|
My Printing Press The press I use to print my linocuts was built in 2003 by my husband. The frame is made of solid oak and pressure is applied vertically by a 10 ton hydraulic jack. It measures 30"l x 36"w x 22"h and has the print area 24"x30".  Original Prints A print is a piece of paper on which a design has been imprinted from a matrix made of some selected medium, usually stone, wood, or metal. In a relief print the image is printed from a raised surface on the matrix, so that the printmaker creates the matrix by cutting away that part which he does not want to show in the image. To create a relief print the ink is applied to the raised surface of the matrix, which is then pressed onto a sheet of paper. Examples of relief prints are woodcuts, linocuts, and wood engravings. Only a limited number of prints can be produced from a plate. Every print is slightly different and considered an original piece of artwork, not a reproduction. Traditionally, original prints are titled, signed, and numbered in pencil. Other printmaking techniques I use include monotype, drypoint, woodcut, and collagraph. Linocut Printmaking Linocut is a relief printing technique (similar to woodcut) in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. The design is drawn on a linoleum plate. Then everything that shall remain unpainted, is cut away with the use of a knife or a tool called gouge. Next the plate is covered with the ink. The final print is produced by pressing the paper firmly against the inked plate using a hand operated press. Color Linocuts Prints in color can be produced in several ways. Reduction method is a printmaking technique when a multi-colored print is made with the use of a single block. Through a series of progressive cuttings, inkings, and printings, the image slowly emerges while the actual block is destroyed. A reduction print can therefore never be reprinted. See "Monterey Cypresses" and "Prophecy". Click here to see reduction printing step by step. Another method of colored printing requires a separate plate for every shape of a particular color and each color is printed on a separate run. See Nude in a Studio Series. So-called "rainbow inking" is used when different colors are applied on a single plate simultaneously using two or more brayers (rollers). See my linocut "Eve". A linocut printed in one color from a single plate can also be colored by hand using watercolor. See Greek Myths Series and Winged Lions. One or more of these techniques can be combined in a single artwork. In my Birthday Flowers Series the reduction method, multiple plates, and rainbow inking are creatively used together to achieve the subtle painterly effect. In my most recent work - Paper Towers Series - I combined the reduction method with rainbow inking in every layer. Once more linoleum block printing proved to be a challenging medium full of possibilities. |
||||
| Natalia Moroz - Gallery © | ||||