Drawing Cutting The Lino Not My Hand 5th December

Cutting The Lino Not My Hand   5th December

With only one week till the assessment, I started today eager to finish my print from last week and to have at least another one or two printed as well. With only a short talk about what we were doing today, we could get right into work.

Our task for the day was more of a continuation from last Friday's work. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Seeing as I didn't get a chance to experiment with the lino last week, I was eager to test out the different ways I could create a print.

Starting with a small piece of lino as a tester, I quickly sketched out a line design similar to the large feather I did in my micro macro lesson. I wanted to keep it simple at first so I could get a feel for the lino and understand how to use the engraving tools properly.

Taking the small sample piece of lino, I placed it on the radiator to heat it so that it would be softer and therefore easier to engrave. After a couple of minutes on the radiator I was ready to start engraving. I placed the lino on the wooden board and selected one of the engraving tools. As this was only a small piece and I wanted very thin lines, I chose one with a small blade.

I started at the centre and slowly moved the blade to the top of the lino, making sure my hands were out of the way and the lino was resting against the top of the board in case I slipped. After a while I got used to the feel of the lino and was becoming used to holding the engraving tool, getting the angle I needed to take off the top layer of lino.

Having finished my tester, it was now time to print my engravings; the one from last week, and my tester lino from today. With so many people in the 3D room doing printing, it was very busy and hard to find room on the table. I found a space and continued with the inking process. This was a messy job and the ink itself was stickier than I thought it would be. I grabbed a cloth and started rubbing the ink into my aluminium plate, working it in, then using a cleaner cloth to rub off the excess ink from the top. After the ink was removed it was time to put it through the press and see how the print turned out. Placing the plate on the press, I lay the wet paper onto it, covered it with a cloth and then ran it through. As I carefully peeled off the paper, my print was revealed. It was a good first attempt. Some of the lines were a little messy and darker than I thought they would be, but all in all I was happy with my first print.

Now it was time for me to do my lino. This was a lot easier as I had to use a different ink and roller. Rolling the ink on was a lot easier than rubbing and removing it. After making sure I had all of my lino covered in ink, I could place a dry piece of paper over it and then press them together.

Placing both prints out to dry, I went back to the classroom to start my other lino engraving. I used the same image because I wanted to see the difference between the two prints. With carving the lino taking a longer than I thought, I finished my engraving just as the lesson ended. Hopefully I'll be able to print it on Monday.