This was the first card that I designed and printed.
I etched a plate of copper very deeply and then ran this through the press with a small
sheet of Somerset paper on top. This produced a blind embossed print.
The maze design is based on the classical maze associated with the myth of the minator and
labyrinth on the island of Crete.
It is interesting to note how the maths of the maze determines that the entrance has to be
at an angle to keep the circle in proportion. If the centre cross is straight up and down, the
right side of the entrance is lower than the left because of the extra line. The design is all about compromise.
Another blind embossed card.
The image is taken from the maze at Chartres cathedral.
I first designed the card in corel draw, creating a vector drawing.
This was printed onto a plastic resist, stuck to the plate and the areas to be
deep etched were cut out.
It was a very long process, but the simplest way of getting a complex image onto the plate.
The design of this maze is also about compromise. You either let the circles or the
lines take priority. The"arm" shapes next to the entrance are not as neat as they could be
, but that is maths for you.
This is a real lino print. Again the design was created as a vector drawing, as this
is the most accurate way of getting the curves the right shape and in the right place.
The drawing was traced onto the lino and the areas that are light yellow on the card were
cut out
A square yellow block of colour was printed onto all of the cards and allowed to dry.
Then the cut lino block was printed on top of the yellow with an orange to brown fade.
It was an even longer process than that used to create the previous cards.
Then I bought this computer and decided to experiment with inkjet printing.
This maze is topologically the same as the classical maze from my 1996 card, its sides and
centre have just been stretched.
The design for this card was inspired by a celtic style design I saw while working in
Dublin. I altered it by making a vector drawing and stretching it until I thought I had
made something more three dimensional. I was aiming to make it look like the three
sides of a die.
The background is the Manchester Ship Canal at Salford Docks.
The photograph was taken when I was working on the plaque of the Lowry.
This image, like all of the others, started out as a vector drawing.
I wanted to make a complex knot pattern. I had planned to make it move in
three dimensions, but there were only a few days before they had to be sent.
Maybe one day.
The most difficult card yet. I decided that I wanted a picture of a snowflake, the geometry
fitted in with the mazes and knot patterns. I had hda a bad cold and just couldn't get the design
right. Then I thought about adapting an existing image. You wouldn't think that the little white oval at
the bottom left of the page had taken three days to design.
Mind you I have now got a lot of ideas for the next card.