Not very rubber stamp
In the absence of speedball, mastercarve or any other rubber stamp carving material in the UK, I decided to have a go at lino. It's much trickier to carve (being more dense and hard than rubber) but at least I am not constrained by having to make everything eraser-sized!
Fisk and Fern gave me some really great advice on printing without a press and so I had a go.
Did you spot the not-so deliberate mistake on the red print? I played around, experimenting with acrylic paint and water based stamping ink. My art shop didn't have water based block printing ink and I can't be bothered faffing on with turps.
I'm glad I tried a negative image for the first go, as I am not sure my hands are steady enough to carve leaving thin lines in lino. On balance, I prefer using rubber, but if I want a big stamp, this definitely works.
Comments
I'm not an expert, but after too many instances of cutting through narrow lines I realized that if I cut around the outline of my image with a craft knife before carving then I got nice clean lines, and my creatures were more likely to have the correct number of limbs.
http://www.bladerubberstamps.co.uk/onlinesales/product.php?product_id=2054
I know how hard it can be to get the right stuff outside the US. germany is eaven worst than UK!!!
Hugs
Anke
Also I don't see the red print as having a mistake because it looks like he has a red nose rather than a white one.
And the girl can draw too... is there any end at the list of talents?
On the party front. I think it is a sad state of affairs that children can no longer be entertained by a rousing session of pass the parcel and musical bumps. :-( By the time I have children and they are school aged nothing less than a space expoloration with diamond studded moon boots will probably do!
heat the lino up slowly so it is nice and warm. A hot plate is ideal...you could try the oven on a really low temp. just put it in for a few minutes...don't walk away. it shouldn't be too hot to touch with your hands.
Use a wooden block to place the lino on when cutting. Make sure the wooden block has a 'lip/back' nailed on the top for the lino to rest up against. So that when you carve into the block it stays firmly up against the lip and can't move. Email me, and I'll draw you a diagram if this doesn't make any sense.
You don't need turps to clean up oil based printmaking inks. I think (from memory) eucalyptus oil does the trick, followed by methylated spirits to clean any oil residue. Enviro friendly too.
And try not to cut yourself. I have a huge scar on my left thumb from lino tools.
( 2nd attempt at commenting - damn blogger-beta ! )
In the states, if you go to an art store, you can get these massive rubber stamp blocks -- like 4 inches by 6 inches. You can't get those there?
Love this post. Can I take one photo and link to this from my site. Cute blog.
Mia