Note: I may have done this all wrong, but this post begins at the BOTTOM...
Only when it was too late, did my thinking get hung up on the fact that 1) it is just one color, 2) I couldn't really think how to get the kind of blending one can get with say smudging, washes, or in the case of quiltmaking, added stitching; and 3) my quilt making practice involves adding images, quilting or embroidery at different stages. This B&W thing is, well, black and white.
So here is the woodcut so far.
BIG INK wouldn't release the instruction videos it offers until acceptance, so I was working largely in the dark. But based on the release of two initial videos about what wood to use and why, I realized that I had to order shina - from the West coast, at considerable expense. But I'm glad I did, because it IS easier on my hands. A week later BIG INK released the rest of its videos, and based on that I did more tests.
Upon acceptance I made a giant bench hook from my scrap pile.
Felt I needed to deal with all the white space, so imagining cut lines made by not carving out all the background, this is what I submitted.
Then I looked for shina plywood, which is commonly preferred by woodcutters, but the closest source I could find was at Dick Blick which sold "craft" plywood. It was easier, but still had problems with the detail I wanted. I debated whether to submit or not with these dubious results, but I took the plunge. Change is good, no?
However, before I decided to actually submit, I wanted to see how my idea would actually carve. Found some woodcutting videos onlne, had some scrap finish plywood on hand so I started on that to test out some of the images I wanted to use. As it splintered easily I had to cut with a knife around the edges for a clean line, which was hard on my hand.
Then I opened the photo in Procreate on my iPad, cleaned up the shadows and added some loopy lines.
Last year I was invited to submit a design for a giant black and white woodcut by BIG INK, a roving large print organization that brings its giant press to various venues. I saw that it was coming to Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center in Hyattsville, MD in November 2019 so I thought I'd give it a try. I was busy all year with working on my art inventory but I kept thinking about BIG INK's September 9 submission deadline. Finally I set the inventory aside in August and began designing, in the way that I do, with scanned, photographed, traced images as well as a rogue drawing. I printed and pinned these on the wall and shot it with my phone.