My piece for White Space was four feet square, larger than any piece I've ever done. I had read somewhere a line about the idea of swatting nervous butterflies away from your stomach. When considering what to do for White Space, I decided to use this idea as a metaphor for swatting away my own butterflies about this event. I took photos of my hands, and drew the image on to the 4' x 4' woodblock. The butterflies were carved separately, and cut with a jig saw into shaped blocks. The night of the event, I printed a rainbow roll of orange and yellow as background for the butterflies, and printed the black butterflies on top. Then was the incredible task of carving the huge block. I recruited some helpers from the audience to cut out the butterflies, and to help me print the paper just in time to finish! Thank you everyone for coming out to White Space, and for all of those who helped me finish my biggest woodcut ever!
Me in the studio with the woodblock
Rolling ink for the butterflies
Inking up the block
The bidding sheet
Carving the block
Must not stop carving!
A little visitor with so many questions
Applying glue to the board
The crowd
Friends taking pictures
My little helpers. These girls helped me rub the back of the paper to print it. They were such a big help. I couldn't have finished the piece without them!
The audience
Jen, my husband Paul, and Lisa who was also a big help in in getting my piece finished!
Yaay! I'm done!
The finished piece;
"Swatting the Butterflies Away From My Stomach"
