Rain Delay

I had planned on doing a nice long hike today, from the redwoods down to the ocean, but the weather is not cooperating. I actually like hiking in the rain, but hate muddy trails, and the fireroads on the second half of the hike are sure to be muddy. I have to work the rest of the week, so I won’t be hitting the trails until at least Saturday.

In the meantime, there’s plenty to do. I cut and tested the lettering on my “Crow and Owl” block –I need to bolden the text that will print in reverse, but am otherwise quite pleased with my progress.

And I’ve started the third Proverbs of Hell print. This one reads, “Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without improvement, are roads of genius.” I have transferred the type and the drawing, and am about to start carving. Here’s the prepped block:

I don’t usually color in the block before carving, but this one is abstract and complicated enough that I wanted to be clear about what areas are to be what color. I am envisioning a blue-gray for the areas that are bright blue, and the black will print black.

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In other printmaking news, earlier this week I sent off my prints for Baren Exchange #40. Baren is an online printmakers’ group, and periodically they sponsor an exchange where participants send in 30 copies of a print, and receive back 30 different prints, one by each of the participants. I’m very much looking forward to receiving my set! In the meantime, here’s what my prints looked like as they were drying: