Last week I showed you how I cut a piece of linoleum for
a linoprint. This week I’ll show you how
the printing itself turned out.
There are a variety of textile inks/paints
available. I bought three brands
specifically made for fabric painting/printing, and also tried acrylic
paint.
For the print process you’ll need something to print on,
ink/paint, something in which to mix the ink if you want custom colors, a
plexiglass or ceramic surface to lay out the ink, a brayer (what you’ll use to
spread the ink onto the block), a wooden skewer, and, if you like, a burnisher
(what you can use to press the inked block onto the fabric -- you'll see that I don't use one). You’ll also need an iron and clothes dryer.
Pour some ink/paint onto your plexi/ceramic surface. Roll your brayer back in forth in the
ink/paint to load it. Make sure it’s evenly loaded with no blobs or
empty spots.
Invest in a good brayer, don’t use one of those really
spongy yellow things. This brayer is
also from Blick (did I tell you how much I love the Dick Blick catalog?). It’s a 4” Blick brand brayer, which is about
mid-price at $12.00. You want a rubber
brayer that has a firm roller that has only a slight give when you squeeze it,
and is easy for you to hold. You don’t
want something that’s going to absorb and waste all of your paint, nor ooze it
onto your block. Also, I thought I was smart and I’d save money
using a dinner plate, but it wasn’t broad enough to properly load the
brayer. Next time I’ll buy a good-sized sheet of plexi.
Carefully spread the ink/paint onto the carved linoleum. Not too thick and not too thin. It will take a few tests to figure out what
the right amount is. You don’t want any
blobs in the uncut area because when you press it onto the fabric it could make
its way onto the print.
You can see I had some blobs in the crevices. I simply picked it out with a wooden skewer.
Firmly, and steadily, press the inked linoleum onto your
fabric. Don’t wiggle it around or the
image will smudge. Simply press firmly.
And here are a few boo-boos I encountered.
Using a tiled table will result in . . .
Imprints from the grouting space between the tiles
And if you have a stray
string/fringe on the back of the fabric . . .
It sure will show up on the
print!
Here’s an example of the
linoleum not being evenly inked
And this is the block after a
few presses. The moisture from the
in/paint will warp the block. It didn’t
really prove to be a problem, but I think adhering the linoleum to a block the
next time will be a good idea.
Let the ink/paint dry and then cover it will
parchment paper and iron it with a dry iron.
This is a must do. The heat sets
the paint so that when you wash the fabric the ink won’t wash away. All of the fabric paint manufacturers also
recommend that you send the printed fabric through a clothes dryer for about
10-15 minutes to further set the ink/paint.
I hope you've enjoyed this linocut printing tutorial. Come back next week and we'll explore another fun topic.
