I Like Dolphins Do You Like Dolphins

I finished my most recent art project just yesterday, so I thought I'd kick off the blog by posting it. The assignment was to create an interlocking block print and print it in a 2x2 grid. I decided I wanted it to have dolphins.



WHEE

 This project was pretty hard to do. I didn't know what I was getting myself into with all those spirals. That said, I'm happy with the way it turned out. Printmaking's pretty fun as long as you give yourself plenty of time to work with.

QUICKTIPS FOR LINOLEUM BLOCK PRINTMAKING WITH OIL-BASED INK
FROM A BEGINNER FOR BEGINNERS
[Done the way my class did the project]

-You'll need ink, an ink brayer, a block to cut, linoleum cutters, a surface to spread ink on that you don't need for anything else (no printing directly on the kitchen table! Unless you like ink-flavored toast in the morning.), and paper to print on. You should also have a wooden spoon, rags and baby powder.
-Remember when you're putting your design on the block, it's going to print the reverse! So if you make a print with words on it, plan ahead. Sounds obvious, but mistakes happen.
-Cut slowly and always away from you. Lino cutters are pointy. If you can, turn the block instead of the cutter when you have to cut curves.
-Thinner areas don't have to be cut too deep, but wider open areas should be cut deeper so the ink doesn't ooze in.
-Once you've cut the pattern, spread a _SMALL_ amount of ink onto your surface and roll it out evenly with the brayer. [My class used some sort of glass sheet for ink spreading.] Once it rolls out evenly, roll ink evenly onto the block. Place paper on top of the block and attack viciously with the bottom of a wooden spoon. What you want to do here is make sure the paper stays in place--I, personally, focused on rubbing the center of the print first. Ink is kinda sticky, so it held the paper on. Peel the page off carefully.
-If you see that areas are picking up ink that shouldn't be, pour baby powder on the block and wipe with a rag. This just makes it so you don't get ink everywhere when you go back to cutting the block. =D
-Once you have a print you're happy with, pour a little bit of baby powder on the picture--make sure it gets on all ink-covered spots--and brush it off or tap on the back of the page over a trash can.

As far as composition goes, just be careful with spirals and super-thin cuts--you don't want to slip and mess up the whole print (this almost happened to me several times.)

If you decide to try out printmaking for the first time, be careful and have fun! Craft stores tend to sell fairly inexpensive block-printing kits so you can get started.

Your truly (and still covered in ink)
Daisy