Intro: Brick Block Printing

Old bricks turned to art.

My family is originally from small town Ohio. When my father and his sibs grew up, these bricks paved the way for many bike riding adventure. All my aunts and uncles have at least a few bricks and I thought it would be a nice way to tie the family together with some wall art.

STEP 1: Assemble Materials

for this I bought:
stretched canvas.
paint in the desired color.
I had:
brick
foam floor mat
utility knife
square
paint roller/tray/mixing device

STEP 2: Create Canvas Cusion

In order to get a better image the canvas needs to give a little when the brick is applied. if there isn't a backer, the brick may rip through the canvas. to achieve this, I cut pieces out of my anti-fatigue mat that I have in the garage. I fit the pieces inside the wooden frame on the back of the canvas. I created two so that they would be thicker than the cavity created by the frame. this ensures that you don't overly stretch the canvas when pressure is applied.

STEP 3: Ink the Block

using a short nap roller with no excess paint, apply to the imprint side of the brick.

STEP 4: Make Imprint

Being careful to position where you want the image, its important to press straight down on the canvas. If you try to reposition the brick you'll get smears, or double images. Those could be great effects, but not what I was after.
once the brick was on the canvas, I had some little helpers apply about 65 lbs of pressure by standing on the brick for a few seconds.

STEP 5: Personalize!

Because these are family gifts, I'll omit the details, but I inscribed each one with the serial number 1-8 and a quote.

Be sure to sign your work, and have fun!