Steamroller Printing

OK, it wasn't actually printed with a steam roller, but it was printed with a motorized roller outside on the sidewalk. The above print is made up of 18 separate 12 inch linoleum block plates that were individually carved by the members of the Ink Monkey's, a group of printers at Massasoit Community College. The print was made last Sunday at the 2nd Annual Art Festival held at the College. The animals depicted are all endangered species, except for the Ink Monkey in the bottom row. For the record I am not a member of the group, but thought you would be interested in seeing the photo's I took of the first printing. They went on to make 3 more prints, one on cloth which I was told was going to be made into a banner. I am not going to add a lot of text with these I think they are self explanatory, but I welcome any comments or questions, which I will answer if I can.

That's it, the cut blocks were placed on a plywood base after being inked (they used an oil base ink so it wouldn't dry while they were setting up), covered with paper, a printing blanket, then another piece of plywood. A liberal amount of tape was used to tape things down, including the top board so it wouldn't move when the roller was driven over it. I am not sure of all of the animals/creatures depicted some are a bit hard to identify from my photographs, but you can make them out when you see the print in person. A fun event, and it was certainly a challenge for the Ink Monkeys which I think they pulled off successfully.  I was out drawing last night so my next update will have some more of my drawings for you to see. Also some photos of my latest finished sewing project.