Breathe Into Peace: An Artsy Meditation Card
Breathe Text Linoprint + Micro Essay
Hi friends.
In this piece last week, I shared that I want to start writing about my daily walks.
And while this post isn’t about a specific walk per se, you’ll meet the result of my current art project that came to life specifically from recent walks. It’s just the way my creative process is flowing these days…who am I to complain? I just text myself notes on my phone and let my creativity do its thing.
Since taking a printmaking class last fall, I have been wanting to spend time working on a new linocut. If you’re not familiar, a linocut is simply a form of printing that uses sharp tools to cut a design into a hard material, then adding ink and making prints.
Cutting the Block
In class, we used the namesake—linoleum blocks—to do our pieces. My first was a sun and moon, and my second was a 6x8 print of the leg of the Ohio to Erie trail that runs behind my parent’s house. (I’ll post that one another time). This time, instead of linoleum blocks (which I do believe are my favorite to work with, but I forgot to buy), I opted for a softer pink Speedball Speedy-Carve block. Think cutting into a big, fat pink eraser with an Exacto knife and you’ll have the gist.
(This photo is from the interwebs as I didn’t think to take my own photos. I’ll do better next time.)
On my morning walks, I’ve been contemplating how everyone in the universe talks about wanting to feel more peace in their lives, but so many think they have to do something to find peace or to earn a sense of calm. It’s ridiculous how we have forgotten that peace is a state of existence that we choose to experience. You can’t buy peace, and you can’t earn peace. You might think that if things work out in your favor, you’ll have peace, but that’s an illusion.
The external world is one of manufactured chaos. If we don’t choose peace for ourselves, no one else will.
In this quest, nature is our ally. Peace is the default setting for nature. Grass, trees, and flowers don’t run around trying to find peace, they are peace exemplified—which makes them perfect role models.
My creative brain churned hard to figure out an image I could carve to portray this, but nothing felt right. What if the trees could tell me what to carve? They’re pretty straightforward, so I opted for words. I almost forgot that in linocut, you have to carve the words backwards to print a reversed image.
Deckling the Paper
I actually made my first linoprint meditation card for my class last week, and knew I wanted to replicate that with this block. I deckled 9 pieces of printing paper into 4x5 rectangles (deckling is tearing the edges of the paper to a specific measurement, leaving a rough edge around each print), inked up my glass plate, and used my printing brayer to roll it on the stamp.
I have water-based ink, which dries incredibly quickly. I’m not a fan as I feel it wastes the ink, so I added a dot of ink retarder in and was able to get about three prints from each dab of ink rolled out.
They needed longer to dry with the retarder added in, which gave me time to cut my cardstock for the background card into pieces. When the prints were dry, I added scrapbooking tape to the back, and stuck them, three to a strip, on the cardstock:
At this point, I needed a break, but I also needed to draft the micro essay on the back. I found my phone and a few of the notes I’d texted myself on my walks, and came up with this:
I print these on shipping labels to make assembly easier. All I needed to do was cut the strips of prints apart
add a label to the back of each one
And call it a day. They turned out pretty well, don’t you think?
The last thing I did was sign them with the edition and title, and they’re ready for class. This week, I’m going to do something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while and give the extra cards away to strangers. This is a little scary for me, but I am fascinated with the idea of sharing art with random people.
I’ll let you know how that goes—and if you’re one of the recipients, I’d love to hear what you think!
In the meantime, remember that peace is a choice you make within, not something you have to keep trying to find outside yourself. Let nature be your guide and have a beautiful week.
