Studio Errands

I had bought 9 assorted tools last fall for use in the woodcut workshop in Belmar.  At first glance, they all look very similar- shaped metal blades sticking out of plain wooden handles of identical lengths.  Each has the name of tool (in Japanese characters) and size on the top of the far end of the handle, not easy to read.  Plus there was the matter that I was planning to offer the group a chance to buy similar tools of their own.  To distinguish my class tools from those my students might buy, I decided to mark mine.  I ended up using some oil based silk screen ink that I last used for my postcard project- they are extremely brightly colored and dry very fast.  As it turned out, all my students bought tools, and I added four more to the order to improve my supply.  Last night the students reimbursed me for the tools I ordered for them.  Since I was going to the Studio today, I brought the four extra new tools with me, and gave them the same color treatment as last year's batch.  I used the ink to paint the end of the handle where the blade is inserted.  And I matched these to the previous set by using color coded ink for each size and type.  So in the image below I have two 4.5 mm V gouges (magenta), a 4.5 mm round gouge (red-orange) and a 3.0 mm round gouge (yellow-orange).  That gives me a total of 13 class tools to use for the last 2 weeks of the workshop.

The other thing I did today was prepare the surface of a new wood block.  I have some ready made possibilities for a piece for the Animal Spirits show, but I do have an idea I'm playing with right now.  If I get it figured out in the next couple of days, I have wood ready to go.