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Subject: Two More Swimmers for the Pool
Posted by: Pistoles Press

Two more little trilobites have come to join the block printing party. I uploaded the sketch of Kolithapeltis early (http://pistolespress.blogspot.com/2009/02/camera-crippled.html) on when I was designing the block images. Its head still looks like an old electrolux vacuum cleaner but the shape of its body continued to stick in my mind as I readied to carve. Something was not quite right and I couldn't put my finger on it. As I waded around the internet for photos of this animal I began to see that my haste to render the animals end as a soft fin like structure (as in a fish) was contorting its back spines out of proportion. From what I can guess the paddle-like end of the creature was probably more like a finger nail or the shells of soft shell crabs; flexible and soft but still tough and able to retain a solid shape. I retooled the image to make the back paddle take on more of a disk shape and it complimented the habit of its back spines much better. With its sweeping head spines it looks ready to zoom around the shallows like a prehistoric catfish! Hollardrops reminds me of a little tank as its plates and spines were more on the thick side and less refined. I wanted to emphasize its back shell with its scalloped protrusions but I'm not sure that this pose achieved that. I had fun rendering the bulbous folds of its face, though, and I doubt that it will turn out to be a bad print. I am so addicted to the way a block looks when freshly carved with its bright orange lines. I almost hate to put ink on it but I know that the rewards afterwards will be many! I can't wait to see how they print up!

This item is taken from the blog Pistoles Press.
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Subject: Iris Study #1--First State
Posted by: Robert Simola

4" x 5" wood engraving on Stonehenge paper with Graphic Chemical Bone Black ink After just fifty years of carving, I finally have a tool that will actually put that mythical razor-sharp edge on my carving tools. My gravers cut much better when they have been polished with the 3600 sandpaper on my new Work Sharp machine. It may be the wrong time of year to start a series of iris engravings, but I have some iris drawings in my sketch book, and there are actually some irises blooming in the garden at the end of our driveway, and if I am quick I will be able to gather some more drawings before they remember it's fall and not spring. And if I'm not quick about gathering their images, then my projected series of iris prints may find themselves waiting for spring.

This item is taken from the blog Robert Simola.
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Subject: More Owls? and some new stuff as well.

This item is taken from the blog Against the grain.
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