This morning I carried on with my detour into randomness, overprinting yesterday’s yellow lino cuts with red (Caligo Easy Wipe in Process Magenta mixed 70:30 with Extender).
Because I had a moment of madness and ripped the paper with my bare hands instead of using a nice steel straight edge it was a bit awkward to take the prints with a Japanese baren, especially around the rough edges, so I used a smooth marble egg to get into the nooks and crannies.
I saw marble eggs and spheres being used for hand printing when I did a residency in Pakistan a few years back, where there is a traditional marble carving industry. It works really well for small areas. The eggs are quite expensive so I’ve gotten into the habit of buying them from charity shops and car boot sales.
scribblah 
Uh oh, a bit of art treason here–I think I like the inked lino “plates” better than the prints. They would look great hanging on a wall as a group. Heresy…
Not at all. I think the plates and blocks used in printmaking are beautiful in their own right, we just don’t have a tradition of exhibiting them here in the West.
The marble egg for printing is a great idea. I must keep an eye out for one at the op shop.
It’s useful for little prints and for doing some extra spot pressure
Thanks for printing lesson, I love Lino prints.
I haven’t done any for ages, so it’s nice to get back into it 😀
The stone egg is something totally new to me. Not seen one, nor heard of it being used for block printing. Quite intriguing! Thanks!
The random blocks have taken on a coral like appearance in my brain. Love how it’s going!
The little marble eggs are popular ornaments here, I have another egg in a teacup with a tea cosy on lol. And two pestles and mortars and a small elephant. We import a lot of Pakistani onyx into the UK, as ornaments and also for architecture, expensive kitchen work surfaces, mosaic tiles etc. It’s very beautiful and I visited a traditional workshop when I was in Pakistan.