FRESH OFF THE BLOCK

Well, lookey lookey... just finished some lino block printing.

Just finished my Christmas cards... later than I wanted (had to order art supplies you see)... but look! I'm rather chuffed with this lot. They're metallic, complete with glitter n all!

Friends etc. email me your addresses so I can send you a nice belated letter.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Getting started...

taa -daaah!

 

Metallic red with glitter

Metallic blue with glitter

The never ending dichotomy...

It was whilst wandering through the woodlands of central Quebec that I found myself thinking about a book called Columbus and Other Cannibals   by Jack Forbes (which was recommended to me by a certain Miss. Percival). The book discusses the 'disease' of violence against our fellow human brothers and sisters as well as our mother, Earth. The never ending dichotomy of nature/culture is something that constantly cropped up when studying Anthropology... indeed, the artificial divide we have created between ourselves as 'civilised' beings and the savage, untamed and 'natural' could be argued to be the very crux of civilization itself.... 

Anyway, mulling this over in my head alongside the anti-civilization arguments of radical environmentalist Derrick Jensen, I started to think about how little difference there was between humans and the world in which we live. We, like so much that we call 'nature' (or more accurately 'natural resources' - to be used and managed) are, when it comes down to it, 100% reliant upon the earth on which we stand, the air which we breathe and the water which drink. Our destruction of this planet is not just the destruction of 'the environment' but it is the cannibalisation of ourselves.

So having come to this conclusion, I looked at a fern and realised that its leaves were a similar shape to my fingers... what a perfect way to illustrate our oneness: 

Line drawing using indian ink

Lino block print with watercolour

LITHOGRAPH PRINTING big up!

I recently went to Montreal and indulged in some rather delicious art materials (here in Victo the most creative outlet is poutine, so art shops just don't exist).

Anyway I bought some shinanigins for lino block printing as well as screen printing. The former went excellently - this was my first EVER attempt and I bloody loved it didny I? The latter, I have done before but tended to steer away from the photosensitive method as it seemed a bit scary. So I attempted the photosensitive method, and after painstakingly buying all the right equipment, diligently applying the fluid evenly and such, only went to go and burn the screen, marvelously. Fail.

Anyway, here are some photos from the better of the two experiments...

hopping on the christmas card train.

exposing the screen (only to go and bloody burn it)

carving