We're already at 4th Line lesson of our Elements of Art course. This is the last one that focuses on line. For anyone joining us for the first time you can find Line 1, 2 and 3 by clicking on the numbers.
This time we are looking at a form of art which relies heavily on Line: printing. There are many different methods of printing, but most involve making a printing block and repeating your image. One of the best known types of printing is lino-block printing. Here are a few samples of lino prints:
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| Etain transformations by Annette Corkery |
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| Lino-block and cutting tools |
As you can see from the samples above line can be used in a variety of ways to create an interesting image. There are lots more samples on our Pinterest board. Lino printing requires some equipment and tools that most people don't have lying around though, so we are going to start with simpler introductions to printing this week.
Mono-printing
There are lots of methods of mono-printing which are a great way to get the concept of printing. We are going to experiment with a three types. As you probably know 'mono' means one, as in this type of printing your printing block is temporary so you only get one print from it. Make sure to cover your work area as it can get messy!
Step 1: Ink your printing surface.
We will be using water-based lino printing inks and rubber rollers which are available from any art suppliers. You could invest in one tube of ink which would last for years, but you can get similar effects with poster paint spread thinly on a shiny surface. A dark colour will give the best contrast, especially if you are using white paper, but you can experiment with your choice of paper and colour. We use A4 acetate, but a sheet of glass or the lid of a biscuit tin would work just as well. Once you have the ink/paint rolled evenly across the printing surface you are ready to start each of the methods below.
Step 2: Method 1 - Removing ink from the surface.
There are countless ways to do this, feel free to experiment here too. Using any tools you like create lines of all sorts on the inked surface. Cotton buds work well but you can also use an old comb or toothbrush, matchstick, twig, finger or anything else you can think of. The idea is that anywhere you remove ink/paint will appear the colour of the paper and the rest will be the ink colour, so basically you are drawing in negative. Your image will appear reversed when printed, so be careful if you are using text to write backwards. You can create a complicated picture or just play with thick and thin lines. When you are happy with the image on the surface place a piece of paper over it, rub it all over with your hands or a clean roller and peel away the paper to reveal your printed picture. You can re-ink your surface and do this as often as you like.
Step 2: Method 2 - Reverse (Invisible) drawing
For this method you place a sheet of paper directly on top of the inked surface making sure not to press it down. You then draw onto the sheet either with a pencil, or a stick. The bottom of a paintbrush works well and it's fun to draw an invisible picture. You can also experiment with any of the items listed above pushed across the surface of the paper. When you peel off your page the ink will have transferred to anywhere you pressed down on the back while the rest should stay the colour of the paper.
Step 2: Method 3 - Masking areas of the surface
Again you can experiment with different ways of doing this, you might discover a method no one has though of yet. You can use any fairly flat textured object, but as you can see below leaves work well. You can put the object onto the inked surface and place paper on top then take a print by rubbing the surface with your hands or a clean roller like before. When you peel away the paper you should reveal a negative image of the object surrounded by ink. You could place the object onto a clean surface with a blank sheet of paper on top, roll some ink onto the roller, and then roll this over the paper to reveal a print of the object. Alternatively you can press the object onto the inked surface to transfer ink to it and then print with the object directly onto paper. try combining these methods in layers and see what happens.
While your at this try inking the relief block you made with matchsticks and string in Week 2 and the clay tile (if you made one). These can be used over and over again to repeat a print. You should notice that the raised surface leaves a print, while the rest does not. The opposite part of the clay block should be raised. This is how relief printing of all sorts works, from the original Gutenberg printing press to lino (see above) and wood block prints. We will find out more about relief printing in a few weeks.
If you are interested in the history of printmaking these might be a good places to start researching: www.nationalprintmuseum.ie/
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