The block print:
I haven't designed/carved/made prints in over a year. It was again cathartic to carve away at the linoleum block, and watch the pile of shavings grow. Last summer I worked as a Park Ranger for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and my summer love was for the Great Blue Heron. It was a blue sky day, the water was high, and I was out paddling a stretch south of Osceola Landing. I was with a fellow co-worker, a long time river resident, and we were exploring the now flooded back channels. As we approached what we knew was a heron rookery, the cacophony surrounding us increased. We slipped our kayaks between the tree trunks (what would be an island two weeks later ) and entered a scene out of the Jurassic time period. Birds with huge wing spans flying over head; tree tops littered with massive nests; and young scruffy herons begging for food. This was my moment for the time spent on the river that summer. And so brought inspiration for a new block print. Sketches of herons in water, nests in trees, all found their way onto notebooks, name placards, and this past weekend, onto a block of linoleum.
To begin a block print, I draw out my idea on paper (how I draw it will be how the final print will look like). I draw over my lines with a piece of charcoal, and then smash down the lino block, transferring the design to the linoleum. Now time to carve! I must thank the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center for getting me hooked on this form of art.
The earrings:
Back in the summer of 2011, I lived/worked on Kodiak Island for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. There I would take to the beach in dreams of finding my very own glass Japanese fishing float (in the end I bought one), but instead was satisfied sifting through sand to find shells and of course, beach glass. I was told that in one cove near town, people would purposefully toss into the ocean, dark blue wine bottles. Dark blue sea glass wasn't a common color found (hence my earrings are made with brown sea glass, compliments of some beer guzzler).
Wire wrapping is a lot more difficult than it looks. Each piece of glass, stone is uniquely shaped. I perhaps should have spent more time looking for symmetrical pieces, but it is as it is. Alas, it is fun to be creative thinking of a way to best wrap each piece. Different shapes, different wrapping style. Also, I struggled with not making too much of a wire mess on the back side of each piece. These earrings turned out fine, but I look forward to learning more about wire wrapping as I sift through my plastic bag of Alaskan memories.
