By Contributing Columnist Amy McCarthy aka AmyOrangeJuice

One of the things I have been most impressed with since joining the Folksy community is the quality of the printed items available. I don’t mean prints of original fine art paintings (though some of these are lovely) but lino cut and wood cut prints, each an individual work of art in its own right.

Printing is a very satisfying art technique and its simple to achieve striking, good quality work with few tools;  so here is my guide to Lino Printing. Why not have a go?

You will need:

Lino Cutting tool: Otherwise know as a gouge, is readily available from art supply shops and on the internet. I got a set for around £ 6 so they are not an expensive buy.  Lino cutting tools come with a handle and several different size cutting blades which fit into the handle, each one makes a different mark and depth into the lino.

Lino: Inexpensive to buy from art supply shops and on line, comes pre-cut in manageable squares.

Roller: Again, printing rollers are cheap to buy from art suppliers, but you could also use a brush.  If using a roller you need a flat, clean surface to roll the paint onto. I use an old piece of reinforced glass from an old coffee table.

Ink: You can use water or oil based printing ink or Gouache/thinned poster paint. All easy to come across and inexpensive.

Paper: Lino can be printed onto a wide range of papers. Specialist printing paper is lovely to use, but a wide range of paper can be used. Why not experiment?

Shopping done? Lets get started!

First of all you need to prepare your lino. It comes with a slightly rough surface, so with a couple of drops of water and a piece of wet and dry sand paper give it a light sanding (should only take a couple of minutes). This will give a strong printing texture. Without preparation the surface of the print could look grainy. Try not to get the hessian backing wet as it will make the lino unstable and soggy!

The next thing to do is prepare the design and cut the lino to the desired size with a craft knife. Remember that the parts you carve away will remain white (assuming you are printing onto white paper). You can draw straight onto the lino or trace a design from paper onto the lino. Remember that when printing everything will appear in reverse on the paper.

Now you are ready to start mark making! Hopefully you have tried out your tools and got a feel for what marks the different blades make: some deep and rounded, others shallow and triangular. Hold the handle of the gouge in the palm of your hand with the blade outwards between your thumb and forefinger and push the cutting edge into the lino, keeping the blade and handle close the lino surface and push along the lino; you have made your first cut!

SAFETY NOTICE: Always cut away from your body and keep your other hand clear of the cutting blade!

When you have cut away all of your design you are ready to print.  Having protected your surfaces with old newspaper, roll the paint out on the glass/slab/flat surface till you have a nice even layer of ink/paint. Now place the lino block with the design facing upwards on a clean surface and roll the ink onto it until you have a nice even layer of paint on the design (or dab the lino with a loaded brush until all of it is evenly covered).  Lay your printing paper carefully on top of the lino block and burnish the paper with a spoon or with your fingers. Peek at the paper by lifting a corner until you are satisfied with the print.  You have made your first print~well done! Lay flat to dry away from pets and kids (I have had hand and paw prints everywhere before!) and repeat as many times as you want, or until you run out of paper!

This is the first stage of lino printing, in part 2 I will show you how to use the reduction method to create prints using several colours.

Photo courtesy of A. Deegan

By Contributing Columnist Ashley Pahl aka AshleyPahl

Every day, countless new shops full of beautiful art and handmade items open on Etsy.com. Among those shops are artists who think outside the box and fill their online store with amazingly creative and unique ideas. Shops to Watch, a monthly article, highlights these artists and the works that fill their shops.

This month features the art of Melissa Wagner-Lawler, shop owner of Red Thread Letter. Wagner-Lawler, a printmaker, sculptor, and book artist, has trained at both the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies. Her portfolio of prints, sculpture, and books are available for viewing at her website, www.RedThreadLetterPress.com. Currently located in Milwaukee, Melissa Wagner-Lawler exhibits locally, nationally, and internationally.

Melissa’s Etsy shop, however, focuses on handcrafted jewelry inspired by natural and organic forms. In particular, her series of cellular-inspired necklaces stands out. The necklaces are inspired by irregular and organic patterns found in nature. They come in many different colors and no two are alike. Wagner-Lawler shared with me her thoughts on running a shop an Etsy shop and creating a focused collection, receiving an education in art, and her biggest inspirations.

What led you to your decision to get an education in art?

For me, there was never any decision that had to be made; it was really the only thing
that I ever wanted to do. It was the natural progression. The real decision was what
did I want to do after receiving my master’s. I debated about whether or not I wanted
to teach, and in the end, I just kind of fell into it. Currently, I’m teaching art at two
institutions and I couldn’t be happier.

Where did your love for organic forms come from?

It’s hard to pinpoint. Overall, I’d have to say that I like mimicking or attempting to
mimic natural forms. I’m more attracted to other people’s representation of organic
forms than the actual forms themselves.

What else inspires you?

Most of my inspiration comes from subtleties in texture and pattern and slight shifts in
color; this is why the majority of the pieces in my shop are somewhat monochromatic.
Keeping the colors very similar or the same allows for the focus to be put on the design,
pattern, or texture and maintains simplicity, in that respect.

Also, contrasts in materials and forms, such as organic versus industrial, continually
interest me as well.

What is your favorite piece, current or sold, in your Etsy shop?

The larger asymmetrical pieces with the chain are definitely my favorite. They embody
the contrast of the materials – the beauty of the beaded form versus the industrial, rock
‘n roll side of the chain.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=21955640

This piece was definitely hard to part with as well:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=22341273

What work of art from your portfolio means the most to you?

On some level, I am attached to all of them. It would be difficult for me to pinpoint one
over another, but typically my sculpture items I can never part with simply for the
amount of time that it takes to create them.

Is there an art technique you not yet tried, but would like to?

I’ve always wanted to try blown glass, but have not yet found the resources to do so.
I’ve tried nearly everything that is art and crafty, especially when it comes to my
professional artwork.

What piece of advice would you give to another artist wanting to open an Etsy
shop?

Producing high quality items that you can stand behind is of the utmost importance. It
can be a daunting task to decide what you want to focus on in your shop, but having
one type of item that you excel at producing will get you further than trying to dabble in
multiple areas. Overall, I believe that buyers want to see an Etsy seller that is
committed to their product(s) and have taken the time to refine them. The old adage
practice makes perfect definitely applies!

What are your long term plans for your artwork?

Well, one can never show their work in too many exhibitions! Being a cross‐disciplinary
artist (printmaking and sculpture), I find myself often being pulled in one direction over
the other and then a few months later that direction flips back again. Currently, I am
focusing on printmaking and making some small‐scale etchings and larger collagraph
pieces. However, in a few months, I’ll be interested in sculpture again and then I’ll be
working on expanding a piece from my MFA Thesis that I’ve been continuously putting
on hold.

Thanks so much to Melissa for taking the time to talk to us at Indie Smiles, and may your success continue!

Kate Sibley aka Candle Scentsations
Well lets’ get the intros out of the way first. My name is Kate Sibley and I live in beautiful Long Neck Delaware in a place my family and I think of as our piece of the American Dream. I am happily married to my high school sweetheart with two beautiful daughters. Our friends still refer to us a “peanut butter and jelly” because we have endured much and still live like newlyweds after all these years. There is one more thing about me that makes me grateful to be sharing this site with all of you, I am a cancer survivor. Everyday is a new day with new ideas and friends and dreams and I am thankful for everyone, even the rough patches, its easier than having realized the alternative.

What led me to Candle Scentsations? My husband and I had one of the top towing companies in Philadelphia, PA for more than twenty years. While pulled over on the Schuylkill Expressway preparing to tow a car, he was hit by a truck, thrown over the hood of the police car assiting him and landed in the middle of the road. He was hours away from it all being over for us, but doctors and paramedics worked effortlessly to save his life. Although he needed both legs reconstructed, back surgery and both rotator cuffs replaced, it took him five years to learn to walk again and become independent. It would have been devastating to me to had to have told my children that God had other plans. I found myself with young children that needed a lot of time and now I was faced with the long road ahead to bring my husband back to his old self. There were moments when I thought I was just ready to go over the edge, mentally and physically. I had to find a way to keep myself together while keeping my family and my home there too. I was looking through some old catalogs I had picked up at a flea market and started reading about all the women who found their niche and made a simple hobby into a profitable craft business, without ever leaving home. I had always had a passion for candles, and although wax, beeswax and soy seemed to have been done to death, I thought about gel. The consistency of a gel candle makes it burn cleaner and longer than wax or soy, no soot, and the scent is folded into the gel evenly so the aroma lasted as long as the candle was able to burn. I started out making small jelly jars and handed them out to friends, family and neighbors and hoped for a good feedback. I was stunned to hear all the wonderful compliments and urgency to create a special scent for each individuals taste. From fruit to flowers to perfume to eucalyptus, there is a scent for every pallete and a color to match your room, office, kitchen or den. I was able to start creating other gel candles with “themes”, if there was a nascar lover, I placed a small replica car inside the gel, birds, flowers, animals what ever they could imagine I am able to do using the gel.

That was 7 years ago, the comfort and tranquility that I was able to reflect in my candles took the pressures of my day away and I turned a mind saving comfort into a profitable business. I love meeting all the wonderful customers and friends I have made along the way with each craft fair I participate in and am looking forward to turning my business into an online store so I never have to change out of my pajamas and still provide a financial future to my family while doing something I absolutely love.
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Articles by Scentsensations:

Shoes for Teenage Blues

Contributing columnist RobotsAreAwesome

Polymer Clay Tip:

1 semi-soft brush
1 bottle of clay softener

Here’s a hand little tip for getting rid of fingerprints and producing a nice smooth finish to your polymer clay creation without sanding.
Just before putting your piece into the oven for baking, having already placed your piece on it’s baking surface (i.e. cookie sheet, glass container).

Take your lid off the clay softener and dip your brush in, very lightly, a little goes along way and brush down your entire clay piece. You’ll remove all finger prints and last minute minor imperfections.

Initially your piece will be left with a high shine, but after a bake in the oven (following manufacturer’s cooking time instructions) the shine will be complete gone and you’ll be left with a smooth polymer clay creation.

You can either leave your piece as is or coat with varnish for a shiny (fingerprint free) finish.

Picture courtesy of RobotsAreAwesome.etsy.com

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