Posted by Dave Bull at 12:42 PM, July 9, 2009
Continued from [Forest in Summer - 9] | Starting point of the thread is [Forest in Summer - 1]
Two weeks since the last update, but here we are - all 10 block faces are now done!
Let's start with the two that I showed you on the previous page; these are for the distant scenery:
... and the flip side:
Of course it isn't really clear yet just how this will look, but the general idea in my mind is to do this part of the print in a series of quite faint tones, to put it into a different 'plane' from the rest of the image.
Those two were 'easy', but there was no postponing what came next - the darkest highlight tone on the main tree trunks. It took me just over ten days (although if there had been no other 'distractions', it should have been done in maybe a week). I sure got a lot of nice BBC radio and iTunes listening done!
Next week when I'm doing the test printing, I'll find out if I 'got it right' when making the separations, but for now, it seems that this one should produce a pretty interesting effect ...
And then an easy one to finish off - the final two sides with a few miscellaneous areas (mushroom parts, blue jeans, etc.):
You can see on that last one where I moved part of the design around on the block, and cut a second set of registration marks; no sense wasting a whole new piece of wood just for that one part!
Here's the final update on the working hour totals:
1st block (image) : 17.5 hours
2nd block (image) : 17 hours
3rd block (image) : 15 hours
4th block (image) : 22 hours
5th block (image) : 32.5 hours
6th+7th blocks (image | image) : 9.5 hours
8th block (image) : 49.5 hours
9th+10th block (image | image) : 1.5 hours
In total then, I've spent 164 hours on this, spread out over 31 different days.
So with the carving done, will test printing begin tomorrow morning? No way. There's just too much other work waiting for attention. I usually keep my 'A Story A Week' stocked up around a month in advance, but that has slipped over the past weeks, and the one for next Sunday isn't even drafted yet. (Any ideas... requests?)
And of course the Inbox is stuffed, and you don't even want to think about my kitchen ...
So I'm thinking I might be back down in the workshop come next Monday or so ... we'll see ...
The thread continues in [Forest in Summer - 11] ...
I can so relate to the backlog of stuff (especially the kitchen!) that happens during a period of intense carving like the "dark tones" block you've shown here. It's all looking great. I can't piece together what's going on in the background, though, and I was surprised at your mention of blue jeans! Looking forward to seeing what happens...
It looks like it will be awesome, but it is also like reading a murder mystery and the last chapter is missing! I can't wait to see the actual print, then it will all make sense.
Dave said: So I'm thinking I might be back down in the workshop come next Monday or so ... we'll see ...
So... it's Tuesday afternoon here and Wednesday morning in Tokyo. What happened?
This is the most intricate carving job that I've seen. I'm really looking forward to seeing the initial test prints.
Marc
and Wednesday morning in Tokyo. What happened?
Well, I said there was 'just too much other work waiting for attention,' and I wasn't kidding. I don't want to bore everybody with a long list, but this has involved catching up with the stories (as I mentioned), working with my daughter on some updates to her web site, and then beginning a massive cleanup of the B1 floor downstairs (there were places there that hadn't been swept since I moved in more than nine years ago!). Adding to these distractions, Sadako has been hospitalized this week with a fractured elbow (with surgery), and the visits back and forth (it takes just around an hour to get there) have kind of taken a bite out of the time, too. There have been a few nice orders from Mokuhankan this week, which involve quick trips to the post office to try and catch one of the twice-daily pickup times, and on top of this all, has been the preparation for the 'family woodblock printing playdate' that is happening here this coming Saturday for a bunch of friends/acquaintances (thus the cleanup!).
Sorry for the 'excuses' ... I'll try and get settled into the work as soon as I can dig through all these other things. But I'm very heartened to hear that people are waiting so eagerly. I hope not to disappoint you!
Best recovery whishes for Sadako...
No car, no cell-phone: we certainly have a few things in common!
I'm sorry to hear of Sadako's injury. Please let her know that I'm hoping for her speedy recovery.
“Sadako, our thoughts and prayers are with you during your recovery."
Thanks for the comments and wishes for Sadako-san. She's completely OK ... it was apparently a fairly clean break, and she's now at home, back to a (mostly) normal routine.
For me, today is the 'meetup' that I mentioned earlier upthread, and we have a special webcam page that will be in operation today.
Once this is done, I have to spend a couple of days printing out and folding the pages of the next book chapter, so that Ichikawa-san can get busy with sewing the books together, and then it'll be time for some proof printing! (If I remember how ...)
