Kept in the dark and fed on ink
This weekend I had my first pop at using a maple block. My, but it was dense! After lino and light plywood, maple felt like carving sheet granite. Tools blunted, excessive force was used, and the borders chipped off when I was clumsy. Impolite language was heard. But I settled down to work on a startlingly hot April day with the radio to one side and the cat snoozing on the other. Not bad after all.
Last year my uncle and cousin visited from the States. During their visit we went to Belas Knap. On leaving Oxford, aim your car at Winchcombe and follow the back roads. You will follow a deep, twisting valley that heads west until the land unfolds. Along the way is a sign that points you left, walking through woods and up a steep incline onto the ridge. There is Belas Knap — an ancient barrow and the perfect place to sit and watch the sky.
We took many photos. I completely failed to capture some small mushrooms in the crook of a tree. This design is an attempt to recreate them from memory. The only bit that works for me is the leftmost mushroom. The block was one of the largest I’ve cut (at a measly 8″x6″), and I became impatient trying to model the tree. It came out looking like a hacked-up linocut. But the mushroom remains, and I’m happy with that.
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David,
You have such a way with words. Truly enjoyable.
Just be careful with your fingers in such proximity to sharp implements …. It could slow down the blog postings, if you’re left with less than the standard amount of digits and have to resort to the “hunt and peck” method.
Cheers Mate!
Paul (formerly of Prestwich Place)
Hi David, Good to see you posting again.
I too like the mushroom best, but I also like the rest of the cut. The only little niggle to me is that corner of fine shading down by the mushroom’s base, but that’s just me. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with when you start work on those lumps of flooring!
Sue
Hi Paul — thanks and yes, I have to be really careful! Which raises the question — how many proofs do I have to run before the ink doesn’t have blood-spots in it any more?
Hi Sue — thanks! The shading was by way of being a mistake. I had the idea of using fine line shading for background bits, and then realised that (a) that was supposed to be part of the tree-trunk and so foreground, and (b) I didn’t really want a background anyway. Ah, well. I’ll let you know how the flooring pieces turn out — could be a great way of sourcing decent wood.