Creativity

Printing

When I need a little zen, I like to get creative in my spare time and carve linoleum. “That’s weird” you probably just said to yourself, but I assure you it’s a thing. I then whack some paint onto the carved linoleum and then use them to make prints (More commonly known as ‘linocuts’, ‘linoprints’, or ‘block printing’). Having first learned about block printing at school, it’s become my favorite medium – I like how the randomness and differences (not ‘mistakes’, how dare you!) between each print give them individuality and add to the overall effect.

However, life gets in the way sometimes, and I hit a major lull in creativity in 2024. I reasoned that the best way to break through that wall was to force myself to be creative. So, I am trying to make one new print per day, with the hope of creating a whole year’s worth of not very good prints that might contain a few flashes of gold! I’m not going to post them all here, but will share the ones I’m pleased with. I will add more as the year progresses.

My insta? It’s here, thanks for asking: http://www.instagram.com/GPHNYC

Linocut. “A.I. CAN’T DO THIS YET” Utilizing the individual letters I’ve previously carved allows me to create things that AI cannot. Yet.

Linocut. Salford Shopping City in Salford, UK. Nondescript generic tower building with “SALFORD SHOPPING CITY” inexplicably written on it in huge letters. I guess this is how people found places in the days before Google Maps. Printed in three colors.

Linocut. Olive branch. I created a few different leaf shapes, then printed the stem and each leaf individually. I used ever-so-slightly different shades of paint to mimic the different shades of olive tree leaves in the real world.

Linocut. Uranus IS a gas giant. It is true. Also funny. Ha ha.

Linocut. Known as a cheese plant, or monstera. Each leaf and stem here is a separate print. The variety in greens give it more depth I think. As much as the poor printing of some of the leaves gives it an abstract feel, I should probably reprint it and take better care.