Here's the finished print:
 | ||
| Available to buy here |
© Laura Long 2014
 | |
| © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| © Laura Long 2014 |
And these are some work-in-progress shots of cutting the block for the pine trees:
Sunday, 26 January 2014
'Written in the stars' - new love quote linocut in the shop
So I've been getting all mushy in preparation for Valentine's day and I've finished this linocut monoprint. It is of a couple stargazing out in the mountains. Written in the sky is a quote by Aristotle, 'love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.' It was really fun making this, and it was my first time creating a 'rainbow' roll background. That is where you roll several colours at once on one roller.
Here's the finished print:
And these are some work-in-progress shots of cutting the block for the pine trees:
Here's the finished print:
And these are some work-in-progress shots of cutting the block for the pine trees:
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Things I've been making since last week
Printing lots of linocut bluebirds/lovebirds onto old book pages...
...to turn into Valentine's cards!
Designing the rest of my Valentine's card range; 'swept off my feet,'what a sentimental soul I am!
Making lots of mini accordion fold 'brag' books:
I decided it was time to broaden my range of cover choices for my mini 3 x 3" accordion books, these will be in my Etsy shop soon. I tried out a new design without the ribbons on the wavy pattern one, what do people think? Ribbons or no ribbon?
I've also been trying to improve my photography skills when photographing my 2D artwork, does anyone have any suggestions of how I can photo my prints better? Here's two I've tried to re-shoot. The yellow picture is actually a heat press dye print on chiffon, based on an A1 linocut I made last year.
I've also been working on a super sentimental linocut print relating to star gazing, but you'll have to wait until next week to find out more..
...to turn into Valentine's cards!
 |
| Available in my Etsy shop here © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| 'Swept off my feet' - available here © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| 'You and me, sitting in a tree.. k-i-s-s-i-n-g' © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| 'You're my favourite' © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| © Laura Long 2014 |
I've also been trying to improve my photography skills when photographing my 2D artwork, does anyone have any suggestions of how I can photo my prints better? Here's two I've tried to re-shoot. The yellow picture is actually a heat press dye print on chiffon, based on an A1 linocut I made last year.
 |
| Birds in the Apple Tree, by Laura Long © Laura Long 2014 |
 |
| Available here © Laura Long 2014 |
I've also been working on a super sentimental linocut print relating to star gazing, but you'll have to wait until next week to find out more..
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Reflections on quitting my job - passed the 1 month mark!
Today marks 1 month since the day I quit my job in data governance. What even is data governance? Let's not get into that right now.. I wasn't sure whether to write this post, there are so many other 'quit my job' blogs and inspirational sites out there. But, I feel it is important to share this on here, as it plays a large part in shaping who I am as a creative person, and explains how I got started with this blog in the first place.
The reason I didn't post an immediate 'I quit today' entry last month is because 1) I thought this blog should only be about creating art and positive inspirational stuff and 2) really, I felt a little embarrassed as though I would be glamourising quitting. Quitting has negative notions of giving up, not being able to stick at something, and if that's the case, then I seem to be useless at sticking at a salaried job! I sometimes admire people who have had 1 job for their whole lives, they must have so much discipline.
Stop reading now if you though this post was going to be about art or an inspiring talk about quitting your own job, from here on it's going to get a bit dark.
Last December I quit my well-paid job in finance, with a nice commute, flexi-time and a generally nice working environment to pursue my dream of earning money from making art. How courageous, amazing, she's living the dream!
Well it wasn't all sunshine and roses. I'd been earning a modest sum of money through online art sales, but nothing that was going to guarantee me a proper income solely through art, but I knew I had to make the leap. It wasn't like I just woke up and decided to quit either, I had been mulling this over for months, looking at my finances, what my options could be, in fact I've probably always had one eye on the exit in every job I've worked in if I'm honest. I even tried to give my notice 3 times, that's how torn I was about leaving the place!
For anyone else, it would have been the perfect job, a good wage, good colleagues and a flexible workplace, but none of that was enough for me, I had a feeling inside that this just wasn't right. Eventually, I had to quit as this manifested itself into intense anxiety, I would constantly worry that I couldn't do my job, even when my boss said I was doing well. I would struggle to concentrate and I would often have panic attacks and feelings like I would faint. I managed to mask this at work, so on the surface it looked like I was doing great. But at home I would cry every evening or return home like a zombie and just sleep all night. This was affecting my relationship with my partner, my ability to be creative, how could I make anything in my free time when all I was doing was sleeping or crying? The worst part was it also severely dented my confidence. I felt unable to go out and visit friends, I worried that I wouldn't be able to talk to them or would have nothing to say and became nervous all the time. All classic anxiety symptoms. In the end, persuaded by my partner, I went to see my GP who gave me beta-blockers so I could get through the day at work and referred me for a 'Stress' workshop...
A couple of months of medications and a few 'stress' sessions later, I realised no amount of 'relaxation' practice or coping mechanisms were going to help me switch off from work at home or get to a point where I didn't feel tense constantly whilst at work. Plus did I really want to have to take a tablet before every daily meeting I felt anxious about? I needed to accept that corporate life just does not work for me. I might have the intellectual capacity, but mentally my body cannot cope, it just gets stuck in 'panic' mode.
So here we are 1 month on, and I'm finally listening to my gut and trying to pursue something I actually care about, expressing myself through printmaking and book binding, and hoping others get some joy or a shared understanding from my work.
December was crazy, I had loads of orders and sales at Christmas fairs and this really boosted my confidence. I knew January would be quiet, and that the main thing I need to work on is creating a 'range' or body of work to approach shops and exhibitions. But, that doesn't mean I don't still doubt myself.
I'm constantly questioning whether I've done the right thing, whether I'm being selfish and should just go back to a 'normal' job, but luckily for me, I have a secret superpower which I shouldn't waste. My partner. He is the most supportive person I know, he has more belief in me than I do! He knows when I'm panicking and has the strength to tell me to 'just get on with it.' I'm never going to move off the bottom of any career if I don't keep going and work at perfecting my drawing, my printmaking, my photography skills. The only way I can do this is by 'getting on with it.'
So that's my goal for 2014, get stuck in, make mistakes, learn, the main thing is to just make something! Hopefully out of all of the making, some pieces will stand out and form a cohesive collection, and then I'll be getting somewhere.
The reason I didn't post an immediate 'I quit today' entry last month is because 1) I thought this blog should only be about creating art and positive inspirational stuff and 2) really, I felt a little embarrassed as though I would be glamourising quitting. Quitting has negative notions of giving up, not being able to stick at something, and if that's the case, then I seem to be useless at sticking at a salaried job! I sometimes admire people who have had 1 job for their whole lives, they must have so much discipline.
Stop reading now if you though this post was going to be about art or an inspiring talk about quitting your own job, from here on it's going to get a bit dark.
Last December I quit my well-paid job in finance, with a nice commute, flexi-time and a generally nice working environment to pursue my dream of earning money from making art. How courageous, amazing, she's living the dream!
Well it wasn't all sunshine and roses. I'd been earning a modest sum of money through online art sales, but nothing that was going to guarantee me a proper income solely through art, but I knew I had to make the leap. It wasn't like I just woke up and decided to quit either, I had been mulling this over for months, looking at my finances, what my options could be, in fact I've probably always had one eye on the exit in every job I've worked in if I'm honest. I even tried to give my notice 3 times, that's how torn I was about leaving the place!
For anyone else, it would have been the perfect job, a good wage, good colleagues and a flexible workplace, but none of that was enough for me, I had a feeling inside that this just wasn't right. Eventually, I had to quit as this manifested itself into intense anxiety, I would constantly worry that I couldn't do my job, even when my boss said I was doing well. I would struggle to concentrate and I would often have panic attacks and feelings like I would faint. I managed to mask this at work, so on the surface it looked like I was doing great. But at home I would cry every evening or return home like a zombie and just sleep all night. This was affecting my relationship with my partner, my ability to be creative, how could I make anything in my free time when all I was doing was sleeping or crying? The worst part was it also severely dented my confidence. I felt unable to go out and visit friends, I worried that I wouldn't be able to talk to them or would have nothing to say and became nervous all the time. All classic anxiety symptoms. In the end, persuaded by my partner, I went to see my GP who gave me beta-blockers so I could get through the day at work and referred me for a 'Stress' workshop...
A couple of months of medications and a few 'stress' sessions later, I realised no amount of 'relaxation' practice or coping mechanisms were going to help me switch off from work at home or get to a point where I didn't feel tense constantly whilst at work. Plus did I really want to have to take a tablet before every daily meeting I felt anxious about? I needed to accept that corporate life just does not work for me. I might have the intellectual capacity, but mentally my body cannot cope, it just gets stuck in 'panic' mode.
So here we are 1 month on, and I'm finally listening to my gut and trying to pursue something I actually care about, expressing myself through printmaking and book binding, and hoping others get some joy or a shared understanding from my work.
December was crazy, I had loads of orders and sales at Christmas fairs and this really boosted my confidence. I knew January would be quiet, and that the main thing I need to work on is creating a 'range' or body of work to approach shops and exhibitions. But, that doesn't mean I don't still doubt myself.
I'm constantly questioning whether I've done the right thing, whether I'm being selfish and should just go back to a 'normal' job, but luckily for me, I have a secret superpower which I shouldn't waste. My partner. He is the most supportive person I know, he has more belief in me than I do! He knows when I'm panicking and has the strength to tell me to 'just get on with it.' I'm never going to move off the bottom of any career if I don't keep going and work at perfecting my drawing, my printmaking, my photography skills. The only way I can do this is by 'getting on with it.'
So that's my goal for 2014, get stuck in, make mistakes, learn, the main thing is to just make something! Hopefully out of all of the making, some pieces will stand out and form a cohesive collection, and then I'll be getting somewhere.
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Learning how to print multi block linocut cats on an etching press..meow meow!
I've been working on a birthday commission of my old colleague's cats, Tig and Tab. After taking the jump and quitting another non-arty full time job to try progress my art, I was very pleased to get this commission just at the right time.I decided to try out multi-block printing on my etching press, as I've not had chance to do this yet, this was an interesting and challenging experience, so I though I'd share some of the key mistakes/learning points for next time with you.
Cutting the plates
The cutting of the plates was lovely and relaxing as usual whilst listening to women's hour and various dramas on radio 4.
Printing & registration
This is where trouble set in. Things I have learned:
1. Pad out the the front of your block with a scrap strip of lino to help prevent movement and even out the pressure when it goes under the rollers
2. Use something like cardboard with a bit of give and NOT lino to create your jig around the lino block. This helps prevent line marks pressing into your paper.
3. Either carefully pad out your template or just print in 1 direction on the etching press to help reduce movement again. I printed left to right with the following jig:
4. If working in an outdoor brick shed, make sure you get a fan heater so that your inks don't get too stiff and lose the ability to roll out or print evenly.
5. Close the door tightly if working on a gale force wind day..
6. If you decide to use your letterpress black over your linseed oil relief inks because you think that black is much nicer than the other perfectly good relief print black, then mix in a bit of linseed reducing oil to help reduce the stiffness of the letterpress ink. This helps achieve a good even overprinted image. I read somewhere about printing fat over lean so that each layer sticks to the paper properly. Or better still, maybe don't mix different types of ink on top of each other..
7. Take a break if everything seems to be going wrong.
8. Do a happy dance when everything comes together and you get some prints you are pleased with! Yay :)
Happy New Year's Eve to anyone who got this far down too!
Cutting the plates
Printing & registration
This is where trouble set in. Things I have learned:
1. Pad out the the front of your block with a scrap strip of lino to help prevent movement and even out the pressure when it goes under the rollers
2. Use something like cardboard with a bit of give and NOT lino to create your jig around the lino block. This helps prevent line marks pressing into your paper.
3. Either carefully pad out your template or just print in 1 direction on the etching press to help reduce movement again. I printed left to right with the following jig:
4. If working in an outdoor brick shed, make sure you get a fan heater so that your inks don't get too stiff and lose the ability to roll out or print evenly.
5. Close the door tightly if working on a gale force wind day..
6. If you decide to use your letterpress black over your linseed oil relief inks because you think that black is much nicer than the other perfectly good relief print black, then mix in a bit of linseed reducing oil to help reduce the stiffness of the letterpress ink. This helps achieve a good even overprinted image. I read somewhere about printing fat over lean so that each layer sticks to the paper properly. Or better still, maybe don't mix different types of ink on top of each other..
7. Take a break if everything seems to be going wrong.
8. Do a happy dance when everything comes together and you get some prints you are pleased with! Yay :)
Monday, 16 December 2013
My first solo Christmas Craft fairs
I just took part in my first solo craft fairs over the last 2 weeks. I've taken part in shared stalls before which have been well received, and so finally plucked up the courage to brave it on my own. I'm quite a worrier and so had my reservations before the first fair such as worrying about whether I had enough products to sell, worrying that no-one would buy anything, worrying that I would sell out and have an empty looking stall etc. But after lots of frantic making, a heavy husky cold and a huge packed suitcase, I made it to the Hope House Christmas market!
It was the perfect venue for stepping out on my own, the atmosphere was really relaxed and Christmassy with live music, lots of really friendly makers and some delicious winter stew and mulled cider. It was hosted upstairs in a lovely newish venue, The Belgrave in Leeds. I'd not been in the upstairs before and was really surprised at the size of the room. It had a good sized dance floor where our stalls were and a 'proper' stage for the bands. It even had a back relaxed 'sitting room' style area with comfy sofas at the back. I will be definitely be going to a gig there soon.
There was a good flow of visitors and I was really happy to have sold both of my framed etchings as Christmas gifts. My etchings and linocuts don't seem to sell as well as my books online, but when people see my art in the real, the reaction is so much better. I think I need to work more on my photography so that people have that same interest as they do when they see the work in real life.
A happy and blurry me with my stall
It was the perfect venue for stepping out on my own, the atmosphere was really relaxed and Christmassy with live music, lots of really friendly makers and some delicious winter stew and mulled cider. It was hosted upstairs in a lovely newish venue, The Belgrave in Leeds. I'd not been in the upstairs before and was really surprised at the size of the room. It had a good sized dance floor where our stalls were and a 'proper' stage for the bands. It even had a back relaxed 'sitting room' style area with comfy sofas at the back. I will be definitely be going to a gig there soon.
There was a good flow of visitors and I was really happy to have sold both of my framed etchings as Christmas gifts. My etchings and linocuts don't seem to sell as well as my books online, but when people see my art in the real, the reaction is so much better. I think I need to work more on my photography so that people have that same interest as they do when they see the work in real life.
My stall
The other fair I attended as the DAC Beachcroft Christmas fair. This was for the staff at a solicitors in Leeds. I was really pleased to have been approached to attend this based on one of the staff seeing my work on Folksy, so people do actually look at my Folksy shop! This fair was much quieter as I think the majority of the office were getting ready for their Christmas party, but I still sold a few items and so it was worth it. I met a lovely chocolatier, Pat from Sugar Violets who saw me salivating over her reindeer lollies and kindly gave me three broken chocolate lollies! They were delicious, she is a very talented lady who makes all her chocolate by hand.
Tasty choc lollies from Sugar Violets
(bad photo taken on my tablet, I was too eager to eat them!)
Overall, I has a great time meeting customers and seeing their reactions to my products in the real. I've learnt a lot and am now planning to create a series of mountainous etchings to complement my etching of Scafell Pike. Looking forward to getting my boots on and climbing a few more hills.
Scafell Pike, original etching on Somerset satin paper.
21.5 x 26.5cm © Laura Long 2013
Thursday, 14 November 2013
Easy Squeegee: The Annual Affordable Print Exhibition
Looking for a unique and beautiful Christmas present? Well look no further than Easy Squeegee: The Annual Affordable Print Exhibition. This is set to be a great contemporary show, highlighting the print talent in Hull and beyond. I'll have a few prints for sale and there is something for everyone with prices starting at around £10.
The preview is tomorrow evening 6 - 8pm at Artlink, Hull. The fair then runs from 16th November - 25th January 2014.
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Brains, brains, brains - 20:20 Print 2013
The last few weeks I've been busy cutting and printing lots of brains for the 20:20 print exhibition. This is an annual print exchange run by Hot Bed Press where lots of different print workshops across the UK get 20 of their members together to make print editions to swap with other print workshops across the country. Each print must also be 20 x 20cm in size.
This is my first time taking part and I've really enjoyed putting together my largest edition size to date, with an edition of 25.
The print is all about anxiety, something I've been suffering a lot of recently, so I apologise if you find the final image colours a little too much, but that's what it's like in my head sometimes! I'm particularly pleased to have just hit the deadline amidst these last few days of printing and vomiting after catching some kind of winter bug. Here are some photos of my progress:
This is my first time taking part and I've really enjoyed putting together my largest edition size to date, with an edition of 25.
The print is all about anxiety, something I've been suffering a lot of recently, so I apologise if you find the final image colours a little too much, but that's what it's like in my head sometimes! I'm particularly pleased to have just hit the deadline amidst these last few days of printing and vomiting after catching some kind of winter bug. Here are some photos of my progress:
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