Medieval Tiles - Water-based Ink

4"sq. griffin

I like the wood marks. They give an energy to the print. This is an Irish tile.




3"sq. unicorn



3"sq. deer

Daniel Smith burnt umber water-soluable ink on Somerset. There may be a touch of yellow ochre as well. I was going back and forth between the two with the blocks. Gave me some lovely browns and golds.

Griffin Tile

griffin tile 4"sq. faux print


griffin tile 4"sq. block

Another tile block. This one is 4"sq. Large open spaces work well on fabric.

Tile Block 2

tile block2, 3"sq. - faux print


tile block2, 3"sq.

Another Medieval tile.

I've Been Tagged 8-]

my son and I doing a medieval spinning demo a couple decades ago

Vivien tagged me. http://vivienb.blogspot.com/

These are the rules:

• List seven random facts/habits about yourself
• Choose another seven bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog
• Leave your seven tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.

Ok, let's see. Seven random facts about me:

1. I do medieval historical recreation with the Society for Creative Anachronisms on the weekends. I dress in funny clothes and do improbable things for entertainment. My particular persona is 10th C. Viking and I'm a spinner and weaver. My husband even built me a Viking warp-weighted loom.

2. I edit and write a medieval poetry collection in the above mentioned society.

3. I occasionally write fan-fic. If you don't know what that is, it's just too embarrassing to explain. ;- j But the names Buffy and X-Files and Highlander come to mind.

4. When I was in high school I taught bible school and lived on a Lakota Indian Reservation for a summer. I stayed in the dorm/bunk house of a working mission ranch with a handful of Native-American girls and we bailed hay and rode horses bareback. Try being the washichu in the room when an "Indians and Cowboys" movie comes on the tv!

5. Although we've gone East and West and South from the Middle, I still keep in touch with my high school friends of 40 years ago. We're into the 3rd generation now. We still call our little group Invenature, from invention and adventure. We were going to take over the world -- but now I'll just settle for my little corner of it.

;->

6. This is getting harder. I have a brown thumb and only truly hardy specimens who really want to live can survive my inattentions. Consequently, the curb tree the builders planted has turned into a locust forrest in my front yard. They're intoxicating in the spring when they're full of white blossoms. The rest of the time they shade my So. Cal. semi-neglected lawn.

7. I married my college sweetheart. Tsk-tsk, we left school at age 20, in the face of grave misgivings of our families, and tied the knot almost 35 years ago. Back when I had a waist and he had hair. 8-]

And now for the bloggers:

Belinda Del Pesco: http://belindadelpesco.blogspot.com/ Watercolor and Printmaking. Incredible artist, super friendly and obsessively helpful. ;-> Beware! She'll have you working twice as hard in no time.

Danny Bates: http://3fido.blogspot.com/ Funny, silly, thoughtful and touching, his little portraits are always interesting. He's a great guy and a rabid trader, so make him an offer.

Marissa Lee: http://www.mleefineart.com/ An obsessive woodblock printer, tho she's slowed down lately as she's expecting!

Annie Bissett: http://woodblockdreams.blogspot.com/ Prolific printer who really throws herself into her work. Her moku hanga is so detailed.

Diane Cutter: http://theitinerantartist.blogspot.com/ She bounces back and forth between Puerto Rico and the Southwest. I don't know how she finds the time to do watercolor, woodcut, lino and more. Certainly more than I do!

Lisa Rouch: http://earthfin.livejournal.com/ Pyrography that is as fantastical as it is beautiful. Soft colors too.

Bea Gold: http://bea-gold-retrospective.blogspot.com/ She just had a big retrospective show to celebrate her 80 years of artmaking. She filled an entire gallery with paintings and woodcuts.

And there are so many more! But I'll stop there and leave the rest to others. 8-]

Fabric Block Print

ochre on cotton (w/ black peeking thru)

I had to add magnesium carbonate to the fabric ink to make it thick enough to roll and cover. There was still some black ink on the block, which gave the print an antique gold effect. I may try it again on purpose. I like the solid ochre print as well.

I have some methyl celulose on hand -- I may try thickening the ink with that. Also could try rice paste. The ink is water-soluable and heat setting. So far it works fine with a press. I need to see how it will print without one.

I'm thinking of covering the block with a piece of wood then whacking it with my rubber mallet. I'll also try stepping on it. I'll put a felt underneath.

I tried printing some of my other blocks -- finer-lined -- and they were too closed to print well. This technique really works best with large areas of white.