Description
"Cycle" linocut print
18×18 inches linocut print with archival printmaking ink on Japanese Gampi Smooth Paper
*If I do not currently have this print in stock, you can expect at least one month between ordering the print and it being sent out, to account for time for me to manually print the artwork by hand and then several weeks for the print to dry before I can package it up for shipping
Saskatoon & area residents: please do not use this listing to order, contact me for purchasing details
CONCEPT
Breath is life, breath is rejuvenation, breath is grounding. Sometimes all we can do is just breathe to make it through to the next moment. Sometimes breathing can lift us out of a difficult place. When someone brings their attention to their breath, they are being attentive to their body, to the present moment and being. Breathing a form of renewal and fills us with new energy. In these works, I use the action of flying birds to give the impression of air drawn in and expelled out, expansion and contraction symbolizing life, grounded presence, and rejuvenation.
I hope that this work can provide space for meditation or contemplation. The circular pattern created by the repeating print references mandalas and the rich spiritual and ritual cultures surrounding them. I hope that these prints create space for contemplation, compassion, and self-awareness. In the midst of chaos we can breathe, center, and find renewal.
PROCESS
Each print is created using two blocks of carved lino, printed four times.
The blocks were created as iterations of patterns I had originally developed from my "Inhale" and "Exhale" linocut prints, modified for this concept.
For printing this work I created a special jig to hold my paper and block in place. On sealed MDF I marked out with tape guidelines for lino and paper placement. With each new section printed, the block would rotate to the next position. The paper was held in place by Ternes Burton registration pins. (Including this for curious printmakers, if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, it just holds the print in place)
So in all, each finished print is the result of a whole bunch of drawings, hours of arranging, some math, prep, and eight times going through the printing process (inking, placing block/paper in place, then burnishing).
And at the end of it all I took a deep breath.
