Before I had my first cup of coffee this morning I was in the studio trying out the idea of making the sky darker in yesterday's picture. The first effort failed because of my haste and blaze approach. After Toni and I had played our recorders for a couple of hours, I set about trying again. This time I remembered I wanted a gray sky, not a blue one, and that I had to use stronger paper to withstand the hard rubbing against the block. I spent more time looking for some paper than I did doing the print, but I was happy with the effect. I cut out the shape of the sky and painted it gray, then inked up the plate, put the sky on the block, smeared it with glue, then put the white paper on top of that. Rubbing was hard because the paper was so stiff, but eventually the wooden door nob I use to transfer the print did the job.
The second one is an image I did years ago as a monoprint, called "Don't Cry." I've always liked it, and it was the first thing I tried to do when I took chisel to wood this time. I messed it up and went to easier subject matter. After my marathon re-indoctrination, though, I felt competent to try it again. I like this one, but I need to work more on the bottom of the image.
The studio looks like a cyclone hit it, but I have accomplished my goal. How much longer will this continue to amuse me?
1 comment:
With art, sometimes the best tools are common objects we find around the house, aren't they? Like a door knob. Love it!
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