I recently carved a trio of blocks to use for printing pamphlet covers. Our gardens inspired the images. I am pleased with the blocks and prints as well as the sewn pamphlets. I hope to eventually carve additional blocks to add to this series.
I began by sketching with pencil. This first drawing was based on poppies in our gardens during the Spring.
The third drawing was based on the numerous finches that inhabit our gardens.
I go over each drawing with a Sharpie pen before carving the image into the block.
With each drawing I played around with the space incorporating borders or dividing the space into units. My intent was that the space of the print would fall across the front, back, and spine of the sewn pamphlets. It was a new challenge to think of the completed prints in this manner.
I transferred the completed drawings to the blocks and then carved each block.
A second drawing was based on blueberries. Our bushes never yield all that many blueberries since most are eaten by birds!
I traced the poppy drawing using a soft lead mechanical pencil, and taped it with the drawing face down to a linoleum block. I rubbed across the back of the drawing with a teflon bone folder to transfer it to the block. This method of transferring works beautifully.
I printed the poppy image using a red hue - rubine red, trans white, and a bit of yellow ink.
Printing the finch and flowers. The color was a mixture of trans white, yellow, and warm red. This color looks great on this creamy white cover weight from French paper.
The blueberry block is my favorite; being partial to blue! I am sewing up this journal using the triple chain.
It was such a pleasure sewing up these prints and seeing how the spacing of the images worked on the covers. This sewing pattern is called the triple chain. All of these journals are three section pamphlets.
This sewing pattern is called the Coil Spring.
The covers of the sewn pamphlets on various papers. The white and cream are a cover weight by French paper. The brown is chip board.
Spines of sewn and completed pamphlets - joy, joy, joy!!!