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!