"Fruitful Liberation"
9 x 12 in Water based ink on paper September 2021 |
Exhibition Text This project was created using water-based ink, carving blocks, paper, and chisel tools. My original intention for this piece was to create a print that represents my Extended Essay topic for the IB program.
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"Four Seasons" Alphonse Mucha
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Alphonse Mucha
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Continuing on, I grabbed a a rubber carving block and began sketching the boarder out with pencil and a ruler. I then looked back at my sketch and recreated the drawing of the hand, making sure that I added all the correct shading so that I could later use a stippling technique to give the appearance of shading in the final print. Next, I began adding flowers roughly where I thought they would look good. I didn't want to add to many in fear of having a difficult time carving out each stem and petal and I also made sure to keep the flowers very minimalist so that I could easily carve out each flower. Then, I added the crescent moon and some tear drop shapes for some extra detailing. I also added some tear drop shapes and circle around the boarder to add more detail and shape. I also wanted to limit the empty space so I thought adding in some teardrops would represent emotion and also be an elegant way of filling up space.
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As I moved on to the carving, I used a wooden block that attached to my desk in order to stabilize my rubber block. I then gathered some carving tools which I would use to carve into the rubber. When I first started carving the block I didn't know how much pressure I should apply, how deep into the rubber I should go, and what tools would work best for me. I started off with a blade-like carving tool and a "U" shaped carving tool. When I started carving I added way too much pressure to the rubber and the tool made a really wide gash into the rubber. As I went on however, my carving became more controlled and I was able to create clean and uniform lines. I began by carving the boarder around the edges, and then carved out the moon. After the moon, I used my "U" shaped tool to carve around the hand and then I slowly stippled my carving so that the depth and width of my lines faded out to the deepest part of the shadow. Finally, I carved out the flowers and stems and by then, I had gotten the hang of carving so it was very easy for me to accomplish.
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Now moving on to the print, I had to first gather all of my materials. The main materials I used were a brayer, a baren, ink, a metal sheet, and paper. I began by placing a piece of news print down on the table in order to prevent any staining of the desk and to provide a clean work space. Next, I applied a small amount of the black ink onto my metal sheet in preparation for the ink spreading. I grabbed my baren and did my best to spread the ink evenly around the metal pan so that the ink was evenly distributed on the baren. I then too my barren and applied the ink onto the rubber stamp. I made sure that every inch of the block was completely and evenly covered in the ink in order to have an opaque final print. I then moved my stamp over to a clean section of my news print paper. I placed a plain piece of paper on top of my stamp and use my brayer to apply pressure and transfer the ink evenly onto the paper. I then peeled my print off and flipped it over and observed my print. The first few prints were not as opaque as I wanted them to be due to the ink drying too fast, so after a few times stamping, I washed off my stamp and tried again and was finally happy with the results of my print.
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