02 June 2008

Three Prophets. Now What?



The title of this triptych has evolved into "Three Prophets." Here's a composite of the three prints, none of the shots well-lit or well-taken but it shows how they all look together. Tomorrow I'm taking them to my favorite local photographer, Stephen Petegorsky, to have proper photos taken.

It was only my love of this concept that got me through the making of these prints. The carving on these was grueling. I didn't keep careful track, but I would guess that I spent at least 80 hours (probably more) just on carving for each print. The whole thing from start to finish took nearly 8 months, a huge commitment for me. I think that I may sell a few of them individually, but for the most part I want to sell them as a set. I think they work best that way.

One of the things I was curious about at the beginning of this project was what, if anything, each geography might reveal about the religion that was born there. I did find some resonances. The watery/wind-like shapes of the land around Bethlehem reminds me of Christianity's mysterious Holy Spirit; Mecca's roads leading to the city center emphasize the role of pilgrimage in Islam; and the perfect rectangle of the garden in Nepal where Buddha is said to have been born echoes the promise of enlightenment. I'm very happy with these prints, and one set will have a place of honor on my living room wall.

What's next???

Well, over the next couple of days I'm going to be using moku hanga for a commercial client for the first time. Part of the work will be digital, too, but the basis of it will be a print-- a map for Wall Street Journal Asia. I'll show it to you after it goes to print in mid-June.

And after that I have a new series of map-based prints in the planning stages that I'll be working on over the summer. There might be four or six prints in this upcoming series, I'm not sure yet.

15 comments:

Diane Cutter said...

Stunning, Annie... I've throughly enjoyed the process of each individual piece but seeing them together is breathtaking. Congratulations! It was work well worth it!

TheGruche said...

Wow, Annie. Congratulations. I was hpoing you would post all 3 together - they look great. You can can definitely see the labor that went into them! They sort of make me think of medieval tapestries.

Sharri said...

Outstanding - they are fabulous whether apart or together, but as a triptich they leave me breathless. You can be very proud of your accomplishment. This just proves my Mother's old saying that if you are going to spend the time doing something it is worth doing it well, and you did.

mizu designs said...

once again a stunning final print for the set of 3! loved your interview on printsy.

JaKo said...

My congratulations , it is really stunning work ! I look at the process almost every day but now when I seeing at it , all three together..that´s a powerfully impression.

heliotrope said...

Annie...I have silently followed your blog since late '06...it has provided a tremendous amount of inspiration and info...I had to finally break my silent ways when you posted your 3 prophets side by side...stunning. I can't thank you enough for sharing your process with me. As always, I look forward to next creation.

Leslie Moore said...

Annie--I am so glad I've found your blog! I just took a one-day block printing course from Siri Beckman at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and I'm mad about woodblock carving. I'm going to read your blog from start to finish, but I just got a new set of tools from McClain's and I'm dying to get my hands on them. Your triptich is lovely! And I love your first woodblock print, the leaping dog!

Annie B said...

Thank you so much, everyone. I really appreciate the comments. Thanks Heliotrope05 for adding your "voice" after all these years. Nice to meet you. Hi to Leslie, too. Look out if you got bitten by the woodblock bug!

Eraethil said...

Huge commitment but WELL worth it! Beautiful result that is very evocative of the inspiration behind it. And thanks very much for sharing the process.

Steve Emery said...

As beautiful as I'd imagined, and the full impact only comes across when they're all together. Thanks for showing us - and I hope you let us see the "good" photograph of them once you get it taken. These are worth seeing again.

Wabbit said...

Incredible, stunning art, Annie. They look perfect. Congratulations on your achievement.

Celia Hart said...

These look fantastic together - what an achievement, all that careful cutting! And registering those big sheets of paper - well done!

I think complex block prints need depth of meaning otherwise one's interest would flag before the first block is cut.

Celia

Annie B said...

Thank you everyone.
I'm still resting :)

Unknown said...

I've been reading your blog over the last months since I was stunned to have found it by chance when first browsing the blogger site. It's wonderful to see this triptich on screen having read your progress. Thanks for such an inspirational blog. Love it. With best wishes.

Anonymous said...

It's a fantastic set, Annie; your labours have brought off something truly exceptional.