I recently joined a postcard swap challenge. The aim is to print 12 postcards responding to the theme ‘Hello Yellow’ and post 11 of them to a central address. The coordinator then keeps one for the group archives and divides the others up between participants and posts a selection of 10 back to each person who contributed. So, assuming more than 10 people around the world take part, there will be a wide variety of prints to share out and each set will potentially be different.

As I thoroughly enjoyed working with my latest linocut (Reflections from the Pier) I decided to adapt it for this.

The first layer is a simple roll over on uncarved lino using masks as per the previous project. I cut my masks and stencils from various weights of acetate – 100, 150 or 250 micron, depending on what I want to use them for.

These ones are very fine, 100 micron, which work well for most projects because when using them to print over multiple layers there is no chance of them creating a ‘halo’ around the edges where the paper hasn’t reached the printing ink on the lino.

The downside is, of course, they aren’t very sturdy and tend to bend easily, so placement can be tricky with long thin strips. Dropping a circular shape down is easy but holding linear pieces is less precise as they buckle when trying to get them in exactly the right spot.

The second layer involved masking off the majority of the cut lino so I could place the postcards down in the same area each time. After all, they are supposed to be an edition of 12. Here I mixed a mid-tone grey with plenty of extender medium to create a semi-transparent layer

You can just about see in the image above where after rolling up I’ve wiped away the grey from two of the small circles as the goal is for these to be brilliant yellow.

And here they are, fully completed, dried and ready to post.