Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach my nephew Riley about linocut printmaking. We had a great time working together at Adrian College. We got to use the whole print studio all to ourselves. I started by showing Riley some examples of linocut and woodcut prints. I also showed him some of my past linocut blocks. Then I asked him to do a few sketches. One of his sketches was a rendition of Mimbres art. Before he started sketching I showed him a book of Mimbres artwork. I dont think he looked at it for more than 2-3 minutes. So it amazed me when he came up with this sketch. In that short 2-3 minute timespan he visualized and duplicated some typical Mimbre motifs….the hunter, the spirals, and the crosshatch. Since I’ve been studying Mimbres art for the past few months I was immediately drawn to this particular sketch, but I felt that he only did it because I told him I liked Mimbres Art. So I asked him to try sketching something different. I’ve seen a lot of Riley’s artwork so I know he likes sketching bugs, birds, and other animals. That’s when he started on the Giraffe sketch (see below). Since we didnt have a lot of time I showed him how to use the cutting tools and he immediately started to carve the giraffe image into his block. In the mean time I transferred his mimbres sketch onto a lino block by rubbing the back of the paper until the graphite appeared on the lino. While Riley carved his giraffe. I carved his Mimbre sketch. We didnt have time to print the Mimbre block but I plan to in the near future. My goal is to frame the giraffe print and the original sketch. I also want to frame his Mimbre print and original sketch. Then I’ll create a print in response to what Riley created. It’s all part of the Lenawee Artists of All Ages Exhibition concept scheduled for June 21 – July 21 at the LCVA Gallery.
The Heron 