Block printing on the Block

I have already said 'block' too many times and it sounds extremely odd as the letters roll around my head! I use the word block a fair amount in printmaking but it also reminds me of friends who call their patch of land in Australia 'the block', so this one is for Betty and Co!

Vegetables are good for printing with as they have a certain amount of 'give' but do retain their shape. Carrots, potatoes and onions here, but experiment away!

I forgot to take a regular veg cutting knife along so I have a stanly knife and a scalpel style craft knife. You may have done similar techniques in school but all techniques are worth revisiting, some of the 'point' of activity is to prompt your brain to engage in making ideas from actions. So you can of course cut star shapes, diamonds etc from the face of the vegetable, I have done this in the example but I prefer the shapes and textures you get from the carrot or potato surface. Straight edge shapes will be easier to cut than curves...be careful with the knives!

One idea I did have was to insert a dandelion and leaf into the potato, and print from those.

I tried both an ink pad (available from stationary shops) and some block printing ink, rolled out with a wine cork, you could use acrylic paint but it will dry fairly fast. I'm using water based mediums so they are easy to clean up. I preferred the ink pad to my surprise!

Another delve into the artists that I like, the shapes and textures reminded me of Victor Pasmore, who's work I came across in Tate Britain in London. (A great alternative to Tate Modern in my opinion)

Victor Pasmore1908–1998

Victor Pasmore at Tate

The sun is sinking for today.