Third week Lino Reduction \\ T r e e A n d B a r k //

And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].

PSALM 1:3

Final week for my tree print.

 I cut the rest of my tree at home and just left the outline and a few shapes for shading.

 Mixed more of the blue in that i wanted.

 Some of my prints drying on the rack.

My finished print. Im really happy with the end result.
I used a few different papers and got quite a few different results.


2nd lino cut - TREE BARK

 Here is my 3rd reduction. I wanted finer cuts this time.

 I added more of the brown colour

 It was a luscious rich brown.

 A few of my prints drying

 My 3rd reduction print of my Bark. I love the colours but have decided to do 1 more cut of it at home.
I used Japanese paper for these. It is lovely and thin but give a great coverage.

I also decided to do some single prints of the lino that i had and chose a more expensive paper called Archers88. This ink soaks in lovely and give it a lovely finish. Below is one of my prints from the 3rd cut. I will print over it next week.

Second week Lino reduction - \\ Tr e e A n d B a r k //

I was really looking forward to this second week. I had put in the prep, saved my ink from the previous week and ready to go.

 I added some more of the blue i used to get a darker shade and when i was happy with the colour started rolling it out.

 My first print

 A collection of my prints on the drying rack.

My second lino reduction finished!
I have taken this home and cut away some more for next week and that is the last reduction i will do on the tree.

Onto my tree bark reduction -

I grabbed the previous ink colours i used and started mixing a more richer colour than previously.
I love colour!, and i love how vibrant this was mixing.

 When the sun was hitting the ink, it glowed :)

Once happy with my colour i started rolling it out.

 A few of my prints drying on the rack.

My second lino reduction on my bark. I am loving how this is coming along. I have taken the lino home and have done some more finer cuts on this and have decided to do 2 more reductions on it. I love the layering which i feel is giving it a depth and texture about it.

What is your gifting?

Ever had a chat with God and asked him what your gifting is? Even though you are grown up and have been using your gifting all through your lift.
Yup well i had this chat with God on holiday in Turkey.
I was feeling frustrated and wondering what i was doing with my life.
I didn't feel satisfied with being a Mummy, homemaker and a kids core leader in my church. Deep down i needed more.
So the conversation went something like this -
God - Use whats in your hand
Me - but what have i got?
God - Sarah, i gave you creativity
Me - oh yeah.

Everything, (well most things as God only gives you a bit of the jigsaw puzzle at a time) became a bit clearer from then.
I decided to start up my own t- shirt company selling hand printed tee's with Christian messages on. And alongside that i will sell an overflow of my gifting. Which i did'nt know what that mean.

I looked up a print studio and came across one close to where i live. As soon as i got home from Turkey I did a silk screen printing session with an amazing Lady who explained it all to me with such ease. She is an incredible artist and specialises in fabric and rust dying textiles. Everything came flooding back and i found myself being the intern the following week. Working on a Tuesday doing intern things - cleaning, stock counting the paper, updating the diary, helping the open access artists, updating the notice board and lots and lots of cleaning. I loved every minute of it. On a Thursday i helped teaching the Special needs adults. They had a class in printing once a week.

Once my 3 months internship finished the Lady running the studio and my lovely boss,  asked me what i wanted to do.
I explained that when i heard the Artist in residence do their final end of year talk i felt that i have missed out on doing 'art' without a purpose. She offered me and exchange!
I continue working with the group on Thursday and i get Tuesdays to use the studio and equipment. I love being with the group on a Thursday. It is so rewarding and i genuinely enjoy spending time with them. It is also very therapeutic.
God has really been chatting to me about 'being me'. Being me is all that i am and the gifting that God has blessed me with. I missed creating without it being for a purpose. All over Christmas i have been making things, (which i love doing) i printed Christmas cards, made secret santa gifts, knitted a scarf for my daughter and various other things. And i love doing it all. But i got to a place where when i looked back, i didn't remember a time when i just 'played'. Just saw where my creativity took me.
So i accepted the exchange joyfully.

That night whilst i was sleeping, God gave me 3 pictures of art i would use to create with.

1 - Was a hummingbird
2 - A picture of bark that i took at my church women getaway
3 - A self portrait that i took of me in a frosted glass window.

God has also been talking to me about trees, a lot.
Trees that are fully grown, still keep growing. The bark is strong so that it protects from all the harsh weather. Roots go deep to hold the tree firm in strong wind. Seasons change and leaves drop but strong stands the tree.
I want to have armour like bark that stands agains the enemy.
I want to have roots that go deep in the word of God

So since my gifting from God is creativity. Its who i am. I am going to blog my progress and see where it takes me. Where God takes me.

I have started off with a 2 lino reductions.

I started with this picture i took on a walk with my new puppy.

I used Hawthorn ink and chose to mix a light grey with a touch of blue that will gradually go to a darker blue.

My image that i have cut out. I rolled the ink in and popped it into a registration sheet that i had created earlier.

Through the press.

Final images of my trees. Colour one completed. I have now brought my lino home to cut into it some more. 

I also did my bark.

This is the original picture. 

I don't seem to have taken a picture of my lino. 

The colours i chose. They will go darker redish, brown. 

I used some fantastic Japanese paper. These are my first images. I am also going to cut into this lino more and go print again next week. 

I love lino cutting. It is really calming to create in lino. I am excited to see how both my prints develop as the weeks go on. 

I will update next week.