paper

I really wished I'd known that Cibi in Collingwood was having a launch last November of these beautiful Cibi Siwa washi paper bags. Nothing like discovering things too late, is there? I think these are so wonderful in their simplicity and really sum up the idea of wabi sabi perfectly. Given Cibi is only a short bike ride from my house and has some the most delicious Japanese food on offer in Melbourne I'm hoping they still have some of these in stock in their shop. Would it be too sacrosanct to consider printing on one?

BSG has a good works on paper show on at the moment. At the opening last night I was especially impressed with a giant (not kidding it was HUGE) lino cut by Victorian printmaker Sue Fraser. You can see it here (it's #40).

flight

A test run of a dragonfly lino block print on natural cotton/linen blend fabric. I wonder where they're off to?

The hiatus is over - the shop is open again. It might take me a little while to restock.

Harvest Textile Studios has just announced their next round of classes. Sign up here.

succulent design in progress

The one good thing about having a 36 degree day is that you don't have to sit on your lino to warm it up and make it soft before cutting. In this heat is cuts like butter. I've been feeling a bit off colour but decided to start cutting this design today anyway. It's a pen and ink drawing based on some photos I've taken of succulent flowers. When I'm feeling up to it I plan on printing it onto some fabric. Somehow I don't think that's going to be tomorrow - it's forecast to be 37 degrees. A bit to warm for printing even when you're feeling 100%.

lino creative

Ooooooh goodie, look who I found through Blanket Magazine: the incredibly talented, Sydney based lino cut artist, Sandra Krumins, aka Lino Creative. Look at the gorgeous collection she has in the Art section of her website! I love the way she works with the texture of lino cut prints and then manipulates them in photoshop to get her final look. She's inspired me to play with my lino cut dragonfly tomorrow. I've been meaning to try it out on some fabric I bought a few weeks ago.

block for fabric printing

I've been really inspired by the beautiful fabrics people produce by block printing. So I'm carving out a dragonfly on this lovely piece of red lino and hopeful to experiment on some ivory Indian cotton I've purchased. As a woodblock printer, I find lino so funny to work with. It's all slippery and smooth and not at all like wood. I loved Jesse's tip about keeping your block warm by sitting it from time to time. A good tip on a cold day like today. I have a feeling from what I've read that I'm not cutting deeply enough for fabric printing. I guess I'll soon know if that's the case once I start pressing the block onto the fabric.

angie lewin

I've just discovered the lino cuts of a British artist called Angie Lewin. I was lucky enough to get a set of her reproduction cards which feature 2 of her prints: Dandelions and Blue Meadow. The one you can see above is called Clifftop IV and was sold out at Bircham Gallery recently along with a whole lot of her other prints.

If you'd like to see more click over and look at the gallery page of her website. I love the colours she uses in her prints. They have a retro feel to them but the lines and shapes are modern, all in all a wonderful balance. She has limited editions of her original prints available too. Oh and she also has some of her prints made into textiles like the lovely one below: