phase 2 redux - observe the laws of equivalent exchange

So happy for it to be 45 degrees! I enjoyed the break in the weather walking around outside and made a visit to "the Lady of Hudson" (fun and studying the sword as a potential object to appear in the hands of one of my allegories).

carved linoleum

The rest of the time I was inside making tiny pen patterns with a red .005 micron. This started as one of those black velvet color the pattern posters from the grocery store. I worked on this for a few days early in the week, and, at first, it seemed like a kind of random thing to do. But then I made the bunny.


The bunny is carved into my new linoleum with lots, and lots, and lots of tiny little cuts. I realized making the poster was just a warm up to practice mark-making and hand control.

the dark grey comes from graphite - I rub a pencil over the surface to see
which cuts show up and get an idea of how the print might look.

with my index finger for scale

A funny thing - I didn't cut myself once making all those cuts - I cut myself getting the safety top off the new tool. (No worries - it wasn't serious and every good block gets a little blood on it at some point, right?)

I also kept working on the mini-hopes (though I think they may be fati more than hopes.) I'm happy with how these are turning out - the different metals in the joints, the gold thread at the hands and wrists and the ornament, and all the different shades of black in the figure and the frame and the ornament - it's subtle, but (hopefully!) striking. I also like that even though they'll hold a pose, they're articulated. The wings and joints all move, so they always have the potential for change. I haven't made a decision yet about the backgrounds, so I tried a few things in the photos (ah, the joys of collage!) Next up will be the implements for the hands and putting them all together...