Cricketts Inky Art Blot

One of my favorite forms of printmaking is relief carved blocks. I generally use soft blocks such as linoleum, for the simple reason that it is easier on my hands. The last time I carved wood I ended up with 3 herniated discs, so I might make wood a special occasion choice! Carving wood can be an almost spiritual awakening of sorts, as the consious mind is on full focus of the task of the hands and the subconsious is resting on the creative nature of the image being formed. Once the block or blocks are carved, inking and printing requires a rhythm of motion that brings a level of peace. Here is a Japanese master printer at work printing, just watching him at work in his studio has me taking deep mediative breaths!      

I had printed this miniature with 5 color layers over the past couple of weeks, yesterday I added an extra layer of white to soften the edges of the feather. In the background you can see some of the second version alarm clock prints. I have also started playing around with images to make these digital prints. The glasses are a reoccurring theme.

Due to impatience, I was unable to wait until the prints were truly dry enough to overlay with more ink. I only needed to add white to the hour glass at this point, so I threw caution to the wind and printed. I think they survived the ordeal relatively unsmudged. I am particularly pleased with the slight 3D effect. I hoped that it would work, but results are inconsistent. The pace is pretty intense at the moment and I find myself pretty tired each night from printing by hand. I have considered more than once in the last few days, that it is time to think about buying a press. I usually find the labor quite Zen like, but it is a killer when there is a deadline!

I am reworking the blockcut to print the patten in yellow. While I was working on this piece I thought about "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is a short story I read in college in relation to early feminist work. The book was written in the very late 19th Century and is a description of a woman locked away in a room of her house by her husband, due to her deemed mental condition after childbirth. The pattern of the wallpaper begins to irritate her and with nobody to talk to, she keeps a diary of her thoughts as she slips into insanity. I am using the same browns, but using a yellow ochre for the pattern.

Thursday night, After taking numerous prints, i have 4 copies that I think are good enough for an edition. Thursday evening, This is the first proof off the matrix. The carving is not too bad, but the ink is patchy. Thursday afternoon, I have returned to carving the matrix and have decided to run some single colour prints from it before reducing further for the second printing. I will incorporate a softcut block into these prints for a small edition (possibly as few as 5) fragmented narrative. Thursday morning The stitches are completed and the signatures sewn together. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The carving is taking a long time for the second layer. I seem to be having a lot of phone calls and breaking my concentration which is not helping. Carve, carve,carve....... - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone