White LeafBlock Print
22cm x 15cm 2016 This piece's contrast between a closed, tangled looking figure and the sprouting/blooming of the leaves creates a strange sense of evolution. The theme of identity can be connected to this piece in that the pained look on the subject's face shows she is not happy with where she is yet she seems to be evolving with the greenery and nature sprouting from her body and hands. |
Planning
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My initial thought in my final year of high school was that I was very excited to finally execute my own projects. I had a lot of ideas that didn't really connect to anything I'd ever seen before, so I did some research into new artists that I'd enjoy and be able to find similarities in. However, my first decision was that I wanted to create a linoleum print; it was one of my favorite projects last year due to the illustrative qualities and the physical carving aspect. The carving made me feel more connected to my final project, however, there will be more on that later.
Returning back to my inspirations, I found two artists in particular that really jumped out at me. Audrey Kawasaki, for one. Her paintings and wood prints appeal to me due to the involvement of nature, warm and pale color schemes, and obscene yet innocent themes. The line work is simple, yet efficient and draws the attention mostly to the eyes and the flora and fauna detail. Meanwhile, James Jean's work also appealed to me in a contrasting way. His line work is very complicated but it is very clean and creates a mystical sort of image. The whimsical elements as well as the form of the subjects attracts my eye and I wanted to emulate that as best as possible. His involvement of nature in his pieces as well was what really drew my eye. My planning sketches, pictured to the left, attempted to focus on a lithe female form with the innocent themes of Kawasaki's work, but the whimsical emphasis of Jean's work. I did three sketches, two of which based off photos I took earlier, and on my third sketch I decided that is what I wanted to do. While there is no shading, I believe the use of line and space in the sketches is work enough to account for the lack of "fine art" practice in these pieces. |
Process
The first thing I did was complete a graphite transfer onto my linoleum from my preliminary "final" sketch. I obtained three kinds of linocut tools; a V shape, a large half circle and a small half circle. The circle shapes were very blunt so it was difficult to actually create the lines, but the V shape did not create a thick line so I had to go over my areas many times. My original idea was to just make my cuts along my lines but I wanted to have my print look similar to my original drawing, not an inverted version. In the process of making the cuts, I experimented with creating new parts to the piece such as adding more leaves to add more movement to my piece. As well as that, the balance on my piece was fixed by adding more leaves too.
When I did the first ink print, it was what I wanted in my final piece, so in the end I used that one. I continued to make multiple prints, however, because I thought that I could possibly make one that utilized space more and have more contrast between the black and white spaces. |
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Reflection
The contrast between black and white makes up for the lack in color in this piece. However, I wish I could go back and add color to the piece; I believe that would have created more of a balance between the large blank white spaces and the spaces that were not carved out as well. The physicality and intimacy of the piece relating back to Audrey Kawasaki creates a sense of unity while still introducing innocence with the inclusion of natural themes. Working with physical projects like carving into linoleum helped me visualize my final piece; it was very enjoyable and satiating to me to be able to remove pieces and knowing that created a white space.
My least favorite part of the piece is how much detail is missing. I would have loved to include more repetition into the leaves and add more value in the subject's body. While there is less detail than I had hoped from the beginning, there was no going back once something was carved in and that actually helped teach me a lesson that some things can't be gone back on. I've been learning how to relate my artwork process to my real world experiences and with this project it really put me through the threshold of understanding. This being my first individual piece, it was a little scary to be in full control of what I was doing. In the end, my piece is successful in conveying my original emotions that I felt while planning this piece.
Reflecting back on it, I had been going through a lot at the time. I was nearing the end of an abusive relationship, and honestly looking at this piece it embodies that unintentionally. The depressive and recoiled pose of the subject is a commentary on myself and how I felt when stuck with that person who made me feel so terrible and dead. I was made to feel like my emotions did not matter and that what I had to say was not relevant nor important. I had lost all inspiration for art creation, and now that I've finally removed myself from all facets of life involving that person I've been able to grow and blossom much like portrayed in the print. It's a little scary how accurate it relates to my life, but I'm glad it's there.
My least favorite part of the piece is how much detail is missing. I would have loved to include more repetition into the leaves and add more value in the subject's body. While there is less detail than I had hoped from the beginning, there was no going back once something was carved in and that actually helped teach me a lesson that some things can't be gone back on. I've been learning how to relate my artwork process to my real world experiences and with this project it really put me through the threshold of understanding. This being my first individual piece, it was a little scary to be in full control of what I was doing. In the end, my piece is successful in conveying my original emotions that I felt while planning this piece.
Reflecting back on it, I had been going through a lot at the time. I was nearing the end of an abusive relationship, and honestly looking at this piece it embodies that unintentionally. The depressive and recoiled pose of the subject is a commentary on myself and how I felt when stuck with that person who made me feel so terrible and dead. I was made to feel like my emotions did not matter and that what I had to say was not relevant nor important. I had lost all inspiration for art creation, and now that I've finally removed myself from all facets of life involving that person I've been able to grow and blossom much like portrayed in the print. It's a little scary how accurate it relates to my life, but I'm glad it's there.