Lino Print / Mono Print Workshop

Attending the linocut print and mono-print workshop in our uni print resource was a great experience and an opportunity to learn new processes that I have always hoped to develop and attempt to master in my own creative practice. i am a great fan of analogue printed imagery-each print seems to retain a very personalised unique quality and I would love to be able to create work I am proud of in this way.

Process images:

Linocut Printing Results:

Mono-printing Results:

Thoughts:
I really enjoyed spending the morning in the print room. i have to be honest my previous experience with printmaking has always frustrated me. I am a bit of a perfectionist and never seem to manage to produce a print to the standard i am happy with. This was the case with the mono-printing throughout this workshop. I found it hard to get my head around how this process could be used to create some interesting final imagery. I did however see the benefit in the range of textures created by this technique. I really liked creating as many textures and patterns that I could, in the hope of having a selection to scan in and possible work into digitally in order to apply to future compositions within my work.

Linocutting on the other hand was amazing. There is just something that seemed to click with me whilst investing time into the cutting of the lino and creating a linocut plate that can be used again and again to produce lovely clean prints. I really like the fact I can create a lot of detail by cutting into the lino carefully and really see the potential in this process to be used for my final printed element of this module. It is a process i have never experimented with or attempted before, which is exciting when thinking of using this method.

Next Steps:

• Buy Lino - soft cut or hessian backed? See print technicians for advice
• Buy lino cutting tools - similar to the uni print resource ones as these seemed to be of a lovely high quality and create detailed, sharp, clean lines.
• Create more tests and experimentation - do i need my own linocut printing ink or will acrylic wok at this stage for tests?
• Investigate 2 plate colour separations/lino cut reductions and registrations to incorporate the 2 colours required to meet the brief.