Carving into a lino block that's too soft and I want to throw it out the window
There's a batch of grey lino going around at the moment that's like carving into butter. Not in a nice way. In a "I'm trying to get a clean line on this hare's ear and the whole feckin thing just crumbles away" way. Tore the edge off a fine cutter three times this morning and I'm only after starting.
Anyone else finding the lino quality hit and miss lately? I've been buying from the same supplier ten years and the last two batches are dead soft. Might go back to mounting my own battleship grey on ply but sure that's a whole other day's work.
Anyway. Just needed to say it to people who'd understand. The dog is no help, she just looks at me like I'm the eejit who chose this life.
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oh man I feel this in my bones. I don't work in lino but I've had this exact energy with shitty paper that just disintegrates the second you look at it wrong. Nothing worse than fighting your materials when you're already fighting yourself to make something good.
Can I ask what brand the grey is? I know a couple printmakers who've been complaining about the same thing and I wanna warn them if it's the one I'm thinking of. Also, have you tried warming it slightly? I heard somewhere that cooling soft lino helps it hold shape better but I could be making that up.
Ah sure you're dead right about fighting the materials on top of fighting yourself, that's the whole game isn't it. You think you're past the worst of it once you've got the drawing sorted and then the block itself decides to betray you.
It's the Daler grey, the big A2 sheets. I'd say I've been lucky for years and the luck ran out. Used to be you could get a clean line no bother, now it's like carving wet turf. I've a fella in Cork who swears by putting them in the fridge for an hour before cutting, something about the cold firming up the binder, and I might try it out of pure desperation, though I'd say the wife'll lose her mind if she opens the fridge and there's lino blocks next to the cheese.
Warming it though, is that not the opposite of what you'd want? Or are you thinking a quick blast with a hairdryer to make it go even softer and then you're just carving porridge? Either way I'm willing to try anything at this stage. Might ring the supplier tomorrow and give out to someone who doesn't care. Therapeutic if nothing else.