Research
Lino carving was first used between 1905 and 1913, by a group of German artists, known as Die Brücke, for wallpaper printing. Sharpe knifes with various shape tips like U or V shaped are used to cut into linoleum sheets, and then inked using a roller before imprinting onto paper.
Many lino artists have used Instagram as a platform to showcase their work and some of them have very amazing portfolio.
One of the artist that I really like is Andrea Lauren. Her block prints are very colourful and vibrant, incorporating.
https://instagram.com/inkprintrepeat
I also like Scott minzy’s work as his work is made up of clean lines. He plays around with the thickness of lines to create depth and contours of his prints.
https://www.instagram.com/scottminzy/
Preparation
I carved out two templates which I can refer to when I am doing project 2. They are mostly based on design elements like lines and shapes.
Template 1
This was the first piece I did which includes experimenting with thick and thin lines, short and long and also curvy lines.
Template 2
For the second piece, I got a bit more adventurous with my lines. Thin and close lines, curvy lines, crosshatch, chevron prints and circles.
My classmates did really interesting presentations which opened my eyes to the world of art and design. If I were to take photos, I would always just “follow feelings”. Now I learnt that every photo must have proper proportional, scale and balance in order to let the image pop, which I will surely incorporate them into project 2.
I am ready to start working on my pieces!
Planning
For project 2, I thought of the story of a geisha and how it inspires me.
Our project involves the creation of two Lino-cut black and white prints.
Through research on the topic of geisha, I was able to get a better idea of what would work for me. I initially, I wanted to do a story about geisha and teahouse. However, I realize that it would be a very shallow story. Thus, my teacher suggested that I could do something along the line of geisha being my inspiration.
And that is how I researched and read up that geisha live in a world of the flower and willow. So I decide to work along that idea.
I chose to portray my flowers using sakura (cherry blossom) flowers because it is such a beautiful flower and it represents fragility and beauty of life.
For willow, I decided to use branches of willow tree. Willow tree represents strength and the ability to withstand tough challenges. Also, the branches bends in such shape that looks rough and full of tension.
And here is 60 seconds of my process, from sketching on procreate (iPad app, my first time using, was very fun!), to cutting the linoleum pad:
