Lino Blocks!

Narrator: Tabitha of The Pairabirds

Whew! I have at least 20 projects floating in my head (and about 50 floating around my studio). One of the projects I'm working on is linoleum block printing. I haven't done any since high school. I ordered some blocks and cutters from Dick Blick, one of the greatest stores on earth. If I could dig a hole in that store's wall, I would live in Blick like a little mouse. Anyway, I ordered the items online on Saturday and they came on Tuesday (another reason I love Blick, fast delivery).

Word to the wise, if you live in the frigid Midwest, like me, do not expect to be able to carve into your linoleum blocks after they have been sitting on the doorstep for a few hours. I did a test carve yesterday (I heated the linoleum in front of a space heater). Wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

I did the carving above today (much easier to carve since the blocks were sitting in room temperature overnight). I found some good tips and hints while purveying the Etsy forums. Angie Muldowney provided some good tips here. Amantha and Minouette are two other sellers that provided some good info.

I still have to buy ink and a brayer. I'm one of those people who jumps into a project and acquires materials as they are needed. Or, I improvise. I bought Blick's 2"X3" blocks, unmounted. So, my vise (as you can see above) was a clipboard, mini clamps, and masking tape. Hey, you have to use what you have.