Exercise 34:
BLOCK-PRINTED SCENES AND CITYSCAPES

IN THIS EXERCISE, YOU WILL CREATE A CITY SCENE WITH SIMPLY CUT RUBBER BLOCKS IN THE SHAPES OF RECTANGLES, SQUARES, AND TRIANGLES. EVEN THE SIMPLEST CUTS MAKE WONDERFUL ROOFTOPS, WINDOWS, AND DOORS. BLACK AND WHITE INK COME ALIVE AGAINST A RUSTIC BACKGROUND OF CRAFT PAPER.

Craft knife

Straightedge

Linoleum cutting tool and tips

Ballpoint pen

Art brush

Artist tape

White, black, or gray lightweight or heavy cardstock or brown craft paper

Scrap paper

Ink pad

1. Cover your work space with newspaper or large craft paper.

2. Set up two work areas: one with a cutting mat to cut the block and one for inking and printing. (See A.)

3. With permanent marker, draw a few triangles, squares, and rectangles directly onto your rubber block.

4. Place the block on top of your cutting mat and cut out the shapes with a craft knife and straightedge, or cut free-form if you prefer. Always cut away from your body. Keep your fingers behind your cutting instrument, not in front. (See B.)

5. For detail, cut windows by making small nicks into the stamp with your cutting tools. You can also use a ballpoint pen to make divots in the rubber stamp. Remember that what you cut away will be the negative space, and the part of the block that is raised will be the printed design, so the image will appear in reverse when printed.

6. Use the V-shaped tip to make pattern details on the facades, and use the U-shaped tip for carving away large areas. Be sure to cut away excess rubber around the design so it is raised and only the shape touches the paper when printing.

7. Brush away excess cuttings on the stamp using a clean, dry art brush, or rinse it with mild soap and warm water, then pat dry with a lint-free towel and air-dry. Use either method to clear away any residue from cutting. If rinsing, the block needs to be completely dry before printing.

8. Secure the art paper to your work space using tape. Have scrap paper handy for test prints.

9. Press the ink pad, ink side down, all around the cut block for full coverage. Or with small blocks, you can hold the block, design side down, and press into the ink pad. (See C.)

10. Test prints on the scrap paper to see if there are any stray marks from spots not cut away or not cut deep enough. If needed, make adjustments to your stamp and test again.

11. Place the stamp on your art paper and apply even pressure with your palm. Stamp your city facades (rectangles and squares) first, moving from left to right. Re-ink after each impression.

12. Now stamp the rooftops with triangles. (See D.)

13. Experiment with the pressure you apply to the stamp. If you vary the pressure, you can make the design appear rustic and worn. With solid, even pressure the look is more graphic and clean.

14. To clean up, rinse the block in warm water and mild soap. Pat dry with a lint-free towel and let air-dry.

VARIATION