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Name: Amanda Faulkner
Date and Time:
Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Creating a Linocut
I began making my linocut by attempting to cut a border around the part of the linoleum block where I wanted my image to be. I decided to attempt to create a pared-down version of the design for woodcuts that Ad Stijnman had given our class to transfer on to our woodblocks for next week. My version was simplified since I had a great deal of difficulty handling the linocut tool and I would not have been able to produce the full, detailed image.
I began with the border because I thought it would be relatively simple to create. This was true, but it still took me a while to figure out how to handle the tools in question correctly. The most difficult part of the process for me was cutting fine lines into my linoleum block without losing control over my hands (and thus, my cutting tool and my design). I slipped numerous times and cut myself once. However, I only came away with a small cut on my finger. Given the considerable difficulty I have had using tools such as this one in the past, I would count this as a success.
I used charcoal to transfer the image from the paper onto the linoleum block and then used my cutting tool to cut the image into the block, using the border I had made to contain my image. I used a size 2 blade for the whole process, since any larger would have made it difficult to cut the fine lines but any smaller would have been more challenging for me to control.
While cutting my image, I tried to wiggle my cutting tool in order to achieve the straight line effect I was going for. I had mixed results with this technique, but I did find it to be useful in some instances. After about 2 hours, I had completed an image that resembled the image I wanted. Although it was not nearly as complex or as neat as the design it was based on, I was relatively happy with the result. The design that this linocut block could produce would be much more two-dimensional than the original image since I did not cut away the majority of the block.
During this process I thought a great deal about the degree of fine motor skills that a task like this would demand from a craftsperson. I am not sure if most people would find a task like this easier to do than I did, but I really got a sense that anyone attempting to produce a craft like this would have to possess an extraordinary degree of control over their fingers. I also considered how a craftsperson would have to be constantly thinking about how to use negative space to create the product they wanted. Those were my two main takeaways from creating this linocut.
My finished product can be seen below.
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Name: Amanda Faulkner
Date and Time:
Location: My apartment
Subject: Notes on my next steps for my linocut
I have yet to create a print using my linocut, but I thought it worth mentioning here that I hope to do so in the lab at the earliest possible opportunity. I did not have time to print my linocut in the printmaking studio at the Teacher’s College on Tuesday, October 23rd. Still, I look forward to observing the differences between a relief print and an intaglio print of my own making.