"Pass the Plate, When the Birds Come Home"

I have taken a break from the series-The Things we do... to work on a different set of prints. "Pass the Plate, When the Birds Come Home" deals with the idea of ritual and cycle. Ritual, being the passing of the plate, whether it is at a dinner table or in church there is a ritual of asking for something that is needed or sought to be needed. Cycle, being when the ritual takes place, where, when, and how. What circumstances make it appropriate for the ritual to take place, and how balance becomes disrupted when the ritual is disturb.

These set of prints utilize three different woodblocks. The first is the figure, or "tronie"(head study coined from Rembrandt) which is dense with black symbolizing containment or solitude, the second is the hat printed from a topographical piece of wood showing the rings in which the tree grew. And the last being a block containing birds soaring above it all, because that is what they do, they see everything.

The print is a reference to the individual struggling to comprehend beyond what we know.

"Seen The Demons" (color print); The things we do...

This is the color print for "Seen The Demons", there are a total of seven colors on this block. The print's demeanor is consistent to that of my previous color print "The Ride". However this print appears to be later in the night as the sky becomes much darker and the figures much grayer.

I put a lot of energy in developing my palette. I think about what it is I am trying to convey and then manipulate the hues till I feel they are appropriate. I am constantly juxtaposing different hues next to one another on my palette to see the relationship that the hues have to one another. I find that primarily being a painter it is easier for me to mix a more convincing palette.

The palette for the series The things we do... is primarily a gray palette. I am not trying to convey a sense a warmth. I want the viewer to approach the prints with caution.

"The Dream Hat"; The things we do...

"The Dream Hat" is the third print in the series of The things we do... The Dream Hat contains the dreams that we choose to bring into reality. The hat begins when we are a child and continues to grow throughout life, except for those who's Dream Hat manifest itself into a perpetual spiral of doubt, misery, and self-induced pain. That is where the dunce comes into being. Lack of initiative and addiction of immediate satisfaction, a darker reality to many. The adornment of the Dunce Hat in many cases is the choice of the wearer.

"The Ride" (color print); The things we do...

This is the finished color woodblock print, there are six different hues not including the black of the key block and the white of the paper. It is a relatively small print, (9.25" x 13.5") therefore the process of rolling multiple color inks onto the block was a labor intensive one. I soaked my paper, similar to etching, so that less ink is needed to adhere color to the page. This simple added procedure allows me to be more economical with my inks. The edition is also relatively small, since I am spooning all of my prints nowadays I will most likely be making editions around six to ten prints, "The Ride" contains six color prints.