I recently received a 3D printed tiny printing press from #openpressproject and have been enjoying seeing what it can do. I studied Fine Art Printmaking at college years ago and the processes have all come flooding back. I must say I absolutely love using my tiny press, everything is so much more fun working tiny.
And so Tiny Bird Editions was born.
So far I have been playing around with limited editions of collographs, and birds. I was away for a weekend on the Beara Peninsula recently (it was barrenly beautiful and isolated, just how I like it) and a robin kept popping up everywhere I turned, may or may not have been the same robin (of course I romantically tell myself it was). Most people love robins, something about their solid chirpiness and joyful colouring is perfect for this time of year. Many people find their presence very re-assuring in a spiritual way too, as messengers of solace from another realm. My first couple of editions thus feature the common yet glorious robin. An spideog, to give him/her their irish name.
The prints are limited editions, hand printed using etching ink on Fabriano paper using my tiny press. They are then hand coloured. Officially they are what in printing parlance is termed a Varied Edition, limited in number and each one unique by virtue of the hand colouring I do once they are off the press. I don’t want them all to look exactly the same and so while the prints are from the same plate there are tiny variations due to the colouration I do by hand. I print an edition until the plate degrades so that I can’t get a good print anymore and then that’s it. That edition is closed and no more will ever be made. I love that. Each print is numbered as one of the edition and initialled on the front.
So far I have two different editions, one of 25 prints and another of 10. They are stocked in the Little Green Dot craft shop in Clonakilty or you can message me if you’d like to buy one. I’m so happy to share the joy of tiny prints!
