A Colour for All Seasons

Making a Block Print

Mary Wrinch (1877-1969) was a prominent figure in the early Toronto art scene and was among the first women in the city to make a living from her art. She was often inspired by the Northern Ontario landscape, creating miniature paintings and colour block prints, such as the one represented here.

What season do you want to represent? Colouring with orange, red and yellow might invoke a warm fall scene. Or try using blues, greens and purples to capture a chilly winter landscape?

Here's how to design (or colour) your own block print!

Making a block print is just like using a stamp. You carve into a material, coat it with ink or paint, and then stamp, or print, an impression of the carved surface onto paper. Mary Wrinch is known for her use of linoleum to create her landscape prints, but you should try block printing at home with much easier materials like styrofoam or even a potato! Take a potato, cut it in half and use a chopstick, fork or pencil to carve and scratch marks into the flat surfaces. Roll or brush some paint over the carved potato surface; an ink pad would be fun to try too! Now press the potato onto this card and remove.

What does your print look like? Do your lines need to be deeper or wider? Keep carving and printing and have fun with all your fun experiments!