Preparing a Mokulito Block: Mokulito/Mokuhanga Project combining wood litho & Japanese woodblock

[@richardbackhouse2731]

Thanks, Laura, As always well presented easy to follow, and understand. What a star! Best wishes to you and Ben. Richard.

[@simonedoherty6195]

Your fingers must be sore from all that rubbing away of the masking fluid! Great video again, look forward to see the process progress.

[@franalexander6966]

Thanks so much, as always clear and helpful. You're a great teacher, just wish you weren't on the other side of the world!

[@mvswaaij]

Very interesting Laura. looking forward to the next step. Especially to see if the lines you draw with the carbon paper will come out on the print . (don't even know if that is what you want),

[@florensacpete]

Hi Laura ... a little bit late (5 months!) coming to the party: only just discovered your video sessions and the Mokulito process. Really enjoying the content and your style. A bit nostalgic too ... a five year lithographic print apprenticeship served forty plus years ago. To clarify a couple of points in the comments below : Carbon copy paper image is largely made up of various waxes and carbon black powder (to make the image visible). The wax acts as a binder for the carbon and is oleophillic / hydrophobic - so attracts the oily, greasy ink. Gum Arabic is hydrophillic - attracts water. Oil and water do not mix ... the whole principle of lithography in a nut shell. As for the talc / baking powder ... not sure either. No chemical or process reason for this stage that i know of. Best guess - if applied heavy enough and left long enough gum arabic could "eat" into the image area - as would happen to printing plates. To prevent this the gum arabic layer would have been smoothed out ( effectively wiped off the greasy image). Maybe the talc "fixes" the image as you suggest - preventing the image from smearing when wiping the gum layer onto the plate by forming a "skin" or barrier to prevent this ?

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

Hi Peter thank you for that - great explanation and very helpful. Still kind of believe it to be pure magic though!

[@marcegraba]

Hi Laura! You can replace the bitumen roofing paint by acrylic paint, and carbon by acrylic markers, they work very well, althoug they´re not greasy. I´ve tryed them.

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

Thank you! I’ll give it a go

[@Exlibrista]

Hi Laura, thanks for this great video. Can you tell me, if the bitumen can be replaced with another substance?

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

Yes, absolutely

[@simonetippett9733]

Hi Laura, firstly, thank you for your generous KZbind demonstrations. My friends & I (from across the world) are incredibly grateful 💙 (I’ve just purchased your new lino book & intend to buy prints … not only because I’m a fan, but also to acknowledge and thank you for your KZbins.) You rock! Secondly, a quick question, did you talc after the dried bitumen, but before rubbing off the masking fluid? My spidey print-sense is telling me to give this a go… PS, Am also very happy to have a new use for that lip liner I purchased years ago for a wedding (my own) and wore only once… 😂

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

I’m pretty sure I did - enjoy that lip liner💋

[@woodsiastudio]

Did you say think bitumen with linseed oil? I missed how you applied the masking fluid…

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

I diluted the bitumen with the linseed oil (which I’ll be using again in inking) and I just painted on the masking fluid with an old paintbrush

[@woodsiastudio]

I don’t understand how the carbon lines work? Do they work chemically with the bitumen or serve as a way to print your line detail?

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

I have No idea either, but the carbon picks up the ink well (not all carbon papers work - they need to lay down a fairly heavy deposit of carbon)

[@orelhaindiscreta]

🤞!!

[@batworker]

How do you get the cat to lie on the thing you’ve provided…ours would insist on sleeping everywhere else 😂😂

[@LauraBoswellPrintmaker]

Doris is on my jacket so she THINKS she’s not allowed - it’s honestly the only way to get her to stay put. If I used her bed/blanket she just wouldn’t buy it.