Creative projects have timelines of their own. They can rarely be forced to enter the world, and sometimes a good deal of faith is required to wait for them to be born.
Take this print, for example. I started working on this a year ago. I carved the linoleum block for the black ink, then printed this. Then I tried hand-watercolouring the black-and-white print (shown in the image).
Three Trees (Winter)
I love how it looks, except the paper warped and buckled with the water, and would not become flat again.
I knew I wanted to complete this as a multi-colour relief print, so it would stay lovely and flat when framed. Yet for a long there was some block I couldn’t get beyond. I hung this first version on my clothesline, and waited and waited and worked on other things.
Then, the other day, I finally felt a wave of energy. Over a few days I carved and printed the first four layers (shown below).
Now, I am waiting for the ink to fully dry before I can lay down that final, rich black on top. And the funny thing is, even though I let it sit for a year, I can hardly wait!
I think there’s a lesson somewhere in here, about persistent and active patience. We know when we’re procrastinating. At those times, we know what the next step is, although we can’t make ourselves take it. But there are other times when we can’t see the path ahead.
In these times, I think our job is to remain open. To keep listening. We are slowly collecting know-how and new information. When we are ready to move forward, that quiet, tender voice inside of us will let us know.
Four layers down on Three Trees (Winter) linocut print
Have a lovely week, my friend, and thank you for reading.
-Sophie
Two Hoots Creative 