and low cost.

Essentially a digital screen printer in a convenient office sized machine. But rather than using toner, a risograph printer uses soy based ink to print each colour individually, layered one over the next, building up your design in a similar fashion to a screen print. This means that when they're being designed, you must consider not only what colour goes on what layer (and how high or low the opacity to give tonal variation), but how the overlaying colours will interact to create new one.

Each colour being printed one by one means when using a risograph printer, each colour is on a separate ink drum. So, for every colour you want to print you need to switch out one ink drum for the next, along with a new file with that parts of your design in said colour (though they're created using values of black and white). With that information, on each drum, a disposable screen known as a master is created, this is of your uploaded image for that particular colour, and is pricked out in microscopic hole, through which the ink will be forced through to create your image.

This layering also allows the artist to be clever, with knowledge of colour theory they can minimize how many colours they need to use, thus fewer passes from the printer and a cheaper print while still retaining a great variety of colours within their artwork. Though they need to be careful when layering, because miss registration from one layer to another can lead to print errors, colours shifting outside of the desired lines or smudging, and while this is not particularly wanted, it makes each print unique and has become a feature many artists embrace.

It's not a high tech method of printing, but can lead to some incredibly vibrant colours, and beautiful results...

Psychedelic Frog - A4 Risograph Print by Jasmine Floyd (Jasminesillustration) via Etsy

This Psychedelic Frog risograph by Jasmine Floyd, is made using three colours in its print: fluorescent yellow, fluorescent pink and aqua, but through colour theory and the process of layering each of the colours, it expands the palette and results in greens, oranges, teals and purples, as well as deep blues and browns. It's a great example of colour theory and how impressive a limited palette can be when using a risograph printer.

Link || Jasmine  Floyd (Jasmine Illustration) || Website || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok  Behance || Etsy

Link || Psychedelic Frog - A4 Risograph Print by Jasminesillustration via Etsy

Dragon Rider - A4 Risograph Print by Ali Pye (Alipyeillo) via Etsy

Raccoon Party - A3 Risograph Print by Ali Pye (Alipyello) via Etsy

Even two colours, using different values, can create beautiful and very different effects. These two risographs by Ali Pye, Dragon Rider and Raccoon Party, use fluorescent and medium blue to create these happy sunset coloured prints, the colours going from pale peach to deep blue blacks. But while both use the same colours and work within Pye's aesthetic, they still look very different.

Riso Cat - A4 2 Colour Risograph Print by Chris Gilleard (ChrisGilleard) via Etsy 

Likewise this roughly rendered, expressive blue and orange cat by Chris Gilleard, most likely uses the same - or very similar - colours of riso ink to Pye, but with a very different effect. The layering process enhancing the drawn texture and tone with only two simple colours.

Link || Ali Pye (Alipyeillo) || Website || Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Pinterest || Etsy || Good Reads

Link || Dragon Rider - A4 Risograph Print by Alipyeillo via Etsy

Link || Raccoon Party - A3 Risograph Print by Alipyello via Etsy

Link || Chris Gilleard || Website || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok || Facebook || Flickr || Behance || Etsy || Illustration X || Dribbble

Link || Riso Cat - A4 2 Colour Risograph Print by ChrisGilleard via Etsy 

Overgrown Nokia - A3 2 Colour Riso Print by Monika Viktoria Diak (Monikaviktoria) via Etsy

Somewhere in a box stashed somewhere in my home is my old Nokia 3310, along with colourful replaceable cases and stored inside, lost forgo, the ringtones I programmed in by hand so I could have Nirvana or Green Day instead of the pre-set tones. Genuinely, I had a folder when I was a teenager full of printed out guitar tab, song lyrics and coding for ringtones... God I do not miss those days and love the instant access to the internet that my phone and tablet allow for, if only because I'm not decimating the rainforest with printouts. Do however miss music as my ringtone.

This is a very simple two colour risograph by Monika Viktoria Diak, and I love that it looks like a photocopied hand drawing, and that you can see the miss registered fluorescent pink layer below the blue of the line drawn fungi and lichen that are smothering this old technology. As part of the artwork for their "Overgrown" zine, which featured old and newer tech and toys abandoned and taken back by nature, the misalignment was something that Diak chose to embrace rather than fight against, especially since the risograph is old tech itself. 

Link || Monika Viktoria Diak || Blogspot || Instagram || Instagram (Fine Art) || Facebook || Pinterest || Tumblr || YouTube || Tumblr II || YouTube || Etsy 

Link || Overgrown Nokia - A3 2 Colour Riso Print by Monikaviktoria via Etsy

 Marrow and Moonlight Riso Print (Detail) by Kelly Bastow (Moosekleenex) via Etsy

A lot of examples of risograph prints are simplistic, block colours, simple line work and using the sheer overlaying colours to their advantage to create bright designs, but it can effectively applied to more detailed work. In the case of Marrow and Moonlight, a print by Kelly Bastow, they've treated it more like a lino print or an etching, and created this beautifully intricate risograph in mint green and blue, of a forest of ghosts and skeletons which surround a princess, left starkly white, and free of ink for contrast.

I think this is really beautiful and shows the delicacy this printing method can produce.

  

Link || Kelly Bastow (Moosekleenex) || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok || Facebook || Pinterest || DeviantArt || Tumblr || YouTube || Etsy || Patreon || Society6 || Spoonflower

Link || Marrow and Moonlight Riso Print by Moosekleenex via Etsy

Thorns - A4 Risograph by Floss Burns (FlossBurnsArt) via Etsy

Emotional - A4 Risograph by Floss Burns (FlossBurnsArt) via Etsy

Limited colour palettes are some of my favourites in risographs, they're really bold and easily show the beautiful way that the colours overlap and combine. The aqua combined with red and fluorescent pink in Floss Burns prints being two combinations which are particularly in your face but capable of great subtlety too. 

Link || Floss Burns (FlossBurnsArt) || Instagram || TikTok || Pinterest || Etsy || Redbubble

Link || Thorns - A4 Risograph by FlossBurnsArt via Etsy

Link || Emotional - A4 Risograph by FlossBurnsArt via Etsy

Creative Juice - A5 Risograph by Jacqueline Colley (JacquelineColley) via Etsy

Jacqueline Colley was probably one of the first illustrators that I discovered making riso prints. Unwittingly I must add, I was just enamoured of her Creative Juice print when stumbling across it, and initially it was for the joke and her illustration style, but also the combination of colours. She uses three, orange, green and fluorescent pink.

Link || Jacqueline Colley || Website || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok || Facebook || Pinterest || YouTube || Behance || Etsy || Not On The High Street || Casetify

Link || Creative Juice - A5 Risograph by JacquelineColley via Etsy

The Madalorian - A3 Risograph by Alexandra Francis (AlexFrancisPrints) via Etsy

I am not a Star Wars fan, but I love The Mandalorian, and this riso print in fluorescent pink (yes I'm apparently a sucker for fluro pink), black and blue is so beautiful and simple to me. If you've watched the series you know that these colours are nowhere to be seen and yet the combination is perfect, and paired with this particular blue rather than the aqua in many of the other prints I've mentioned, it feels bright, but ever so slightly muted and completely different to the others.

Created by Alexandra Francis, I'm just kind of obsessed with this, it's beautiful and that simplified little Grogu face... I love it. Can't wait to watch the third season.

Link || Alexandra Francis (AlexFrancisPrints) || Website || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok || Pinterest || Vimeo || Behance || Etsy || Dribbble

Link || The Mandalorian - A3 Risograph by AlexFrancisPrints via Etsy

Link || The Mandalorian (2019 - present) || Website || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes || Instagram || Twitter || Starwars || Lucus Films || Disney+

, 

Mamuanna - Risograph by Natalie Andrewson (NatalieAndrewson) via Etsy

Mamuanna - Risograph (Detail) by Natalie Andrewson (NatalieAndrewson) via Etsy

Blue, yellow and scarlet. Colour theory is freaking amazing, and the ability of artists such as Natalie Andrewson to create these intricate and tonally diverse pieces of artwork with three colours, laid over one another by just altering the opacity of a black and white image to create tone is kind of staggering.  

Andrewson was interviewed by Bobby Chiu on the 18th of January (handy for me) and approximately twenty one minutes into the interview they discuss the science of riso and colour opacity, which with a limited number of ink drums (eight) she can create endless combinations of colours.

I've included the whole interview because it's interesting hearing her talk about her career, but if you'd like to skip to this part of the conversation, click here...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Natalie Andrewson (@natandrewson)

Andrewson's approach to working with colour values, having test sheets she can refer too to find the perfect colour, really speaks to the part of me that loves paint chips, ceramic and enamel testers, and the ridiculously expensive Pantone colour charts, and I would be anal enough to create this kind of references as much for the aesthetic beauty of it as the practicality. I love these kind of references, especially when they are created in a manner unique to the artist or designer.

Link || Natalie Andrewson || Website || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok ||| Facebook || Pinterest || Tumblr || Behance || Etsy || Patreon || In-Print || Big Cartel || Good Reads

Link || Mamuanna - Risograph by NatalieAndrewson via Etsy

Colourful Pastel Nudibranch Sea Slugs - A3 Risograph by Kitty Turner (KTurnerIllustration) via Etsy

Though the colours aren't listed, I'd take a wild guess that the three inks used for this Colourful Pastel Nudibranch Sea Slugs print are fluro pink, yellow and aqua. They stand out in this colourful print as the three colours which could potentially combine to create this range of colours.

I'm including this because I love nudibranchs, they're bizarre, colourful, highly patterned sea creatures that after I saw this little Moomin faced sea bunny...

... I was obsessed. They don't look real, and this riso print fully embraces the ridiculousness of them using three colours. 

It's funny that none of these prints have more than three colours. It's really only a coincidence, but it's also a testament to how well these slightly transparent inks layer one over another in a limited colour palette.

Link || Kitty Turner (KTunrnerIllustration) || Website || Instagram || Twitter || Vimeo || Etsy

Link || Colourful Pastel Nudibranch Sea Slugs - A3 Risograph by KTurnerIllustration via Etsy

Frequently used for large quantity print runs, posters, prints and zines, these perfectly imperfect machines provide an easy and inexpensive means of reproducing work, full of bright colours and potentially a remarkable amount of detail.

I got kind of obsessed by riso prints at some point in 2022, I watched some videos on how to create faux riso style designs in Procreate and then started to look at how the real thing worked, followed by filling my Etsy favourites with lots of them and there's just something wonderfully simple about it all. About the way the print works, that weird satisfaction from getting to use the photocopier, though that may just be me, and how the end products look with their imperfect perfection. 

Now, I've made a Risograph Pinterest Board in case anyone is interested in more examples, and I'll continue to add to it because that's what you do on Pinterest, right? Get momentarily obsessed with collecting any and all examples of something. It's kind of like artistic Pokémon, gotta catch them all. 

But that's Day 9, art done made on what is essentially a fancy photocopier. I think that's cool.

Anyway, another day, another month! Welcome to March! Part ten... *internal groaning* soon... ish?

Link || Wikipedia || Risograph || Mimeograph || Screen Printing || Riso Kagaku Corporation 

Link || Procreate || Website || Wikipedia || Instagram || Twitter || TikTok || Facebook || Pinterest || YouTube || Apple Store

Link || Riso Ink Colors via Stencil

Link || What's a Risograph? via Riso Pop

Link || Riso Printing | How Does The Risograph Work? Risograph Printing Explained via College For Creative Studies

Link || An Intro to Risograph Printing (& How to Start Your First Project) by Lyndsey Burke via Dribbble

Link || Digital Illustration for Risograph by Cris Tamay via Skillshare (If you're lucky to be signed up!)

Link || Risograph Printing for Beginners by Lisa Hassell via Digital Arts

Link || Risograph Creative: Pushing The Limits of Artistic Prints via Riso

Link || Risograph via Dizzy Ink

Link || The Story of Noboru Hayama via Exploriso: Low-tech Fine Art

Link || Aiming to Realize the Company Name RISO, Meaning "Ideal" via RISO

..................................................................................

Listening: Over and Over - Hot Chip

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

... this blogger gave to thee...

... three Etsy Shops...

... two tuneful gizmos...

... and great soup for cold winter days.

Day three I'm going to share three Etsy shops with you that I like because I feel like sharing the work of some creative people.

First is Stoneware Studio U.K., based out of Fleet in Hampshire, and the hand thrown ceramics of Fiona Findlay, and I'm starting with her for one reason, I love her work. I own one of her nesting dish sets, my sisters and I have given my mum a set and we've given my gran two or three pieces of hers over the past few years because we're so enamoured of her simple, sweet and well made designs.

My favourite of her ceramics are the nesting dishes of tiny vessels. Some are pure white wheel thrown ceramics, glazed, like mine, in shades of pink and pale purple, but others she's made are in vibrant mixes of aqua, blues with a pop of yellow. The ones we bought my gran and mum are more subdued natural colours made of both light and dark clay, glazed in colours which enhance their natural texture.

I am, honestly besotted with my pretty pink set. Which I kept in their box for months until I finally found a space I felt safe putting them. I will, if she creates more of them, love to buy more of these in different colours or finishes, there's just something so special about their tiny size and the fact that the nest together that I love. Maybe it's my love of Russian nesting dolls and tiny containers which explains that.

Findlay's Etsy shop is full of small scale items which are just incredibly attractive and I keep going back to look at what she has in stock. There are tiny houses, Dutch style terraces, miniature tea sets and cake toppers in the shape of reindeer and Christmas trees, which are ludicrously adorable and then she has tiny flower gardens. Yet again another item which we bought for my gran but both my sister and I covet them. They're just little ceramic slabs with glazed flowers on silver plated wire stems, but they're so delicate, they look like the random wild flowers you see sprouting out of the cracks in the pavement.

I also can tell you from ordering from her, the service from this Etsy seller is top notch. Parcels arrived quickly, they're well packaged and her customer service is great. Spread the Christmas/New Years spirit and go visit her shop and at least have a look.

Etsy shop two is Past Your Porchlight and their delightful bears!

I love the whimsy of these soft sculpture felt bears, growing mushrooms or carrying their little vignettes. They're created by artist Jessie Cunningham and are inspired by the Canadian landscape she grew up in as a kid. She calls them her Forest Spirits and I think they're magic.

I have made a lot of things out of felt, from stars, pumpkins and teddies to cacti, giant egg yolks and No Face from Spirited Away. The egg yolks were for a window display at work, though I have made a felt Gudetama, exposed butt and all. The little sister gets some weird presents from me. But finding your own characters is not always easy, however there's something incredibly inviting about Cunningham's work.

She also creates enamel pins, and I do love and enamelled pin. Check her out.

Lastly the third Etsy shop I'd like to show a little love is Muddy Heart and the work of Melissa Paxton. Specifically I want to share her ceramic salt cellar monsters...

Whether you call it a salt cellar or a salt pig, we can agree this is ridiculously cute, right?

I'm not sure how many people even use salt pigs anymore, but traditionally they're round unglazed earthenware pots with a snout like opening, thus leading many people to believe this is where the term "pig" comes from, but the origin can also be traced back to the Scot's word for an earthenware pot. Which might explain why I've always know it as a salt pig and not a cellar.

Also, despite the fact that salt pigs are unglazed to absorb moisture and keep salt dry, our one at home hasn't had salt in it in years... instead it stores garlic. I assume Paxton's Monster, Dinosaur and Devil cellar's would be a tad salty about that.

Pete, in particular, looks a little shocked the revelation, standing open mouthed with his little spoon in hand and a mouthful of salt. He reminds me of Minion, and in amongst the range of colours you can order, you could have a little yellow Minion - without his goggles - selling you salt.

I'm pretty sure at some point I'll have to cave, swallow the international shipping fee and buy one (or two) of these, whether it'll be used for salt, beads or scrap metal I'm not sure, but I love them. They're weird and cute and all about that.

Muddy Heart has a lot of cute items in her Etsy store, she has jewellery holders, planters, yarn bowls and dishes, but these are what drew me in. Like the others all her links are below and you should have a look and show a creator some love.


I'm going to be real for a second. I'm writing this on New Years Eve, we've had a weird day at home and I'm sitting on my own taking a second and letting my brain whirl. Which is something I probably shouldn't do and probably something I shouldn't write about, but I feel like I should because even if no one's reading it, it still feels like saying it aloud.

Creative is something I really don't feel I am right now. I really don't think I have been for a while. It's not that I've not been making things, it's not that I don't want too or can't. I just, like I have done for so many years, felt stuck and held back by my own lack of confidence. I see the people I knew through school and college and uni doing well in their personal and work lives, getting married, having kids, creating brands and shops and... I got left behind. It's my own fault, cutting myself off from everyone (and I genuinely mean everyone bar my family) has completely stunted my life. I got so scared of failing. That at 33, I've failed completely and utterly.

I've cut people out of my life accidentally on purpose, I guess, because who wants to hear about my crap life or the fact that nothing's ever happened worth talk about? I don't have things to show or tell or be proud of yet, so I just stop going on Facebook or answering their emails because I was embarrassed of being me, embarrassed and ashamed of being jealous of their lives and ashamed of my own. It's embarrassing to admit that you don't know what the fuck you're doing when you're supposed to be an adult.

New Years always gets me down. I feel alone and pathetic and spend the night/day usually trying to work out how the fuck I get out of this seemingly life time rut. I'm feeling it - and trying, not very well, to hide it - more this year because of everything's that's been going on. I need 2019 to be the year that I change everything.

Anyway, I know that's probably inappropriately heavy to post just as we start 2019, but I'm not going to edit it out.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and you're resolutions are less intimidating than mine...

Happy New Year! Part four soon... 


Link || Stoneware Studio U.K. || Website || Etsy || Instagram || Facebook 
Link || Stoneware Studio U.K. || Pink Nesting Dishes || European Style Buildings || Christmas Tree Cake Toppers || Tiny Ceramic Flower Garden
Link || Past Your Porchlight || Etsy || Instagram || Facebook || DeviantArt || Tumblr
Link || Past Your Porchlight || Camping Under The Trees || Winter Wonderland Bear & Forest Spirit via Bored Panda || Whimsical Garden Bear ||  Christmas Tree Bear
Link || Spirited Away (2001) || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes
Link || Muddy Heart Ceramic Studio || Website || Etsy || Instagram || Twitter || Facebook
Link || Muddy Heart Ceramic Studio || Monsters || Pete || Danny the Dinosaur || Lil Devil 
Link || The History of the Humble Salt Pig via Yuppie Chef Magazine
Link || Salt Pig via Wikipedia

..................................................................................

Listening: Jealous Guy - Elliot Smith with Jon Brion (covering John Lennon)

Inkpug!

 
Inkpug!, has becomes one of my favourite tumblrs over the last few months. And the above is why, it kills me because that feeling is far too familiar. Today for example.

That with the fact that pugs are wonderfully hilarious little animals, adds to the joy this tumblr brings me.

 
Drawn by Lauren and Gareth (though I don't know who is responsible for which pugs or if one draws and the other writes the poetry which goes along with some, or perhaps the other is responsible for making them into the items for sale in their Etsy shop), their medium for expressing feeling and experiences is pencil, paper and pugs. And when questioned as to whether they ever got bored of drawing pugs, their response was perfect:

"Secret is: I am not drawing pugs. I'm drawing feelings, and the pug is my conduit. So far, I haven't run out of feelings. If I do, I'll probably do fun stuff or sad stuff or general stuff until I have feelings again." (Do you every get sick of drawing pugs? July 15th 2014, Inkpug!)

I like that.
 
 
What began life as doodled pug butts in the margins of a school jotter (pug butts being inherently funny), has become something special and hopefully lucrative for the creators of Inkpug!

That, to me, is a lovely fact. Go visit their tumblr, it's adorable.

Link | Inkpug! on Tumblr
Link | Inkpug! on Etsy
..................................................................................

Listening: Good Friends Are Hard To Find  - Ed Harcourt

Everything Will Be Ok

These lovely little treasures were made by illustrator and designer, Kim Welling, at a time when she herself was having an off day.

(I wish my off days were this productive!)

Instant Comfort Pocket Boxes are matchbox sized 3D illustrations for those days when you're feeling down in the mouth and need something to pick you up. Open the drawer and receive just that. The boost of someone telling you, everything will be ok or that you look wonderful today.

These are just so sweet, and perfect for giving to a friend when they need cheering up or yourself on a down day. This is the sort of strange trinket I would keep in my bag, bring out when I was feeling blue...that I would have brought out when I was panicking, waiting for my interview for my final degree show or before exams and assessments, just to give me that little bit of a boost.

Everyone needs that little boost now and again.

For more Kim Welling illustrations and wonders here are some links:

Blog | Website | Kim's Little Monsters on Etsy

via - Design Crush Blog

..................................................................................

Listening: Adele - Don't You Remember

On the 5th Day of Christmas...

...my blog gave to thee...

...five gold rings!..

...four collared hangers...

...three Mad Men...

...two hedgehog gloves...

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

Traditional, but hey, I'm a jeweller! I'm a little bit of a hoarder, both in life and in my computer, which is why I love sites like Flickr, DeviantArt and Pinterest. They satisfy my need to favourite & save all interesting pieces of jewellery & design I find without making my poor little 'puters hard drive scream too loudly. Currently my file for such wonders is groaning at the best part of 4,000 jpegs, so here are a few little golden trinkets which I have found interesting over the past few years:

1. Igel Ring by Erik Urbschat

2. Hidden Granule Ring by Hannah Bedford

3. Untitled Ring by Jacqueline Ryan

4. Crushed (Ring) by Yael Herman

5. Picking up Cottons Bangle Bracelet... by Derya Aksoy (Jewelera - Etsy)

I know this final ring is actually a bracelet, however what is a bracelet if not, at its most basic, a large ring?

Apologies for the late post, these are meant to go out in the morning, but I miss dated todays and so it didn't self publish.

Merry Christmas! Part six tomorrow...

..................................................................................

Listening: Ingrid Michaelson - I Want The Snowfall Kind of Love

Not the peel, it's the 'nana!

...it's not the peel, it's the orange*.

Love these Hazel Nicholls screen prints. The matryoshka print reminds me of *The Might Boosh and a design board I drew in 3rd year for a set of Russian doll inspired rings...really must consider those again, I really did like them.

Well, I thought I'd share this, as, like the biscuit says:

Image from Elphick's blog

Oh! And that should be most of the changes done to the blog format, hopefully it'll just take a little tweaking. Don't suppose anyone knows how to remove my blog title without losing the title bar? I've been searching, but none have worked so far explaining why in your tabs/titlebar/blogroll I now appear as "...". This is one of the things that is needing tweaking.

If only I was as good at html as I was when I was 15. Ten years of no html has obviously been a bad thing!

Link - Hazel Nicholls.blogspot

..................................................................................

Listening: Dakota Suite - I'm Leaving

Five Thursday Faves

1, 2

3, 4

5

Again Thursday is a dead zone for weekly posts, but one particularly fine blog I follow recently deviated from their Five Friday Fave. So thank you Tea for Joy!

So my Five Thursday Faves are:

1) Inkdrop (Organic) Necklush Scarf by Necklush - want!

2) Antique Spoon Garden Markers by Hammermann

3) Shrinkle Dress Pins by Wee Wonderfuls - do you remember Shrinkles? I'm having acid flashbacks to shrunken crisp packets and primary school art classes...and I'm loving it! I need to get my hands on some shrinkle plastic!

4) Vintage Spaced - Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg (and Colin) reuniting on the set of Burke & Hare. I'm a huge Spaced fan and one of my friends posted this picture on Facebook. One word. Amazing!

5) Henry Hoover! by Paul Kelly - the ultimate vacuum.
..................................................................................

Listening: Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al