I was ill over the past while and only got to printing a first proof of the Sisters of Mercy block print this past weekend. If you’re not familiar with printmaking, a proof is a print of a block that may not be fully complete. You can print the block at different stages to see how it’s coming along and whether the print needs more work. In this case, I’m happy with many aspects of the print and can see where I want to further carve the soft cut lino block. I’ll show you the process as I go along.
The two photos show the green and violet inked block to the right of the printed image. I’ve always been fascinated with the symmetries you can get in printed images by repeating them in different orientations. Here, I played with the block itself and the proof. Because they are mirror images, when I put them right up against each other I saw some neat (as in neat-o) patterns that show up in the last photo.
You can see more of my artwork in my etsy shop: artsofmay.etsy.com
Arts of May 
Sisters of mercy. Isn’t there a Cohen song of that name. Did that contribute to this interesting piece?
Yes, this print took off from his song. The post called Lino and Leonard talks about the process. Perhaps I’ll link to it for clarity.
Now I have to find that post on your blog. He is (was, remains) an inspiration.
He is a tremendous inspiration for me also.