Which makes me think of Monkey, Sun Wukong riding the giant tortoise during his epic Journey to the West, and then I am reminded that I promised you more of Awazu's turtles, some time ago. Here are but a few:
Showing posts with label woodblock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label woodblock. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Riding the tortoise
Which makes me think of Monkey, Sun Wukong riding the giant tortoise during his epic Journey to the West, and then I am reminded that I promised you more of Awazu's turtles, some time ago. Here are but a few:
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Oddballs, the Endangered, the Invasive & the Poodles
Jenny Pope's website J Pop Studios is a full zoo of exotic (and not so exotic) animal specimens in (colour reduction) woodblock print form. She tackles several topics in contemporary science, from flukes of evolotionary biology, to climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, extinction of the megafauna of Australia, invasive species as well as kitties & poodles.
She has a series investigating the effect of islands on evolution: 'Isolation Produces Oddballs' including the wonderously named, If Pygmy Elephants Climbed Trees (image size 13” x 17”)
which answers the question how did the 200 pound monitor lizard, the Komodo Dragon get so large? Apparently they were discovered on Flores, along with pygmy elephant bones - and sadly for them, the pachyderms are not known for tree climbing ability. She tackles 'Global Warming Band-aids' in her print 'Ocean Sequestration' (image size 19” x 23.75”) about the perils of simply trying to sequester CO2 in the deep ocean, and the consequent ocean acidification.
Colleagues of mine are working on the more sophisticated (but as of yet unproven on a large scale) possibility of sequestering CO2 in icelike 'clathrate' cage of hydrogen-bonded water molecules, known as CO2 hydrate - below the seafloor, rather than in the deep sea. So, this print reasonates with me as both a marine scientist and a printmaker.
Her South of North---The Lapping Territories of Bears (image size 32” x 24”) is about the strange fate of bears in far north, where the changing climate has lead to the discovery of the hybrid 'pizzly' (polar bear/grizzly cross).
Plane and a crane (image size 15” x 11.5”) in her 'Endangered Animals' series not only highlights the whooping crane, but also "Operation Migration," which uses ultralight planes to teach and re-introduce the migration which was lost when a certain population was destroyed, by having the birds imprint on the plane.
The invasive starlings are a problem where I live, as in many places in North America. They were introduced by Eugene Schieffelin who wanted to release all of the birds mentioned in William Shakespere’s plays. Sometimes romantic ideas and biodiversity are a bad mix. A Starling Guide to Night (image size 19” x 23.75”) is part of her 'Invasive Species' series.
Do yourself a favour and check out her large portfolio. I love the dynamic style and colour pallette of her prints, which combine the whimsy of children's illustration with serious, well-articulated subject matter. Her fascination with ecology, biology and obvious enthusiasm for science in general is infectious. I do love the medium of woodblock prints, and prints created at the art-science interface are likely to delight me, but I'm also very impressed with the background and information she provides with each print. You could learn a lot simply by reading about her subject matter. Despite her dismay at the way we treat our environment, she has a sense of the ridiculous - highlighting the absurdity of using of rubber ducks, turtles, frogs and beavers spilled from a container ship in 1992 to trace currents - or their imagined interaction with real marine animals, or some of our misconceptions about birds, from recent history. This makes her portfolio wonderful to explore, though the topics remain may be dire.
You should also check out her blog and her jpopstudios etsy shop - which also includes etchings.
She has a series investigating the effect of islands on evolution: 'Isolation Produces Oddballs' including the wonderously named, If Pygmy Elephants Climbed Trees (image size 13” x 17”)
which answers the question how did the 200 pound monitor lizard, the Komodo Dragon get so large? Apparently they were discovered on Flores, along with pygmy elephant bones - and sadly for them, the pachyderms are not known for tree climbing ability. She tackles 'Global Warming Band-aids' in her print 'Ocean Sequestration' (image size 19” x 23.75”) about the perils of simply trying to sequester CO2 in the deep ocean, and the consequent ocean acidification.
Colleagues of mine are working on the more sophisticated (but as of yet unproven on a large scale) possibility of sequestering CO2 in icelike 'clathrate' cage of hydrogen-bonded water molecules, known as CO2 hydrate - below the seafloor, rather than in the deep sea. So, this print reasonates with me as both a marine scientist and a printmaker.
Her South of North---The Lapping Territories of Bears (image size 32” x 24”) is about the strange fate of bears in far north, where the changing climate has lead to the discovery of the hybrid 'pizzly' (polar bear/grizzly cross).
Plane and a crane (image size 15” x 11.5”) in her 'Endangered Animals' series not only highlights the whooping crane, but also "Operation Migration," which uses ultralight planes to teach and re-introduce the migration which was lost when a certain population was destroyed, by having the birds imprint on the plane.
The invasive starlings are a problem where I live, as in many places in North America. They were introduced by Eugene Schieffelin who wanted to release all of the birds mentioned in William Shakespere’s plays. Sometimes romantic ideas and biodiversity are a bad mix. A Starling Guide to Night (image size 19” x 23.75”) is part of her 'Invasive Species' series.
Do yourself a favour and check out her large portfolio. I love the dynamic style and colour pallette of her prints, which combine the whimsy of children's illustration with serious, well-articulated subject matter. Her fascination with ecology, biology and obvious enthusiasm for science in general is infectious. I do love the medium of woodblock prints, and prints created at the art-science interface are likely to delight me, but I'm also very impressed with the background and information she provides with each print. You could learn a lot simply by reading about her subject matter. Despite her dismay at the way we treat our environment, she has a sense of the ridiculous - highlighting the absurdity of using of rubber ducks, turtles, frogs and beavers spilled from a container ship in 1992 to trace currents - or their imagined interaction with real marine animals, or some of our misconceptions about birds, from recent history. This makes her portfolio wonderful to explore, though the topics remain may be dire.
You should also check out her blog and her jpopstudios etsy shop - which also includes etchings.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Thanksgiving Canadiana
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canucks! In honour (with a 'u') of (Canadian) Thanksgiving, I bring you some awesome Canadiana from Alberta artist Lisa Brawn. She makes woodcuts, usually on salvaged hundred year old Douglas fir. She uses the block (the carved wood) itself as the art rather than making prints. When I learned how to make woodblock prints, my teacher pointed out that I should take care with borders even if viewers of prints would never see them and I should treat the block itself as art. Brawn's blocks are art. They are also full of colour and pattern and life and humour. Check out her website and flickr stream for much, much more*.
We start with the Mounties, of course.
Sergeant Brooke Royal NW Mounted Police, Alberta, ca. 1900-1903
woodcut on salvaged 100 year old Douglas-fir
2009
Then, what could be more Canadian than,
Stompin' Tom
woodcut
2009
The author:
Margaret Atwood
woodcut
2009
The rock-star-environmentalist:
David Suzuki
woodcut
2008
The hockey player:
"Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe showing off his fresh stitches. Two minutes for slashing!"
Lisa Brawn
woodcut
The poet:
Leonard Cohen
woodcut
2009
The comedian:
Andrea Martin
woodcut
2009
The singer-songwriter:
Joni Mitchell
woodcut
2009
The musician:
Oscar Peterson
woodcut
2009
and The Rocket:
Maurice Richard
woodcut
2009
*including circus acts, cult leaders, our PMs, musicians, actors, cowboys, pin-ups, macho men and macha women, and birds (she counts magpies rather than crows)
We start with the Mounties, of course.
Sergeant Brooke Royal NW Mounted Police, Alberta, ca. 1900-1903
woodcut on salvaged 100 year old Douglas-fir
2009
Then, what could be more Canadian than,
Stompin' Tom
woodcut
2009
The author:
Margaret Atwood
woodcut
2009
The rock-star-environmentalist:
David Suzuki
woodcut
2008
The hockey player:
"Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe showing off his fresh stitches. Two minutes for slashing!"
Lisa Brawn
woodcut
The poet:
Leonard Cohen
woodcut
2009
The comedian:
Andrea Martin
woodcut
2009
The singer-songwriter:
Joni Mitchell
woodcut
2009
The musician:
Oscar Peterson
woodcut
2009
and The Rocket:
Maurice Richard
woodcut
2009
*including circus acts, cult leaders, our PMs, musicians, actors, cowboys, pin-ups, macho men and macha women, and birds (she counts magpies rather than crows)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Talking Trees, with scarves
I have posted about cutting paper, and before I continue on with the wonders of folding paper, I would like to go off on a brief tangent to ask, "How cool is Jing Wei?" This young illustrator grew up in Northern California, though she was born in China. Currently she is based in "a treehouse in Brooklyn". Her style is has a touch of the surreal, magic, the cute and comics, but she has such delicacy of line and colour, in her chosen media: the woodblock print. Oh, and she has a things about scarves. Go look at her portfolio already! You can find more on her blog too.
Roperite - woodcut, ink, 12 x 12 (inches, I assume?)
Lobsters - woodcut, ink, 9 x 16.5
Groover vs. The Automatic Cat Feeder- woodcut, ink, 4 x 6
Talking Trees - woodcut, ink, 11.5 x 14
Roperite - woodcut, ink, 12 x 12 (inches, I assume?)
Lobsters - woodcut, ink, 9 x 16.5
Groover vs. The Automatic Cat Feeder- woodcut, ink, 4 x 6
Talking Trees - woodcut, ink, 11.5 x 14
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Bears and Origami
Clearly, these are two great things which go great together. Add some fabulous, contemporary printmakers, and you have:
Origami bear, by Emma Kidd (aka benconservato), a gocco print on aqua rice paper which I have now in my home.
a woodcut by Jing Wei, 10 x 13
A print I will have to pine for, from afar.
As a printmaker who makes relief prints, and has made a multicolour woodblock print, I am completely blown away by Jing Wei's portfolio. Stay tuned - more on her soon.
Origami bear, by Emma Kidd (aka benconservato), a gocco print on aqua rice paper which I have now in my home.
a woodcut by Jing Wei, 10 x 13
A print I will have to pine for, from afar.
As a printmaker who makes relief prints, and has made a multicolour woodblock print, I am completely blown away by Jing Wei's portfolio. Stay tuned - more on her soon.
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