Monster Linocut.

Ooops, I did it again . . . I attended another Monster Gallery printmaking workshop and had an absolutely lovely time!

I have only been in Singapore since late July. When it is raining outside, cabs are completely scarce. They hide. Rumor has it, if they get in an accident--regardless of fault or proof of insurance--they have to fork over $1000. It's kind of annoying to those of us living here . . . Especially since it rains 90% of the time in Singapore. Just for kicks, let's say you have a 7pm linocut workshop to attend: you ring the cab at 5:30pm to book and one can't be there until 8:00pm. (What?!#$@%^&!!) Never have I been in a city where a cab has not been readily available. (Perhaps I am being a bit of a spoiled brat.) #WTW #rainysingapore

But I digress. 

My reason for this outpouring of grief is that the first time I attended a workshop at Monster Gallery, I was late. 20 minutes late. Infuriating. And this time? This time I left a good hour and a half before the class started, texted Joe that I was on my way, and I was still 10 minutes late. (What gives rainy Singapore??!)

I was so happy to finally be there, sitting down and carving away at my linoleum plate. I knew beforehand that I wanted my prints to be sent to the States for Valentine's Day. I also knew that I wanted to do some sewing on these prints. So for my image, I chose a microscope. 

I printed it off at school, as is, and then colored it in with a black marker to make it more graphic so that I would know what to cut away and what needs to be left for printing.

I traced the microscope onto tracing paper and transferred it to my linoleum plate. I left the dark part raised--to be printed--and cut away the rest of the plate.

Here's what my plate looked like next to my tracing, the computer print out, and my tools (all of which were provided and given to me for keeps).

To make our prints, we distributed a small amount of Speedball ink into a shallow tray and rolled the ink onto our linoleum plates using a brayer. We printed on rice paper and used the back of a wooden spoon or a baren to help transfer the ink. Again, a simple process with amazing results.

This linoleum plate can be used over and over again, probably at least another 200 times. Generally speaking, what happens is the plate will start deteriorating from washing it in between prints. It's like rubber, made out of the same basic material as erasers.

I printed several colors including a brown that I really liked (not pictured). The one to the right, above, is a black print over a pink print. Lined it up almost perfectly . . . It's probably my favorite. #pinkmicroscope

Examples from our class. The one below is by our instructor Joe. He purposefully offset the second layer. Quite possibly, 3D glasses are needed to look at this print. 

Now to make these tiny prints into Valentines to send off to the States . . . Tiny felt hearts unite! What will your Valentines look like this year? Handmade or store bought? Only 6 days left . . . Go, cupid, go!

"Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope." - Henry Wheeler Shaw