Lino One!!

  I didn't remember that I loved lino until just recently.

  Suddenly I'm on a steep learning curve, and instead of hassling the arts forum with my entire proud progress I thought I'd post here.  

  Here are a few bits and pieces before I go and continue working..    

I'm on day 3 now of printing.  and I still have quite a lot of cutting to do!  

Less blogging would help probly, but I wanted to make a diary of this because I'm learning a lot as I go.

My printer is an old victorian book press, and I put an old fashioned linen nappy under the print to bestow a more even pressure.  Also I've just picked up a japanese style baren to smooth things over as I go.  What a great thing that is, we should all have one.

I'm dicovering that there are issues with the ink spread according to 

1. pressure... thus the nappy

2. application   ... I'm learning to roll on and not roll off again, when to clean and when to wipe

3. time... the length of time in the press is quite a specific thing too.

4. paper...   I did one print for too long with some thick hahn and the surface of the paper lifted  up. So now I have some thinner paper which is a lot easier to manage anyway in terms of ripping it to size .

5. ink...   well I'm only discovering there are greater worlds than I knew in those engaging little tubes.  I'm definitely going to read my "Ink my love Ink was my ruin"  poem for Montana day.

These prints are a series for a childrens' book that accompanies a display of lamps for the Matariki festival out at the Corban's estate in Henderson on June 26th.  The artists of the Lamps are Ronald Andreassand and Anita Glucina, and each of seven lamps will have a local writer's work with it.

Right now I'm pulling blue.  Soon I'm going to be pastelizing an opaque apricot I hope, for the cat.