(Week Seven - Oct 18th - 24th)

MONDAY

Thursday

Reflection:

The end results half and half turned out and didn't as I had expected. At the start of the printing process, the prints felt looked really rough, there wasn't enough texture forming from the lino sheet, which at that stage was still getting used ink and the design carved into it.

Yet, the further the process continued the cleaner the prints became, sharper and strong colours and lines, as well as the texture from the lino imprinting onto the white paper was visible and added to the composition, but did overwhelm it entirely, it was even and fair, balanced with the elk pattern I had designed.

The only negative aspect I do have to say about the design, was that the white lines, which are uneven but I like, do in a way, overexpose or overstep the boundaries of other lines. To me, it looks childish, as if I wasn't paying attention when supposedly colouring in within the lines. To me, this part of the lino printing process can be improved, taking more time at the skill, not in the sense of moving much more slowly, but practicing and practicing, trying to (almost, in a way) become one with the material I am working with, getting a real grip of how it responds to the actions I am making upon it. In this cade, carving into the soft, smooth and quite often unpredictable material.

Further Expansion:

When continuing with work two days later, I began to think of where else I would like to take the art work. There wasn't a lot that I found to be of interest to me regarding the piece of art which I had taken from, except from the concepts of geometric and polyhedral based compositions. Plus, I believed that there was something else to explore in the matrix which I was using, that being the lino that i carved into in order to produce my lino prints.

With these two selections (Format: Lino, Style: Geometric/Polyhedral), I moved onto what I could implement them onto or into for my next piece, or simply experiment with, OR even push to the limits with, seeing how far it will go without being destroyed (or me hurting myself).

But what to draw or design? That was the question!

After a good ten minutes of thinking (whilst writing everything you've just read), two more things or concepts spawned in my head. These two being the following:

• Simon Stålenhag: One of my favourite artists, who delves into retro-styled-science-fiction-realistic-artwork. His robots and machines really came to mind thinking about his work, each with their own unique look and personality. Their shape and designs could be possible as a lino print, when adapted in order for it to work correctly and well with the lino.

• Arthurian Legends/Excalibur: recently, when furthering in my own creative time outside college hours, I have continued to research and develop my own comic scripts. One of the major themes or focuses I have been looking into are the Arthurian Legends, specifically the one which revolve around the all-powerful sword, Excalibur. The legends and stories change from time to time, each with their own portrayal of how the sword came into the hands of King Arthur. Some say it was born from a dragons tooth, another is that it was gifted to him by the lady of the lake, but above all else and most well known, is the tale of The Sword In The Stone, in which a young Arthur pulls the blade from a lump of rock, granting him the title of true king of England. With this concept and story, I began to think of new way to tell the sword in the stone store, more on the descriptive side of the process. After looking back at my geometric drawings the idea came to me, what if the sword itself was made from stone. The hilt would be metal and imbedded with gems and other rare minerals/metals, but the blade itself would be rough, sharp, disjointed and made from stone, giving it a geometric design.

From these two concepts, i began to research and develop what sort of designs i was going to create and then carve into the lino sheets ready to print.