'Ariel' Inspired prints

 I recently picked up a hardback copy of 'Ariel', the poetry collection that Lady Lazarus was originally published in. This edition of the collection has a beautiful cover illustration by Sarah Young, and appears to have been produced through some form of relief print, possibly wood or lino cut.

This cover prompted me to look at more of Sarah Young's work, and I found that she produces lots of very intricate and stylised relief prints. Having done quite a bit of printwork myself, I thought this could be a nice avenue to experiment with when trying to create imagery based around Lady Lazarus.

Of course, since this is an abstract project, I don't want to be too literal with my interpretations. I could very easily make somge prints of gold teeth and and bones and fire, but I think sticking to the sea imagery I've been working with, and taking that a little further, could be more interesting.

I started off making a couple of rubber stamps that could be layered onto a larger print as finer details. I like the idea of creating repeating patterns similar to Young's, and these can be printed sequentially to give that effect.

lino cut and rubber stamps

I then worked on making a lino-cut base print. I made a simple wave pattern and left gaps in between the lines of waves to print the rubber stamps onto. 

experiment with layering my prints on canvas, embellished with beads.

I was quite happy with the outcome, I experiment with a few different colour combinations, working with the same seashell-inspired colour palette I've been using, and I think these prints are relatively effective. I may use further printwork in my future pieces, perhaps in combination with beading and embroidery.