OniOniOniArt

  I finally broke out the lovely indigo blue-colored printmaking ink. I got it about three months ago and promptly forgot about it. It's a little more difficult to work with than the black ink for some reason - the consistency is a bit different (or at least seems like it to me), but I did manage to make it work! Blue lino prints are available in my shop HERE   (I will be adding more...) For more about how I make lino block prints, visit HERE For another look at my printing process, visit HERE (If you're wondering, yes, the ink is smelly before it dries)

For today I decided to reprise my old Creative Sprint project from October 2015 . I always wanted to turn it into a card for my shop, but never got around to it (huh, imagine that, Procrastinating...so unlike me!). So I decided to turn it into a two-color stamp. First I made a register, something to help me line up the stamps with (it's the brown paper under the green bee at top). Then I created transfers for the design utilizing the register so everything *in theory* lines up. One transfer is for the black color, the second is for yellow (which for testing purposes is green, because I have a green stamp pad. I use block printing ink for the actual cards). Above is the yellow stamp, in the process of being cut. After inking the completed stamp, I attempt to line it up with the register so I can mark the paper to assist in lining up the black stamp. Right now it looks like a green potato. Above is the transferred black stamp image before ...

I seem to be making a lot of stag beetles this year. In 2016 , it was preying mantids. Here I've taken my brush pen sketch from  Day 12 and turned it into a stamp. I mostly use these to make greeting cards in my etsy shop.  First I printed out a smaller version of my drawing and outlined it in pencil. Then I taped it face down to a piece of speedy carve, a rubber stamping material.  Rubbing the opposite side with the pencil transfers the lines to the speedy carve. I carve the outlines with my lino-cutting tool: ...and here is the finished stamp... UPDATE!: I made mini greeting cards with this stamp which can be viewed in my shop HERE [January 23, 2020]

I grew up with black cats, but for the last 17 years, I've had two ginger cats. Thus far, I've made only black cat linos for my shop, but today, in honor of my beloved ginger cats and ginger cats the world over, I've made a ginger print run! These all sold out - thank you! I have other colors available HERE !

Maneki Neko , completed July 23, 2015 Here is a photographic illustration of how I make lino block prints...  original pencil sketch Every lino starts with a sketch. Often I will flip the image (and resize if necessary) using the computer. Sometimes I can trace onto the block directly from the original. Here I am using graphite paper to transfer the drawing (which is under the white paper in this photo). Note that the image has been flipped. Since I work primarily on a small scale (usually smaller than 2" x 3" - 5 x 7.5 cm), I typically use just three blade types for cutting the design into the linoleum: the #1 V blade for details, the #2 V blade for further outlining, and the #5 U blade for removing the excess linoleum. Here I have cut the detail lines and the outline once with the #1 blade. This is the second outline with the #1.  I widen the outline around the image in stages for two reasons. First, one is less likely to ...

My cluttered work space made even more cluttered with fresh prints! My day job makes it rather difficult to keep up with the lino printing, or anything else, really. Sometimes, though, you've got to put your foot down - and so I've designated today Lino Printing Day (I've been meaning to get to these for a month now...and is it wrong of me to be singing "Lino Printing Day" to the tune of "Weasel Stomping Day" from Robot Chicken ? I want you to know I wholeheartedly disapprove of weasel stomping).  Then perhaps next weekend I can work on something new, Hoorah! Sometimes the fact that I know I need to make more lino prints prevents me from starting something else...a bit of human psychosis I can acknowledge but can't seem to work around. Brains are strange things.  Today I will print from four already established blocks. I begin by setting up all of my supplies...my inking "plate" (ETA: originally it was a sheet of acetate, n...

This is my version of release... The Rabbit skittered in and out of my life as quickly and quietly as you would expect a rabbit to do.  A sweet early morning specter nibbling the grass that disappears like the mist as the sun rises; lasting perhaps more than a season, but not two.  In these dealings with the ephemeral, one can only be grateful to take joy in what joy there was, learn lessons that still need learning, and keep moving forward with one's own life.  I originally created this sign for the Rabbit to serve as a beacon on a joyous occasion - to stand out in the sea of folks waiting for their friends, families, and loved ones to exit the airport terminals: The Dancing Rabbit I held it at midsection and was found.  It is perhaps 12" by 12", composed entirely of cut pieces of paper, and remains in the Rabbit's possession so far as I know. Now the early morning mist has dissipated, the specter is gone, but despite my clearing vision, I felt compelled to...