Linocut chopped up into four pieces

Here’s another linocut from my archives that I made in the 1980’s employing a technique used by Edvard Munch.

It’s the “jigsaw” method, meaning that you cut apart the elements of the lino block that you want inked separately. Then they are carefully assembled on the bed of the press and printed all at once.

In this case I wanted the central figure on a gradated background with a horizon line more or less in the middle.

Guess I could have done this with two registered linocut plates but would have needed a super large roll-up roller to get the rainbow effect on the background.

This ode to motherhood certainly owes a lot to Kathe Kollwitz and her strong, dark graphics that were rife with messages of social conscience.

Here’s a picture of the pieces of that when assembled make up the whole linocut.

As you can see, I ink up each piece, and then  – very carefully – re-assemble everything on the bed of the press.

Then I will lay the paper down carefully and run it through and with any luck get a good impression.

A person could hand burnish this if no press was available although it might be tough to get a deep, even black.