spoons

This afternoon I finished a project that will serve as a starting point for a new series of works I'm embarking upon. I'm very pleased with the results and the print turned out better than what I had pictured in my head. I had my mother take pictures of her mom's wooden spoon collection, something that I will forever remember from my childhood as that "neat thing at grandma and grandpa's house".

I started by drawing out the picture on a piece of Shina plywood. Then I proceeded by using my knife and various gouge tools to carve away everything but the drawn lines. It's been really nice out this week, so I temporarily set all my other studio work aside to carve this block outside. Yesterday I monoprinted the wall paper background - the first of two runs. Monoprinting involves painting with ink on a piece of plexiglass and then running it through the press with a damp piece of paper. It was kind of fun, I've haven't really done any monoprinting since high school.

today's spread in the lab

I decided that, due to the subject matter, I would hand print these using a wooden spoon. Time consuming: yes. The phrase "labor of love" is really starting to make sense to me. I printed the woodblock on top of the wallpaper monoprint that I had done the day before, selectively inking the wooden spoons, curtain and window with small brayers.

Here's the finished print. I made six and they all have various color combinations. Some work much better than others and I like this one the best. I'm really happy with the mood and the colors that the drawing style conveys. There are three generations present in this piece: a print by the daughter whose mother took a picture of her mother's wooden spoon collection. I'm really proud of it.