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The new Tu-Way Drier is working so well that I have two new prints in process. Each has about six layers of ink. I start out my prints with a tracing paper guide that has the most important lines. Then it is up to me to develop the patterns and colors. So I'm in the middle... Here are some quick snaps of the latest work.
Print about ice in process.
The first one was inspired by a forest frog pond near our house. (For those of you who don't know, frog ponds were dug by the first European settlers as they tried to settle the forests of the Ohio River valley. They are almost always on top of ridges and are home to very loud spring peepers.) We had very little snow this winter, so the pond's ice was being formed as the lower water reached the freezing point. The interesting marks continued as the ice receded from us. My husband says "leave one at just this point for me!" In the actual scene, tree trunks and planted evergreens reflect in the ice, with their colors pierced by the ice pattern. Now my job is to decide how to portray this reflection...
Water pattern print in process.
The other print I'm working on is a zoomed in exploration of wave patterns in a river. I didn't have a color palette in mind with this print, although I wanted to push past the traditional water colors. The next step is to carve away some of the horizontal sloping ripples to emphasize the wave action. I think I will be relying on deeper blues -- reflex, indigo, dark purples. With these colors layering over the deep orange, to rose, to purple-red, the results will be hopefully striking. I do have some test prints to play with, but with each of these there is a moment where I hold my breath, ink the block and print. For every pull that is disappointing, there are moments of ahhhh! Wishing you moments of ahhhh... How do you keep your creating fresh?
