I wanted to try my hand at woodcut, and I saw Vessel as the best excuse for it. So with my inspiration from the Shunga exhibition, I went to see Iaonnis, our print technician, for some advice. Turns out he is hugely passionate about woodcuts, so I was able to use his (very expensive!?!) wood engraving tools. They were incredible to use, and maybe has to be on my list of tools that I must MUST have... We used some scrap hard wood from the woodshop called jelutong (which for future reference, is NOT hard enough for putting in the press...)
We started out with a tested piece. Each piece of wood was meticulously sanded down to be perfectly smooth and flat.
Then there was the design! I initially hoped for a little triptych, but mostly because if one went wrong I still had two. (sorry for being rubbish and not photographing them, but I figured I better get this post done before I forget!)
Before you start chiselling away though, I was using some incredibly expensive tools that I borrowed from our print technician Iaonnis, so it is a job that needs investing in! The wood, the tools, the design, everything is vital to making these kinds of prints. No willy nilly MDF, chipboard stuff! Although it works, there is nothing more satisfying than investing in pieces like this, even if the final outcome isn't there, it's all part of learning the process. Why do it if you don't do it well?
Typically, something would go wrong... As soon as I started using the press, the blocks ended up getting squished! So had to do some last minute job on acrylic, which actually works very well in a similar way. Below is the acrylic version.
I plan to do a LOT more print in the next term, I feel that the print room is the biggest thing that I will get out of this course for me. I guess now is a good time to reflect on the first term... I would say that it has been really incredibly enjoyable, and thankfully all the hard work has paid off! However, in reflection... I still can't help but wish I did Textiles. Thankfully, this realisation has made me more proactive in that direction, and I definitely WILL be doing some more fashion illustration. It might not be the career I want to specifically pursue but hey, I love doing it, and doing stuff I love definitely shouldn't stop. My assessment tutorial went well, and it was especially nice to talk about what I need to do to make the next steps. I certainly won't be getting firsts all the time, but as hard as it is to remember, that's not my main goal of this degree. It is obviously to make a career out of my hobby!
We have a pretty relaxing Christmas this year actually... An essay (on a cool topic, I might add) and then some location drawing. Hopefully I can keep you all in the know more gradually next term! I can't promise it as such but I guess following me on Instagram (insta_vivien) might help...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thankyou all again for the support and just for reading!
