Diary...progress and comments

Saturday, 25 August

We have visitors here evening as well as daytime. The sunset can be wonderful, and the sound of the wildlife is what can only be described as loud. I picked up a hitch-hiker on my bag this evening, who jumped around onto my suitcase, before I managed to guide it out.

Cricket on my suitcase

I suppose Disney has made me very tolerant of crickets, and the poor thing just sprang about – then out, after having its photo taken. I haven’t managed to photograph the bats at all, too quick. Nicole told me they were going crazy with the dragonflies over the pool the other evening.

Saturday again and the place is crowded with people following the flag-carrying guides. They wander around taking pictures, plenty of all ages visit here, although the largest portion must be young people.

Inside of breakfast dumpling

It was a last minute breakfast for me this morning, pick and go, which I ate in my studio, the round dumpling style cake with a boiled egg. Suits me fine. Water from the cooler in my studio, and I am set up for the day.

Workwise – my plan

(Saturday after lunch)

I am about to start printing the detailed cut of the woodblock this afternoon. Then I can cut the areas away further and print again tomorrow evening perhaps. Otherwise I am going to have problems with the prints drying.

UPDATE.. got those all printed. Also have started cutting for the next print colour.

I plan to have a greenish foliage then perhaps some hints of colour for the creatures. As the technician showed me how to effectively print more than one colour at a time (I made a mess with my first attempt) it may not take me more than a couple of evenings. Then do I put the litho on as I originally planned? We will see.

I also need to finish etching the etching. I will draw into the ‘ground’ that the technician applied for me, then I can put it into the acid and time it myself. I will re-etch more than once before I take the ground off so that I can take a print.

UPDATE... Sunday's tasks above and below… they should take turns with my time.. while the plate is biting I can work on drawing the films.

Finally, over today and tomorrow I should draw the colours that would go onto the sleeping girl lithograph, that is presently only printed in sepia.

That’s my weekend organised! I just have to complete the list of work now.

It has been a busy day and the village has been full of visitors too, the people have been working in the fields, they look like the equivalent of allotments but I don’t know.

So on with work - next week (my last), I can continue to print the etching early in the week, and also perhaps work on some collages from the pieces of colour and texture I have. I just need to make sure that I have the correct glue – once again a little bit of an issue with explaining, although a demonstration of what I want to do seems always to solve the problem thank goodness.

I know that at the end of the week I will need to start signing and numbering editions, making sure they are perfect and also packable. Plenty to do, not much time though. I would also like to visit Shenzhen, I am told is a large clean city, and would like to see it. Only if I have the rest of my work complete, so I had better get on!