Sunday, December 28, 2008

Un-Enrollment


I'm planning a large scale woodblock print about the longevity of the Horseshoe Crab and I needed to educate myself about a few things including Trilobites. One thing I learned is that Trilobites (a long extinct race of sea creatures that flourished during the Cambrian and Ordovician time periods) practice what is called "enrollment" when threatened. They tuck most of their bodies up under their shelly shield-like heads and wait until they can safely unroll again. There are even matching grooves in their exoskeletons where their front and back ends can lock together like a jigsaw puzzle.
The point is I hate the camera. I avoid getting my picture taken when I can. I had a woodblock printing demonstration for my art center's open house and my husband took photos. I guess I will unroll now and put pictures of myself on the internet. It was a lot of fun and people seemed to like seeing the prints come off of the blocks. It's nice to share that moment and see complete strangers share the excitement that you experience in the studio when pulling prints. I normally don't print Moku Hanga style on my Pilot Press table but it was right in front of the door and I wanted people to have a straight shot glance from the door that something cool was going on in Studio Zero! Kids really enjoyed the process and I wish I could teach the block printing to that age level but knives and kids don't mix. Anyway, a good time was had by all and the weather was nice. I just love the light that spills into my studio through those windows!


2 comments:

Annie B said...

Hey Lana, good to see you! Looks like you had quite a crowd. Happy holidays!

goprairie said...

kids and knives! look into how boy scouts teach kids knife safety and give it some thought.
also, there is a thin linoleum that has a sticky back that can be cut with scisors and stuck onto a block and used to print - so you coudl teach positive/negative design, now to transfer onto the full sheet of the stuff, explain how when they are older, they can carve, but for now, you will ber cutting out and pasting on - remember to save a copy of the artwork to transfer to the hard block to know where to stick the peices!