26.11.20 - Lino Printing and Cutting

 

Today I learned how to use the press and spent the morning producing lots of lino prints, experimenting with different papers as backgrounds and I have compiled them together on their own blog post.

Lino Print Photo Gallery

I'm happy with how they turned out because all of the intricate details show through and the incidental lines look natural like blades of grass between the flowers, yet the solid marks of the black ink are really bold and assertive. I also enjoyed testing out different papers and backgrounds, especially the tissue paper because it is so subtle but really enhances the image and creates a much more dynamic piece.

I started off with earthy colours, using green sugar paper, brown parcel paper and white tissue paper to represent the organic imagery of the print, and then I experimented with brighter colours that allude to flower petals, particularly with the delicateness of the tissue paper. I folded a big sheet of news print into 8 sections and stuck down simple pieces of tissue paper in different ways on each one to make a variety of visual effects, which I could then look back on to decide what works best for me.

 I find it hard to choose a favourite, but I prefer the ones with paler colours because the printed image looks clearer and stronger, and I also think that layering tissue paper to create darker patches or different colours (eg. pink on top of blue to make a purple area) were really effective and I find them quite calming to view.

Since I designed this lino print during the comfort zone project, I decided to make one for the new theme of power but still incorporated the imagery of flowers. In the same style as my soft sculpture, I drew out two wavy lines and filled them in with the word 'DESTROY', in a rounded, friendly looking font. I think that the flowers around the edges represent fragility which is juxtaposed with the harsh word, representing how easy it is to destroy the beauty of nature.

Once I had finished cutting the design, I did some graphite rubbings like I have previously, to get an idea of where the ink will transfer and if I have missed any areas that were meant to be cut out. This looks promising because the shapes are clear and defined, so I look forward to seeing how it looks when it is printed and the text is no longer reversed.

I like the idea of masking something quite violent underneath a friendly facade because it reminds me of the way mega corporations use upbeat branding and advertisements to sell their products, while a CDP report revealed that as few as 100 companies are responsible for 71% of greenhouse gas emissions.

https://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/100-companies-responsible-71-ghg-emissions/

 Large companies are also linked to deforestation and habitat loss (e.g. due to palm oil production and clearing forests for cattle farms), slave labour, plastic pollution, unsustainable sourcing of materials, and so many more environmental issues. I think this would be an interesting direction to take the topic of 'Power' however I would like to explore these other ideas too -



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