Post 11

Reflection on laser cutting

I found that although the laser cutting itself was surprisingly fast, the preparation took a lot longer, which I was not expecting.  I spent three days on preparation and it took only 37 minutes to cut.  It almost felt like cheating after hand carving.  This process could have lots of potential and I will consider using it again, I could possibly use a combination of hand and laser cutting.  It is very effective for doing larger cuts with finer detail, however when carving by hand I sometimes like to change and adjust the image as I go along which is not possible with laser cutting.

I wanted to add something to the laser cutting – my final 3 carvings of this project.  I normally spend a long time carving my blocks, from several hours to 2-3 days, so I decided to try some much faster carvings 30 mins-1 hour. Taking marks from my drawings I carved into blocks of cherry and yew – a jagged rock, a small round coral form and a cluster of pointed star-like anemone.  I like the organic outline of the blocks and I think the simplicity of these could be really effective, I will try combining and overlapping them.

Colour mixing with my new brayer on large glass plate in print room

Galbraith and Paul         http://galbraithandpaul.com/

An American duo specialising in hand block textiles and wallpaper, they must be successful because they have featured in almost every recent issue of House and Garden Magazine.  I think the complexity of their designs are just right, not too busy, not too simple.  I like their philosophy that they care about the process of making just as much as the finished product.  I am especially drawn to the way their colours are blended in such a subtle and distinct way.  I have bought a small 2.5 inch roller specifically to try this.

Here are some samples for my live brief some of which I have tried blending the colours with my new roller.  The live brief has been the perfect opportunity to be more experimental with colour combinations.  It has also given me insight into how my woodblock print designs could be used for an entirely different context.