Thursday, October 14, 2010

Is it January already?

Well, no, it's not January yet...but I did finish my contribution for the Wood Engraver's Network 2011 Calendar. This is an exchange of sorts, where volunteers print up 100 copies of their assigned month and receive a bunch of hand-bound calendars in return. I can't wait!
I must be getting picky in my old age because I stopped "production" to clean the block four times before I was satisfied that it was as clean a print as it would be. By cleaning the block I mean stopping, removing all ink, and recarving spots that were picking up ink without my explicit consent, the rascals!
Didn't help that I just knew that wood engravers carry around a magnifying glass everywhere they go just so they can hone in on the details. I know I do.
In any case, here is the final image. Two blocks, a standard background woodcut block and the engraved foreground in all its gory detail on end-grain maple. I used Daniel Smith inks, Traditional Black oil-based and a black/white/transparent mix for the background.
See? It is snow, it HAD to be clean! The image is from my garden, a quirky Mojave yucca that has the funniest looking seed pods. There was snow two years ago right here in the city, so I'm not completely inventing the composition. I imagine those strange looking pods dumping their seeds in the snow so that they can regenerate during the perfect spring.

I will leave you with a couple of details:




Hmmm...still see a speck or two...drat!

8 comments:

  1. I think your missing an 'l' in the word "glory".

    " ...in all its gory detail on end-grain maple,"

    should be:

    " ...in all its glory detail on end-grain maple."

    IMHO... :-)
    Mark Vosmeier

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  2. Thanks Mark! Perhaps it was a gory glory! One of the things that I enjoy most is engraving through my big magnifying lamp. Makes the block look like a tiny world with deep "canyons" and "trails" and "mesas". I really feel sometimes that I could shrink myself and go "down there" and walk around my carving.

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  3. I love it! So beautiful. And clean. ;-] It pays to stop and clean the block as you print.

    A calendar is such a great idea. 8-]

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  4. This is beautiful! Completely adore the design, and I agree with the cleaning of the block (although I generally do not have the patience, I often wish I had at the end!).

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  5. Very nice, the black and white work combined with the gray background give it a lot of depth for just two blocks.

    How big is the block/print?

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  6. Thanks everyone!
    The print is only 5" x 8" or roughly 13 x 20 cm. Quite small. I had to transfer the numbers from a computer printout as I didn't trust myself to draw them evenly. For the rest, I started out with a pencil drawing and played a bit in Photoshop before coming up with the "right" composition. I was surprised at the perceived depth too.
    Fun project, quite tedious; keeps me at the bench for hours at a time.

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  7. Beautiful! And now that you've said it's 5 x 8, I'm even more impressed with your fine carving (engraving). Those specks you're worrying about must be very very small!

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  8. Thanks Annie! BIG magnifying lamp makes it not so difficult but you have to be patient and careful. The specks are small...tiny...very very minute...wee

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