Pine Tree Studios of New England

Based on my extended family's reaction to the last gnome, I've started a couple more with wood that M. Paul Ward gave me sometime last year. They are just about two feet tall. 2022 spalted New England Basswood, unfinished/in progress

Decided to add a coat of stain after the painting and before finishing.   The base was added for stability and is made from a block of pine that was destined for the fire as it had multiple large knots, including one that was 3 inches around. As carving stock, the wood was unusable, but as a base it adds some character to a piece that is already saying quite a bit. 2022 Eastern White Pine, polychromed, stained, polyurethane finish

Further exploring the woodcut techniques I discussed with Don Gorvett on New Year's Day. The design is from an initial from a long out of print version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales from sometime in the 1800s. The plywood is at least 10 years old and had been exposed to the elements for a good part of that time.  The first layer of ply is brittle and friable that requires the tools to be at their sharpest.  Complicating matters is that the ply had become abrasive due to it's exposure.   My thought was that these flaws would help created a natural aged look in the prints.  I will likely need to use some sort of sizing to stabilize the final surface before I make any prints. 2022, unknown plywood, in progress.

 Taking advantage of the cold weather to stay inside and make more progress on the gnome. Eastern white pine, 2022, polychromed

 New Year's Day 2022 I spent some time in Portsmouth, NH and had a nice conversation with  Don Gorvett  in his gallery there. Don is a master at the reduction woodcut, which is a labor-intensive method for creating a woodcut with multiple color layers and his gallery is a wondrous place where you can't help coming away with renewed enthusiasm and inspiration. The woodcut below is not a reduction woodcut, just a flat woodcut in some thin plywood recycled from packing material that I used to explore a new process for making them.  The results are a bit inconsistent, but I know why and I look forward to experimenting further. 2022, Plywood (unknown species/recycled packing material) and paper.  Green printer's ink.

 At over a yard tall, this gnome is one of my larger projects. The stock is a single air-dried 3 inch thick pine board harvested locally.  It was roughed in with a chainsaw and the initial shaping was done with Arbortech tools .  The final shaping is being done with gouges and chisels. I plan to stain and paint it when the shaping is complete.  The cracks and checks from the air drying process will be left as is. Eastern White Pine, 2021/2022, no finish (in process)