House Project

Although I've spent some time over the past few weeks preparing to start a new boardwalk print, a different piece will likely be the next thing that I finish. The Belmar Arts Council is organizing a fundraising exhibition called Gimme Shelter, which will benefit the Affordable Housing Alliance and the BAC Housing Help Project. Participating artists get a 5 sided piece of lauan plywood, to be used in the creation of an artwork that addresses the theme of home in some way. Most will probably paint on it (the prospectus repeatedly refers to it as a "canvas"), but it can be used in a sculpture, and the website shows an example (from a similar exhibition elsewhere) of it used as a woodcut block. All the details about the project can be found over on the BAC website.

Since I have the experience of carving several hundred pieces of lauan, it's a pretty sure bet that I'll be doing that again here. What remains to be determined is whether I will be exhibiting the carved block or a print pulled from that block. I'm leaning toward the former, which would probably fit in better among the many painted versions that will likely fill the gallery. I will take prints off the block no matter what and I'll make the final decision after I see both.

I'm still working on the idea for my piece, but meanwhile I got the first step out of the way. It was already a relatively smooth piece of wood, but I decided to go ahead and do my usual surfacing with wood filler. Above and below are before and after, which I admit don't look too different from each other. But it will be easier to draw on when I'm ready to start drawing.