Art as Comfort Food

It can be satisfying to challenge yourself when you are undertaking a new art project, to expand your skills and try new techniques.  Sometimes however, you just want to be able to relax; to lose yourself and soothe yourself. This mouse design was created at a time when I had a lot going on - it was the perfect escape for me and my brain. 

When you have been practising an art technique for a prolonged period of time, you will hopefully achieve a level of mastery.  Although there are many experiments I still wish to pursue in the area of linocutting, I feel very confident creating a single colour linocut.  I have been creating these since my mid 20s, so I have 25 years of producing these.  I feel like I know the process inside out.  As such, when you feel this sense of mastery in relation to an art activity, using techniques which you have total familiarity with can feel like sinking into a relaxing, warm bath.  

This mouse design is the perfect example of an artistic version of comfort food.  As it is a single colour linocut, as soon as I finalised the design, I knew exactly how I was going to cut it out.  I could lose myself in the slow, incremental process of outlining the mouse with my Swiss cutting tool, and then making tiny cut outs for its fur.  I tuned in to cutting the swooping lines of the dandelion stalks; and focus on creating the seed heads, each one slightly different, curving in line with the perspective of the dandelion head.

Printing is a different matter - it is very messy; physically demanding as my printing press as the press is so heavy; and once you start, it makes sense to keep going, so it can be a long session!  However, cutting a design can be done over a series of sessions.  I liken it to savouring a large bar of chocolate, enjoying the experience when I have time to take a break and lose myself in it.