Blue

On my drive into the studio Thursday, a sign of spring was floating in the Wrangell Narrows near town.  

Can you see it?  Just to the left of the green can buoy...

... an ice berg drifted over from Le Conte glacier.

At noon Flossy and I walked through South Harbor to enjoy the sun.  Petersburg Mountain is still snow-covered, and a stiff breeze made me glad I was wearing my gloves and hat.

Some boats are still tarped over for winter.

Back in the studio, I experimented with my newly cut stamps, printing with them on mono-prints pulled several weeks ago.

 

The blue sky day seems to have influenced my color selection.

On the way back out the road after work, the ice berg had moved closer to our side of the Narrows.

Hope you are seeing signs of spring yourself (or fall, if you are in the other hemisphere).

Lino Cuts

Happy Easter, everyone.  We had lots of extra activities going on through Holy Week here, so I am having a bit of trouble getting myself back on schedule after getting home from traveling.  As a result, this post comes up a day later than my usual Saturday post.

I have the honor to design the poster art for our local Rain Forest Festival this year, and with that in mind, I have been cutting some new stamps.  Have a look:

I begin my stamp cutting process by drawing the image in a sketch book, using a real soft pencil, which facilitates the transfer of the design to the stamp block surface.  (This is a raven, which we have lots and lots of).

  And, with apologies to Nadine, here is a wolf, maybe looking pretty friendly and domesticated.  Once the drawing is complete, I lay it face down on top of the cutting surface of the soft-kut block and rub the back with my bone folder to transfer the image.

Using Speedball linoleum cutting tools and the transferred lines, I carve into the block, removing the rubber where I do not want ink to adhere.  

 After the stamp is cut, I check my work by inking with a black stamp pad and printing on sketch book paper.  Once I like what I've got, I often print the new stamp off on a fresh piece of soft-kut to produce a mirror image.

Here are some test prints of the raven and wolf stamps.  I think the wolf looks a bit fiercer now, do you agree?

Watch out for tricksters!  Tomorrow is April First which is a day to trick and joke your friends in this country.  Do you have April Fools Day where you live?