Trying to rescue a print that had been overcut. The light gradually moved across the paper while I was colouring…
Editing light
Tag: Craftivism
White Poppy
When this lino block was first cut, a long time ago, it was going to be printed in pale subtle colours. Something on the news the other day while choosing inks made me reach for scarlet and emerald green instead.
The block is similar to an unfinished print from even longer ago. As a teenager I liked the idea of nature reclaiming damaged land. Maybe it’s still a nice idea. The white poppy has symbolised pacifism for nearly a century. Weapons are presumably more profitable but mediation and peaceful resolution has a preferable outcome.
Shadows
I was watching Jack’s shadow walking in a meadow when the rest of us were all over the pavement. It took a while to get some photos, passing traffic kept hiding the subject.
Making test prints on the hottest day of the year isn’t a good idea. I wanted to know if the little dots looked like a road surface, so I began inking quite early. This hasn’t captured the idea I saw while walking, but it’s OK.
Beltane
Linocut of some dancers, based on photos I took in Glastonbury. They will be printed in red and yellow for next midsummer.
Multitasking
There are many tasks to do today but I knitted instead. The project will become too big for three needles so I’ve added more. They’re slightly bent from being stuck under a heavy item for too long. They still function well.
Spring Equinox
I’m glad the dead matches were there. They’re exactly the right size for getting ink out of the tube lids! The sky will be watercoloured in later.
Decreasing
Sometimes people ask how I made the pattern on the crown of the hat. It’s made (accidentally) by decreasing the number of stitches. Most written patterns say K2tog, knit two stitches together. That gives the hat the ridges as the circle becomes smaller towards the top of the head.
There are other methods. SKPO (slip one stitch onto the right hand needle, knit one then pass the slipped stitch over the knitted one) gives a ridge leaning the opposite way to k2tog. In theory, slipping two stitches knitwise then knitting them together as in the photo above will give a tidier result.
Lychees
Valentine’s Day, so here is a pencil drawing of two hearts of stone.
Tutorial
Typical tutorial, a chat about the artists I *should* admire. Any artists I *did* admire were allegedly not the correct choices.
I was often advised to look at works by Sidney Nolan. Why? Is it helpful to keep telling people to research the same stuff constantly?
berry daines 