Were it not for the smell of ink in the studio, I'd be hard-pressed to convince myself much progress was made on the new linocut. The first color is down, but it's a very pale gray-blue. I tried to take a shot of the prints on the rack, but the camera wouldn't pick up the color and it just looks like a bunch of white sheets of paper!
So.... the low-tech print set-up is the star of the show today instead. On the left, the nifty little registration jig which has evolved with the help of a clever friend. It's just a piece of masonite with 1x2s affixed squarely in one corner. Two pieces of L-shaped corner moulding sit on top of these, as "stops" for the paper edges. Small strips of plywood serve as shims to adjust the distance of the plate from the paper edges (margin control). Ink the plate, slide it into the corner, place the paper on top, get out your baren and kitchen spoon and print away!
Now that the first color is drying I can return to carving the plate. This next pass will remove a lot of material from the plate, so I'll be at it a while.
The jig is brilliant but I'm not quite getting the shim concept. Where do they go?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tech hint! And your design is really beautiful. I've been dying to try reduction printing but couldn't figure out registration. Very cool!