The first few days after the completion of a complex
linocut are always strange for me. If I don't have another piece ready to begin I get a little lost. Certainly I have plenty of contract work to keep me from sitting around twiddling my thumbs, but it's just not the same around here without a block in progress. I lose focus and I get... ummmm.... a wee bit crabby.
Thankfully it's not a situation or mood that will last long. April looms, and it's no foolin' that I'll be headed to my residency at the
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin in just four weeks. In addition to wrapping my mind around the logistics of a steamroller printing event, I need to organize workshops for middle schoolers and prepare a couple of public presentations.
Read: printmaking demonstration. I need a demo piece.
I haven't decided on aforementioned demo piece yet, but I need to get something in progress
pronto. I also want to have a piece ready for the steamroller adventure. The particpating students (120 of them!) are carving away on large woodblocks, but I would like to take advantage of the opportunity to try a lino, too. It doesn't seem like linoleum would hold up under that much pressure, but I've heard it can be done. Must. Try. It.
To that end I've started work on a piece of unmounted lino that's almost as big as my drawing table: 24" x 36". My tools seem so tiny....
I'd like to have most of it carved before I go, since my schedule on site is very full. Between this and a new demo piece, well... what the heck am I doing writing a blog post? I have work to do.
