The Jenny Kansas series is part of my collection, Her in the Here. This print, Jenny Kansas, Baby Bunting & Shy Sky V.E. 2/4 is part of a variable edition of hand-pulled reduction linoleum prints.
The Jenny Kansas prints focus on the trust between a child and her mother, and the parent's responsibility to navigate the world. The imagery is inspired by a photo I love of my mother on horseback during the early days of dating my father. The child figure is inspired by the Halloween costume my mother made for me when I was four years old - she created it from one of her old sweaters, a winter hat, pipe cleaners and cotton balls glued together for the tail. Her creativity wove bits of magic throughout my childhood.
** This print is sold.
What is a Reduction Linoleum Print?
This form of printmaking involves carving, inking and printing a single block of linoleum. Each color you see is its own carve/ink/print layer, and each layer is carved away after printing, meaning the block is destroyed over time by the artist.
I begin with a sheet of battleship gray linoleum. Artist grade linoleum is made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, limestone and the jute (hessian) that forms the backing, and has been used by printmaking artists for over 100 years.
I draw the outline of the image I want to create directly onto the linoleum. I then carve away everything on the linoleum that should remain white (paper color). Then I ink the block the first ink color. I then print the color onto a sheet of printmaking paper. I do this by placing the inked-up linoleum onto the press bed, placing the sheet of paper on top of the linoleum, and running this through the press. The drum of the press applies pressure to the paper as the work travels under the drum. Once free of the drum, I pull the paper off the linoleum sheet. That is one layer done on one sheet!
I then replicate the process for all the sheets I want to print with that first color. Afterwards, I carve away everything on the linoleum that I want to remain the color I just printed. I then ink up the plate with the 2nd color and repeat the entire process. I repeat this for process for each color in the print.
How long does each layer take to dry? The first layers will dry within a few days, but once several layers of ink are on the paper, the drying time begins to increase. Around layer 6, it can take almost a week to dry. Each layer must be fully dry before the next layer can go on.
Why does it take so long to dry? I use oil-based inks, which do not dry as quickly as water-based inks. Oil-based inks create beautifully rich colors that last lifetimes, just like oil paints do. And just like oil paints, oil-based inks dry slowly - the more layers, the slower the drying time. These inks dry through a mixture of evaporation and oxidation.
What makes this a V.E. (Variable Edition) instead of a regular edition? These prints vary in the color of the inks I use to create each unique image. I love to experiment with color and am interested in how colors impact the symbolism, mood or "vibe' of a work. Variable Editions lets me explore this curiosity while retaining the overall composition of the work.
The Jenny Kansas series is part of my collection, Her in the Here. This print, Jenny Kansas, Baby Bunting & Shy Sky V.E. 2/4 is part of a variable edition of hand-pulled reduction linoleum prints.
The Jenny Kansas prints focus on the trust between a child and her mother, and the parent's responsibility to navigate the world. The imagery is inspired by a photo I love of my mother on horseback during the early days of dating my father. The child figure is inspired by the Halloween costume my mother made for me when I was four years old - she created it from one of her old sweaters, a winter hat, pipe cleaners and cotton balls glued together for the tail. Her creativity wove bits of magic throughout my childhood.
** This print is sold.
What is a Reduction Linoleum Print?
This form of printmaking involves carving, inking and printing a single block of linoleum. Each color you see is its own carve/ink/print layer, and each layer is carved away after printing, meaning the block is destroyed over time by the artist.
I begin with a sheet of battleship gray linoleum. Artist grade linoleum is made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, limestone and the jute (hessian) that forms the backing, and has been used by printmaking artists for over 100 years.
I draw the outline of the image I want to create directly onto the linoleum. I then carve away everything on the linoleum that should remain white (paper color). Then I ink the block the first ink color. I then print the color onto a sheet of printmaking paper. I do this by placing the inked-up linoleum onto the press bed, placing the sheet of paper on top of the linoleum, and running this through the press. The drum of the press applies pressure to the paper as the work travels under the drum. Once free of the drum, I pull the paper off the linoleum sheet. That is one layer done on one sheet!
I then replicate the process for all the sheets I want to print with that first color. Afterwards, I carve away everything on the linoleum that I want to remain the color I just printed. I then ink up the plate with the 2nd color and repeat the entire process. I repeat this for process for each color in the print.
How long does each layer take to dry? The first layers will dry within a few days, but once several layers of ink are on the paper, the drying time begins to increase. Around layer 6, it can take almost a week to dry. Each layer must be fully dry before the next layer can go on.
Why does it take so long to dry? I use oil-based inks, which do not dry as quickly as water-based inks. Oil-based inks create beautifully rich colors that last lifetimes, just like oil paints do. And just like oil paints, oil-based inks dry slowly - the more layers, the slower the drying time. These inks dry through a mixture of evaporation and oxidation.
What makes this a V.E. (Variable Edition) instead of a regular edition? These prints vary in the color of the inks I use to create each unique image. I love to experiment with color and am interested in how colors impact the symbolism, mood or "vibe' of a work. Variable Editions lets me explore this curiosity while retaining the overall composition of the work.