Light in the Forest - Finished!

Light in the Forest is finished!

I got a lot of feedback on this piece as I worked through it. I was not initially happy with it - I think primarily because the original hand dyed fabric was quite vivid and by the time I had the block printing finished, the colors were very subdued. It was necessary to use tinted and hued colors for the printing in order to create a bit of contrast - so the printing would show up. That was something I hadn't really thought through when I first started this piece.

I usually start my work with vague plans - and I work pretty intuitively. This usually works in my favor because I rarely scrap a piece - if it has any merit, I will usually see it through - working until I am satisfied I have done my best. If I were to do this piece over again (or wanted to try this idea of sunlight filtering through the forest again - which I might do) I think I would use very different fabrics for the background so that I could use more vivid colors for the printing. For the shadowy areas, I might try to go with a very dark gray. For the lighter areas, perhaps a very pale yellow. Hmmm - something to consider as I work through this series. Did I mention - I have committed to doing at least 10 pieces in this series of collaged / block printed style? I have a whole list of ideas to try out.

I appreciate all the suggestions and encouragement I received from my blog readers. It has been great fun!