I adore linocuts. I love their rich textures, their bold lines, their overall strength and their hand-carved liveliness. Which is not to say they can’t be delicate, subtle, and very beautiful – of course they can!  And even whimsical, too. Kim Buchheit is one of those people who manages to coax these all qualities from her blocks, and then translates her prints of plants and animals into repeat patterns.

 

 

After working a drawing up into a linocut, she prints the block, and then scans the images into her computer before adding colour. For many of her linocut-based patterns, she also designs coordinating prints, using simple vector graphics.

 

 

Her palette is fresh and clear, and her lines are delicate (love the fins on the koi!). The Sakura pattern works best for me – it fills the space beautifully while still leaving the blossoms enough room to breathe, and although it is an obvious repeat with the strong line of the stem up and down, there is still plenty going on for my eyes to play with.

I always enjoy thinking about what I would use patterns for – and think a journal covered in the Aspen would be fab! Kim designs some sweet kids prints too.

 

 

 

Kim Buchheit is one busy lady. She does surface design, illustration, graphic design, exhibit and website design. She co-runs Buchheit Creative Services with her husband (who is a writer and photographer), and in her spare time (whew!) she creates felted objects and accessories for sale in her Etsy shop.

You can see more of her repeat designs on her blog. All of her surface designs are available for licensed use if you contact her, and some selected designs are available on fabric through Spoonflower.

Kim lives and works in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (wow, just wow!).

She states, “I believe we are all born artists. Some of us just choose to make art a profession. After earning my art degree in the Midwest, I spent the early part of my career working as a graphic designer, design instructor, and art director for a leading arts organization in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1994, I moved to Grand Canyon National Park to serve as art director for a non-profit publisher and park partner. For the past decade I’ve continued working with the park service on a freelance basis, as well as with other clients across the country. I also make time to felt, paint, create surface design patterns, draw, and create other things that delight me (and others too, I hope!).”

I’ll be sharing some of Kim’s husband Mike’s photography in a few weeks. It’s completely stunning, don’t miss it!

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Quotes and images provided courtesy of Kim Buchheit.