Block Printing
A collection of prints made from an eye & a face carved out of linoleum, as well as a yard of fabric inspired by childhood stuffed animals.
An eye & a face
Process
I hand-carved these linoleum blocks, then used a roller to apply different paint colors before printing them onto fabric. I experimented with arranging the blocks to create repeating patterns, sometimes combining two blocks.
2. Childhood stuffed animals
Process
the basis of this project was to create a yard of fabric inspired by a historical print or tapestry.
I selected the textile on the left, a tapestry from the Museo Nacional de Arqueología e Historia del Perú, woven from cotton with a painted design, originally applied to post-mortem construction as a funerary shroud symbolizing the emergence of a new entity from the dead body, akin to the wasp and its prey. Inspired by the concept of "death of adolescence by adulthood," I aimed to evoke childhood nostalgia akin to the characters in the tapestry, depicting two childhood versions of myself alongside the stuffed animals I cherished as a child.
Next, I explored printing on fabrics i naturally-dyed with marigold and black walnut. I experimented with different patch placements, repetitions, and block arrangements to discover unique patterns and effects.
I decided to go with white fabric and explore color through the repetition of black, green, blue, and orange motifs. i printed on my final yard of fabric and then added embroidery using string and yarn to specific areas, as depicted in the close-up shots.
