Post 2

Mark making

My first prints:  Hammering different objects into wood to create marks

After my first attempt at carving I found that I was very restricted by not having the right tools so I decided to invest in some finer tools which have made a huge difference and given me a greater choice of marks that I can make.

Through looking at other people’s work and wood carving guide books I realised that there are endless types of marks and textures that can be created in the wood and was eager to experiment with these.

I have found that one of the best woods for carving is seasoned lime wood, as it is both soft and dense, so much easier to carve compared to other types of wood that I tried.  After contacting numerous wood suppliers, I managed after a lot of searching to locate a specialist timber merchant from whom I was able to buy a small amount of lime wood.

I did not want to limit myself to one subject immediately and I wanted to express something of myself in a design, so during my first week I worked on an image in which I tried to show contrasting imagery of countryside and city.  I travel regularly between the two and I am always struck by the huge contrast.  I want to at some point challenge myself by carving a larger repeat pattern block, but as I did not yet have the confidence I decided to contain the image within another shape ie. a circle. The circle reminds me of the view seen through a pair of binoculars.