Signing up the edition of 100 finished "MOTH" prints! This print & all of our prints are authentic, handmade woodcuts. No computers or digital technologies are used, just the basics: our hands, imaginations, wood, handheld carving tools, ink, paper & time. We think it turned out really neat, so warm & golden! Two blocks make this image, see them HERE!
Printing the final run, the key block, on the golden "MOTH" print. This paper has been really neat to print on, very thin & translucent, fluttery like insect wings, but STRONG! In the top photo you can see the ink coming through a bit. Next shows the pulling up of the paper from the inked block after a run through the press. And, last photo, the block & the finished print. Photo of the print all done? HERE!
We were inspired to take some photos to chronicle the "MOTH" carving process, and stitched them all together into this woodblock carving stop motion animation! The process of actually carving the key block for the "MOTH" took much longer than the sped up 30 seconds in the video (more like 100 hours), but you get the idea! Next time, we'll do it with our hands in the photos too!
Here we are, printing yellow gold on the new "MOTH" print. Our first time printing with Okawara paper, so appropriately translucent & fluttery! We wanted to try to show you how lovely it is to look at the buttery glow of the yellow block's printed silohuette, sunlight streaming in through the studio windows. The key block (last photo above, in dark ink) prints atop this layer to make the finished print. It's really nice. Quite very happy with how this print turned out! "MOTH" prints are ready to go, shipping out daily! Get one HERE.
Golden patternwork shimmers across the unfolded yellow wings of the new "MOTH" woodcut. Emerging into the path of flame, the "MOTH" is ablaze like jewelry tilted to shine in the sun. "MOTH" is printed from 2 woodblocks (this one & this one) onto 16" x 22" Okawara Paper. Edition of 100 prints, available exclusively in our shop HERE. Production on this print will start in the coming week. Be one of the first to get this print by placing an order now for delivery post-production when prints are dry & ready to go!
Well, right now these wings are gold (yellow). But we'll probably be printing this block in a soft, powdery color (no metallics). The carved block above will print first below the key block to create the finished printed image of our "MOTH". Paper arrives tomorrow, and we'll start proofing! So, pre-order time is really limited. Act fast to get a copy at the intro rate! Read more & place your pre-order HERE.
Hello, friends of print! We have posted the in-progress "MOTH" woodcut as a pre-order on our site this week. It will not remain a pre-order for long! We have plans to wrap up production within the next 2-3 weeks (along with the "DESERT ISLAND") and so the intro pre-ordering deal will expire pretty quickly. Act fast to secure a copy of your very own! "MOTH" pre-orders can be placed HERE. Undulating patterns hypnotically sweep across the feathery, petal-like wings of the new "MOTH" woodcut. The delicate, powdery chalkiness of the insect's dusty pigment will come forward in color choices that are earthy and milky (probably not black, as above on the block, that's just the pen color we used to draw the image). A nocturnal creature, but a symbol of hope & newness nonetheless. A soft and fluttering presence, a meticulous and complex emblem of the building blocks that shape our natural world. The "MOTH" woodcut will be printed from 2 blocks in 2 colors on Okawara paper. Final size will likely be 18" x 25". Be in touch if you have any questions!
Carving, carving, carving on this new "MOTH" woodcut (and many others)! All the itty bitty inside bits are almost all carved out, just the outside left to go. We'll be posting some photos and videos of the carving process later today. "MOTH" will be a 18" x 24" print, in color, due out this Fall in our online shop. Join our mailing list for details about it's upcoming debut! Also, an early heads up that we have a big show in Brooklyn at The Armcoming up this November during Print Week where we hope to be able to unveil many of the new woodcut editions we've been drawing and carving for the BRAVE NEW WORLD series. Details about the grand opening will post to our calendar (opening looks to be Thursday, November 7th, 2013) and we'll share more info as we get the final info set! We'll also be tabling at the ever popular Prints Gone Wild on the evening of November 8th at Littlefied, 622 Degraw Street, Brooklyn 11217. So, mark your calendars friends to the East, we'll see y'all soon!
A zoom out of the finished key block drawing for the new "MOTH" woodcut! We've started the carving, and there is plenty of carving to do! Birds and insects have really been making their rounds lately. Visiting garden blossoms, eating grass seeds when the lawn gets long and we haven't mown because we like it when the clovers grow up. We see such a small section from our little plot in the city, but it seems teeming to us, which seems to be a good sign. Stay tuned for "MOTH" updates here on the blog or flickr or join our mailing list to be the first to hear word when this 18" x 24" woodcut becomes available. More next week, including updates on the "DESERT ISLAND"!Happy weekend!
Delicately building the pattern work on the wings of this "MOTH" block. Drawing the first half was wild, and then redrawing it as a mirror image on the other side? Quite a good challenge! As with all of our woodcuts, our images start out as original drawings on blocks of birch plywood. We draw first in pencil, then in pen and then carve the blocks in low relief for printing. Pretty excited about this one, it's been rather mesmerizing to work on. Join up to our mailing listfor details about the finished print, coming this Fall (along with many other exciting new prints!) to www.tugboatprintshop.com!
New blocks to be printed today...Butterfly and Thistle, Bird's Nest, Toad on a Toadstool, Bat, Garter Snake, and Crows (also included in this photo--the 4th season sitcom Newsradio, which we rented recently from the library and have been secretly--now publicly--enjoying)Paul's doing some last minute block clean-up before printing. On the wall beyond is the first framed grouping of the Woodland Creatures. We have plans to change the framing slightly for the final display...
Valerie's printing a new etching today--another tailing close behind. Pics tomorrow-ish?
