[A link party about art issues hosted by
Nicole of DVArtist, Art, Food and Everyday Things]
A couple of weeks after my Alliance Française disaster,
I tried a different, shorter activity in French.
This one went much, MUCH better!
This linocut workshop was held at the
francophone art gallery & coffee shop of CAVA,
(Visual Arts Centre of Alberta).
All supplies were included, but we were asked
to bring a design which we wanted to use.
So I came prepared with a simple design
that I had found on the internet.
The workshop was conducted in French, as were
most of the interactions with other students.
I managed to follow about 80% of what was said
and also had some nice conversations
with the other women at my table
while we drew and carved our lino panels.
Here is my finished print. It was a lot of fun to do
and I'm pleased with the outcome --
Later, I discovered there were photos of the workshop
on CAVA's Facebook, so here's a select few showing
the instructor, the process, some of the other students,
and yours truly hard at work on my lino carving.
[Linocut art & photo of it © Debra She Who Seeks, 2026]
45 comments:
Your linocut is nice, but even better is the fact you did the workshop in French! Most Americans struggle just to get by in English.
Was it easier to hold a French conversation while doing something challenging, yet fun?
@ Tundra Bunny -- Yes, it was!
...this is an activity that I always wanted to do.
Wow! Memories! My mom was always getting me linoart starter kits as a kid!
The modern softer vinyls are so much easier to cut. I bought a kit last spring, and so far I have only done a couple of little projects.
@ Travel -- Yes, that's very true! I first attempted linocuts about 40 years ago but the lino was too hard for me to carve. In those days, people used to put a hot iron on the back of the lino panel to soften it us momentarily for ease of cutting. What a pain it was. I LOVE these new softer panels!
Your print is amazing, and I like your linocut. It's a great image.And even better you could follow most of the French. That looks like a fun time for both the French and the art aspects.
You are learning a lot, wonderful lino cut!-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
I never saw that earlier post till now, so thank you! Good idea to blend an art session with a language immersion.
I just checked your timeline and find only about half of your posts ever get to me. I thought you were cutting back! I guess it's blogger cutting back.
@ Boud -- Yes, everyone is feeling VERY frustrated about Blogger's current slowness at notifying our readers of our new posts.
I've never done any lino cutting, much less in another language. Your instructor is a very lovely woman. Or at least in appearance.
Two creative birds, one stone. Clever. Great lino cut.
Wow! You did it in French. I'm impressed. I might squeak by in Spanish, but I'd be too embarrassed to try to speak it to anyone. And the linotype is great. Did that woman wearing the beautiful lace topper understand that you would be working with ink?
Blogger can be annoying sometimes, but it's still here and so are we...
Well done - actually getting to the class with design in hand and learning in another language. See how very clever you are!
How fun to combine a creative activity with practising everyday French. Your print is stunning!
@ Lisa -- Yes, she was VERY brave, wasn't she!
Merveilleuse, incroyable! That's all I got. Hopefully they're spelled correctly:)
What a terrific way to practice your French! Your print came out great!
Lovely work!!!! I have contemplated trying this myself with some kind of birds design. I love seeing the finished product. Perhaps make greeting cards.
Yours looks great, Debra.
Wow! What a fun class. I lover you design. So the class was $25 and all supplies included? That is a very reasonable price. It looks like everyone is having fun and I love seeing your beautiful self. I have to say this is one of the best ways to get you fluent in French again. Well done my friend. Thank you for sharing with with SITAR and have a nice day today.
@ DVArtist -- Yes, I thought it was dirt cheap too. I don't see how they made ANY money from that class. But perhaps it's a not-for-profit kind of endeavour. And remember, it's $25 in Canadian money, which is about $18 in US funds.
The whole event sounds like a win-win.
What fun - I remember making those linocut prints a freshman at Runnymede Collegiate Institute in Toronto Canada. I love your design. It is very Pikes Peak whose indigenous name, Tava, means sun mountain.
@ Lady M -- Oh, Tava -- "Sun Mountain" -- what a beautiful name! I didn't know you studied in Toronto when young! And speaking of Pike's Peak, I'm sure you know that it was at the 1813 Battle of York (now Toronto) in the War of 1812 where Brigadier-General Zebulon Pike of the invading American forces was killed.
80% comprehension is fantastic! Well done, you! So much easier when half of your brain is distracted by something else.
Love your lino print. I'll bet that was fun!
Beautiful work, dear Debra! On the art and the French!
Hello Debra, Having art conversations in French doesn't excuse you from making errors. Some of your accents on the linocut are going the wrong way, and I'll bet you chose the yin-yang-y symbol deliberately to weasel out of noun gender arguments.
--Jim
p.s. I once signed up for a seal cutting class that was conducted in Mandarin, but the class was cancelled at the last minute because not enough people had signed up.
Way to persevere, DSWS! Art-making reduces anxiety...a better mental space for hard tasks.
@ Parnassus (Jim) -- Hahahaha! And wow, I have nothing to complain about re learning French. I can't even imagine trying to learn Mandarin.
What a fun class. When I was in high school I took an etching class with my father at the university where he taught. We etched steel with metal tools and acids and the did the ink press. It was a great deal of fun.
lovely ! 💕
This sounds like the most wonderful experience. I loved seeing your work and the photos from class. My art camp friend Kate is a lino person and I've seen how challenging it can be, the more you get into it. It sounds like a good teacher and I'm so impressed that you could understand so much in French!
I remember doing a lino cut in highschool, I think we only ever did the one. I don't even remember what my design was or if we chose our own or did what the teacher told us to. Your design is fabulous, I like it very much. Congratulations on the French.
Really nice luv the lino
Have a good week
Thanks for dropping by my blog
Much love
I like your print.
I find it curious on that poster that the French is in bold print but not the English.
Meurveilleux!!
combining everything...good results all round
great linocut, love to try it sometimes - I draw mostly
Your linocut is fantastic. And I'm impressed you spoke French, too. Two arts in one class.
I would have made a bee. Something you could put on the blog side panel. But this sure looked like a lot of fun.
you are such an inspiration dear friend Debra 👍
how impressive you attended art class conducted in french Wow !!!
you have learnt it long ago but your faith in you was strong and you did it so nicely :))) hats off to you my dear Debra and congrats for such an awesome art you created ,proud of you
lovely to see you in the photo yes :)
Wow. I love it. And how great to understand 80% in french. More points for you for going to more craft classes. There is no way to know what your favorite next craft will be until you try it out.
@ Leanna -- D'oh! You're absolutely right! I must remember to do a bee the next time I get a chance to do a linocut!
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