Zig Zag Often

This past weekend was yet another printmaking workshop, this time Linoleum Cuts, back at the Art League at the Torpedo Factory with Penny Barringer. It was a good group and I enjoyed watching my colleagues' work develop. I played around with various textures. The lino that was sold by the Art League Supply Store at the Torpedo Factory was very rubbery and took scratched and gouged lines well, almost like a drypoint line with the burrs. We used various pointy tools to scar 'em up. I enjoyed that. I also tried cutting that soft rubbery lino up and printing the pieces as islands, among various other textures. Nothing that I did especially moved me during the course of the weekend, but it was all fun.

The background for the above piece was printed on the etching press with a piece of crumpled tin foil, inked with black and yellow, centered in a mylar sheet with the rectangle cut out of it. Then I printed the Zig zag often lino block on top. I enjoy working with words and am going to try 'Zig zag often' again. Maybe with a more evocative and ziggidy ground. Although the foil crumples work well too.

The Masa Dosa paper that I got from McClain's continues to be my favorite paper. It almost glows with 'whiteness'. It is lovely blank! I am going to order more.

Mola Reduction Lino Print

Here is my attempt at a multi-color reduction linoleum block print, about 8" x 10" which I am calling 'Mola Reduction'. It is a run of sixteen, each one slightly different. So I guess technically it's a "monoprint".

I used elbow grease and a baren (and sometimes also a wooden spoon) to print them. It was a heck of a lot of work but I learned quite a bit about the technical side of the operation. Particularly about inks! (I printed the last color about forty eight hours ago and it's still tacky.) Those pesky inks! It was impossible for me to mix the exact colors that I wanted. More practice!