Monday, July 30, 2007

Foggy


Foggy, 4"x6" print on 5.5"x7.5" paper

The fog comes on little cat feet..., Carl Sandburg.


Foggy was the definition of scaredy-cat, which is probably why he lived to nineteen, far out-distancing his more adventurous sister, Smoggy, and later, Stormy. He knew when to make himself scarce, but then he was there again, creeping back into view.
I started carving a block with a Summer & Winter weaving pattern -- so named because when you flip it over, the dark/light color pattern is reversed to light/dark -- called Cat Tracks. (Summer & Winter weave coverlets were popular with the Colonial Americans, who presumably reversed them seasonally.)
I used the alcohol/baby wipe technique to transfer a printer image to a Baltic birch plywood block, which was more than adequate to carve the detailed weave pattern. I used Daniel Smith ochre water-based ink and a baren to hand-print the block onto cream-colored Arches paper.
I then carved a second block and tapped on a grey mixture of Daniel Smith black water-based ink and an opaque white etching ink, in a splotchy manner to mimic fog. I used a baren to hand-print an off-center image of the cat, as if it is just drifting into the image.
This is my SWNS07 exchange print.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Summer & Winter Weave


cat tracks
Summer & Winter Weave -- yellow ochre water-based ink, 4"x6" on cream Somerset, 5.5"x7.7"
The fog comes on little cat feet. -- Carl Sandburg

Friday, July 06, 2007

Summer & Winter -- Baby Wipe Transfer



hp deskjet 5150 print transfer onto Baltic birch plywood block using baby wipes (reconstituted with alcohol). Rubbed from the back, wetting the paper.