At the beginning of this stage of the project, I decided to work with a single shape: the circle. The intention was not to produce a final image but to understand the behaviour of relief printing itself. By repeating the same form many times, I could observe how the medium responded to small changes in tools, materials, and pressure.
At first I expected the process to be relatively predictable. The logic of relief printing appears simple: carve the shape, apply ink, and print it. However, the moment I started carving circles, it became clear that the medium behaves differently than expected.
Straight lines were relatively manageable. Circles were not.
A circle quickly exposes the limits of control in carving. Even a small deviation becomes visible, especially at a small scale. The tool tends to drift slightly, and that drift immediately changes the geometry of the shape. Instead of a perfect form, the result becomes something closer to a record of the hand movement.
To explore this further, I began iterating the same circle across multiple prints while changing specific variables. I experimented with different carving tools, including traditional lino tools and improvised instruments such as scalpels. I also tested different surfaces and variations in printing pressure.
What became clear through this process is that the circle does not remain a stable geometric form in relief printing. It constantly shifts depending on the interaction between the tool, the material, and the physical act of carving.
Some circles appear controlled and balanced, while others become uneven or slightly distorted. Interestingly, these distortions were not always mistakes. In many cases they revealed how sensitive the process is to small gestures and material resistance.
Through repetition, the circle stopped being a simple shape and became a way of observing the process itself. Each print carried traces of how it was made, the speed of the cut, the pressure of the tool, and the behaviour of the material.
What I learned from this experiment is that relief printing is less about reproducing perfect forms and more about negotiating with the medium. The circle, despite its apparent simplicity, turned out to be one of the most effective ways to make that negotiation visible.