Those We Love

This week’s Etsy Shop of the Week feature is Das Linoleum check out these lovely prints…….

Tell me briefly about your Etsy store.

My store features handmade (that is, hand-drawn, hand-carved, and then hand-printed) linoleum prints. All of the images are based on experiences or ideas I have, for example, when traveling; things I see; things I dream of. My store features prints that are illustrative, decorative, and affordable. But because I know that not everyone is looking for print art to put up on their walls, I occasionally also include hand-printed postcards, notebooks, etc. in my store that are both practical and feature cool art.

What is the story behind your craft?

I have gotten into making linoleum prints after I moved to Athens, GA, last summer. For years I hadn’t been working with linoleum, but I always draw and make doodles, so I thought I make use of this creativity. I had made one or two linoleum prints before I seriously got into what I am doing now and those prints were very much liked, so I decided to work more on this, to teach myself, to explore, and to get better at what I am doing. And then I started selling some of my art…

What are your greatest inspirations?

I love print art of all sorts, but I am especially inspired by poster art and political art. I find female artists inspiring, because it expresses empowerment and strength when women transform their feelings and experiences into artwork. One female print artist I like very much is Anna Heyward Taylor from South Carolina. But I am also inspired by the work of other Etsy artists, because there is a lot of great art out there, in the vast online art world.

What gets you going creatively?

Mostly when I need a break from work, I start carving linoleum. But my inspiration to start the first sketch for what I will later work into a linoleum print really comes about spontaneously, for example, if I enjoy a nice summer day outdoors and I see a lovely scene somewhere that I want to capture in my art work. As I sketch the scene on paper, things change from what I have seen in real life to how I experienced them in my heart and mind. So working creatively for me is really a kind of free-flowing process that is very much emotional.