I love carving linoleum.
It’s so soothing. I could carve, and carve, and carve, and carve all day long, until there was no linoleum left.
But that would be silly. And so eventually it comes time to pull a proof. You know, to see where all that carving has gotten me.
And as much as I love printing — the smell of the ink, the sound of the brayer — I also love having clean hands when it’s all over with.
I love the simple tools.
And I love the first inking. My love for the first inking is second only to my love of carving linoleum.
Most of all, I love it when all my love pays off with a good proof. Even though I don’t think the image is exactly perfect, if you pronouce the words just right, you should get it anyway. (I love puns, too.)