Fluttering Spirit
Block Print
22 cm x 16 cm
October 8th, 2016
Exhibition Text
"Fluttering Spirit" is all about family and friends that have passed on. When I was younger my mother always used to tell me that every time i saw a little white butterfly that it was my passed on family members visiting me from heaven. This project was perfect to incorporate this concept in because my Grandpa was very into whittling and since I needed to carve out the block in order to print it was just that much more personal to me.
"Fluttering Spirit" is all about family and friends that have passed on. When I was younger my mother always used to tell me that every time i saw a little white butterfly that it was my passed on family members visiting me from heaven. This project was perfect to incorporate this concept in because my Grandpa was very into whittling and since I needed to carve out the block in order to print it was just that much more personal to me.
Artist Inspiration
My artist inspiration was Ernst Barlach and my focus was German expressionism. Within German expressionism nothing is really beautiful except for the process itself, when people are made they aren't made to be gorgeous, they are made to show a point or an emotion. But in my piece I wanted to incorporate that idea. My butterfly definitely isn't pretty and neither are my flowers they are just very subtle. Often times in German Expressionism the subjects are the piece are distorted and choppy, which is how the flowers and the background of my piece look. When I looked at Ernst Barlach's pieces I noticed that the backgrounds of his pieces were always just textured lines. This was very interesting to me, so I made sure to include that in the background of my piece also.
My artist inspiration was Ernst Barlach and my focus was German expressionism. Within German expressionism nothing is really beautiful except for the process itself, when people are made they aren't made to be gorgeous, they are made to show a point or an emotion. But in my piece I wanted to incorporate that idea. My butterfly definitely isn't pretty and neither are my flowers they are just very subtle. Often times in German Expressionism the subjects are the piece are distorted and choppy, which is how the flowers and the background of my piece look. When I looked at Ernst Barlach's pieces I noticed that the backgrounds of his pieces were always just textured lines. This was very interesting to me, so I made sure to include that in the background of my piece also.
Planning
To the right are some of my planning sketches. To plan, I knew I wanted to incorporate a butterfly into this piece because it was carving and that relates to my grandpa because he loved to whittle. I was also fascinated by the repetitive hash lines in the background of Barlach's pieces so I began to draw things that incorporated both of these elements. Process During the process of block print I had to be careful of the blade. I used a sturdy block to make sure if I slipped no one would get hurt. The tools I used are listed below, I used two different blades while carving out to get different styles of cuts. Before I started carving I made a template and transferred it onto the plate. After this I could begin carving into the plate. I started carving the background first and then the butterfly and then the flowers last. After I was done carving I was ready to begin the the printing process. I spread ink easily onto a tray and then proceeded to roll it on my plate. Once my plate had a sufficient amount of ink, I could then put my final paper on top. After this I used a corn husk baron to transfer the ink onto the paper. Since the ink was water-based I was easily able to wash the plate and the tray with water when I finished the printing process. |
Experimentation
Experimentation for this piece was almost impossible because of the scarcity of supplies, but I did make sure the start with the background since this was not the center focus on my piece and I could easily go back and change the texture and size of the marks. At first I started out with bigger carvings and then I realized it wasn't complimenting the style I was going for so then I switched it to smaller carvings, which took a little extra time but I was happy with the results.
During the printing process I also experimented with the amount of ink on my plate to see the effect it had on my piece. At first I wanted to use less ink to represent have a mystical tendency considering the butterfly was supposed to represent my deceased loved ones. I thought that it would give more of that unworldly feel. But after it printed I realized it really didn't give off that effect at all so I decided to just get a nice clean print.
Experimentation for this piece was almost impossible because of the scarcity of supplies, but I did make sure the start with the background since this was not the center focus on my piece and I could easily go back and change the texture and size of the marks. At first I started out with bigger carvings and then I realized it wasn't complimenting the style I was going for so then I switched it to smaller carvings, which took a little extra time but I was happy with the results.
During the printing process I also experimented with the amount of ink on my plate to see the effect it had on my piece. At first I wanted to use less ink to represent have a mystical tendency considering the butterfly was supposed to represent my deceased loved ones. I thought that it would give more of that unworldly feel. But after it printed I realized it really didn't give off that effect at all so I decided to just get a nice clean print.
Reflection
Overall, this project was very different from what I'm used to doing. I believe the metaphor worked very well overall, because of the daintiness of the butterfly and the flowers around the butterfly.
Critique
Despite the subject matter, my pieces greatly resemble the art movement of German Expressionism and successfully include the hash marks often seen in German Expressionism.
Connection to ACT
1) My inspiration was my grandpa and Ernst Barlach, I included Barlach's techniques and my grandpa's favorite past time and my beliefs in the subject matter.
2) The overall approach of Ernst Barlach was to create Grotesque images in a slightly scary but still in a beautiful way.
3) While I researched my artist I realized how much Barlach's art meant to him, I noticed that everything he loved and related to was incorporated into her pieces. He loved German expressionism and thus began to paint them. I loved fall so thus I began to photograph it.
4) The theme around my research was the contrast between happy and sad, which Barlach's art features spectacularly.
5) While doing this project I made an inference that German Expressionism was quite a sad and dark art form, there's very little pieces from this art movement that represent happy times.
1) My inspiration was my grandpa and Ernst Barlach, I included Barlach's techniques and my grandpa's favorite past time and my beliefs in the subject matter.
2) The overall approach of Ernst Barlach was to create Grotesque images in a slightly scary but still in a beautiful way.
3) While I researched my artist I realized how much Barlach's art meant to him, I noticed that everything he loved and related to was incorporated into her pieces. He loved German expressionism and thus began to paint them. I loved fall so thus I began to photograph it.
4) The theme around my research was the contrast between happy and sad, which Barlach's art features spectacularly.
5) While doing this project I made an inference that German Expressionism was quite a sad and dark art form, there's very little pieces from this art movement that represent happy times.