residency: part one
November 21, 2012
My linocut residency at Trükimuuseum in Tartu, Estonia, started this week. It will be lasting for several months as I’ll be going back and forth between Tallinn and Tartu to complete my project, so this was just the first part it. I met the good people who run the place, familiarized myself with the space, learned the linocut process, and even tried carving and printing a few lino plates.
gutenberg press and guillotine area
larger presses for etchings and linocuts
work table for printing prep (carving, etching, etc.)
the press i'm working with (i call him herman)
And yes, I’ve got the injuries to prove it. I was smart enough to keep my hand out of the path of the carving tools, but I didn’t realize that the edges of the linoleum are so sharp. I’m sure I’ll develop a good technique to avoid those cuts in the future.
basic linocut/woodcut carving tools
that's not red ink
I’ll be heading back there in two weeks if I have any illustrations for the project to work on by that time. Carving is of course the most time-consuming part, but it’s also the part I enjoy the most (thus far). My plan is to do most of the carving at home, and head to Tartu with the plates to print them. This time I made three prints (but my phone/camera died before I got a pic of the third one).
my first linocut print
the second lino plate i carved
my second linocut print (with blue ink)
It is totally possible to use linoleum flooring for linocut. Everything I’ve read said it’s too hard, blah blah blah, but that’s what Trükimuuseum uses so that’s what I used. Maybe “special” linoleum for linocut is better/easier. I’m sure I’ll find out eventually. To make this linoleum easier to work with, I heated it up a bit with a hair dryer. That made it much softer and more pliable. Providing leverage also helps. You don’t necessarily have to buy a bench hook. Any kind of resistance will help (a wall, a block of wood on a table that’s against a wall, etc.).
Oh, and any ideas I had about using letterpress for the text of the book are gone. For the cover, sure. But there’s too much interior text for that to be realistic. Oh well. I’ll figure something else out. But let’s end on a happy note:
johannes gutenberg, the studio cat
hooray! so happy you get the space and time to work. i tell my students to wear oven mitts on their non-carving hand just in case, but that doesn’t help with handling the blocks. my japanese woodcut teacher talked about growing up learning how to carve and how kids would always be bleeding in class. it’s the best way to learn! :)
Ha! Thanks, Aimee!! That oven mitt idea is smart. If I don’t figure out a good technique for avoiding the cuts, I might just wrap that finger to protect it. Band-aids work well for protection, too. Live and learn. :)