The Critique

Work before the Critique

This week went by in a whirlwind.  While preparing my presentation for Wednesday, I worked, simultaneously, to finish my duck prints.  As I continued to cut into my block however, I began to get more and more frustrated.  The duck wasn’t becoming clearer and I was about to give up.  However, I had printed so many ducks that I thought I should try to collage some of the prints together to make the ducks standout more. After experimenting with a couple different combinations, I decided on these two separate prints as the most successful.  Although this isn’t how I originally saw my prints, I do like the outcome and I think that it was the right decision at the moment.

IP Consultations Ideas

I got some wonderful ideas from my IP consultation and they have really started to push me towards a clearer ending.  Most importantly, I need to go home and play.  Quite literally, I need to take out my old blocks over vacation and try many different combinations and buildings.  After deciding on a couple different layouts, I will light them with extreme lighting and document, by taking pictures, sketching, and just observing the cast of shadows over the block.  My hope is to fill many pages in a sketchbook with these different combinations and experiments with different toys as well.  Luckily, I will have my little cousins to play with and hopefully I will gain some insight into how it was to play as a child. 

There was also a suggestion to look at the artist, Alfred Leslie, who works with different angels and lighting.  I find his nude paintings very inspiring and beautiful.  I hope that I can light my blocks in the same dramatic way that he lights his figures.

The suggestion that I found most interesting was how I could display my prints in my final show.  Jim Cogswell thought that I could display my prints in a grid like format and then to make it more dramatic, make it seem as if all the prints were lighted by the same source.  If the “light source” were coming from the bottom, then each successive print would have shadows as if it were reacting to that same light.  That way they would also look as if they were seated on shelves, which would create an interesting dynamic. I am very excited to started sketching new ideas for toys, and I am happy now with the direction that I have been pushed in. 

Over Winter Break…

I will take photographs and sketch my different combinations of blocks.

I will think about new toys that relate better to one another.

Sketch A LOT

Relax 

Rubber Duckie You’re the One

Saturday/Sunday

This weekend and week I spent all of my time working on my reduction block print.  I am really enjoying the entire process of carving and printing multiple times, and I think I am headed in a good direction.  Specifically during the weekend, I worked to print 10 copies of the second layer of my duck block.  I had previously cut into it and so all I had to do was mix colors.  This proved to be a little more difficult then expected, as I had to figure out how the colors would mix on my paper.  I ultimately decided to print a bright yellow and a turquoise color and was very happy with the results.

(6 hours)

Monday/Wednesday

I continued to print the rest of my second layer.  After completing the remaining 10 copies, 20 in total, I decided to print another block on top of my single duck block.  I was able to make 6 copies of this small image, but I am not sure what I am going to do with it in the future.  After finishing my printing I started to carve into my block yet again.

(8 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday

I finished carving my duck block’s third layer and started to mix colors.  Color mixing seems to be the most challenging part of the process for me and I tested to separate possibilities yesterday.  The darker orange I felt was too similar to my previous color and the lighter color doesn’t seem to standout enough.  I think I may try and mix a color in the middle of the two, which will hopefully be just right.  I plan on printing the entirety of the third layer this weekend and then cutting into the fourth layer as well.  I hope to have six layers in all, but this may change as I continue with the process.

(6 hours)

Coming week…

I really enjoy working with the dremel tool in the cold metals studio and I have decided to purchase a cheap one from Home Depot so that I can use it after graduating.  I am really attracted to the marks that it makes on my paper and I hope that I can find a reasonably priced one.  As I said before, I plan on printing the third layer of my block on the rest of my prints and then I will hopefully have time to start to carve the fourth layer this weekend.  Also, before my IP critique I would like to have another image started on my block and may research different toys this weekend. 

Back to School

Weekend in New York

During Thanksgiving break I was able to work on my IP Presentation.  I had compiled photos throughout the semester and I began to write an outline for the slides.  I decided to include most of my work, even the blocks that I was not excited about so that I could show my growth and talk about why I was unhappy with these images.  It was very beneficial to work on this power point and I felt like he self-reflection enabled me to think more clearly about the direction I would like to head. 

 (3 hours)

Monday-Thursday

This week, after returning back from New York, I was able to start to print and carve further into my duck block.  The print that I showed last week was a proof just to see whether or not I liked the color and the cuts that I had made.  I wanted to tweak a few things before I printed again so I returned to the dremel in the metals studio and carved out a little more of the surface.  After completing this step, I began to mix my colors and settled on a dark blue and a yellowish-orange.  I chose these colors because I could easily use darker or lighter colors on top of them for the following layers.  I really like how the combined image came out and it gave me the idea to print the duck image on its own.  I printed the duck image on a smaller piece of paper so that if I felt like cutting it out and possibly mounting it on chipboard I could do so in the future.  Also, after printing the first layer of the duck, I carved back into it and printed it again.  I am really excited about this print and I hope that I can follow it with similar images.

 (9 hours) 

For this coming week…

I hope to carve further into my wood block and hopefully print a second layer.  My ultimate goal is to finish this print before my IP review on the 15^th of December.  I would also like to start thinking about other images that I could start transferring onto my new blocks.  I received my grant information back and now I need to start compiling my receipts and figuring out exactly what I need to purchase for my final show.  Finally, I need to finish up my presentation and work on a few graphic details. 

Thanksgiving

Weekend- Cut duck out as seen before

            This week was full of printing.  I was able to carve the first layer of my duck print by using the dremmel in the metals studio.  It made the process go much faster, but still took me a considerable amount of time to complete.  The first carvings represent the lightest layers of my image and I have yet to carve into the cutout image of my rubbery ducky. 

            After cutting the duck image out, I decided to alter the shading on the image a little bit so that it can be more decipherable from the background of my block.  I will also be able to print the duck in different colors, making it standout further as well.

(4 hours)

Monday/Tuesday

            A majority of my printing took place the past two days.  I was able to get the studio all to myself and print some great images.  I first wanted to test print my duck block; making sure that the nose made form the dremmel didn’t overwhelm my image.  I decided to use a light purple, as the base color because I think it will complement the yellow from my duck nicely.

            Next, I printed y train image and I am very happy with how it turned out.  I like the departure from my other train and I like the stark difference between the white and black on the paper.  Another, “happy mistake” was my block after I cleaned it.  All of the cut lines filled in with black ink and now I think the block itself could be a part of my show.

(6 hours)

For this coming week…

            Even though it’s Thanksgiving, I hope to get a little work done over break.  I want to sketch more toys from my childhood when I go home, as well as take pictures for reference.  This will definitely help me think of a new idea for a block.  When I return Sunday afternoon I also hope to have enough energy to print a little before my thoughts are muddled by our ever approaching mid-year presentations. 

Pictures

Before

Cut

After

Rubber Ducky!

My Rubber Ducky

Last Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Over the weekend I was able to start on my new block.  I was a little concerned at first that the image of the rubber ducky was too abstract, but after I started to break it down into different colors, I was able to see more clearly what it is gong to look like in the end.  I really do like this image because it is starting to give my toys a little bit more of a context and although I may have gone a little crazy in the background I like the direction that I am headed.  I think for my next few images I will try and give them a background as well, but try and make the toys more apparent.  I was also able to sketch a lot more over the weekend and I really like this break from actual woodcarving. 

(5 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday

During studio time I started to really consider which image I wanted to transfer to my new block.  I had drawn a lot of the images in charcoal, but seemed to be more attracted to my blind contour drawing of the train.  I realize that the image is also very different then what I have been doing, but I like the fact that I now have a little bit of variety in the my woodblock images.  I transferred the image to my block and started carving just the lines out and realized that the image is probably going to be too stark for my liking.  Therefore, I plane to add a subtle wood grain in the background possibly to mimic a wood floor.  I am curious to see how this image will work with my image of the dollhouse, rocking horse, and now my rubber ducky.  I don’t know if I am going to include this image in the final show, but I am happy that I will have a chance to try it out. 

(6 hours)

Yesterdays Critique

I really enjoyed yesterdays critique with Larry Cressman.  I thought his comments were very helpful and gave me great ideas for the coming weeks.  One thing that I am very interested in trying out is something that Amanda and Larry both suggested.  My rubber ducky block seems to be too abstract and they said that I should cut out the image of the rubber ducky and work on it separately.  This way I can add multiple colors to my block while also drawing more attention to the toy.  I am very excited about this and I am planning on starting right away!

For this weekend and week…

Today I am heading to the woodshop, which I am terrified of, to cut my rubber ducky out of my block.  I plan on then carving into the block using a dremel, which is a mechanized drill that will help to cut my carving time in half.  The lines on my block are very intensive and I hope that using this tool will help to make the process go faster.  It will also help because the wood is so tough and it would be very hard for me to carve using just my wood tools.

I hope to also finish carving my train block and print a few proofs before Monday.

And images to come! 

Exploration

This week was an exploration for me.  Last week Janie had told me to try drawing and so I decided to stop rushing into wood blocks, for a little, and start sketching.  I began with charcoal and tried to draw as big as I could, which proved to be not so easy.  However, the sketches did start to open me up to new angles and possibilities for my train image.  When I did a blind contour drawing of the train I was actually really excited about the results.  I think that for my next woodblock instead of doing tons of textures, I am going to try and do a simple line drawing.

Since I can’t actually stop carving because it is just something I have to do, I had an image of a teddy bear that I was cutting in to on the side.  I’m not going to include this image in the show, but it was more for experimentation and gave me the opportunity to take a break when I grew tired of sketching.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday

This weekend I worked on a lot of sketches of the train at different angles.  I used charcoal, white charcoal, pen, sharpie, pencil, and some colored pencil (that I didn’t end up liking).  I thought my explorations were very successful after a while and it was definitely a necessary step in my artistic process.

(3 hours)

Monday/Wednesday

I had been sketching all weekend, so I felt the need to explore other ideas for a wood block, maybe one that didn’t include a train.  I was thinking of toys that are common and relate to a particular part of our lives and when Endi mentioned, in class, that our next project was on water he sparked an idea.  I chose to do a rubber ducky in a bathtub because I feel as if this is an iconic image.  Also, I wanted to try a block that not only highlighted the toy, but also gave it some context and a background.  I’m very excited about this reduction print and I can’t wait to get started.

(3 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday

I worked on my grant for some of the time and later continued to sketch the two metal toys that I had bought from Treasure Mart.  I also was able to transfer my image of a rubber ducky onto my birch block so that I can begin to layout the different colors/layers of my cuts.

(6 hours)

For this coming week…

I think it would be beneficial if I sketched different toys as well and did more drawings in blind contour.  I’m excited about this new possibility and can’t wait to see if it transfers well on to wood.

I would also like to start to carve into my new wood block and possibly print the image of my teddy bear by hand just so I can see how the image is coming along. 

And Some Printing…

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

This weekend I worked further into carving my train block and was able to print a few proofs.  I was a happy with my experimentation in cutting, but I am not satisfied with the overall print.  I feel that it does explore different textures, however, it doesn’t really highlight the toy in any way and the image competes with the stark black of the background. 

I was also excited to print my second block on top of my large dollhouse image and I am very happy with the results.  I feel like the second outline gives the dollhouse a lot more presence and I’d like to think of this as a finished block/image. 

(7 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday

Due to the fact that I had done so much printing over the weekend, I decided to just truck through and continue.  I was able to print a few more color blocks with my dollhouse and even one with my rocking horse.  I am very pleased with my rocking horse image, although I would still like to make it a little more evident and correct some random marks in the corners of the block.  I also started a new woodcut of a teddy bear because I want to explore the texture of fur a little more.  I may continue to working on this block; however, after talking with Janie I may focus more on drawing for this coming week.

(6 hours)

On Thursday I was also able to talk with Janie for a while and she gave me some great ideas along with a great artist to look at, Carol Wax.  Wax is able to create a sense of place for an object, even when it is floating in space.  Her extreme use of lights and darks create a very stark contrast and I would really like to work on my ability to create shadows within my own wood blocks. 

We also discussed what I needed to do for this coming week and I need to resort back to drawing.  I seem to feel the urge to immediately start carving an image and what I really need to do is take the time to workout the perfect image to carve.  So for this week, and weekend, I hope to sketch a lot on large sheets of paper.  I will probably still focus on my toy train, but make more of an effort to highlight different angles and viewpoints.  Also, I am may continue working further on my train carving because I don’t find it that successful, and may become tired of drawing at one point.

To answer some questions…

I have been expanding my horizons more on the types of toys I am going to use, but mainly they will focus on classic American toys.  I say I am expanding because originally I was just going to focus on wooden toys, but I am now experimenting with a metal slinky and a furry teddy bear.

I also planed on using little color, but after this weekends experimentation I may have changed my mind.  I really like my yellow and brown dollhouse, but I do still like pure black and white images. 

Halloween and Wood

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

I was very productive this past weekend.  First, I went to Treasure Mart to search for the toy train that I had wanted to buy a couple weeks ago.  Luckily, it was still there and, even more to my surprise, it was discounted!  I was able to buy two toys that are going to be perfect additions to my toy collection. After purchasing my new toys, I drove to Home Depot and bought a very cheap piece of MDF that I was able to cut into three separate blocks. 

After returning home and sketching the toys from different angles, I searched through my sketches for my favorites.  I picked four that I eventually narrowed down to just one sketch.  I used this specific drawing because I thought it started to push me towards a child’s viewpoint and I also thought it was a little off, which reminded me of a child’s drawing.

I then drew the train onto my block and began to cut into the board, only to realize that it wasn’t as soft and easy to cut as I had hoped.

(5 hours)

    

Monday/Wednesday

I transferred the image of my dollhouse onto another block so that I could start to carve.  After transferring the image, I decided that I would use the second block to outline the rooms more and put wood paneling in the background to make it clearer that the image was in fact a dollhouse.

(3 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday

I carved further into my train and slinky images.  I had a really hard time with the slinky image and in the end decided that I had cut too much away and scraped the idea.  It was just a study and so I wasn’t so upset that it didn’t work out.  My train image became more of a texture study, but I kind of enjoy it.  I’m excited to print it and hopefully this coming weekend and week I will have a chance to make a few prints/proofs. 

(3 hours)

Coming Week…

I hope to start a new block.  Hopefully, I will sketch more from my Treasure Mart toys and find another angle that I enjoy.  I also hope to make a few prints/proofs of my two new blocks.

The Break

Fall Break/Week

Last Friday, before the parents came, I was able to make a trip to Home Depot to try and get some cheap wood for my quick sketches.  I ended up buying wood that really did not hold up well after I carved into it.  I was determined to get a few wood “sketches” done over break, so I hurried on over to Michigan Book & Supply to buy linoleum instead and found really little wood blocks which was a great find.

During Fall Break I was able to sketch a little in my notebook and fool around with images of different toys.  I made a cut of a dolls face, but in the end I didn’t think it was so successful and scraped it.  I then tried a marionette, which I also ended up not liking, but I thought maybe I could rework later on. 

On a different note, I was looking at a couple different print artists over break including Endi Poskovic and Artemio Rodriguez (seen here) and I was really inspired to try and use words in my pieces. I made sure I was able to carve around the letters properly and did a test block of the word memories before I started.

I was also able to make a few prints of my rocking horse over break. 

Then on Wednesday and Thursday I started to look for images of toys that would fit well with a word.  I came up with the idea of a broken slinky and the word defeat, just as a little sketch.  I like how the image came out, but I feel like I am taking my project in a totally different direction.  When we discussed it in class I think the majority thought it was a good test, but I should stick with the images I was originally going to use without words.

Now Today, Friday, I am traveling to Treasure Mart to actually buy a toy that I can then sketch in different angles.  I want t achieve the point of view of a child and I think this will be a good exercise and start.  I also am quite partial to MDF board and I think I am going to buy some at Home Depot this afternoon. 

This Week:

Hopefully, I will have a new print started and will have multiple sketches of the train or toy that I am going to buy from Treasure Mart.  I will also finish carving my word test and see how it prints. 

Fall Break, Maybe Breakthrough?

Last Friday

As I mentioned last week, I was able to visit the ReUse center on Friday and bought two great things for just five dollars!  I purchased a dirty window frame that I can use to help me handprint my blocks in my studio and a dry erase board.  The ReUse center has officially made it to the top of my list for places to go for steals and deals.

Last Weekend

I searched for images and ideas for further prints.  Sketched and contemplated how I was going to approach the next set of toys and from what angle I would display them to evoke a child’s perspective.

2 hours

 

This Monday/Wednesday

I worked further into my carving of the big dollhouse and made a drastic move.  I made the snap decision to carve into the background of my block and I am very happy with the results.  I think these changes will add a great deal of drama and help to push me in the right direction.  I am excited to start my second block for this print, which will hopefully make it clear that the image is of a dollhouse.  I plan to add a chair leg in order to dwarf the image and give it some context.

5 hours

This Tuesday/Thursday

During studio this week I started a new block that shows an image of a rocking horse.  I’m not sure how I feel about the image and I think I just need to step back from it for a little.  I started to get a little restless and I hope that I didn’t cut too much in to the background of my block.  I was also able to sketch in my notebook and write down what I wanted to accomplish in my next set of prints.

6 hours

Fall Break and My Goals

Although my parents are coming to visit this long weekend, I hope to spend a lot of time in the studio working on small “sketch” prints.  I got the idea from watching Takeshi Takahara present his work method to my print class.  He said that he sets a goal of finishing a small block each day and printing it.  He had a set of about 20 prints that I thought were gorgeous and I hope that I can print a bunch of smaller blocks this break.  I plan to go to Home Depot tomorrow to purchase small 2” by 2” wood pieces that I can start to carve.  I was thinking I would do a sketch of a dolls face to start off with and hopefully this will get the ball rolling.

Just a peak at my IP Proposal:

Exploring the concept of lost childhood memories through the rediscovery of abandoned and disposed of toys displayed through woodblock cuts.

My own childhood was cut short by my sister’s illness and led to my adult curiosity about forgotten memories and its connection to my abandoned childhood toys.  The only memories that I can recall now are traumatic events that overshadow the importance of daily creative and mundane play that I experienced as a child.  This childhood play and the toys we played with can help the audience and myself remember valuable information about what we thought, dreamed, and wanted as children.  Hopefully, these recovered memories and desires will help lead us to realizations about the children we were and who we are going to become.

A series of prints involving imagery of handcrafted, classic American toys, such as dollhouses, rocking horses, and building blocks, will cover an entire wall in a gallery.  The images, shown from a child’s viewpoint, will inundate the viewer with memories of their own toys from childhood.  I hope to evoke a sense of loss as well as spark the audience’s curiosity about their abandoned toys and their own forgotten memories.  I hope to explore different types of woodcut media such as double block printing and reduction prints.  Images of distressed and abandoned toys, displayed without any human interaction, will drive home the feelings of loss and the desire to think as a child again.

The Week of the Michigan State Game

Sunday

Came to studio to carve further into my wood block of a small dollhouse.  Finally finished the interior and shellacked the board before printing.  My mom also sent me a box of all my doll house furniture and dolls.  They are very creepy, but I am looking forward to incorporating them into my block prints. 

(2 hours)

Monday/Wednesday

In print class I was able to make impressions of each of my dollhouse carvings.  My larger woodcut was printed in gray and pink, while Endi was able to show me a new way of hand printing my smaller block. 

           

This new hand printing really sparked my interest because I need very few materials to get started and I am excited to go to the ReUse Center tomorrow to hopefully find a spare piece of a glass door.  This new technique can be done in my studio without a printing press and I am looking forward to trying it later.  It produces very expressive and interesting textures, which I think will be very successful on some of my carvings.

(7 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday

I cut my smaller woodblock into two separate pieces so that I could use the other half for a print of a rocking horse. I also cut a stencil out for my larger block that covers the area of the house and leaves the background open.  This should allow me to create very interesting prints in many colors.  I also looked for rocking horse images online and was able to doctor some to my liking.  I hope to transfer one of these images on to my block by next Tuesday and hopefully I will be able to start carving.  Lastly, I printed my smaller block of a dollhouse and I hope to work further into the background of both my blocks by next week.

(6 hours)

Friday

Tomorrow I hope to find a glass panel that will allow enough space for me to roll out my inks.  Also, if I want to actually print in my studio I will need ink, oil, simple green, masking tape as well as a wooden device that helps to transfer the image onto the paper.

(N/A)

For Next Week:

I hope to

1. Transfer the image of a rocking horse to my smaller block

2. Carve further into the background of my woodblocks, hopefully clearing out enough of the background for my liking

3. Possibly purchase a cheap piece of glass for my own “print” studio

4. Work on my Project Proposal further, thinking of a clearer way to express my ideas

And Once Again…

Friday, September 24^th

After visiting Muriel’s Doll House and Treasure Mart I came away with images of toys and started to narrow down the types of toys I wanted to focus on in my project.  I determined that I was more interested in handcrafted toys then mass-produced toys such as Barbie. 

(3 hours)

Sunday, September 26^th

I came to studio and continued to work on my woodblock of a dollhouse.  I was also able to transfer another dollhouse onto a piece of wood and start carving that as well. 

(4 hours)

Tuesday, September 28^th

Continued to work on my woodblocks…

(3 hours)

Thursday, September 30^th

Continued to work on my woodblocks and had an important conversation with Seth that changed my image ideas.  From now on I will choose images that engage the viewer from a child’s perspective.  For example, instead of a full outsiders view of a dollhouse I will show the interior spaces so it mimics the perspective of a child better.  I also searched for other images online and plan to buy and take more interactive photos of toys this weekend.  Hopefully, my new images will help to push me more towards the thinking and imagination of a child instead of an adult’s perspective.

(3 hours)

For this week…

I plan to search for toys this weekend that I can photograph from a child’s perspective rather than my perspective.  Hopefully, I will be able to run a proof of one of my woodblocks and continue to cut into my blocks more for next week. 

- Woodblock -