Lino Carving and Printing in the RV

Lino carving while traveling in an RV turned out to be a wonderfully satisfying creative project. Printing, however, was another story. Limited space, less-than-ideal inks, and not enough water for easy cleanup all presented real challenges.

For the first couple of blocks, I traced my designs onto the linoleum using carbon paper—a process that was tedious and not very accurate. After those first two, I discovered a transfer technique that worked incredibly well. I printed the design on our laser printer and glued it onto the block using Mod Podge. Once dry, I gently rubbed away the paper with a damp cloth, leaving the design perfectly transferred to the surface. It was far easier and much more accurate than tracing, especially for complicated patterns.

I really enjoyed carving both the linoleum blocks and my small rubber stamps throughout the entire month we were on the road. Carving the daily small stamp with Speedy Carve really helped refine my carving skills. Here are a few samples.

After spending so much time carefully carving the blocks, I wanted to do a few test prints. I had to make do with the supplies I had on hand, so these first prints were done outside using Golden Open Acrylic paint—the same paint I usually use for gel plate printing.

The paint didn’t dry too quickly, which was helpful, but it did require a lot of paint. I printed a few images on paper and also printed the turtle shell pattern on fabric. Those fabric prints were intended for small art quilts, which I plan to embellish with embroidery.

Before printing the next linoleum blocks, I stopped at Hobby Lobby and bought a tube of regular water-soluble block printing ink. I did some test prints, but I wasn’t happy with the results. The ink dried extremely fast, making it difficult to achieve a good print, and the finished images had a rough texture that I didn’t care for. Still, these test prints were useful—they helped me see where adjustments were needed in the blocks.

I’m really looking forward to getting home and printing proper editions using Safe Wash ink.

One additional block I carved was a Valentine design featuring my dog, Quark, bursting out of a paper heart. Using what I had available, I printed the red backgrounds on cards with the gel plate and Golden Open Acrylic paint. I then printed the heart image over the red base using black block printing ink. They turned out pretty cute, and I mailed them off to friends and family.

Happy Valentines Day