Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas cards

If you celebrate this season, however you celebrate this season, I wish you a happy and peaceful time. My family celebrates Christmas, and for innumerable years I've enjoyed making Christmas cards. They're usually linoleum prints, though not always. I'm no printmaker, but thought I'd share some of the few that remain from over the years. Below is this year's card, a view of our back yard:


Below are a few random samples from years gone by. In most cases I made just enough to give away. The first one is a lino cut with gold leaf underneath and is a hand lighting a lantern. The second, another lino, was done the year my mother passed on, and features a lone doe walking away across the snow.
The third is my studio window at the time and shows my cat looking out the window. Her speech bubble was filled in with various messages. Beside that is Santa's list with the caption, "Aha! Just as I suspected...". Inside, the message was "...you've been good!", or "...you've been bad!", depending on the recipient. The fifth was an experiment with stippling, something I never tried again. It features an illustration of the tree that produces frankincense. The final image is my neighbourhood at the time.