Lino Print Induction

On Friday I had my lino print induction. I had never properly done lino printing before, so it was a completely new technique for me. Sort of similar to mono, but instead you are working with shape and negative space / an inversion of the image you want to create.

This is what I struggled to get my head around.

I took a sheet of drawings and vague composition ideas into the workshop with me so I had something to go off. I spent a long time carving the piece of lino, and ended up with that thing on the right. Was beginning to feel very put off by the entire process, feeling like a total amateur. Feeling like you're not good at something isn't a nice time.

Although the printing process itself made the thing look a bit better, I still wasn't totally convinced. I was very close to avoiding the print room for the rest of my days. I think I should give it another try though, maybe just creating a simpler image or working with a bigger piece of lino.

Alternatively, instead of focusing on creating a full image, I could try making smaller stamps that I can use alongside mono prints and drawings. Blocks of texture or pattern could also be another more straight-forward way for me to incorporate lino into my work.

 Left: Made with printing press Right: Hand burnished

A smaller linocut that worked much better. This was mostly improvised and uses a lot more pattern/marks to fill space. This made the example more interesting. Right: The lino cut scanned and adjusted on photoshop.

However I prefer it with the white space. Maybe I could clean up the image and maintain the white background.