Block Party

Yesterday I facilitated a group of 8 women in a linoleum block printing workshop. It was held at Artlandish Gallery in Columbia, Missouri and it was really fun! I met some nice people, had a few laughs, saw some great designs. But the most fun part was watching as each person saw the first print of their carving on paper. It was truly amazing. Lots of "ooos and ahhhs" going on in that room.

We also carved some plastic erasers for some really cute hand made stamps. I was inspired to carve out a small lino block last night before I went to bed. Here's how it turned out:


I'm happy with the way it turned out and can hardly wait to print some different colors on cards and make some prints for framing.

I've been working on carving a few stamps and rubber pieces. It's very satisfying and there is the element of immediate gratification. I can carve a quick stamp in a few minutes, make a quick print then go cook dinner (or whatever thing I need to do). I can squeeze making hand made stamps in any part of my day! I'm soooo addicted. Here are some of the stamps I've made:

More Block Prints

I've been working on some more block prints. I will be facilitating two workshops at Artlandish Gallery in the next few weeks and even though I'm a little nervous, I'm really looking forward to it. Above are some images I scanned to show the progression of this particular print.

The first picture shows the candle after I did one etching into the linoleum. I think doing some preliminary prints can be very helpful in showing you what other details will make the carving look more interesting. Even though I like the original sketch of the candle, I'm not completely happy with the final print. I think it would have been better to have something in between the second and the last image (but number 3 above is not what I had in mind). I think I should have left more background around the candle like in image two. I may try to do this drawing again, or I may try one of the other sketches I have hiding in my sketchbook.

Thanks for stopping by!