return from a lengthy absence to printing

For those who have noticed a long absence from this blog I have been battling a chronic disease for the past two years. The result was being forced to stop printmaking endeavours to focus on my health and recovery. 

One of the ways that helped me to cope with my situation was to re-focus my creative exploits and spend time painting (a lower impact activity that also allowed me to sit). Although I have enjoyed doing watercolour and I acrylic studies I realized recently how much that I really missed printmaking. So I decided to go into the studio and see what might be achieved.

Even though the disease still very much presents daily challenges I have discovered ways to alleviate some of the discomfort of standing and using my limbs in activities that require repeated exertions of strength, something which had been difficult to do. The secret was scheduling activity shorter in overall duration than what I usually was used to. For example, where I would spend several hours in one go in my studio, I now take a break after an hour or as my body tells me. I might then return later and spend another hour or two before calling it a day.

Yesterday I was feeling somewhat energetic and ended up spending some time in the studio mixing ink, applying it to the brayer and then onto an older carved linoleum block. This was used on the second block of a two-colour print titled Moon & Forest (an open edition) that I carved and printed in 2011. 

https://myprintmakingjourney.blogspot.com/2011/03/moon-influence-reprint-of-old-block.html

I used a couple of processes for the background colour block. The first was carving into the linoleum then carefully cutting it to remove as a small piece that required inking separatel. The second method was fountain blending of the ink using phthalo blue and white (blended by rolling the brayer repeatedly until the two inks mixed in a even transition). On the press bed I re-inserted the inked small circular piece into the circular hole.  The paper was set over top (paper secured to a homemade registration pin system) and I passed it under the preset roller to transfer it to paper. I was able to lay down the first colour layer onto nine separate pieces of rag. 

Today I am taking a day of rest. It is my hope that tomorrow I will feel well enough to return back into the studio to ink the key block and print this onto the nine prints in progress currently hanging to dry on the line in the warm basement studio.

 

In the meantime I have been looking at some older sketches and have developed some ideas for a brand new relief print. I have missed the feeling of carving into a surface and feel I can accomplish this again adapting to a reduce pace with frequent rest breaks. But my motivation factor is high and such good therapy too with the benefit of a little bit of physical exercise I get from doing this.