Lino wrangling

I am currently working on 3 different prints based on images of the microscopic structure of Eucalypt leaves. All of the prints involve both collagraph and lino cut. There is a collagraph layer to provide a background colour and then another image layer over the top, with the final printing over both being the lino cut, hopefully to bring everything together and provide greater definition.

It is all rather time consuming and, since I do not intend to produce a large number of prints, does not make economic sense, but I guess art rarely does. Each of the prints combines different colours so, no editions. The advantage of that I suppose is that the plates are re-usable and I can produce greater numbers of prints with little effort, in the unlikely event that there is a great demand for the works.

Producing the collagraph part of the work is easy but I still find wrangling lino hard going. I am continuing my hot water bottle trick to keep the lino supple, so there is regular ferrying to and fro from the kitchen, kettle boiling, pouring and restarting as the lino cools and the cutting gets harder. I did manage to put a small hole in the hot water bottle too when the cutting tool, slipped off the edge of the lino. The bottle is however still useable. It has now become the designated “lino cutting hot water bottle” and will live in my studio to ensure that no member of the family decides to warm their bed with it and gets a nasty surprise. To avoid further holes I have also instigated a practise of taking the bottle out from under the lino when cutting close to the edge of the plate.

Lino fragments fly and the studio floor is littered with them. My feet crunch whenever I stand up and the dustpan and brush have to be employed regularly. Since little brain power is required for the task I am listening to audio book after audio book as I score and gouge. Being transported to another world helps me not to notice how painstaking it is… and yes progress is slow but progress is definitely being made.

The things we do for our art….