All-seeing vines - Cone Zone Printmaking
April 22nd - May 27th at rotunda gallery @rmcad
The Cone Zone Printmaking Exhibit will display large 4′ x 8′ block prints created during the Steamroller Printmaking Event on Saturday, April 16th, 2022, in conjunction with the Phillip J. Steele Gallery and Mo’Print organization for the Month of Printmaking.
All-Seeing vines concept
The design of this woodblock & linocut is inspired by my favorite plants and visual themes that come up throughout my body of work. I wanted to create a design that incorporates things I interact with and care for every day and create a dynamic visual composition. I’m attracted to the Swiss Cheese plant’s long vines and holes within the leaves because they make a nice balance of positive and negative space when drawn and in real life. Plants within the Monstera Deliciosa family mostly have holes or cut-outs in the leaves; however, due to specific environmental and water conditions, some leaves grow without any holes at all. Their variations in leaves leave some room for imagination and present me with the opportunity to incorporate one of the primary visual themes that come up in almost all my work, which is eyes and eyeballs.
I think the alteration of some leaves including the eyes leads to the personification of the plant itself. Suddenly nature is given human-like features and is allowed to see the world around them in the same way humans do. Would they be treated better or not taken for granted as much if plants had eyes? Would nature be taken seriously as a force not to be reckoned with or taken over by humans? Some people appreciate nature for what it is, as a giving entity, and some people view nature as being in the way, as something to be controlled and modified.
I believe plants are more in touch with their surroundings than humans are. They can sense energies and move to position themselves better for the things they need, like sunlight; some can go for a long time without water, yet overall, they are not seen as an existence equal to humankind. If they could watch us or make eye contact with us, I think there would be a level of empathy and understanding for nature like there has never been before.
I think the alteration of some leaves including the eyes leads to the personification of the plant itself. Suddenly nature is given human-like features and is allowed to see the world around them in the same way humans do. Would they be treated better or not taken for granted as much if plants had eyes? Would nature be taken seriously as a force not to be reckoned with or taken over by humans? Some people appreciate nature for what it is, as a giving entity, and some people view nature as being in the way, as something to be controlled and modified.
I believe plants are more in touch with their surroundings than humans are. They can sense energies and move to position themselves better for the things they need, like sunlight; some can go for a long time without water, yet overall, they are not seen as an existence equal to humankind. If they could watch us or make eye contact with us, I think there would be a level of empathy and understanding for nature like there has never been before.
Preliminary Drawing - Design 01
Preliminary Drawing - Design 02
Preliminary Drawing - Design 03
Preliminary DRawings
Final Design
Linoleum carving
Final Linocut print
edition of 6
Design transfer to the wood board
Carving the board with hand tools
Craving progress
Fully carved wood board
CARVING THE WOOD BOARD
INKED WOOD BOARD
STEAMROLLER PRINTING
ALL-SEEING VINES
WOODBLOCK PRINT
4 X 8 FEET
2022
CONE ZONE PRINTMAKING EXHIBITION @ ROTUNDA GALLERY
INSTALLATION VIEW
