The larger blocks on the bottom will be the background image, then about 3/16″ in front will be the top image cut around to reveal the background and give the triptych a depth that will make the viewer feel like they are in the garden. It will fold out to three sections.
I plan on using my etching press to print the images and hope for some additional depth by way of deeply pressed images. And then it will be a matter of getting them cut just right and designing the book to accommodate the three sections. Then the cover material and the closure that will likely be a trimming from one of the Japanese maples out front.
If nothing else, I am learning my limitations and need for further practice, or instruction, on the craft of carving wood blocks. But the sound of the tool removing the wood is an addictive sound….scritch, scritch, scritch….something like that. More on this work as I proceed.
Next week I will write a bit about the trip for the North Carolina Soils and Conservation International Conference in Greensboro. All those watercolors I made for it are drying nicely.
And a small note on the last blog about Teaching Workshops. Some people have actually said they are flattered to be copied, others that they find it pretty disheartening, but the vast majority are like twenty-five years ago…..quite silent. But thank you to those who have at least passed it on.