Project #29 Making your own stamps and print blocks

The above linocut print by Philip Taaffe is a nice example of positive and negative space and how they print.  It was printed with a lino block something like the one below.  

Making block prints or small stamps is relatively easy.  I recommend Safety Kut material that can be ordered through ENasco.  If you are a professional artist or ordering for a class, the Monster Block is perfect. It is 3/8th  inch thick allowing both sides to be used. 

I have tried Speedball blocks and other brands but had problems with them being to soft or tearing and splitting easily.  The Safety Kut blocks that I have had for years and used over and over are still in good shape.  You can also use inexpensive large erasures from the dollar store.  The white material seems to work the best.  

You will need the block material to carve, carving tools (I recommend Speedball tools) and water based printing inks or paint depending on how large the block is and how you want to print it.  Golden Open acrylic paint, which has a longer drying time, is ideal for printing but watercolor or tempera will work.  Regular acrylic paint will work but it dries fast so you have less working time. Oil paint will not work.  

Design 

I like to draw my design on tracing paper with an ebony pencil and transfer it to the block.  The block will print the image in reverse so keep that in mind when you are working on your design.  If you transfer your drawing onto the block then your print will look like your drawing.  If you draw your design directly onto the block your image will print backwards.

Below is my design drawn on tracing paper then transferred to the Safety Kut material by putting the graphite side of the drawing on the Safety Kut and rubbing the back of the drawing with the side of the graphite. Ebony pencils are excellent for transferring the drawing and making wide lines that print well.  Cut the Safety Kut material to size with an exacto or sharp scissors. 

Carving

Remember to keep your fingers away from the blade when you are carving.  There are two kinds of Speedball blades.  One blade carves away from you and the other carves toward you.  If you have access to both kinds of blades, try them and see which one works best for you.  The inward curing blade is safer for younger students.  The blades below are for carving away from you.  The handle is hollow to hold multiple blades.

You do not need to cut very deeply when you carve.  When you finish carving, make a test print so that you can see any areas that need more work. 

Think about how you will want your block to print.  The raised areas will retain color and the low areas will be the color of your paper or the substrate that you are printing on.  Try printing on different surfaces - cardboard, wood, fabric and even some plastics will work.  

Printing

You can use a brayer to apply the ink or paint.  Brayers work well with ink.  

Foam brushes work well with paint.  First wet the foam brush, squeeze the water out then put the brush into the paint. This keeps the brush from soaking up too much paint and wasting paint.  It also helps apply the paint more evenly.  

Some examples of print blocks that I have made.  Some with positive lines, some with negative lines and some with large positive areas.  Golden acrylic paint, regular and OPEN and a sponge brush.  The archival permanent ink works well because  you can paint over it and print on top of dry painted areas. 

Vocabulary:  printmaking, negative and positive space, linocut material, brayer, Golden Open acrylic paint