The Feather Featured Art series is chosen by art teacher Vickey Belmont, who chooses unique pieces within their current unit. Art students study various techniques and different mediums throughout the school year. This feature art demonstrates the use of Linocut.
Fresno Christian first-year art class sits down with their carving tools, gliding them across the slices of linoleum given to them by Vickey Belmont, junior high and high school art teacher. For the past 14 years, Belmont has taught Art 1 students how to make stamps using the linocut technique.
Students start by creating their design on a piece of paper, then transferring the graphite onto the linoleum using the pancake method. Linocut uses a subtractive carving method, carving off the areas that remain white on the page. While carving, Belmont reminds students to watch their fingers since the tools are very sharp and she doesn’t want them to get hurt. Once the outline is finished, they dip the carved pieces in ink, choosing one or two colors for a colorful stamp.
Senior Cole Fluharty joined art, hoping it would be an easy class where he could express his creative side. He chose to make ducks for his stamp because he thinks they are fun and interesting creatures.
“Making the stamp gave me a chance to focus on those details and create something that represents wildlife in a simple but meaningful way,” Fluharty said.
Belmont chooses four students she thinks perform this technique very well. They made their lines very crisp and took their time. The top students are senior Cole Fluharty, junior Emma Wisley, sophomore Elijah Tuck and freshman Dominic Myovich. While some students may struggle to perfect their work, these students show passion for the art of linocut, taking time to make their lines precise and neat.
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