Old Saints Coming Back

Today I went into the Studio for a while. The layout sketch for the next boardwalk print is still in progress, so today it was other business- printing some previously finished saint blocks.

One of these is a commission. My friend in Iowa had requested a saint several years ago, dated with his daughter's birthday, and so I created one for that day. More recently a second child has come along, so a second print was requested. It happened to be that this second date is one I already had done back in the original Carbondale batch, St Hunna. John and his wife weren't sure if they liked the image, a vintage washing machine (St Hunna was known for doing the laundry of her needy neighbors, gaining the nickname "The Holy Washerwoman"), but this past week he called me and mentioned that they will take the St Hunna print. I told him I'd make him a fresh copy (3/5). Yesterday I found the block in my basement, and today it was printed.

Another block I printed today is a more recent saint, St Leonard of Vandoeuvre. This is for the PCNJ show I mentioned a few posts back. The prospectus comes with a very long essay by the juror, which is mostly about his father's philosophy, a mix of Catholicism and Zen Buddhism, with an emphasis on messages of peace, compassion, and brotherhood. This is what he'll be looking for in the work. As it turns out, just about the only prints that I have ready to go that meet the restrictions on not being previously shown and completed in the last 2 years are some recent saints, which would seem to be perfect for this show. I can submit three prints, and have five saints to choose from. St Eustace is nice, but the dead animal head on the wall might not be appreciated. (in the original story he doesn't kill the deer, but the juror might not know that detail) St Thecla doesn't seem likely to offend, but it doesn't particularly speak to the theme either. Neither does St Budoc, but the shared wine could be part of a broad idea of friendship. St Januarius seems like a good possibility, the donation of blood often promoted as a compassionate act. But the most obvious one is St Leonard, with its anti-war theme. The only problem is that I can't find the previously finished copy. Also couldn't find it in the fall when I was framing up newer saints for the Iowa show, but I had enough other prints to show not to need it. Can't put it off any longer. I printed 2 copies today, so I should have at least one to shoot for the submission in a few weeks. Coloring will start later in the week.