I’ve not been to printmaking very often this quarter but I always have an idea or three percolating in the back of my mind. The last couple of classes I’ve worked on some very simple woodcuts, emphasizing the grain in the wood to add texture.  I like the results so far (please excuse the photographs, the sun kept skipping behind clouds and everything looked wavy and blue).

The first woodcut is a simple bowl. I mean, really simple.  It has a very zen feel to it and is lovely to just sit and look at on it’s own.  I think I’ll frame this one by itself in a very simple frame.

If you’ve not read my blog for awhile, I’d just like to point out that I use shina plywood from McClains, an online store physically located in Oregon. The service and products offered by McClains are fantastic and I can’t recommend them highly enough. The shina comes in standard sizes or you can get blocks cut to size. I like to buy their “grab bags” now and then, a paper bag full of odd cut pieces. I use these more than anything!

Next I added some vegetables.  I cut each part of the vegetable on different blocks, allowing me to ink everything up at once and arrange them on the printing press.  I alternated the grain of the wood for added impact. 

I really like where these are going. I like the simplicity. I need to work on my inks and their consistency, the greens got a bit mucky so I lost the wood grain.  I’ll clean and dry my woodcuts and wire brush them. They’ll be ready to go for next week.