Friday, August 29, 2008

Recent Artwork

These images are from my BFA Thesis Exhibition, which was held at Alfred University on May 10, 2008. My portion of the show consisted of six woodblock prints and a very large sculpture.









Emblem. First Edition: 40 woodblock prints. 56 x 76 cm 2008. 'Emblem' was hugely influential for this series of woodcuts. The carving techniques that I used in all of my displayed prints stemmed from this first serendipitous print. The design is from the marks on the bottom of a friend's ceramic cup- so I owe him a debt of inspiration.




Fungus. First Edition: 20 woodblock prints. 145 x 64 cm. 2008.
After printing 'Emblem' I immediately began carving this block, which is a little less than human size. The process of carving these sinuous lines was very meditative.






Stones. First Edition: 40 woodblock prints. 56 x 76 cm. 2008. I was still searching for a direction to take this series of woodcuts, and I was looking at many different sources for inspiration. This design was drawn from a photograph of a Japanese rock garden.



Mountain. First Edition: 40 woodblock prints. 56 x 76 cm. 2008. I was amazed at the intricacy of linework that I achieved in 'Fungus'. I wanted to pursue these marks in another print, so I carved this block. The image was drawn from a small piece of partially rotten wood.

Ziggurat. First Edition: 40 woodblock prints. 76 x 56 cm. 2008. In this woodcut I attempted to use my common carving technique on a much more delicate scale. The marks are almost imperceptible on the plywood itself, but translated beautifully onto the Arches Cover paper.

Dryrot. First Edition: 22 woodblock prints. 110 x 170 cm. 2008. 'Dryrot' was the last block that I carved for my show. It is also the largest that I have ever carved. This image was derived from a small, rotten piece of wood - dry and very delicate. I think it is my most successful piece and I look forward to working more in this fashion.

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