Dry Point
"Great Depth II"
Dry Point
7 in x 5 in
November, 2016
Exhibition Text:
Great Depth II represents the idea of humans against animals, specifically larger marine animals. The whale depicted is to show the practice of whaling, and the death of the animals at the hands of humans.
Dry Point
7 in x 5 in
November, 2016
Exhibition Text:
Great Depth II represents the idea of humans against animals, specifically larger marine animals. The whale depicted is to show the practice of whaling, and the death of the animals at the hands of humans.
Artistic Inspiration
Process and Planning
Planning
For this piece, I also had planned on doing something from Greek mythology, and had sketched a cyclopes. When I changed my theme for my block print, I knew that I was going to draw a whale, but then I didn't know how, or what else I would put in the piece. My first sketch was a whale tangled in vines. The second sketch I made, which was the one I chose for my piece shows whale bones in a human hand. |
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Experimentation
The first print that I did, I used a lot of ink, and it came out a little blurry because not all the ink got cleaned, and the ribs of the whale looked mushy. The second print I did, I used less ink, and It came out too light. The third print I did, I didn't use enough ink at all.
The first print that I did, I used a lot of ink, and it came out a little blurry because not all the ink got cleaned, and the ribs of the whale looked mushy. The second print I did, I used less ink, and It came out too light. The third print I did, I didn't use enough ink at all.
Process
The first thing I did after my sketches were carve the dry point plate. I had to carve over my sketch, and then do it a second time because the grooves were not deep enough. After this, I had to actually print the piece. To do this, I soaked my paper in water for five minutes. I used gloves, newsprint and oil based ink to make the prints. I covered my plate in ink, spreading through the grooves. Then, after the plate was covered, I ripped up pieces of newsprint and started to wipe away the ink. Once all the ink was wiped away except for the ink that was spread into the plate, I folded a piece of newsprint and placed my plate on it face up. Next I placed the paper that had been soaked for five minutes on top of the plate, and then I closed the newsprint. I placed it on the press face up and ran it through one time, and I had my prints. I repeated this three times. |
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Reflection
Overall, I am very pleased with this project. The planning of this piece went well, and I liked my planning sketches. The process of carving the plate was pretty difficult. I had to re-carve it, which was tedious because my carvings weren't deep enough. But when I printed, I was pleased with how they turned out. If I were to do this project again, I would add another hand on top of the whale bones, so it there would be more covered space. I would also have spent more time on my sketch and made it look better, because I carved directly over it, and one of the fingers was very thin, and that was an easy thing to fix that I didn't.
I feel more confident with dry point and carving, and the whole printing process, and will definitely continue to use this medium for projects to come in the future. I would like to have had more practice, and the opportunity to do a practice carving. We only were allowed to have one plate, and I would have liked to have been able to experiment a bit more, and if I was able to do that, I wouldn't have had to re-carve the plate. I thought that I had gone deep enough, but then I got another persons opinion and they said I should have carved deeper, and so I did. They were right, the ink would not have appeared at all had I not carved again.
I feel more confident with dry point and carving, and the whole printing process, and will definitely continue to use this medium for projects to come in the future. I would like to have had more practice, and the opportunity to do a practice carving. We only were allowed to have one plate, and I would have liked to have been able to experiment a bit more, and if I was able to do that, I wouldn't have had to re-carve the plate. I thought that I had gone deep enough, but then I got another persons opinion and they said I should have carved deeper, and so I did. They were right, the ink would not have appeared at all had I not carved again.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
My artwork was effected by my inspiration because of the bones in my piece, and I can relate that to the carcass in Francis Bacons "Figure with Meat".
What is the overall approach the author has taken regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author has taken a very grim approach when speaking of Bacons work, because most of his pieces depicted violence and suffering. The research done for the whaling information showed dislike of whaling, and was informative and persuasive to help protest whaling.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching, I have discovered that many people are against whaling, and that many people just don't care about the populations of some marine animals, and that people will always find loopholes so they can continue doing whatever they want.
What is the central theme or idea around your central research?
The central theme around my research was the practice of whaling and why it is a bad thing, as well as Francis Bacon and his works depicting suffering and violence, to go along with the suffering of whales.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Francis Bacon endured many hardships in his life, which allowed him to depict gruesome images. And that while whaling has been recognized and banned because it is cruel and endangering, there is really nothing to be done if a country will consistently find loopholes in laws.
My artwork was effected by my inspiration because of the bones in my piece, and I can relate that to the carcass in Francis Bacons "Figure with Meat".
What is the overall approach the author has taken regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author has taken a very grim approach when speaking of Bacons work, because most of his pieces depicted violence and suffering. The research done for the whaling information showed dislike of whaling, and was informative and persuasive to help protest whaling.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching, I have discovered that many people are against whaling, and that many people just don't care about the populations of some marine animals, and that people will always find loopholes so they can continue doing whatever they want.
What is the central theme or idea around your central research?
The central theme around my research was the practice of whaling and why it is a bad thing, as well as Francis Bacon and his works depicting suffering and violence, to go along with the suffering of whales.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Francis Bacon endured many hardships in his life, which allowed him to depict gruesome images. And that while whaling has been recognized and banned because it is cruel and endangering, there is really nothing to be done if a country will consistently find loopholes in laws.