After some balmy days here in England and seeing the poppies coming into bloom, I was inspired to create a mini series of countryside prints.
With the reversal of the image in mind, I went for a white design with dark background. For the initial test it was a black and white job but I’d love to see these in a different colour too. Maybe a rusty orange or olive green.
After testing out some cutting techniques I decided to try my hand at some landscapes which involved, duh duh duuuhhhh, curves. Trying to maintain control and around a smooth curve was a little daunting but thankfully the handmade look is popular at the moment!
Here are a few of the outcomes:
If you want a beginners guide to lino click here!
Art Therapy is a big subject and one I know very little about. What I do know is that, for me, art is a wonderful time to think, escape and digest the happenings of the day.
My Birthday this year was a chance to try out something new and very kindly my family chipped in to get me some Lino Printing materials.
For those who don’t know what Lino Printing is, here is a short video explaining it:
I began with a kit recommended for starters. If you are planning on Lino printing at home then I can recommend the Essdee Lino Cutting and Printing Kit which you can find here.
If you need more water-based ink or blocks you can also find it cheaply through Baker Ross or through Essdee. For a beginner like me thats all I need.
Then its finding an image you like. I decided to use an existing design for my first lino. Something simple and without too many curves. Draw it out in pencil or pen onto a lino sheet. Remember that the image will be reversed and what you cut away will be white and what you leave will be printed.
Once you are happy with your design the fun begins.
It is worth experimenting with your cutters. They all vary in width and depth so try them all to see what effect you get.
Using a hand cutter and a secure surface begin by making small, controlled cuts away from your body. It is easy at first for your hand to slip suddenly as you learn to control the pressure so keep safe!
You might find it helpful to buy a cheap anti slip mat to have underneath your lino.
As you cut don’t be afraid to go deep. Although it makes no difference if you are using cheaper inks they can be more gloopy and sit in very shallow cuts. This is the part to take time over – this lino block can be used again and again to print so its better to get it looking ok now.
After finishing cutting and brushing off any loose bits of lino you are ready to print!
Squeeze a walnut sized amount of ink onto your pallet/tray. You can always add more ink if you need but too much and it can get gloopy.
Roll horizontally and vertically across the ink with your roller until you get a smooth level spread of ink.
Carefully roll the ink onto your lino block. Take your time and make sure the entire block is covered evenly.
With clean hands place your paper (I like to use a thicker cartridge paper for some texture) over the block and drop quickly into position.
Do not move the paper! If you do you will have a fuzzy image. Instead using a flat object gently rub over the paper in small circles. Be sure to rub over the edges of your design.
Then, holding onto a corner of the paper, slowly lift the paper off the linoblock. As it peels away try to keep your movements smooth.
And then: Viola! You have a lino print!
Such a super easy way of making cards/prints for the home or gift tags for presents.
It occurred to me one day as I dragged myself out of bed one morning that attitude is key. I’m the first to put my hand up and say that I am not a particularly positive person. I worry and fret, I over think and catastrophise. I’m naturally more introvert and don’t mind being on my own. In ‘fit you into a box’ tests I come out as melancholy, pragmatist and similar life and soul of the party labels.
I can’t say I mind but I have always wondered, am I hardwired this way? Is it changeable? Is being totally positive better?
As a teacher I am responsible for getting children from A to B. In my limited experience I have found the most powerful way of getting all of that learning in is to develop a positive attitude to learning. Interestingly this looks different for each child. I have Charlie (all children’s names have been changed) who is overly enthusiastic. He won’t sit still and can’t wait to get stuck into everything. I also have Chloe. She prefers to sit quietly at her chosen task and mull it over, look at every angle and work it out. Both love learning. For one it is an emotionally exciting and fun experience. For the other it is a hearty challenge which unlocks a whole new world of understanding.
I relate more to Chloe. She is a pragmatist and is often melancholy. Her attitude to learning is positive but not in the traditional sense of the word.
With such differing approaches to loving learning what makes these two tick?
Here is a little video about something I talk about a lot as a teacher: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation is like gold dust in the classroom. If you crack that you’ve made it! Get a child to motivate themselves to learn and you just feed the fire. Forget sticker charts, certificates and trips to show off work to the headteacher. Once they are motivated to do it for themselves those things are just a nice bonus.
I’ve thought long and hard about how to build intrinsic motivation. How do you change the way you think about something and require those networks in your brain?
In my need to make things simple I reduce it into a simple idea.
What if I can make the ‘what do I need’ questions the same as the ‘what do I want’ questions.
Let me explain…
I need to eat healthily. But at the moment I want to eat lots of cake. Lots! Can I get myself to a place where I think – I want to eat healthy food because I love it.
I need to learn to be good at my job. But I really want to watch re-runs on the TV. Can I get myself to think – I love to learn this stuff, it makes me feel alive.
How do we motivate ourselves without it feeling like we are lying about what we really want?
In all honesty this is as far as I have got. I am being the guinea pig in my own mini research project and and trying to change my brain patterns to see the I needs as I wants. So far it seems to be working. I want to love things and get joy out of them in my pragmatist way. I do feel like I love things because I find them really interesting. I like doing my artwork because I love the process.
I’ll keep you updated but for now its a thought tumble to perhaps start your pondering on motivation too.
It was a conversation on theory which started this blog really. For a while I had been thinking about how easy it is to slip into time wasting. Not time wasting as some people see it where anything ‘unproductive’ is useless, but time wasting in the sense that I get no purpose, rest, joy or creativity out of it. A quick example for me are mobile phone games or spending hours scrolling through the same news feed on Facebook. While these things aren’t particularly life threatening it is, for me at least, life sucking. I always feel worse afterwards!
JP, my husband, has an insatiable love of learning. Anything can become a source of fascination and he loves to start chipping away at a topic to find he has an entire mine to uncover. His enthusiasm is infectious and before long he had me thinking about how motivation plays a huge part in why, how and if we choose to do things which are good, bad or have absolutely no impact on us at all. I’ve thought about getting my art out there after some past exhibitions but never really got round to it/put it off/had no motivation. I’m going to try out some of the ideas around of motivation to see if a. it encourages me to produce more art and b. if it changes my thought patterns enough for my motivation to be driven from within as oppose to needed a carrot on a stick!
Over a few blogs I’ll be exploring the idea of motivation from my viewpoint as artist, teacher and learner. I’m hoping there will be some links!
For now I will leave you with this fascinating TED talk on Gamification and a mindfulness to get those rested creative juices flowing. Enjoy.
bethanspeirsdavies 