Bd James Strepar part 5

Today I did something I haven't done in a very long time- sit in my Studio at my work table and carve a block.  Due to weather and other disasters, it hadn't yet happened in 2014, and off the top of my head I can't remember when it had last happened.  But I had the opportunity today and took advantage of it.  I had started this block as a cutting demo in Belmar during the art walk and had found that my tools were a bit dull, so on that day I just used my class tools.  On this occasion I had more time, so I opened my workday by sharpening the two gouges I use most; testing them in a margin, I found a big difference.  I started out by the borders, widening it on all sides, and fully cutting out the feast day date.  Then I moved inside and started cleating the land areas outside of Galicia.  Had a few visitors.  Molly's friend Jackie, who sells clothing Molly silkscreens came to drop off some money for her. She loves the space, but remarked how messy it is.  I pointed out that it's actually the cleanest the room has been in years.  And later Molly stopped by to pick up that money, at which point we settled on a plan for the June critique.  She liked the changes to the block since our last critique.  I continued working until around 5:30, then cleaned up and headed home.  Brought the block with me in case I want to look at it, but I don't expect to cut any more before I return to the Studio tomorrow.