Feeling Free with the Sea Stars & Me
- gilfaloartdesign
- Nov 19
- 2 min read
I wanted to share a little bit about a new print that I’ve been working on. This is a personal project (those are few and far between it seems). It celebrates balance, something I am working on in my life and work.
The initial idea to create a Sea Star came from a dear friend. I’ve been wanting to work on my sense of depth and texture more in printing and design, so this seemed a perfect fit to try.
Most days I make some coffee or tea, put on some music, usually something the goes with my headspace in that moment. For this piece it happened to be some “under the sea, quiet and calming soundscapes”, I needed it for sure.
I start with the initial drawing on the block, making marks and guidelines, that honestly I try to follow but it doesn’t always happen( all part of the process I guess).
Once I finished that I always make sure our Flexcut tools are sharp. Nothing beats sharp tools, they allow for perfect cuts, preferably not in my skin but into the linoleum itself( yes that does happen and yes explicit words are probably used in that scenario).
I tried to mimic the rough texture of the sea star’s body with the first cuts into the linoleum. Reduction prints are always a leap of faith; once a layer is gone, there’s no going back. That challenge is part of the joy, the print grows and transforms with each carve, much like the environment that both the.
The layers of color were built up with my favorite, my Caligo Safe Wash inks. These are oil based but can be cleaned up with soap and water. I try to be as eco friendly as I can. The inks and the process of layering help create subtle variations in each design. I used yellow, violet, Prussian blue, white and black to create this.
Watching this sea star print emerge from the block, surrounded by the depth of its environment, felt a bit like discovering a little piece of me.
I’m so grateful to for my friend, for suggesting this concept. It challenged me in so many ways. I can’t wait for these few prints to find their homes. I will have these available on our website
Check back soon. Thank you, as always, for supporting our work!
With Gratitude;
CG
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