Sarah Ross-Thompson

Blue Route

I am a Fine Art Printmaker specialising in a technique called collagraphy. I have spent over thirty years focusing on this rather humble form of collage-based printmaking and hopefully elevating it to a level on a par with the more widely known, etching, Lino and woodblock. Using this technique I aim to share my view of the world and the wonderful places I have been lucky enough to live.

Behind the Scenes
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About My Practice

As a collagraph printmaker I construct textural, collage printing plates using materials such as string, lichen, porridge oats and wallpaper. I bond these items to a base of mountboard using PVA glue. Whilst I can apply materials to the surface of the board, I can also dig into it, scoring and peeling away the top layers.

Once my collage is finished it is sealed with a shellac varnish and can then be used as a printing plate. Inks are worked into the nooks and crannies, the excess removed and then the plate is ready to take through an etching press for the image to be transferred to heavyweight watercolour paper.

I have spent thirty years honing my craft, building up a network of galleries who exhibit my work around the UK. In recent years I have been approached to design a number of book covers and greetings cards ranges. I have also started to use my Art as a way of travelling the world, running workshops in Australia and Canada as part of epic tours of those countries.

Tools & Materials

I have been lucky enough to have had some extraordinary studio spaces over the years. My current workspace spans four rooms on the third floor of my house, looking out at Portpatrick Lighthouse and the crashing waves of the Irish Sea.

I have a making zone, full of boxes of collage materials where the printing plates are produced, a stock room, inky room and the ‘Press Room’, where Elvis my etching prints looks out at the stunning view.

Examples of work

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Spring Fling Activity

I will be running demonstrations on an ad hoc basis throughout the weekend. I will show plate construction as well as inking and pulling the final print.