Magnolia Woodcut: Carving

"It all started under the magnolia tree."
—Krittika Bhatta

INSPIRATION

Usually when I know I have a big project approaching I try and stay open for the universe to give me a nudge in the right direction.  Last October I was mulling over what I should make for my BIG INK woodcut when I came across a magnolia tree in Norwood that was covered with seed pods in every stage of development.  Some pods were still on the tree and had red seeds, and some had fallen to the ground and were in varying states of decay.  For years I have taken note of these pods here and there, but on this day everything came together.  I photographed the pods and collected a couple samples to bring home.

When I got home I poured through my photos and was specifically looking for something I could use for the BIG INK.  The BIG INK was started by Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet to inspire greater public appreciation of large-scale woodblock printmaking. They travel the country with their giant press printing local artists' woodblocks.  The only caveat is, the print must be a black and white image and at least 24'' by 36''. 

I hesitated to choose the magnolia because I always thought if I depict a magnolia it should include those bright, luscious red seeds.  I was torn between finding a new subject or just proceeding with the magnolia.  I played around with the image and made it black and white.  

“To see in color is a delight for the eye
but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.”
— Andri Cauldwell

When I saw the pod without color, I knew this was it.  There was so much awesomeness going on in this pod, it didn't need the red seeds. 

SKETCH

I began by printing my photo to the size of my woodcut and doing a light tracing.  At that point I stood back and moved things around until I liked the composition.  Below you can see the pencil drawing from the early stage to finish.  

As I was writing this blog post I finished one of my notebooks in which I write work notes.  As I was flipping through it I found this description of a dream I had the day after I finished this sketch:

"When I woke up this morning I got a two-second glimpse into a dream I had last night.  I dreamt about a piece I am working on depicting a magnolia seed pod.  In the dream I was traveling along the mountains and valleys of the piece.  It was exhilarating and felt like pure love... pure joy."

PAINT WOOD

Before transferring the drawing to the plate, Lyell (of the BIG INK) recommended painting the wood plate a neutral color.  The contrast between the paint and wood color helps the carver to better see their design.  This video shows me painting the plate blue. (Music: La Vieja by Las Sirenas del Son)

I had a moment of freak out when I came down to the studio the day after painting.  The plate had warped A LOT.  I ended up wetting the back side and pressing with jars of rocks (you never know when your rock-hoarding habit will come in handy!)

The water helped quite a bit.  My wood-working friend Mark said I should have painted both sides to begin with.

TRANSFER

Once the paint dried, I transferred my drawing to the plate using carbon paper.  The blue does make it harder to see the pencil lines, but easy to see the carved marks.

CARVING

I am always a little nervous to make the first cuts into the block, but I was pleased how this first tendril emerged.

Here you can see the drawing next to the carving, plus my Flexcut gouges and sharpening strop.

My basement studio was cold this January and my friend Jenny gave me this cat hat.  It isn't my usual style, but it quickly became my carving hat.

This video shows me carving what I call the "gills" which was really the papery covering of the seeds.  My cat Otus was hungry and makes an appearance to let me know it was lunch time. (Music: El Buscapies, Andres Flores and Amigos Project) 

Every day I would vacuum all the wood chips, but inevitably I spread them throughout the house and am still finding them everywhere.

As you can see below, I had to scan and flip my pencil drawing so I could use it as a guide for carving.

The photo below shows the carving and flipped sketch about halfway through.

In this video I clear a large portion of the bottom right hand corner and it is satisfying to watch it sped up.  This is probably about 60-80 minutes of carving condensed into 60 seconds.  (Music: The Treasure Map by Fabien Tell)

Bubo also came down everyday to check on my progress and cause trouble.

I was excited and so thankful to receive the Speedball Art Alumni Scholarship that covered my entry fee to the BIG INK.  This allowed me to splurge and purchase a Japanese Sankaku To (v-gouge).  It was so sharp I cut something off that I shouldn't have the first time I used it. 

One day Otus came down and I thought I would get a photo to show the scale of the plate.  But Otus is such a big cat he made the plate look small!

Right before I carved a section I would usually darken my pencil lines. Below you can see a darkened tendril.

This video shows me finishing the carving, except for the stem.  It was an exciting day for me.
(Music by La Molienda, El Toro Rabón)

I love how the wood looks like waves in the open expanses.

"Every ripple on the ocean

Every leaf on every tree

Every sand dune in the desert

Every power we never see

There is a deeper wave than this

Swelling in the world

There is a deeper wave than this"
—Gordon Sumner, Songwriter

This video shows the very last day of carving the stem.
(Music: Single Moment, by RomanBelov, Pixabay) 

"FREEING THE TENDRILS"

I call the final step, "Freeing the Tendrils".  It entailed cutting  the excess wood away from any tendrils that extended beyond the border. The last time I did the BIG INK I borrowed my friend Mark's Japanese razor saw; this year I figured it was time to buy my own.

Of course, I should have done this step the first day before I put in weeks of carving.  But I left it for the last step and I was VERY anxious about it.  Especially because I am not the world's best saw-er.  The video is sped up so much you can't see when I get the saw stuck in the wood numerous times. (Music: Stepping Up by Tiki Tiki)  

The photo below shows the "freed" tendril.

REPAIR

I made a fair number of carving mistakes throughout the project.  This video shows how I repaired the most common type of mistake...carving through a line.  It is a simple repair made with glue and is possible if you have the "missing" piece.

The photo below shows an example of a "Kwikwood" repair.  This type of repair is necessary when you carve away wood and you don't have the missing pieces.  On the second day of the project, I accidentally carved through my top border (cringe!).  The Kwikwood filler is a two-part "chemical" wood putty that you mix between your fingers and then smear into the offending space.  Lyell (of BIG INK) recommended it and it worked wonderfully.

FINAL CARVING

I took a photo at the end of carving every day. (I wasn't going to do it this time because it is a pain to clean every day, but my friend urged me to do it...thank you Tiffany.) This video shows the daily progression and it is so fun to see the magnolia "growing" over time. (Music: The Olympic Team by Philip Ayers)

CONCLUSION

Truly, the FINAL step was to deepen all the spaces.  I ended up carving until the very last day trying to remove any high spots that might catch ink as the brayer rolls over it.  Some people include these "chatter" marks in their design, but I usually carve them away.  It is a matter of choice.  During the BIG INK you can put tape over areas that catch ink where you don't want it, but it can be time consuming. Lyell recommended carving to a depth of an eighth inch for white areas.  As you can see below I almost carved as deep as a quarter inch in places.

As I was deepening the spaces, it dawned on me this process is simultaneously occurring in my life.  Just like high spots on my plate might catch ink, I have been very aware of the places in my life where I get snagged by "negative" emotions (like anger).  At first I was tempted to follow the analogy to its logical conclusion...  that we need to clear away anything that "sticks up" and might "catch ink."  But if you continue down that line of thinking we would clear away everything on the plate and be left with nothing.  The questions arose, "But what about the design?"  "What about the person?"  "Do we really want a bunch of blank canvas, emotionless zombies walking around?"  From one point of view, "realizing you are nothingness" is a valid goal (and I am not implying you are a zombie if you have had this realization.)  However, I felt this analogy was pointing at something else. 

After pondering this, it came to me that it isn't that we need to go and cut those places out...it is that these places need extra attention.  They are signals that we need to tend to this area and see if this is where we want the ink to "catch."  Because the "ink catching" isn't a negative...it is what creates the design.  

"If our emphasis is to eradicate the unwanted material from our systems as quickly as possible,
we sacrifice powerful opportunities for self-awareness." — Matt Licata

I wasn't sure where this analogy was taking me and felt there might be more to it.  So one day I went for a walk and put the question out to the universe.  In the middle of my walk, the thought came to me that "We are both the design and all the spaces in between.  We are the hills and the valleys, the negative and the positive."  It is up to us to decide what we want the design to be... to be aware where the ink is catching and consciously decide if that is what we want.  To see that life is a play between the dark and the light and that is where the beauty lies.  

In Tantrism, we throw our entire beings in, endlessly, without distinguishing between pure and impure, beauty and ugliness, good and bad.  All the pairs of opposites are dissolved in the divine.  The deepest urges, the most sublime capacities – no one lacks them.  We begin to communicate with the divine when we totally accept the complete spectrum of our thoughts and emotions.  All beauty contains darkness. ⁠

⁠— Daniel Odier

To see this plate printed visit my next blog post: Magnolia Woodcut: BIG INK
To see the final print visit: Magnolia Woodcut: Final Print