Just Be

This was my first attempt at kitchen table isolation printing!

Because the fabulous WYPW have had to close their printing doors for awhile I decided to try out my linocutting skills especially after having the lino cutting class with Melvyn Evans at YSP. 

See here.

I'd been chopping up some practice monoprints and prints that maybe had a few too many thumb prints on them... although I do like a thumb print, it adds to the handmade authenticity and celebrates human error! Something I like to celebrate in my work a lot... it seems!

I made this card as one of my mixed card packs and really liked the accidental shapes that had occurred, yet the image was still clear as a figure. 

It looked as though the business of the other layers hadn't deterred this chap from just being there.

So that was it, decision made.

I wanted to use this as my base for my lino print.

I enlarged the image, and planned a three colour lino print using process colours just like my monoprinting.

I carved each colour layer. 

I'm a bit Edward Scissor hands when it comes to carving, and try hard not to scalp the lino.

I'm not the most delicate of carvers... yet, 

so this image was perfect with its bold shapes to ease myself into the process gently and learn.

I love the shapes on their own, separated from their final image, like puzzle pieces.

I don't have a press, or a fancy burnisher or baren but I do have a wooden spoon! 

Which is a little hard work but does the trick when there's no access to more profession equipment!

Magenta going on.

Then Cyan.

'Just Be'

A nice standing still, pausing in the business of life.

A reflection of how the lockdown has been for me.

I've been incredibly lucky that the whole big change of the day to day living of life for the past 8 weeks has been a welcome pause in the rushing about which usually results in me meeting myself coming backwards.

One of the silver linings, for me, of this pandemic, of which there are many, but like I say I'm incredibly lucky and count my blessings. 

I love the rustic handmade-ness of this print.

I love how you can see the process, the errors, the energy of the lino cutting and the welcoming face looking back at you through the layers of colour. 

I love the new colours appearing through the overlaps and the different pressure of the textures as I've tried to feel my way around the back of the print blind with a wooden spoon.

I love how you can see the process.

 'Just be' is in my Etsy shop along with a few other isolation linocuts!

Hope you're all staying positive and safe 🌈