Nature Imprinted - by Jane Spink (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Capture the beautiful natural world with printmaking linocut blocks from Inky Dog Studio's Jane Spink. Learn to make your own linocut blocks of the world all around you.

"What makes this book's projects and directions exemplary is the freedom it gives beginners to personalize and choose their subject matter." LIBRARY JOURNAL

Jane Spink, founder of dynamic and successful Inky Dog Studio, shares her working process for creating her stunning prints inspired by the natural world. Be taken through the initial sketches and inspirational photos, explore different linocut 'doodles' to discover your favorite marks to carve, then ultimately carve the final design onto a block.

Following a fascinating chapter and demo exercise on key linocut techniques, Jane guides you through 10 striking projects, each adding useful skills as you proceed. In this way, you build and develop your carving and printing skills at your own pace, while creating a remarkable work of art. Learn to carve birds, flowers, leaves and more, and simultaneously see how to make negative images, incorporate different colors and make complex versions.

From ready to use templates for all the projects, you can start making your own print blocks, and learn tips for developing the skills to create your own.

This is a gorgeous, highly visually intuitive how-to book that breaks away from the dry step-by-step guide, and will be a springboard for you to set out on, or advance further along, your own nature-inspired linocut journey.

Review Quotes

LIBRARY JOURNAL
Printmaker Spink introduces readers to linocut printing, which involves carving designs onto linoleum blocks. In the introduction, Spink gives a short history of this type of printmaking, praises its simplicity and versatility, and discusses its affordability. The book provides a list of required materials--cutting and print surfaces, ink brayers, and more--and explains what each one does, the pros and cons of different options, their ease of use, and the quality of their finished products. Spink also gives beginners advice for scaling up tools once they have gained experience, troubleshooting tips, and encouragement. The 10 printmaking projects emphasize the juxtaposition of light and dark design elements, and they progress from simple shapes to more detailed, complex compositions, guiding readers through the steps to manipulate photos to linocut and identify shadows and highlights. The book offers templates, but readers can choose a photograph or sketch of their own to use as a reference image.
VERDICT Accessible and eminently practical, this is an essential guide to linocut printing. What makes this book's projects and directions exemplary is the freedom it gives beginners to personalize and choose their subject matter.

Pressing Matters - March 2024
Spurred on by the global climate crisis, printmaker Jane Spink feels increasingly motivated to make art that will help raise awareness and re-connect people to the nature that we all share the planet with. Based on artwork created under the moniker Inky Dog Studio, Nature Imprinted is a great resource for anyone looking to get into the craft of linocut.

All Things Paper - June 2024
Would you like to learn linocut printing from an expert? Search Press has just the book for you! In Nature Imprinted, Jane Spink shepherds readers through the process of creating linocut blocks, and details how to use them to make lovely prints that reflect the beauty of the natural world.
You'll learn to carve birds, flowers, leaves and more while building your skill set with each project. As Jane declares in the book's opening, I will never stop being amazed at the potential this process offers to create new ideas. From strong, simple and graphic, to the capacity for achieving the finest details, linocut printing is a wonderful technique for creating many, many different styles of artwork.

Art Book Review - May 2024
A great deal of trouble has gone into the production of this utterly beautiful book, which is one of the most satisfying I have ever handled. It's a big commitment, I know, so maybe you'll just buy it so that you can revel in the illustrations.
The technique here is linocut, which is probably the most basic of the printmaking methods and, if you have been inspired to start, an ideal way in. Jane explains equipment and ways of working clearly and concisely, with plenty of photographs so that you can see what she's talking about. All of this assumes no prior knowledge, nor will you be pitched into a fully equipped studio, more of an adequately equipped tabletop.
This is a comprehensive guide that satisfies at every level.

About the Author

Jane is a UK-based printmaker and artist and the genius behind Inky Dog Studio. Since early childhood, she has loved to make artwork and enjoyed exploring different media, processes and techniques. Jane's also always had a passion for nature, particularly birds, and for creating art inspired by them.

After completing a foundation course in Art and Design in Southend-On-Sea, Essex, UK in the late 1970s, Jane earned a degree in Textile Design at Central St Martins School of Art in the 1980s, paving the way for her career in art. For nearly 20 years Jane worked as a freelance textile and graphic designer, followed by 16 years of teaching art, both in schools and in adult education settings.
Throughout that time, she always had a particular hunger for printmaking techniques. In 2018, Jane left teaching to set up her own art/printmaking practice, Inky Dog Studio. In just under five years she amassed a huge following, with over 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Besides selling her work through her online shop and other retailers, small curated selections of her prints can be found in a handful of independent UK galleries.

Jane lives and works in the historic market town of Rayleigh, Essex, UK, with her studio overlooking a beautiful, old, Georgian windmill.