Coffee & Riso Vol.3 - Jessamijn's Greenhouse
Before the partial shut-down of COVID-19 in Amsterdam, Jessamijn came by to the studio for a Coffee & Riso session! Jessamijn is a graphic facilitator and illustrator. In her daily work, she illustrates and simplifies corporate information, but in her own time, she likes to experiment with paper cutting as a form of relaxing and having a creative outlet.
What do you like in paper cutting?
“I like the transition which comes after you make a sketch, you then need to think in depth, in 3D. You also have restrictions -”
Me: “Like with RISO!”
“Hah, yes, due to working with paper, so you have to make choices. What to add or leave out. You always start with the most complex part, because if you actually miss a cut, you can ruin a piece…
With this piece, it was nice to work on many individual pieces and organic shapes. For me cutting is very calming and I can truly relax.”
From Paper-cuts to Riso print!
“I came to the Taster Workshop and got inspired to creating a special project. That’s when I saw your call for Coffee & Riso. I was looking for a collaboration in order to create a new interpretation of my work.”
I invited Jessamijn to the studio and while scrolling through her sketchbook I found a cute greenhouse drawing, which I thought could be a nice theme. And then at the end, some paper cuts fell on the table. That was the eureka moment! Jessamijn then shyly showed me her paper cut work on her phone, and I knew this had to be her project!
the plan!
After this we agreed to meet a few weeks later. Jessamijn went into the paper shop to buy different colour paper trying to mimic the greyscale in order to have different shades within one colour.
The plan was to bring everything loose, instead of finished piece. At the studio we needed to think about how to build it. We decided that the greenhouse in itself would be working as a ‘mask’ - white lines that do work as a cover and we could also use as reference.
I made a few sketches of colour combinations and it helped to decide what would be a smart printing order.
We built each layer on the scanning bed, using the very helpful riso plastic grid to keep everything as lined as possible. Through this process, it was a real experiment! The first layer showed us the intensity of each coloured paper, so we could be more specific on the last two layers.
The end result is a lovely combination of colours and shapes. Just like with paper-cut, the more you look, the more layer you find!
Riso adds to the design instead of being just a ‘copy’. I feel that my work has become richer due to this technique. By examining the result of the prints, I’ve also found new ways of working. I’m looking forward to doing this again! - Jessamijn
final notes
This project has again expanded the possibilities of the scanning bed! I was extremely happy with the result and have learnt new methods that I’d like to use in a near future.
Since this was the first experiment with paper-cut, we decided to still do a small batch of 20 prints - 10 at Riso Pop, which you can buy and therefore support the Coffee & Riso project!
You can follow Jessamijn at: @jessamijn in Instagram
Limited Edition of 20 prints (due to the method, we won’t be able to recreate this work)
3 Colours: Fluo Pink, Yellow & Blue
Format: A3
Printed on a 160gms biotop paper.
€20- (+shipping costs)
You can purchase through a DM in Instagram @riso_pop
(working on that webshop guys! thanks for your patience!)
