Lots to Learn
Didn't get any artwork of my own done over the past week, but I've been busy nonetheless. This is the time of year when all the colleges start getting ready for the fall semester, so that has meant updating syllabi, though in one case I'm still waiting on crucial information from the college. But those classes are still three weeks away.
I'm in the middle of a new run of woodcut classes in Belmar and that also took time over the last week. With six students this time around I had to order new supplies. New cutting tools for those who wanted them (and extras for the class supply). I have some paper, but maybe not enough of the good stuff for everyone, so I ordered a bunch and got a good price for the bulk order. By the last week I may have all six wanting to print at the same time, and I didn't think that I had enough brayers to go around, so I ordered a few more. My returning students have expressed an interest in working bigger (and some already have started), and that's not practical with water based ink, so I ordered a can of my favorite oil based ink. Picked up some extra ink knives as well.
Most of this stuff will arrive by the weekend, but the cutting tools were in New Jersey this past Saturday, and that's the only thing we needed for tonight. I was at the Boatworks plenty early, and usually my students are showing up while I'm still unloading the car, but this time it was right around 7 pm when all six showed up. My veterans all had their blocks in progress, and my new people also came in ready to work. I opened by distributing the new tools to those who had ordered them and then did the customary cutting demonstration. This is very important for the beginners, but I had everyone join us because we had a new wrinkle this time. One of my returning artists had ordered a large flat chisel, to make it easier to clear large areas of wood. No one had used one of these before and I felt they should all know how to use this useful but potentially dangerous tool.
There were a few technical processes to share (transferring a drawing to the block, taking a rubbing, etc), but tonight I devoted a lot of time to artistic concerns, especially for the advanced students. I take this as a good sign- understanding the basics of cutting, they are now thinking more about composition, value relationships, and the other concerns beyond just making a picture of something. Sometimes this was by showing examples in books, sometimes it was just drawing on my own experiences.
Once again the hours few by, and I didn't realize until everyone was packing up that I hadn't had time to take any photos again. I'll have to try harder to remember it for next time. Most of the students will be ready to try printing next week, and those prints alone should be a good excuse to get the camera out.
I'm in the middle of a new run of woodcut classes in Belmar and that also took time over the last week. With six students this time around I had to order new supplies. New cutting tools for those who wanted them (and extras for the class supply). I have some paper, but maybe not enough of the good stuff for everyone, so I ordered a bunch and got a good price for the bulk order. By the last week I may have all six wanting to print at the same time, and I didn't think that I had enough brayers to go around, so I ordered a few more. My returning students have expressed an interest in working bigger (and some already have started), and that's not practical with water based ink, so I ordered a can of my favorite oil based ink. Picked up some extra ink knives as well.
Most of this stuff will arrive by the weekend, but the cutting tools were in New Jersey this past Saturday, and that's the only thing we needed for tonight. I was at the Boatworks plenty early, and usually my students are showing up while I'm still unloading the car, but this time it was right around 7 pm when all six showed up. My veterans all had their blocks in progress, and my new people also came in ready to work. I opened by distributing the new tools to those who had ordered them and then did the customary cutting demonstration. This is very important for the beginners, but I had everyone join us because we had a new wrinkle this time. One of my returning artists had ordered a large flat chisel, to make it easier to clear large areas of wood. No one had used one of these before and I felt they should all know how to use this useful but potentially dangerous tool.
There were a few technical processes to share (transferring a drawing to the block, taking a rubbing, etc), but tonight I devoted a lot of time to artistic concerns, especially for the advanced students. I take this as a good sign- understanding the basics of cutting, they are now thinking more about composition, value relationships, and the other concerns beyond just making a picture of something. Sometimes this was by showing examples in books, sometimes it was just drawing on my own experiences.
Once again the hours few by, and I didn't realize until everyone was packing up that I hadn't had time to take any photos again. I'll have to try harder to remember it for next time. Most of the students will be ready to try printing next week, and those prints alone should be a good excuse to get the camera out.
posted by arrabbiata at 9:11 PM
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