STARTED ON YOT DRAGON PRINT

I struggled with the drawing for my Year of the Dragon print.  I had a clear concept, The Dragon With the Girl Tattoo, but I couldn't get the image in my head to materialize on paper.


But I had an epiphany while on our walk in Lincoln Park.


It finally came together, and I decided not to fuss with it any more.  


I like it.

I sanded up some 4" by 6" blocks of Basswood that I had laying about and started carving the 'key block'.

I inked up the block to in order to transfer the image unto the second block and also printed one copy, thinking I would use some colored pencils to experiment with color.  I should have printed more, duh.  I also see some boo-boos that need to be fixed (particularly the girl's knee where the knife slipped).  We got busy after dinner and I never did color it in.  I'm thinking about trying a 'rainbow roll'.  We'll see.  I'll be carving the easier color block tomorrow.

100 TINY LITTLE PRINTS

"Lucy's Morning"

I've mentioned before I follow an online group about Japanese Woodblock Printing, Barenforum.org and that they have organized exchanges.  Well, in honor of the 50th Exchange they decided to do a very small format.  And it was finally decided to do them  in the size of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) 2.5" x 3.5".  There was a lot of excitement about the project and we got settled on 100 participants.  The usual has been around 35.  

It has turned out to be a lot of fun.  The hardest for me is picking an image.  I settled on an image of Lucy sitting in the sun.  It's from a photo I snapped one early morning, and I've always liked it.  It has the advantage of having a lot of contrast, which makes it easier to convert into a black and white image.

I wanted to do more than one block, though, more than just black and white.  So, I went with grey, black and white, two blocks.  Almost as simple as you can get.  Registration has always been my nemesis, but it turned out to be a non-issue with such a small print.  

Carving the blocks

I carved the blocks from boards of Basswood that Darrell made ready for me.  

A pencil rubbing of the first block

I used Nori paste and  Daniel Smith Watercolors, Lamp Black and Iridescent Blue Silver (which is Mica and Titanium White), it has little flecks of mica in it and is very interesting.  

Daniel Smith Watercolor 'Iridescent Blue Silver'

Adding the pigment to the first block

Paper and baren on the first block

The first block printed.

Beginning the second block with black

Printing the second block with black

I cut out 160 little 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" pieces of paper, 20 of which were Japanese type paper, and the rest were thicker white American style paper (I never write the names down, so I never know what it is).  I rejected 50 of them, and am keeping 110.  So, I'm calling it an edition of 110.  I'll be sending 101 to the Exchange Coordinator.  I might send one to my sister Sue, she loves animals.

All printed!

Back of cards

All of them, the pile on the left are going to the Exchange, the smaller pile on the right  are the Rejects, those in the back  are some of the test prints and the ones I'm keeping.

Ready to go!

YEAR OF THE RABBIT

This was the first time I used Darrell's new carving tool - is it cheating?  It wasn't as fun, but it is accurate.  Too much sawdust - I prefer chips.

"FLEETING BEAUTY" SHOW AT SAAM

Darrell and I have wanted to go the exhibit of Japanese Woodblock Prints at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) since it opened in April.  Seems like there was always something keeping us away.  So, when the weather turned so miserable this Memorial Day Weekend, we decided it would be a perfect time for an indoor activity and this show was right at the top of the list.

We both really enjoy Japanese Woodblock prints, Darrell from his passion of everything Japanese (which relates back to Greene & Greene and his furniture designing) and me from my love of printmaking.  I've taken a class or two about the traditional methods of Moku Hanga (woodblock printing) and am a regular lurker at one of the best web forums on the subject www.barenforum.org .

We were at the museum in Volunteer Park soon after the doors opened.  Its always a pleasure going to SAAM, the Art Deco building is a treasure all in itself and the park is one of Seattle's jewels.  (Afterward, we took Lucy for a short walk through the squirrel infested grounds, so she was happy with the outing also).

Both Darrell and I agree the show was phenomenal.  It was curated very nicely, with an exquisite selection showing the changing styles and eras.  We were thrilled to see the excellent specimens with their rich colors intact, and the educational information about the prints, the process and their makers. 

The collection, a promised gift to the museum, includes Hokusai's Great Wave, shown here with Darrell admiring it and seeing things he's never seen before.  Wow.

Hurry-  the exhibit closes on July 4, it's a must-see.