Loon-y Tune

I'm never sure I'm going to like a print until it's done. Reduction woodcuts -- where the colors are built up on the paper through successive cuttings and printings -- are particularly stressful, because not only do you not know how the print will look until you get to the end, but because the block is destroyed in the process, you can't go back...unless you go ALL the way back.

As I mentioned last post, the concept of the drawing was inspired by "Maroon," one of the color poems by voice artist Ken Nordine. My loon here is supposed to be singing a tune to an orange moon. Well, I lost the orange, but I really needed to do something with the block to get some ink on my fingers. It's been a remarkably dry few years, and being in our new home, I knew I needed to get back to work, to blow off the dust, scrape off the rust, and rediscover the passion for printmaking.

This is state #2, the color being a very dark muddy green. The lines on the moon are signifying sound rippling the air (the loon's cry). I agonized over how to make that work, and I can't say I feel successful about it. I wish I'd taken them out. Oh, well, that's printmaking.

Luckily, I only printed six. Pretty sure you won't find them on Etsy. But I'm feeling less rusty, less dusty, and ready to hit the next one out of the park.