Printmaking (and a friend)

 

Priority #1 Create: Experimenting with a new carving inspired by brilliant Australian designer Francis Burke, Finnish artist Maija Isola and Swedish designer Stig Lindberg. I am experimenting on a former hotel tablecloth. It is one of many end-of-life hotel linens I purchased through a disposals agent. They are mostly a cotton/poly blend. They are invaluable for test prints. The process ground to a halt when my assistant  tried printing with his inked up wirehaired haunches. After a few days of drying (the cloth, not the assistant) I'm ready to continue. Many lessons and tweaks from our session. The solid rectangles overwhelm the more delicate stem and bud shapes. An issue with scale perhaps. I'll continue without re-carving the block. Repetition of itself is pleasing to the eye and the registration quality could, in the wisdoms of Shunryu Suzuki, do with a little improvement.

Textile: used tablecloth, 75% cotton and 25% polyester printed with original linocut design, hand pressed onto upper facing right side of fabric, Sakura Block Ink (Black and Prussian blue).