Inspiration from mastering your craft

I recently experimented with a variety of hardware store punches, and awls to produce a woodcut plate. I have printed several copies of the finished piece and provide photos below in the order they were printed in: #1 Yellow, #2 orange, and #3 orange-gold.(note: a total of 2 plates were used to print each image, the first plate or background color=woodcut plate made with punches/awls. The second plate is done using the white line method)

impression #1

impression #2

impression #3

With the initial results being promising, I have decided to produce a new image for an upcoming exhibition. Inspired by the basic awls and punches, my mind has constructed a number of different possibilities for the surface to be cut. One element from the first experiment remains. I have decided to continue dividing up the initial cutting space into a grid so I can produce the desired pattern in the proper space intended. It does not take a lot of effort to use a punch or an awl. I am simply lining up the awl or punch like a chisel in my left hand, and striking it down with a hammer. This motion creates a dot for the awls, and circles for the punches. I am using 3 different sizes of punches: 1/4, 3/8, & 1/2. The awls have very similar looks, I have a variety of 3, and my favorite has become a solid steel piece that has a graduated point. The graduated point is especially nice since I can strike the awl hard and produce a large hole, or alter the strength and get a smaller hole. These holes do effect how the final print will look.

Here are a few close ups of the actual plate(after cutting), prior to sanding down the complete block in order to show how varied the surface can get using a variety of different size punches, and awls. The emphasis is on variety as the results of the first printings has shown this detail to be a great success.

almost full view of plate

close up of bottom center

close up of top center

You can see I am able to add definition of shape and space by means of creating a unique pattern for each intended space. These unique patterns play a great role in where light and dark will be when the second plate is printed over the top of this one.

When you are working with something experimental a great lesson can be learned from mastering your craft. No matter what your craft may be, if you feel inspiration to change your craft as the thought occurs to you, and you are able to carry out the idea successfully, then you are on the path to creating something unique. The point is this, as artists, we must experiment a lot to get our artwork perfected. Even without a clear vision for a completed work, the means of mastering your materials will provide you with the skill needed.

For the woodcut plate (3 photo details shown above), I threw out a lot of conventional concerns about creating this work. A punch or an awl has no intended purpose for creative use in printmaking. It is however, a woodworkers tool and fortunately I saw an alternate and creative means for their intended use. I followed my most immediate impression of what punch or awl strike mark would look good next to each other and the space around it. I used a combination of both tools in areas that will receive more light in the final print. This way of working has allowed me to relax during the final printing phase because I have noticed that each plate acts as a counter balance to one another.

I will be very eager to print this once I have the time and energy.