Week #11 - Lino Print Cards

I've always wanted to try lino printing and have been lucky enough to have a few taster sessions here and there, but have never gotten around to finally giving it a go for myself. I felt as though I knew what to do from my taster workshops, but I wasn't quite yet confident enough to make the leap, so I visited Paper Village in Bristol where Vicky was nice enough to talk me through the equipment, materials and steps I needed to take to get block printing at home.

Really, its the kind of craft that is so fun and forgiving that its worth taking the leap and just having a go with it! It's a real simple process as long as you get the safety measures under control and develop good habits (always push the lino away from yourself, and watch that hands and fingers are not on the receiving end of the cutter.

I decided I wanted to try a few different designs - two where my design was printed and most of what was cut away would be white space, and a third where my design was made of the white space and most of the block was filled with ink.

Unsure of where to start and wanting to try something easy, I of course: put a bird on it.

So for my first attempt I drew up a rough bird silhouette and some branches and just started cutting away what wasn't within my cut lines.


For my second try I got a little more creative and tried to replicate a wolf line drawing I did a few years ago. I had to simplify the design a bit but I'm pleased with the results.


I made 50 of these cards for week #11 and instead of putting them up on ebay, I'll be selling them at various markets and events to raise more funds throughout the year. If they prove popular, I've still got the lino blocks so I'll print as many as people will buy!