Learning to Cut a Lino Tile

art. house. mum.

It's been about 10 years since I've cut a lino tile.   How can that be?  So, frankly, I'm rusty.

But I can't tell you how fun it was to break out the old lino cutters which I have been carting around since I forgot to hand them back in to my highschool art teacher... Sorry Mrs Wagner. 

I really thought that I bought a lovely Speedball set when I worked at an art shop... but no trace of that now.  So, after the first cut I did a quick print run onto computer paper using the delightfully easy to clean up water-based relief ink.  Unbelievably the kids were so caught up in finishing some paintings in the studio that they were actually oblivious to the fact that a precious art reunion was in progress right beside them...

And the first run also proved that I have a lot to learn.  The design was less than average, so I spent each moment of the afternoon when the kids were racing round outside watching them from inside carefully carving away.  They did pick up on the carving activity so I let them tag along for the second print run back up in the shed.  Little Hands was the only one who made it a stressful activity.  And again I am intrigued that as a parent with three little ones in tow I can work so much faster and under such a different kind of pressure than I could when I was a free and fancy (?) university student.

So here I am again, a student, but this time round the lessons are free but the time is priceless.

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