Linoleum block I carved last year to use on clay

I haven’t spent much time in the studio lately…but I have been thinking about new projects related to clay and print making.  I feel like branching out partly inspired by the following two books:

Printing by Hand – Lena Corwin

I had picked up Lena Corwin’s book, Printing by Hand, from the library last year but felt it didn’t apply to my projects at the time.  Most of the examples and projects involve printing on paper, fabric, furniture and walls.  But, I have a hankering for printing some note cards and stationery and remembered her book.  I did some internet sleuthing (read googled the title of the book) and landed on Lena’s blog.  I don’t know how much time I spent perusing her blog, when eventually I saw mention of Lotta Jansdotter.

Lotta Prints by Lotta Jansdotter

I managed to find two of her books at the Denver Public Library – Lotta Prints & Lotta Jandsdotter’s Simple Sewing.  I’m inspired by both Lotta’s and Lena’s use of printmaking to make beautiful and decorative items.  I can’t wait to explore some of the resources they list in their books on the web this afternoon.

PhotoEZ Screen Print Starter Kit

I am particularly interested in screen printing which both Lotta and Lena describe in their books and am reminded that I still have the PhotoEZ Screen Print Kit that I haven’t used yet.  I should mess around with it before I leave on vacation next week.  One method of screen printing that I also want to try is using drawing fluid and screen filler to create easy original screen prints.

If you visit regularly, you might be asking yourself – “What about clay???” Wait for it…………wait for it…………okay….. I mentioned above that I want to branch out a bit.  I’m going to try my hand at making some paper products for sale along with some fabric/sewing projects for the new/old home we’re moving into in late August.  It will give me a chance to do some drawing and think that the projects will translate really nicely as color ceramic decals if I can get my act together.  The screens would also work nicely directly on raw clay using underglaze.

The paper & fabric projects will give me some instant gratification unlike making pottery (okay there is gratification in making and designing, but less so when the firings don’t always turn out as expected).  These projects will also be more portable when I consider that my studio is also going to be moving cross town – a task I am looking forward to.  Why?  Because my studio needs some serious reorganizing!  What better way to accomplish the task than a move to light the fire under my behind.

Signing off,

Cynthia