For the past four years I have participated in a show called, "Think Square." The show features local artists and the premise is that all artwork must be five inches by five inches. The first year I carved a "Cat and Mouse" linocut, the next year a "Blue Corn" linocut, and the third year was the "Medicine Buddha" linocut printed on a stone woven into a hanging basket.
This year I knew I wanted to explore an idea I've had for a while which was simply painting a folk design onto wood. Because I have never done this before, I wanted to work the design out completely beforehand. I picked three flowers from one of my favorite books, "Decorative Flower and Leaf Designs" by Richard Hofmann. These black and white images are free for use and the "designs were originally intended for a wide range of uses, from hand and machine stitching to stenciling, on materials such as leather, silk, and lace."
I probably went through about ten to fifteen iterations playing with my design. Below you can see I started with a leaf-edge border...but when I printed the design out, I felt the flowers were too small. In order to make the flowers larger I dropped the leaf border. In the end, I added a green line border.
Working digitally also allowed me to play with color options. I may eventually try printing a green version.
My original idea was to ask my friend Mark if he could cut me a scallop-edged five inch square. He has an amazing array of woodworking tools in his basement and has helped me in the past with my crazy projects. I sent him the file and he said he thought he could do it with his shaper tool, but asked me what was the latest date I needed it. I told him I would need it a week before it was due. Little did I know a family emergency would take me out of town for most of the next month. About 10 days before the project was due I decided I just needed to make something and have it done while I had a few days at home. So I decided to change plans and transfer my design to a linocut.
LINOCUT
Below you can see the design carved into "Safety-Kut."
I used a drill bit to make most of the small circles.
After carving the design, the final step was to cut out the scallop edge. My trusty helper Bubo was always there to help.
Below is a video of me pulling a quick test print using a stamp pad. I don't always do this, but it is helpful to get a quick peak to see what needs further carving.
The actual printing went amazingly well. Working with a small plate like this is so much easier than my usual large plates. Below you can see my setup.
The video below shows me inking the plate, hand-burnishing, and pulling a print.
I knew I only needed one good print for the show, so I only printed 8. I may go back and make more at some point...maybe in another color.
Once the prints were dry I pulled out my watercolors to paint the flowers.
This print is now available on my website, NessyPress.com.
WOOD
The day after I finished my linocut my friend Mark told me he finished cutting my scallop-edged wood. When I saw it, I couldn't believe how perfect it was! It seemed like a work of art all by itself.
In a way, I hated to paint it. In the very beginning I had toyed with the idea of carving the design and I did stop to re-consider that option, but I knew that would take me a long time so I proceeded to paint.
As you can see from above, I didn't like my first color. The blue above was straight out of the tube. For my second coat I added a little black to produce a more muted navy color.
To transfer my design to the dark surface I used white Saral paper.
Here you can see the painting about halfway through.
And here you can see the piece mostly finished. I used acrylic paint that I have had for twenty years. It worked amazingly well, but the yellow/orange color was a little thick and left a lot of lines. If I had to do it again I would buy new acrylic paint that comes in the short squeeze bottles that would be a thinner consistency.
“It relaxes my mind to paint flowers." — Pierre-Auguste Renoir
I thought about calling this piece "La Diversión" which technically means "fun" or "hobby, pastime," but also references the idea of a diversion. I painted this piece while under a great deal of stress and the activity of painting was a life-saver. The act of focusing my concentration on making precise brush strokes forced me to be in the present moment. And when you are in the present, the mind cannot be thinking about the past or worrying about the future.
It also occurred to me later, that the idea of being present could help me in the longer term. I realized after the immediate crisis was over and I returned home, that I was carrying the weight of the situation around with me all the time...it felt like carrying very heavy mental luggage 24/7. Once I saw this, I tried to ask myself the question, "What is happening right now in this moment?" This helped me see how my mental luggage was preventing me from feeling the sun and breeze on my skin while sitting on the back porch, or feeling the soft fur of my cat. It reminds me of a story Rick Archer sometimes tells on his podcast about a person who gets on a train carrying heavy luggage on each arm. Once they are on the train, they keep holding it tight until someone says, "You know you can put that luggage down and let the train carry that weight?" Somehow, holding tight to that luggage makes one feel in control, but in reality only wearies the holder. Plus, it is harder to enjoy the view while holding all that luggage. I am slowly learning to let life help me carry that weight... I am learning to put down those heavy, controlling, worrisome thoughts that pull me away from the present moment. I am certainly no expert, but I can see how liberating it can be and how joy is often waiting for me on other side.
“Your life situation may be full of problems — most life situations are — but find out if you have any problem at this moment. Not tomorrow or in ten minutes, but now. Do you have a problem now?”
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Below is a photo of the final piece.
I loved how the shadows of the scallops and the frame emphasized the depth of the piece. Overall, I think this foray into folk painting on wood was a success and I hope to do more in the future.
A big thank you to my friend Mark for cutting my wood and always supporting me in my artistic endeavors. Also a big thank you to George for listening to me debate everything and for feeding me delicious food throughout. It takes a village!
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