Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, print, printmaking, visual art, woodblock printing, Woodcut
Last night’s woodcut print class was great. I brought two large woodcuts, and a smaller one. Annie, the teacher, did a great job by suggesting that I combine the two woodcuts to make a single print. So, here is the first print, which was from the woodblock shown in the last post:
I liked this one, even though it’s kind of crazy. The orange splotches are shellac, which wasn’t quite dry yet. Those won’t appear again. This was my second block, which I thought ended up rather dull:
I wanted to do something very different than the first. I did something vaguely architectural, just to get it out of my system. It seems a bit lifeless to me. Then, I threw together this tiny one:
I abandoned this one, as I didn’t really have a plan for it. I paired the first two blocks together, which I think looks kind of interesting:
I might stick with this size of block, and do other combinations like this. All of these prints are on newsprint, unfortunately. Maybe next week, I’ll switch to real paper. Newsprint will crumble in a few years.
So, here is the first of the hybrid, mutant plant prints:
Hilarious, right? I love it. I was totally apathetic about the architectural block at first, but now I think it’s so funny to have this crazy plant thing in the mix. So, this was the improved version:
I love this! So funny. I love the craziness invading the staid architectural space. I think that I may do more of these combinations. What do you think? I really like this type of printmaking. The colors are beautiful…I love the messy, handmade quality of the marks…and the layering is so interesting. I need to build up an inventory of blocks, so that I can do some more layering. So many possibilities!
Here’s a scrap of my newsprint, which I thought looked neat as well:
I’m itchy to carve/print more of these. Luckily, my poison ivy has gone, so THAT itchy has gone away…
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slightly wonky 
The “mutants” are great – the combinations work really well. Think you should do more. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by richardsguest June 22, 2011 @ 1:17 pmThanks so much! I really appreciate your feedback.
Comment by slightlywonky June 22, 2011 @ 4:42 pmHey! this is great stuff! There’s such a juxtaposition going on here, your past combined with your present. almost an Asian feeling piece of furniture overlaying a Mari Mekko wallpaper. Can you decorate my house this way? Can’t wait to see more
Comment by growingmuses June 22, 2011 @ 10:43 pmThank you! I know…I thought that the crazy plant (Seymour!) bursting into the building was such a funny metaphor. I do love the beautiful Japanese woodcut prints. So delicate. Thanks for your feedback!
Comment by slightlywonky June 23, 2011 @ 8:16 amplease xqqs lower case typing but i have a broken arm and capitals are beyond me.. i really like your mutant woodblocks especially the 2nd last one. quirky but so elegant and a perfect fusion of line and colour. it reminds me in a wierd way of the day of the triffids.
Comment by Ruth June 23, 2011 @ 7:08 pmRuth!!!! I’m so sorry to hear about your arm! That’s so awful! I hope that it isn’t your dominant hand/arm that is injured. Please take care…and I hope that you have a speedy recovery.
Thanks so much for your feedback! Yes, I like these prints too! I don’t know what “the day of the triffidis” is…but I’ll be sure to look it up!
Comment by slightlywonky June 23, 2011 @ 9:48 pmits a book by john wyndam written many years ago about plants that come to life and take over cities.
Comment by Ruth June 24, 2011 @ 1:28 ami broke left arm so can still do lots of things but no textile art.. forgot to say that i really like the spiny creature from yesterday as well.