Cynthia St. Charles Store

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Printing the Yellowstone Valley Piece

A few weeks ago, I posted my dilemma concerning this piece. It is part of a series in which I am using collaged fused piecing and block printing as the primary techniques. I found I liked it very much at the point where the collage was in place. I really loved the look of my naturally dyed raw silk fabrics in the foreground and I felt that block printing might obscure the subtle texture of that fabric.

After some deliberation, I decided to go forward with the block printing as originally planned. This is how I am working this series - it is all about using block printing as my primary means of expression and each exploration is a learning opportunity. So here goes. I carefully selected three blocks for printing the foreground. I chose to use only Jacquard Lumiere gold and copper paints. These are light and subtle.
Here is a detail (above) and the entire piece (below) after printing.
I do not feel I have done any harm with the printing, and in fact it is more interesting.
The balance is off, though, and I am going to have to crop this piece significantly for it to be successful.

3 comments:

gatheredthreads said...

I love the block printing.

Could you audition it without the bottom piece entirely? It strikes me that less land might better give the impression of endless land and endless sky - the eye being drawn along the screenprint, then up into the sky.

MarveLes Art Studios said...

Looking forward to seeing where you go with the cropping.. agreed. It's slightly off balance.

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Once again, you have proven that block printing enhances, rather than detracts! I agree about cropping. I just used a piece of paper to cover part, then all of the land. There is one block on the left side of the first row of land that sticks up a little more than the rest. It really became noticeable when I covered the lower part of the land area. I love the sky, especially how you went from pale at the horizon to dark at the top. I look forward to seeing your final version of this piece.