Dimple Chandat Printmaker

Dimple chandat is a young printmaker artist from Udaipur. And she is constantly working to enhance her art in the field of printmaking. She is also an art teacher at the St. Mary's  Convent Sr. Sec. School, Teetardi, Udaipur. Dimple says that she is supported a lot by the school Principal Sister Ishpriya. Sister Ishpriya is an art lover and also an art seeker herself.

 Through the prints work created by her Woodcut print and Etching print.

 Printmaking: Printmaking is an artistic process based on the principle of transferring images from a matrix onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. Traditional printmaking techniques include woodcut, etching, engraving, and lithography, while modern artists have expanded available techniques to include screen printing.

Dimple has participated in many art competitions and also won many awards. Her print work “Devolution” recently got Udaipur city award for printmaking in Kalanand art contest 2019 by Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation, Mumbai. The print work “Separation” got Excellence award in 85th all India exhibition of arts 2019 by Indian academy of fine arts, Amritsar. Two print works are selected for display in the 1st National Tagore exhibition of paintings 2019 Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.  Her print work got shortlisted for online gallery platform in Manorama young printmaker award 2019 by India Printmaker House. On international level her print work selected in URAL International print triennial 2019 at Bashkortostan, Russia.

She organized her first solo print exhibition “WOOD MOOD” on 5th November to 11thNovember 2019 held at the National Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi. This art exhibition was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by Shrimati Nivedita Mishra and Shri Adwaita Gadanayak (Director General of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi) On this occasion according  to the  Rajasthani culture, they were presented with turban and shawl, thanking them. And many art lovers expressed their interest by watching the art exhibition. This art exhibition was also visited and appreciated by some famous Printmaker artists of Dilhi.  

 Woodcut print: The oldest form of printmaking, woodcut is a relief process in which knives and other tools are used to carve a design into the surface of a wooden block. The raised areas that remain after the block has been cut are inked and printed, while the recessed areas that are cut away do not retain ink, and will remain blank in the final print.

The wooden block is usually made from pear wood, which is sawn along the grain and planed smooth. The block is then seasoned to reduce the moisture content in the wood, which prevents warping and cracking. The size of the woodblock is determined by the image, but is ultimately limited by the size of the printing press. This means that for a large-scale print, multiple blocks are cut and printed separately, after which the image is assembled. Smaller blocks are less likely to crack due to age or the pressure placed upon them during the printing process. The thickness of the block is also important for ease of use and the prevention of wear; the ideal thickness is around one inch.

After the woodblock has been prepared, the design can be drawn directly onto the surface of the block or a sketch can be pasted on to it. Alternatively, the design can be transferred from a sheet of paper directly onto the surface of the block by applying chalk or graphite to the back of the sheet. The design is then placed onto the surface of the block and its lines are traced by the printmaker with a stylus, which transfers the chalk and the thus the design onto the block.

Etching print: Etching is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines or areas are incised using acid into a metal plate in order to hold the ink. In etching, the plate can be made of iron, copper, or zinc. To prepare the plate for etching, it is first polished to remove all scratches and imperfections from the surface. When the surface is completely smooth, it is covered evenly with a layer of acid-resistant varnish or wax, which is called the ground. Ground is dark brown in color.

Using a blunt stylus called an etching needle, the printmaker gently scratches away parts of the ground following the design, thereby exposing the metal beneath.

Then the plate is dipped in an acid bath. The exposed drawing on the metal gets etched. The depth and width of these recesses is determined by the length of time the plate is exposed to the acid: a longer exposure will cause deeper and wider recesses, which hold more ink and will thus print darker lines on paper.

After the ground is removed, the plate is ready for inking. In an intaglio process, the ink is retained in the incised lines. A cloth ball, cardboard tab, or equivalent material is used to gently spread ink across the whole face of the plate; the same material is used to remove most of the excess ink from the surface. The plate is further cleaned using a tarlatan rag (heavily starched cheesecloth).

As a last measure, printmakers often use the sides of their hand to wipe away the last bits of ink. In certain cases, a printmaker can choose not to clean the plate entirely, but to leave a thin layer of ink on the plate to create tone.

Once the surface of the plate is wiped clean to a satisfactory level, the plate is placed on the bed of a rolling printing press, with the ink side up. Although some early intaglio prints appear to have been produced by simply pressing the paper against the plate with one’s hands, in most cases the pressure required to force the paper into the finely cut lines entailed the use of a special press equipped with rollers.

Before the plate is moved through the press, it is covered with a sheet of dampened paper and then printing blankets, often made of felt, to soften the pressure on the metal plate. Once printed onto its paper support, the etching’s design appears in reverse of the original on the plate. The pressure of the press not only forces the ink onto the damp paper, but also produces an outline of the outer edges of the metal plate in the paper, known as a plate mark.

Art work: (Attached Photografs)

“Devoiution”:   With rapid and massive industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation coupled with rapid technological development and globalisation, human beings have become greedy and are mindlessly exploiting natural resources for their selfish growth and development. This has made mother nature and her environment crave for preservation and conservation and other species of animals, birds etc. helpless for loss of their habitat, space and life. Human beings have become mook spectators like owls in watching such pathetic and horrible state of mother nature. Instead of evolution, Devolution is taking place ubiquitously. Sustainable development is the solution. MY artwork highlights this.

“Gavri”:  Govri is the enriched traditional tribal dance which symbolises the victory of good over evil. It is the dancing act which expresses joy, happiness and traditional gaiety. It is also integral part of art and culture of India in general and tribal in particular.

“ Saperation”: The taste of joy and happiness is always sweet on meeting after a long separation.