Posted in Printmaking by David on Tuesday the 17th April, 2007

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.