Lino cutting - failures and successes

During this exploration period, I wanted to take the opportunity to test out a few different processes. One that I haven't much experience with, is lino printing. At this point, I'm vaguely familiar with the process, but haven't attempted it in a few years so my expectations aren't particularly high.

Through my research, I've identified herbalism and apothecary as a key part of witchcraft. In addition to my novel, I'd like to explore a few short form pieces too. I thought it would be interesting to design a set of prints or a small zine with illustrations of herbs/botanicals and their uses within witchcraft (as initially outlined here)

I found a lot of information in these two books:

 Evans, M. (1999) The Complete Guide to Natural Home Remedies. London: Lorenz, Annes Publishing Ltd.

Metcalfe, J., Gendle, R. and Thomas, I. (1993) Herbs and Aromatherapy. London: Bloomsbury Books. 

 

I opted to freehand the drawings straight onto the lino. I used a mixture of reference images from the above listed books but opted to keep them relatively simple.

My first mistake was forgetting that any text needed to be reversed! Unfortunately, this meant that I had to carve the text out completely. It left an unfortunate blank space at the bottom, but I didn't think it would look too bad once I'd printed it.

 

 The second design was a bit more complex. I found it physically quite challenging to cram in so much detail, but very rewarding once I saw the finished block.

Once printing, I found that getting an even coverage of the ink was quite difficult. This may have been due to the fact that I wasn't using a proper press - simply my weight over a book to press it had to suffice. I also struggled with getting an even coat of ink and ensuring it didn't blob into the finer lines too much. Aligning the blocks on the page presented a little bit of a challenge, as I couldn't seem to get them to sit straight consistently. I think this was partially due to the lino blocks being uneven shapes.

After testing out a few different types of paper - varying from textured to smooth, I managed to get a set of prints worth using. There are lots of variations within them, and unfortunately I wasn't able to get one that I deemed "perfect", but I quite enjoy the different textures this process creates.

 

 With each block, I feel that I learned something new about the process. I experimented with having fine lines and varying levels of surface area to print. This is a fairly time consuming process, so it probably won't be realistic to use it for my novel illustrations. However, as I am exploring witchcraft, it felt appropriate to explore some more hands-on approaches to image making.

Once the prints have all dried, I will be scanning them and creating a small booklet. Or I will pre-print a booklet and print directly onto that. This would also be a good opportunity to explore something like screen printing as I would be able to produce type more easily.