Linocut

=Linocut process= media type="custom" key="3562346"

=Reduction Lino Printing= media type="custom" key="3562370"

=PLATE PREP WORK:= =//You will need a self-healing mat and x-acto blade to cut your plate. Cut your piece of 12 x 12" linoleum (Golden Cut) down into a 9 x 12" piece. To do this, it is easier to cut on the golden side. Do not cut with the tip (it will break off). Lower the blade and insert 3/4 of it into the surface of the linoleum. Begin cutting. You will use the scrap piece to do a sample reduction image, so don’t throw it away.//= = = =3 x 12" REDUCTION SAMPLE PRINT=

= = =Printmaking Homework - Collecting References for Linocut Print – DUE NEXT CLASS= =Your homework is to bring in three to five original references (such as drawings, your own photos or digital images, etc.) for the next linocut project. Keep in mind the next assignment (to create a print that includes a border and organic forms). YOU MUST HAVE THESE REFERENCES FOR NEXT CLASS. Next class you will complete 3 different thumbnail sketches for your idea (from the resources).= = =

=You may want to play with editing your images. This is an interesting site that allows you to stylize your images:= =http://www.befunky.com/=

=Name __= =Printmaking= =Reduction Linocut Block Print - Organic Design With Border= =(200 points)=

=Your assignment is to design and create a 9 x 12-inch linocut block print of an organic composition that includes a border. Your project may be of a subject you choose but needs to be convincing as an organic design. The designs that will be cut into the linoleum will be based on the elements and principles of design. Experiment with thumbnails of different ideas and make changes (these should be in your sketchbook). Once you decide on a challenging and interesting idea make a sketch of the exact size of the linoleum to be cut (9 x 12-inches). Remember to include the border! You will transfer this sketch to your linoleum plate. Finally you will cut away the negative space and textures in the linoleum and print it.= = =  Your project and designs will be assessed on the following:

1. Composition (Based on the rules of composition and developing the positive and space on the entire surface of the linoleum) (40 points) 2. Balance of the positive and negative space/textures (NOTAN) (40 points) 3. Originality (no copying trademark symbols or other artist’s work) no kitsch or cliché imagery. (20 points) 4. use of at least 3 colors (20 points) 5. showing at least 2 principles of design (including balance) (40 points) 6. craftsmanship – Intricate cutting (of a variety of detail/quality lines, textures and marks) and printing (no fingerprint smudges and even registered prints with margins). (40 points) =Things to avoid:= =1. Anything kitschy (stars, unicorns, mushrooms, hearts, moons, fairies, rainbows, sunsets) or other overused cliché symbols. Let’s be original here.= =2. Wasting materials= =3. Overcutting (try to get a balance between the amount of white and black in the prints)= =Sketch your ideas in thumbnail form. Try to develop 2 – 3 ideas in a larger drawing. This is an important part of designing and your grade depends on it. Do not lose the sketches. Keep them in your sketchbook and bring them next class. The one you choose will be transferred to the linoleum for cutting.=

=Transferring The Design To The Block= =Once your design has been approved and finalized, you are ready to transfer it to your linoleum plate. Make a carbon paper (shading the back side of tracing paper). Put the carbon paper face down on the block and tape it on 3 corners. Place your sketch on top of the carbon and trace the lines of the drawing so that it transfers to the block. Be careful not to press too hard. Remember that your design will be backwards when you print it (if you are using letters). Lift the tracing paper to check that the drawing has been transferred. Trace over the lines with a black marker. This will help in seeing the textures, shapes and lines that you cut away. You may also wish to draw directly on the linoleum plate.=

=Cutting The Plate= =Put your linocut plate into a jig to hold it into place. Using a linocut tool outline the shapes you wish to cut around on the block. Keep your hands out of the cutting area. If you a right-handed, hold the tool in your right hand and put your left hand on top of the right. The purpose of the right is to push (cut) and the left is to pull towards you (this is for resistance so the tool doesn’t slip). No one cuts until they have seen the safety demonstration. Begin cutting/gouging away the “white areas” that will be in your print. The higher places will be printed in black so be careful not to cut sections you wish to print.=

=Printing The Plate= =Once you have done a significant amount of cutting you should proof your linocut plate to see how the image looks. You will need to roll out the ink on an inking slab with a brayer. Once you have rolled out the ink in 4 directions on the center of the inking slab (it should make a slight hissing sound) the ink is even and can be rolled onto the plate. Once you have inked the plate, place a sheet of newsprint over it. Using a baren rub the backside of the paper in a circular motion. Pull up the print starting on a corner. Wash off the plate and continue cutting. If you need to create more proofs (one-of-a-kind prints) just repeat the process. You will print a final edition of 5 and several proof images.=

=Editioning Linocut Prints= =An edition is a series of like images. Your edition will include at least 3 linocut prints that are exactly the same. Editioning your print means that you will write an edition # (1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5, 5/5) on the lower left corner directly below the image. 1/5 means that it was the 1st print out of 5 that was printed. Your signature should appear on the lower right directly below the image. Unless you are famous your signature should be clear and include your first and last name. Your title should be in quotations between the edition # and your signature. One of your final prints will be included in the print archive collection of student prints.= =Vocabulary= =1. brayer – tool used to roll out ink onto a slab and onto the block of wood.= =2. linocut tool – tool used to cut away negative space in the linoleum plate.= =3. relief print - A relief print is one whose image is printed from a design raised on the surface of a block. In this type of print the ink lies on the top of the block and is transferred to the paper under light pressure.= =4. linocut– Linocut is a variant of woodcut, in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. The image is carved out of the surface, with the raised parts that remain at the level of the surface being the printing parts; linoluem is much easier to cut than wood, but the pressure of the printing process degrades the plate faster.= =6. proof – a one-of-a-kind print that shows the inked image in progress.= =7. edition- a collection of prints inked and printed in the exactly the same way. These are signed, titled and given an edition number.= =8. baren- these are traditionally made out of bamboo in Japan. With the use of friction, barens help transfer ink from the linoleum to the paper surface.= = =

=Linocut Block Print History= = = =The linocut may be considered an engraving and printing technique derived (at least in a technical sense) from woodcutting. The linoleum cut was invented at the end of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th as a result of a search for easier work and less expense. This technique was soon used in schools and in the illustration of a variety of "poor man's books" (see also scraping).= =Linoleum often abreviated to lino is a surface covering material first made in England in 1863 and produced some ten years later in France. The word was coined using the latin words linum (linen) and oleum (oil). Linoleum is made of a layer of cork dust mixed with linseed oil, gum, and resin, the whole being compressed onto a piece of jute cloth. Linoleum is water proof and is rather supple when it is new or when it is kept at a temperature between 20° and 25° degrees Centigrade (68° to 77° Fahrenheit).= =For a long time linoleum was considered to be the wood of the poor engraver and was used as a pastime in schools or for amateur cutting up until the time it was used by artists like Matisse and Picasso who demonstrated the possibilities of this medium. In actual fact linoleum is a supple and soft material that should not, in any way, be confused with wood. Although it is true that the techniques used in wood cutting and lino cutting are much the same it must also be said that each has its own relative specificity. Both woodcuts and linocuts are based essentially on black/white opposition even though the use of color can give spectacular effects, especially when applied in solid color areas.= =(Credit: André Béguin, Printmaking Dictionary, http://www.polymetaal.nl/beguin/mapl/linoleum_cut_or_linocut.htm)=