Transcripts
1. Welcome!: Welcome. Hi, my name
is Eric Avastin. I will be your instructor today. I'm an artist and printmaker specializing in relief
block printing. And today I'm going
to show you one of my favorite projects. Today we'll be making a puzzle
walk, linoleum cut Print. And this is a way to make an easy two-color print
using one piece of linoleum that will cut
like a puzzle and piece it together to create
a two-color print. This is an intermediate
level class. I hope that you
have either carved a linoleum block before woodblock or have at least
watched a video about it. Today, I'll be going into
a more in-depth process. I'm excited to share
this project with you. And at the very
end of the video, I will show some of
my favorite tips and tricks I've learned as a
printmaker over the years. You can see more of
my work at Erica bassy.com and my art
store at Fern clean.com. Thank you. I hope you
enjoyed my class today.
2. Supplies: Today's class you'll
be meeting for some pens and pencils, A-sharp, some tracing paper. You will also need a
linoleum block to car, you can also use a
rubber stamp material to carve to just as long as it is unmounted so that
you can cut it out. You will need scissors and an exacto knife to cut
out your block today. And then for printing, you will need an inking slab. I use a pane of glass, a barren. If you don't have a bearing, you can use a wooden spoon that you have lying
around your house. It also works well and you just press it with
the back there. You will need some
printmaking ink and a brayer to
roll the ink out, as well as some carving tools
to carve out your design.
3. Design: To create our design that
we want to print today. Today we're creating
a puzzle block, which means we're
going to be creating a two-color design. You can go up to as many colors as you want with this method. But if this is your first time, let's just start with two
and we'll go from there. So when thinking about
printmaking and block printing, we're doing a reductive process. So everything you carve
away is gonna be white. Everything you leave there will stay inked, will be the color. So to start with your design, I like to start drawing on tracing paper is my best friend when I'm doing printmaking, I use tracing paper to transfer my drawing
to the block as well. You can start by sketching
on a big sheet of paper, draw all your ideas out, and then you can use
your tracing paper to go over them and put
it in your block. Today, I'm just gonna go
directly on the tracing paper. I'm going to start
my drawing now. Alright, here's
mine design today. It's two cats with pumpkin.
4. Transfer: Next we're going to transfer
our drawing to our block. This is a really simple
method that I use. So I already have my
block cut to size. So they were using a
thin linoleum carving block and it has to be this
kind that is unmounted. Sometimes you can buy
this mounted on wood. But today, since we were
doing a puzzle where you'd have to cut it apart. So we need to use this flexible and mountains
kind of transfer my image. I'm simply going to put the graphite side
down on my block. Like so. And use the warmth of my hand in rub the graphite onto the block. And this will transfer it
from the transition from the tracing paper
to the linoleum. And you can peek to see
if it's transferring. Well, just like pulling
it back and lifting. It looks like I have
some more to go. If you're having trouble
transferring your image, try using the back of your nail, the side of your nail and your thumb as the
heart point also helps press the graphite down. My image has been
transferred to my block. For the most part. It's okay if it hasn't
quite gone all the way, we have to go over it one
more time with Sharpie. Going to take our Sharpie. And I'm just going to
draw my image again. Printmaking, you do end
up drawing your image, you know, two to three times, which I think is great before you start carving
because it helps you really get to know what you're going to be
carving and helps you think about the positive
and negative space that you want to leave. So some people find
it burdensome, but I really think it's
good in the end to draw multiple times so
that you can at least start to think about how
are you going to carve it? Some are trace over my
image one more time with my sharpie on my block. Beautiful. So now I have my kidneys and my pumpkin design
drawn on my block.
5. Carve: Okay, so now that our blocks
are drawn, here's mine. We're going to start
carving our block. So first thing I'm going to
do is get some acrylic paint. I like to use red. You can use any color you like, but traditionally I just
use have used dread. And then you're going
to need a paper towel and a cup with some water. I'm going to squeeze
out some paint here on my paper towel, dip it in my water, water down some because we
don't want it to opaque. We still want to be able
to see our Sharpie lines. And then I'm just going
to take that and rub it over my block. Like that. No, I want a little bit darker, so I'm going to get a
little bit more paint. Okay. Do it again. And then this creates
just like another color. On top. The red paint that I put
on there dried and I can see the linoleum is a red and black
instead of the gray. So that allows me
when I carve out, I will see gray. And that allows me
to know what has been carved and what
has not been carved. For carving tools
for printmaking. If you go to the store, you'll most likely
see the skateboard, beginner carving tools which
were great for linoleum. And they come with
all of the nibs or types of gouges you
need in the back. Those are really
easy and portable and a great beginner tool for more intermediate
and advanced people that are getting really
into printmaking, I suggest getting
either Japanese or German style carving tool. These are the
Japanese style tools. They are have a
longer wooden handle and come with a
long steel blade. And you can get
different gouge options. So these are little less
portable than these, but these are great because
you can keep sharpening this down and will
last you forever. These are more of a
German style tool, and these are nice because
they allow you to put them in the palm of your hand
in push forward like that. So it's really a preference,
whatever your life, these are both grapefruit
wood and linoleum as well. So today I'm going to use
my Japanese style tool, my preference, and
to sharpen them. A lot of these tools come with
little sharpening stones. That is most important because you don't
want to cut yourself. By using adult blade. I'm going to sharpen up my tools and then
we'll get carbon. So first of all, I'm going to think of my
block as the puzzle and now my pumpkins and
the background here, I'm going to put
as an orange ink and the kitty cats
and the front. I'm gonna do a black ink. I'm going to carve everything
first and then I'm going to cut it out
to create the puzzle, just seeing a little
bit of the process. So if you've done
a beginner class, you should already
know how to carve. So I'm not going
to go to in detail about that in this course. Just remember always push
your tool forward so you don't gouge your fingers because printmaking
can be dangerous. So I'm going to carve
everything just as I would have one color block. So I like to outline everything first with my
v gouge and then I go back in with my bigger
gouges and scoop out the bigger areas that
I want it to be white. So I'm gonna do that now.
And this is the fun part. Turn on some music,
turn on a podcast. And this is the most
meditative part of printmaking to me.
6. Puzzle: Alright, now that my
block is done carving, it's time to cut it apart and make it into the puzzle pieces. I'm going to cut
out the cats and the pumpkins as two
separate blocks. And you can do this
either using scissors or an exact dough knife that
has a very sharp blade. So I'm just going to cut around my cats and you can see I have already carved
out a line there. So I'm just going to cut
out that carved line. I'm gonna do that here around the ears here because it
is pretty curvaceous. My scissors to get around. I'm just going to
go around my mat, around the ears and the curvier parts with
the exact avoid first. This stuff is
pretty easy to cut, but still be very
careful of your hands. You will pause. Don't want to cut your pause. I've already cut my pod on
accident during these things. So I'm just gonna go ahead and trace my whole cat
with my exacto blade. Make it really easy to cut out. Okay. Peace to pop up. Okay, now we have two blocks
and it will be a puzzle. So I'm gonna go
ahead and you can see it kinda frayed there. This backing has
like a rope to it. I'm just gonna go ahead
and clean that up. Some of my scissors
and my exact dose. And so I'm going to clean up and then we'll get our
paper ready and inks ready.
7. Paper: My art store has two
types of printmaking, paper, Stonehenge
and be FK rapes. Both are super nice. Stonehenge runs about
$3 a sheet would be if k. Reeves runs
about $7 a sheet. Okay, So for this project
we're gonna be using PFK Reeves printmaking paper. I like to get the white kind. You can see the paper comes with this beautiful deck
old edge there. And we're gonna be
creating that today. So my print today on a
five by seven block. So I'm gonna make my
paper size eight by ten. By ten is a nice, easy size for people to frame. And it will give my blocks and nice borders were going
to tear our paper. That is the traditional way that print makers prepare
their paper. And it gives it this, That's how this nice
decal edge is created. So I'm just going to
do a few sheets here. Usually these pieces of
paper comment about a 30 by 22 inch sheet. So I'm just going to measure off 101010 up here. Okay. Then you're going to go
put your ruler down, get a nice big metal ruler
that'll save your life. And then you just
come up here and pull your paper against the
edge of your chair. Just like that. Way. Easier than cutting, it makes it very pleasing sound. And then it gives you a nice
natural edge like that. So there's our ten. Now we're going to measure
off in eight on both sides. So it doesn't reach all
the way to the edge. It's not exactly 24 ". So I always save these
last scraps of paper. And it's great for
making cards out of or using test swatches for inks and other random
things like that. So never throw away your papers, especially your super
nice PFK Reeves paper. Measure twice, cut once. So I'm going to
tear probably 12, 12 sheets of paper. And then I'm also going
to tear a few pieces of just normal white
sketchbook paper to use for test printing. So it's very important to prep
all your paper before you start mixing inks and
inking your plate because that's when
your hands get the incus and you
definitely don't want to get your paper messed
up before you begin. So eight by ten papers, I'm going to tell
the rest of it. And then we'll go into inks.
8. Ink: Alright, the next part of our process is to
ink our plates. With block printing, you
have a few different options of ink at your
local craft store. The probably have some speed
ball ink brand options. These are good to use and great for beginners
and easy access. So they come in all
different colors and oil-based as well
as water-based. If you want your print
to be super permanent, I recommend using
oil-based inks. Personally, I like to use
this brand called Cranfield. I get it off of the internet. They make safe wash
relief printmaking inks and you can get them in all
different colors as well. The oil-based and washable, which I don't know how
that chemistry works, but I like it because it's non-toxic and easy to clean
up with soap or water. Soap and water or like a
vegetable kitchen oil. So I'm going to be
using my Cranfield inks today and set my
speed halls aside. So you can see as I have
started handling my ink, I have my printmaking apron on and some gloves on
to protect my hands. This part is, can be really messy and it's best to
keep your hand safe, as well as a reassurance to keep your paper from getting
to inky as well. So I'm going to mix two
colors while I'm gonna mix one color today for my
cat pumpkin design. And first I'm going
to mix my orange ink. So I have a processed red and a process
yellow of my Cranfield. I have my inking
glass, my surface, which I will teach you
how to make at the end of the video in the tip section. And then I'm going to use my spatula knife to mix my inks. Well, I'm going to
use this rubber tool to mix my inks and then save
this one for the black ink. I'm just going to
squirt a little bit out in one side of my glass. I like to use a big inking glass while I do a two-color print. So you can have lots
of space to spread out and won't be needing
too much orange today. Since I'm not doing
too many prints, I'm just going to try to
mix a little bit as I go. Perfect. Just a little bit more. You can always add more, but you can't add less. Alright, I really
like this orange. It's nice and bright. Pumpkin orange. So I'm going to set
my tool over there, wipe off my hands. And then I'm going to use
my putty knife to school, got my black about my black
in a big container like this. Because so much. Okay. This is definitely a part
that you want gloves on. I'm just going to lift up
comes with a little piece of paper and plastic over the ink. And I always try to keep
that on as long as possible. Because if you remove that, the ink can start to
harden at the top of the surface and will make you waste a lot of ink,
which you don't want to do. So I try to keep that part on definitely why I wear gloves. I can't do this part very clean. The block is ys. Alright, this is what
my inky black looks like after so many
years of printmaking. And for the next step
of our inking project, we'll need two
different browsers. That's what these are called. They usually have these
Eigen craft store, but you might have to
go online and get them. And they're just a soft
rubber roller basically. That helps you roll out
your ink nice and thin, and helps you roll
it onto your blocks. So I have two of
these for each color. So I'm just going to take
a scoop of my orange, laid out a thin layer of
that in front of one Breyer. I see there's some
black on the surface. Just want to make sure
all old ink has gone. I'll take a little bit of
black in front of this guy. Then I take my prayer
and I wrote out, I want to make sure I get
the whole Breyer coded. Sorry, always lift up and set it down in a different
spot on the ink. Love this orange. Wanted to do a little bit more. It's not completely coated yet. Awesome. I'll do the same to the black. Just like that. No, my prayers are ready to go. Okay. Next, I'm going
to ink my blocks. I just take my band, my brayer and get an inked up. Then I ink my pumpkin orange. And I wanna get my block inked from every direction
so I'll go sideways. My girlfriend, backwards. Usually, especially
on the first print. Coded a few times. It nice and loaded with ink. Awesome. So there are a few
passes with the orange. It's either black
on the kitty cats. Usually in my block on
a separate sheet of glass so that I can set
it aside while it prints. So get the back of
my block too messy. And you can make
sure that it's fully inked by holding it up to the light and seeing a nice
even sheen on your block. These are ready to print.
9. Print: It's time to print our cats. I have all of my paper stacked
are here, ready to go. I have a fresh pair of gloves on to make sure my
hands are clean. And I stuck my paper with
my test sheets on top and my real PFK reefs
paper on the bottom. So I'm going to take
off my kitty cats, put them on my
registration paper, and set that aside. When I put my puzzle
block together, sometimes I grab an
exacto knife to help me push the puzzle pieces in place. So put my cat there
on the bottom, and then my pumpkins on top. And then I use this to push
in-between the cracks, get my block in place. Awesome. Just like that. ****
down a little bit more. Nice and snug. No rush. Any part of the
printmaking process. More, you rush the word
mistakes, you owe me. It's all good. Okay. So to put that in the middle of
my registration paper, I make its impact today. I'm just going to
put by hand using my barren and then this
little mushroom barren tool. So this is attached
to your paper. I always test my
block, you know, get 223 good tests, crimes before I start
all my real paper. So I'll line that up at the top with my
registration paid for. Jump it down. Pull it down by hand. You can put another
sheet of paper on top of this if you want to
protect your paper. And then to see
how it's printing, I just pull it back and I will do the rest of my blocks. In the same way you can do as many prints as
you want to do. That is called your addition.
10. Clean: Alright, so you clean up
today it is fairly simple. You just need some
vegetable oil, a rag, your ink containers. Okay. Cleaning up a
printmaking project is easy. All you need is your
inking containing, Here's some vegetable oil. I just use canola oil, a rag, and then your mess. So first, we will
clean our block off. And to do this, you just take it apart
so that you just rub it with the rag and
let the ink come off. I don't put any oil or
water on my blocks. Right. In the ink will dry on your blocks over
the next few days. And I've never had an issue with ink clogging up the carving. But I do try to get
as much as possible. All right. Next we're going
to clean off our inking pad. The messiest part, I save old small containers to save ink and we tried to save as
much as this is possible because ink is expensive and you don't want
to waste any of it. So this is just the
yellow jar that I just filled with things
that make some yellow and orange and red and how you use it for some
project in the future. So just scrape away at my orange area and
put it in my drug. I'll do my black men black
container is hopelessly dirty. So it's easier if this back on eyes instead of a grabber tool. And then lastly to clean off
our block or inking block, I'm just going to pour
a little canola oil. Use my rag and wipe it down. It is almost always wiped off. I'm going to use a little
bit more canola oil. Now I'm going to
clean my prayers. Start rolling it in and
wiping it down as well. You really want to get your
prayers as clean as possible. Because if you
leave ink on and it can ruin them for future use, I just hold it against
my body, rub it down.
11. Sign: So now that our prints have
been drawing a few days, it is time to sign them, depending on how many
prints you created, that will be your addition. So traditionally
print makers sign their work with their addition, the title, and their
signature on the right. So underneath the print here is where we will
put those things, will put addition here on
the left side of your print, the title in the middle, and then we'll assign
it on the right. I like to sign it within
the borders of my print. And I made 12 copies
of this print. So I will title each 11 out of 122 out of 123 out
of 12, Et cetera. So this is the first 11 of 12. I'm going to name my
print pumpkin ******. And then I'm going to assign it here on the right
side of my paper. So I will do this for
each print and it's just a great way to keep track
of how many you created. Show people that you created
a limited edition of these and that it's an
original work of art.
12. Tips: To make an inking slab, just simply take
a piece of glass from a cheap frame or something. You find out a thrift store cut out a piece of
cardboard for the back, and slip a white sheet
of paper in-between. And then I just tape around
the edges with masking tape. So then you can create a few different inking
slabs are nice to have. And you can create big ones and small ones for
different projects. They're really
easy to write down inconvenient too, round. Okay, my next tip is
to take a piece of your test for and paper and make yourself a
registration paper for your printing so that your block always comes out in the same
section of the paper. And the, doesn't
come out crooked and the borders or even
each time you print. So I just lay this
down on my paper. You can use a ruler
to measure it or just eyeball it where
it looks centered. I trace around my block. So I'll align, I'll put my
block here each time I print, and then line up my paper up here and lay it on top so that it's always
in the same spot. Sometimes I label
it bottom and top. Another tip is for drying your prints to
hang up a piece of string on a wall and use some clothes pins so
they can draw nicely. Oil-based takes about five
to seven days to dry. We're water-based ink will
dry the next day for you.
Erika Busse, Artist
