Potato fun

I'm still waiting for my package from Dick Blicks. This gave me an opportunity to find other alternatives to print making options. I intentionally saved a small potato from the soup pot two days ago. It was in the Girl Scouts as a pre-teen when I first had my printing experience. I had forgotten how rewarding it feels to use an organic object to create art as I carved the soft flesh of my potato.

The beauty of using a potato is you have two halves to work with so if the first half does not meet your expectations you have another side to use. The vegetable also makes a great cheap alternative to a woodblock.

I chose a simple design using a gourd pot I own as the subject. I wanted to use less negative space which would also highlight the shape of the potato.

I think in retrospect I should have used a fresher and more firm potato. The smaller grooves or small holes I wanted to add to the pot design did not show up on the final prints. My hunch is the smaller cuts would have been clearer if the potato flesh was harder.

The second half I carved out more negative space but liked the shape of the potato therefor left the edges of the vegetable untouched. The flower design was simple enough and no fine cutting was needed to show on the print.

I really liked how this turned out. Earlier I had found postcard sized 165lbs hot pressed paper in the art closet. They are wonderful and at the time when purchased (1990) the Jack Richeson & Co., Inc. had manufactured them. These postcards where the right size for the invitations I was going to create for a house party. So I got to inking and below are the results.

All in all I think it was a good day in the art room. I'm thinking of using a sweet potato next time as they tend to have a more interesting shape to play with as well as having firmer flesh to carve.

Today was a beautiful sunny day and today's Daily Shot reflects the season.