Emily Louise Howard of “The Diggingest Girl” - Block Print Magic: The Essential Guide to Designing, Carving, and Taking Your Artwork Further with Relief Printing

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DESIGNING, CARVING, AND TAKING YOUR ARTWORK FURTHER WITH RELIEF PRINTING

EMILY LOUISE HOWARD
OF THE DIGGINGEST GIRL

Dear reader,

Were about to make something awesome together. In this book Ill be sharing essential techniques and processes for creating visually captivating linoleum and rubber block prints. Ive designed a series of projects to hone your skills and test your creativity, including some fun ways to salvage your mistakes and give mess ups a second life. This book is meant to inspire, encourage, and help you build the skill set youll need to bring every glorious idea you have to life.

Never picked up a carving tool before? No worriesthis book is for you. Dabbled in printmaking in art class, and looking to take your work more seriously? This book is for you, too! In the following pages youll find useful information on everything from tools and materials to elements of a good composition. Ill show you how to make some of your own studio supplies, such as simple inking plates and drying racks. Each printing project is designed to focus on a specific skill or skillsfrom basic textures to multi-block prints to rainbow rolls and everything in between. Well also meet a handful of printmakers from across the United States who graciously share their experience and secrets to help us along. No matter your own art history or skill level, theres something for you here.

My own background as an artist is interdisciplinary: my roots are in classical drawing and painting from observation, and I found printmaking relatively late in my education. I treat sculpture like a creative palate cleanser, and love tweaking designs for woodworking projects. I practice embroidery as a form of stress relief. Each discipline informs the other. The painter has something to learn from the sculptor, just as the football player has something to learn from the ballet dancer. It is my dearest hope that youll be able to learn something from me.

And now its time! Test the weight of the carving tool in your hand and feel the tingling sensation of possibilities. Listen for the kiss of the brayer as it rolls out the ink. Let some choice swear words slip in tandem with your V-gouge (hey, it happens to all of us). Make plenty of mistakes, stab yourself once or twice, learn your lessons, and then revel in your first perfect print. Pull something into existence by the force of your own will. Theres magic to be made here.

Yours in inky solidarity,

Emily

In this chapter, youll learn about the basic materials needed to take you from bright idea to successful linocut print. Linocut printing is a form of relief printing, the process of pulling a print from a carved block, where the ink is deposited on the remaining (uncarved) areas of the block. One of my favorite things about relief printmaking is that you dont need expensive equipment to make studio-quality prints, and most tools are relatively affordable. There are lots of brands of tools, papers, blocks, and inks to try, so research and experiment to find what works best for you.

Blocks

CARVING BLOCKS

Though printmaking encompasses many different types of carving surfaces, this book focuses on the use of linoleum and rubber blocks. Soft rubber is often a good choice for younger, less experienced printmakers as it is easy to cut with beginners tools. I also prefer soft rubber when printing on fabric. The sturdier linoleum is harder to cut and requires sharp tools but its density holds detailed cuts beautifully, and it is less likely to accidentally squish and bleed during printing.

LINOLEUM BLOCKS

Made of linseed oil, cork dust, wood flour, and pine resin, linoleum is a medium that many artists choose to work in because of its renewable composition. It comes in a variety of small-to-medium standard sizes as well as in large rolls, and due to its flexibility it can be cut into any shape. Many professional printmakers prefer the unmounted battleship gray linoleum.

Linoleum sometimes comes mounted on thick blocks of composite wood and although these cant be easily manipulated into different shapes, the wooden backing provides extra support and protection for your carving. The weight of the mounted block also helps to keep your carving stable when you peel off the print.

Linoleum (mounted or unmounted) can be heated to help carving tools move through them more smoothly: you can do this by covering the block with a towel and gliding over it with a clothes iron on a medium setting. Or you can simply warm it with a hairdryer. I personally find that sitting on a block heats it up just enough. If you keep your carving tools sharp, however, you may not need to heat your block.

Linoleum should always be stored flat, away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. Light, extreme temperatures, and time will eventually cause your linoleum to become hard, warped, crumbly, and infuriating to carve. I dont keep much linoleum on hand because fresh linoleum cuts best.

From top to bottom: MOO Carve Professional Carving Block; Speedball Speedy-Carve; Speedball Speedy-Cut; Speedball mounted linoleum block; Blick battleship gray unmounted linoleum.

The loose-weave burlap on the back of unmounted linoleum, also referred to as the hessian backing.

RUBBER BLOCKS

Rubber blocks such as Soft-Kut, MOO Carve, and Speedy-Carve are a good alternative to traditional linoleum: theyre generally much softer and easier for the blade of your carving tools to bite into. It takes only a fraction of the power necessary to push a blade through linoleum. The softest of the blocks, like MOO Carve, require only the lightest flicks of your blades so a steady hand is very helpful. Rubber blocks are great for detailed work and wont get crumbly as linoleum sometimes does.

Carving Tools and Tool Care

Most starter kits come with a variety of blade widths and shapes, ranging from the narrowest veiners to the widest U-shaped blades. Veiners are for making very thin, fine lines. V gouges are formed at either 45- or 90-degree angles. U gouges areyou guessed itshaped like Us, and are great for scooping out lino cleanly. You should also consider the size of your hand and the type of handle that will give you the best gripfull-size tools can be harder to wield but provide greater leverage for more power behind your cuts. Mushroom-shaped palm tools can provide a more comfortable, stable grip for carving fine details.