I recently wrote about the art exhibit at Fleisher Art Memorial where I will have my woodcut pieces. I was able to exhibit two pieces: a proof print of my Philadelphia scene (not for sale) and there’s an edition print of the motel woodcut. I am printing 50 editions of this woodcut. The first of the editions is on display and available for purchase at the Fleisher Art exhibit now through April 25.
Archive for the 'woodcuts & linocuts' Category
11
Apr
the work is up!
01
Apr
Fleisher art exhibit
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’d know that I’ve been taking a woodcut workshop at Fleisher Art Memorial in south Philly for two semesters now. Fleisher holds an annual student members exhibit for students and their teachers. Many works that were completed during the the classes will be on display and many will be for sale. I will have some of my work on display from April 10-25. I am hoping to display my proof prints in addition to at least one or two edition prints that will be for sale.
I have started to make the edition prints of one of my woodcuts. I haven’t decided exactly how many editions will be in the series, but it’s possible that this may be the only black ink series (future editions may be only tri-colored). They will be printed on archival 8×10 paper, numbered, and signed. One of these will be on display in the exhibit. Price hasn’t been determined yet, but I plan to keep the price of the prints affordable. So if you’d like one, please let me know! I will also have them available on etsy at some point in the future.
This is a proof of the woodcut print that will be available in an edition series and on display at Fleisher, April 10-25. I have previously blogged about this woodcut print here.
04
Mar
playing with blocks
Just a couple of woodcuts that I’ve been working on…these are the blocks; not the prints. But the prints will look similar. Both based off of my photographs. Pardon the bad camera phone photos in this post!
Chinatown, Philadelphia. This block was created in about 3 hours. The sky was created from the woodgrain and a knot in the block. All of it was primarily cut with a razor blade with the exception of a few things cut with a couple other tools. After a few more proofs, this one will be ready for edition prints.
Liberty Place, Philadelphia. This block was created months ago on a piece of wood that is not white pine (which my others had been). I don’t know what this wood is, but it’s incredibly fibrous and impossible to cut with anything other than a razor blade. So this was all cut with a razor blade. I just got around to making a proof of it tonight, but I think that I like the look of the block better! However, I’ve decided that I want to add more detail to the foreground building and something to the sky (undecided at this point). I may also print this one in 2 or 3 color. It’s all up in the air right now.
11
Dec
woodcut class is over
My woodcut class is over for the semester. That went by pretty quickly. We had an awesome group of nice and creative people. It makes me want to take it again, but I don’t know if I will. I will definitely continue to make my own woodcuts. I currently have two that I’ve finished cutting, but haven’t printed. And I have another 3 blocks that I’m currently working on. I plan to set up my own little printing area in my apartment. My apartment where I already have so many other things from having too many interests. It’s recently been described as “eclectic”, but I prefer to call it “messy”.
Someone in the class (Cynthia Miller) made a portrait of me! I’m so flattered! A photo of the portrait is below.
I’ve been sick for a couple of days with a nasty cold that I can’t seem to kick. I’d rather just stay inside where it’s nice and warm and not rainy. However, life must go on! And on it does…tonight someone hit the mirror on my car door and tore it completely off…needing a replacement….assholes! Nothing ever goes smoothly. Ever.
01
Dec
row home linocut
30
Nov
Motel woodcut
Another woodcut based off of this photo that I took in the Salton Sea this past March. This motel, which was thriving during days long gone at the Salton Sea, has since been demolished. I need to make some fixes to this block as well (if not redoing the whole block completely) before I make edition prints of this one.
I’m having a difficult time getting out of bed or even do anything these days given the circumstances of everything in the last month. I’m sure it will all eventually hit me like a brick wall, but for now I’m just numb, with sporadic twitches by an emotional nerve that causes me to cry my eyes out. I’ve decided that I should probably buy stock in Kleenex. I’ve gone through more in the last month than I have in the last year. Thank goodness for those tissues with lotion.
My photography has seen a bit of a hiatus with the onslaught of recent events. I’m having a difficult time creating much of anything. So I’m going to post some old work for a while and share some other things that I’ve been working on.
I did start some new artistic outlets this fall. I started taking a woodcut class, taught by Jeffrey Dentz, at Fleisher Art Memorial. The class started at the beginning of October and ends in a few short weeks. It’s been more of a workshop than a class, but it has still been a learning experience. It’s a dedicated 3 hours every Wednesday that I go to do something else with like-minded people who also enjoy art. Everything about the class has been awesome. I’ve had an infatuation with all types of printmaking for a long time.
I guess I failed to mention this new direction of art that I’ve taken to a lot of people who have just recently replied with, “a woodcut class??!” in surprise (you know who you are). I had started to teach myself how to do linocuts and printing back in 2000 and had intended to pick that up again a year ago (it got delayed a bit). I had never worked with woodcuts before, but I’ve found that it’s much easier to cut. It doesn’t seem to produce the same intricate lines that can be achieved with linoleum, but I have found that it’s easier to add more texture to wood. There’s some strange satisfaction that comes along with cutting a piece of wood….almost the satisfaction that you get by breaking a toothpick in your mouth (I know my mother is probably shivering at the thought of that).
Other than learning how to create a woodcut and the various ways to print them, my main goal was to learn how to turn my photographs into an image that I’ve physically created rather than the moment in time that I had captured in my camera. I’m not a trained artist and I can’t draw to save my life so moving from one medium to another has been a challenge, but not as difficult as I had expected. In fact, I feel as though I’ve achieved my goal rather quickly. I’ve produced 5 woodcuts in the last 7 weeks and the last two have turned out to be my favorites…both based on my own photographs.
I’ve only printed proofs of my woodcuts so far. I’m using oil-based ink. The wood seems to absorb a lot of the ink so it takes a few prints until the print starts to look really crisp. But now that I’ve printed the proofs and the blocks seem to be a bit more “sealed”, I am going to attempt to do some edition prints that I may have up for sale in the future.
This one is based off of a photograph that I had taken of traffic on the Schuykill Expressway with the skyline of Philadelphia in the distance. Most of this had been created using a razor blade. This is a proof with oil-based ink on Asian rice paper. I need to make a slight touch-up to the block before printing final editions. I’ve also noticed that Philadelphia has suddenly been displaced in Europe where everyone is driving on the opposite side of the road (because I didn’t carve the block in reverse). Oh well. So be it.
