Block Print Block Print Ink on Drawing Paper Size March 2019
Exhibition Text
Environmental Rays is a block print inspired by Eugène Delacroix's Orphan Girl at the Cemetery and Romanticism. It focuses on themes such as nature and destruction.
Inspiration
Eugène Delacroix was a famous painter of the Romanticism period. The Romanticism period focused on detail as well as meanings such as emotion, ruins, and nature.
Eugène Delacroix Orphan Girl at the Cemetery 1823-1824
I plan to incorporate the girl, her expression, and the way she is facing. I also want to include the same amount of sky, about two-thirds of the plate.
Planning Sketches
Notes that I took when the project was introduced
The first sketch that I did that I ultimately ended up going with. In the final piece I took aspects from my second sketch such as the rays and the holes.
This was the second sketch I made, the lines representing sun rays and the holes in the sky are meant to represent holes in the ozone that are affecting the environment negatively. I also attempted to draw fire but did not like how it turned out so I decided not to include it in the final piece.
Experimentation
I made a total of five prints, the first ones were too light and some of them had texture or little spots where there was no ink. I decided to add more ink each time to see if I could get rid of the texture and make the ink more opaque for a better contrast.
Process
First, I drew out my piece onto the linoleum plate, combining aspects from both of my sketches.
I carved out the lines in the linoleum plate. It was difficult with the tools that I had since they were not so sharp.
I gathered my materials for the actual print, including the ink tray, the drawing paper, the block print ink, the baren, the roller, and a palette knife for the ink.
I placed ink on the tray with the palette knife and rolled it out with the roller.
I transferred the ink from the roller onto the linoleum plate.
I put the drawing paper on top of the linoleum plate and used the baren to rub the ink onto the paper.
I then did this four more times until I got my final block print.
Reflection
Compare &Contrast
Environmental Rays
Eugène Delacroix Orphan Girl at the Cemetery 1823-1824
Similarities
Both pieces include a girl looking up to the right side.
Include a nature landscape .
In both pieces, the sky is a big aspect of the artwork.
Differences
The girl is in the foreground in Delacroix's piece, while my piece has the girl placed in the mid-ground.
Orphan Girl at the Cemetery includes much more detail than my piece.
Environmental Rays focuses more on the loss of nature whereas Delacroix's piece focuses more on the loss of a loved one.
Critique
Overall, I'm not that impressed with how my piece turned out. It was difficult to carve the linoleum with my own tools since they were not that sharp and I would have to press down hard. At times, the carving tool would slip and carve a line that was unintentional. I like how the actual ink turned out and the contrast but I with the lines could have been more crisp. If I'd do this project again, I would make the holes in the sky differently because they resemble clouds which does not send the message that I want it to.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork? Delacroix's meaning behind his piece inspired me to go with a similar theme but with a twist. Instead of an orphan, the piece focuses around the world and environment and its slow destruction.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author describes the piece and its formal qualities. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
A conclusions that I came to about Romanticism is that one of its themes consists of nature and the natural, fitting perfectly with my piece. It also deals with extreme mental states, which I imagine is what the girl is going through in Delacroix's piece.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspirational research is nature and how the Earth is slowly becoming more damaged overtime due to human selfishness.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While reading my research, I inferred that maybe at his time, there were diseases or sicknesses that caused many to die, hence the orphan girl all alone at the cemetery without another loved one.