Linoleum Prints (The Warm Greetings Series)

Artist Statement

The pieces above are linoleum prints, which are blocks of rubber-like material that can be carved away with special tools. The ink is rolled onto the remaining lines, which stick up. I wanted to make something I could use as art but also as a card cover, since the block can be reused. I chose the row of candles because I could write a heading above them, and I liked the differentiating sizes and heights. I titled the block and the prints "Warm Greetings", as a play on the candles and the idea of the prints on the cover of a card.

Since each of the prints are slightly different, I used different materials for each. However, all of the prints are made with the same linoleum block and ink, though the nontraditional surface one used a green fabric ink. The multicolour print mainly used black ink, with blue ink for the candles and the smoke tendrils. If I were to make that print again, I'd choose a brighter colour that would contrast with the black more. The extended print only used black ink, but I went over and added details with marker.

I used an old sketch I had already made as inspiration for this print. When I did the sgraffito tile, I had an armful of different sketches and ideas. I used only one of them, but I still really liked the candle sketch. I thought the play on shadows and light would work really well with the block-printing style. I sketched the candles out on a paper that was the same size as the physical block, then used a burnishing technique to rub the graphite onto the block. Using that impression, I cleared up the lines with Sharpie. The most difficult part came next, carving everywhere except the lines that I had made. To make each of the prints, I rolled the ink out and then rolled it onto the carved block, on top of which I pressed a piece of paper or, in the case of the nontraditional surface print, fabric. Overall, I'm very happy with the prints, and I liked the style of the printmaking and how it worked with my design.