The text on the little lino blocks I’m cutting goes through changes at each stage of the process, partly because of the materials I’m using, from pencil, to ink and brush, to tracing transfer, to carving with cutting tools. But along the way I make adjustments, a curvier bit here, a shorter bit there. TheContinue reading “Compromise, Cat And Cheese”
Category Archives: Printmaking
Cat Watching
I carried on cutting little blocks of lockdown text today, with Sparta Puss overseeing the work. She’s tough on me.
From Paper To Block
Yesterday I showed the a page of text designs I did for small lino blocks (here) so today I selected the first two that I’m going to carve. I started the process by painting the text onto paper with an Isabey watercolour brush and walnut ink, then I traced the text using 90gsm tracing paperContinue reading “From Paper To Block”
Writing The Changes
Now that I have a fresh supply of new grey lino – smells gorgeous – I can carry on with cutting little blocks of text. I have been writing down a list of words and phrases since the pandemic started, well since lockdown I suppose, and it’s been interesting how the spirit and feeling ofContinue reading “Writing The Changes”
A Tough Decision
I did something yesterday that’s made a lot of people angry. I knew it would and I knew the risks but I decided to go ahead and do it and also do my best to minimise the risks to others. I went to the #BlackLivesMatter protest in Swansea. It wasn’t a hasty decision and IContinue reading “A Tough Decision”
The First Cut
I made a start on carving my two latest lino blocks. The first cut is made with my smallest cutting tool to carefully carve the outlines. It’s the fiddliest bit of the process, I think and it takes time and concentration. It rained today for the first time in ages and Sparta Puss commandeered myContinue reading “The First Cut”
Lino, Love Hearts And Leftovers Pie
More little grey lino blocks cut and lettered, in reverse, ready for carving and …. I had a delivery from Handprinted Co, a tube of Speedball fabric block printing ink. These little blocks will be printed onto home made face masks. The first one I did a couple of weeks back was printed in CaligoContinue reading “Lino, Love Hearts And Leftovers Pie”
Rough Cuts
I spent a lot of time bent over a bench hook today, carving away at some more little lino blocks. I’d started some on brown lino yesterday but it wasn’t working out, the lino is very hard and not suited to my design. So I switched to the grey lino, that I’d used for myContinue reading “Rough Cuts”
Technical Issues
I’ve been cutting away at tiny lino blocks to print words onto fabric and I’ve been using up offcuts as lino is expensive. The grey has been fine but I started on a brown lino block earlier and it’s much harder than the grey and quite slippery too. It’s not really suitable for the roundedContinue reading “Technical Issues”
Zoom, Lino Cuts And Digital Exclusion
Today was a mixed bag with Zoom meetings (how quickly have we taken to Zoom?), an allotment visit, finished cutting a small lino block and marked up two more, made soup and biscuits and then had an hysterical family ‘pub’ quiz on Zoom. It’s been so good to be able to keep in touch throughContinue reading “Zoom, Lino Cuts And Digital Exclusion”
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