Inspiration is in Your Kitchen Drawer
Learn to draw with Charcoal
Drawing by Erasing
One of the most rewarding techniques I explore with my students on my six week kitchen cupboard mixed media course was drawing by erasing. Using everyday cutlery such as a knife, fork, and spoon as the still life subject.
We began by covering the entire paper with a rich layer of willow charcoal, removing all traces of white. Then, with a kneaded putty rubber, gently shaped in the fingers into a smaller edge, we lifted the charcoal to reveal light. It’s a process of subtraction, drawing in reverse, where highlights emerge from the darkness. Literally drawing with the rubber to lift away the charcoal. This simple but effective technique offers a fresh and engaging way to think about making marks and seeing form. It produces a lovely soft ethereal quality. You can also reintroduce charcoal at the end to refine details and deepen contrast as well as adding shadow.
Simple linocut for strong effective results
Bold designs with a retro feel — simple lino cut & collage
Again, using a knife, fork, and spoon as our starting point, this time we focused on bold graphic shapes rather than fine detail, proving that you don’t need to be an expert at lino cutting to achieve strong, effective results.
We first drew the design onto soft cut lino, keeping everything simple and clear. A cutter was used to follow the main outlines, then a wider tool helped clear away the background, so the image really stands out. A finer cutter could be used just for a few small details, but mostly it was about keeping things bold and graphic.
Water based printing ink was rolled out evenly before the paper was placed on top and burnished with the back of a teaspoon. Pulling the print is always the best part — each one slightly different and full of character.
We also played around with coloured paper, torn and cut edges, and simple layering to add extra interest and variation applying the collage to the paper with glue then printing on top.
Have a look in your kitchen drawer— you might even find cutlery that has been handed down, pieces your children used when they were younger, or cutlery with interesting patterns and personal meaning. These everyday details can be brilliant inspiration for your own designs.
So whether you’re lifting out charcoal with a rubber or carving into a block and printing, we’ve loved experimenting with both of these techniques, encouraging different ways of thinking about mark making. Why not give them a go, and follow along on Instagram to see what my students have been creating.
Materials I used & recommend
There are all sorts of lino cutting tools available online — I used Essdee (great inexpensive tools for beginners and pros) and they worked really well.
Shop the materials:
Water based printing ink (Essdee, Amazon)
Soft cut lino (Essdee, Amazon)
Willow charcoal sticks (Winsor & Newton, Amazon)
Want to try these techniques with me? There’s one place left on my Get Fruity mixed media course in Winchester — Thursdays 7 May–11 June, 2–5pm. All materials included.
