Olansa Cuttings

Little prints for little people

Posted in Printmaking by David on Sunday the 24th February, 2008

happy_poppy_small.jpgYou might know that my daughter Poppy (a.k.a. Kalliope Ann Rose) was born last December. Here is a picture of her, looking all sweet and relaxed. Don’t believe it for a moment…

One fact that that survived the fog of new-parenthood was about Poppy’s visual development. For the first weeks she could barely see any distance, and couldn’t differentiate one colour from the next. Apparently a lot of this isn’t to do with the eye, but with neurology — visual processing takes a while to perfect. Little ones like pictures full of sharp edges and high contrast. We noticed that she’s taken quite a shine to a wood engraving we have on the wall. She can stare at it for minutes at a time and seems fascinated. This was food for thought.

a2z.jpgAll Poppy’s baby books are full of bright primaries or pastels. There’s very little with strong, monochrome images that might appeal to her. So I thought about making some very simple designs and binding them into a little concertina book. I’ll start with letter and number shapes, musical notes, domino and dice spots, spirals, zigzags and meanders, and so on. Will she come to understand any designs? I doubt the cognitive tools are there just yet. But who knows? Maybe when she encounters writing and other symbols elsewhere she’ll recognize something. And we’ll have a book to preserve, drool and all, as a keepsake.

Here is a stab at letter shapes. As usual I struggled to ink evenly, but then it’s a first proof. I’ll post later — and hopefully more interesting — designs when they’re ready.

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4 Responses to 'Little prints for little people'

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  1. Annie B said, on February 25th, 2008 at 13:19

    Poppy is beautiful! Congratulations.

  2. Mark Mason said, on February 25th, 2008 at 14:50

    Hi David, and hello to Poppy,

    I’ve read about the use of high contrast images, and our new little George has, like Poppy, taken to staring at a contrasty, geometric image we have on our wall.

    “Social Baby” sell a small range of “Black & White” items, including a set of small books, much like the idea you have. They’re here:

    http://www.socialbaby.com/shop/prodtype.asp?strParents=68&CAT_ID=119&numRecordPosition=1

    I’m planning on making a high contrast mobile to hang over his cot.

    Cheers, Mark.

  3. David said, on February 25th, 2008 at 15:13

    Hi Mark and George,

    Thanks very much for the link. What a fantastic site! I’ve placed an order for the books to see how she responds. Please keep me posted on the mobile — I would love to see the finished article…

    cheers,

    David

  4. Carol Lyons said, on August 6th, 2008 at 11:34

    So you are olansa and the father of Poppy–David Harrison.
    I was going through the blogs and curiosity got the better of me. All very interesting reading
    I like your graphic a/z. Easy, simple and elegant!

    You were kind in putting my “Shampoo Lady”and her story on your website. Good news:
    Rockefeller, yes, that Rockefeller, the real one, just bought that print this week. He came to my studio and we spent over an hour talking art. He’s very interested in woodblock prints.

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