BLOCK PRINT |
TITLE: Buddhism
SIZE: 30.3 cm by 22.8 cm MEDIUM: Block Print COMPLETION: August 29, 2023 EXHIBITION TEXT
The title of this piece is called “Buddhism” which is a religion. The title is Buddhism since it represents my family and my religion. This artwork represents what my family believes in, but also its culture. Buddhism is an important aspect of my family's lives. My family appreciates this religion as it overcomes our fears, suffering, and desires. It also teaches us about being fair to one another. This religion has taught me and my family in many ways, such as how to respect each other and help others. The overall meaning of Buddhism is it is a goal to become cultured and to reach the objective of getting rid of all of the suffering by releasing all the effects of karma in order to accomplish our dreams and desires.
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INSPIRATION
ARTIST NAME: Faith Stone
Faith Stone is the artist I used as my inspiration. My interest in and inspiration from Faith Stone's work was sparked by the numerous block prints and woodblock prints of Buddha she has produced. When I discovered Faith Stone's block prints of Buddha, I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve with my own block print regarding Buddhism. Because Buddhism is my faith and I wanted to showcase something that reflected my culture, I also wanted to sketch a Buddha for my block print. The titles of all of Faith Stone's Buddhist block prints or woodblock prints are the same, but the images and backgrounds of the Buddha vary. Her woodblock print and block print differ from one another. Despite sharing the same name called "Mountain Medicine Buddha" the two artworks I was most drawn to each had different styles of prints. While the block print only uses black and white, the colored one is a woodblock print that allows you to use a variety of colors. The concept of the "Mountain Medicine Buddha" is self-healing. Since her block print was the first piece of art I had ever seen and was most inspired by, I decided to create a block print version for this project.nI was quite impressed with how meticulously she crafted even the tiniest details into her work. She works very hard, and I can tell that she pays close attention to detail to make her subject stand out. Her piece is well-represented by the title of her artwork, which also gives you a hint as to what the piece will be about. Her artwork truly moved me, and I wanted to include some of her intricacies into my own work as well. As you can see from her work, she frequently employs line, color, texture, and value among other aesthetic components. She also inspired me to add similar artistic elements into my own work because of the elements she chose. The concepts of art that Faith also applies to her work are variety and balance. You can notice the harmony between the diversity of color and the level of detail she uses in both of her artworks, "Mountain Medicine Buddha." Faith Stone's artwork is quite distinctive, and after doing some research on it and the religion Buddhism, I was able to come up with ideas for my own artwork that is both inspired by and incorporates Buddhism.
PLANNING
For the first part of planning I was drawing the different monks. I sketched a few to see which drawing would fit best for the final outcome of the art piece. The sketches that were drawn on here are from most of the monks' posters and sculptures that I have in my home. I decided I wanted to draw a monk for my artwork as it represents my religion.
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The second part of planning I sketched a few things that I wanted in the background. I did this so the block print I will be creating won't look empty. I wanted to incorporate things in the background so that way everything doesn't look empty, but also because I wanted to add something that highlights Buddhism.
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The last part of planning is the whole outline of the final art piece. This planning is exactly how I want my final artwork to look. I chose this final artwork as I thought it represents my religion pretty well. This final drawing of the Buddha is from one of the posters my family owns and I did this because I wanted to present something from my family and culture. I chose to do a block print about Buddhism because I wanted to represent something that is a part of my culture and something that I appreciate.
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EXPERIMENTATION
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PROCESS
PROCESS
Once I completed my planning I took my last sketch (the whole outline of my final art piece) and flipped it to the back where there is no drawing. I flip it so I can color the back by using a pencil. I chose to do this method so I can transfer my final sketch onto the block print and I also did this to speed up the process. After I was done coloring and transferring my sketch I then took the paper of my sketch and decided to color and write where I wanted to carve so that way I don't make any mistakes when I start to carve.
Once I completed my planning I took my last sketch (the whole outline of my final art piece) and flipped it to the back where there is no drawing. I flip it so I can color the back by using a pencil. I chose to do this method so I can transfer my final sketch onto the block print and I also did this to speed up the process. After I was done coloring and transferring my sketch I then took the paper of my sketch and decided to color and write where I wanted to carve so that way I don't make any mistakes when I start to carve.
Once I was done with outlining where I wanted to carve, I then did the same thing with my block print. After everything was done I started to carve my block print. When I was carving some part were difficult to carve out since it had a very thin line that I didn't want to carve out because I want it to have ink on that part. Another difficulty that occurred while I was carving was accidentally carving the part where it wasn't supposed to be carved. Besides those difficulties I was still able to complete the carving process and I thought it turned out pretty decent.
EXPERIMENTATION
Once I was done carving I then grab all the materials I need to transfer the block print onto the final product, but before I transferred the block print onto the final product I decided to experiment first. I grabbed a bunch of paper and decided to put ink on my block print so I can transfer it onto the paper. I did this so I can see which part needed to be carved out more, but also because I needed to see which part could use more ink. I wanted to do this experiment first because I didn't want to mess up the final artwork.
Below are the pictures of my block print that didn't turn out well
Once I was done carving I then grab all the materials I need to transfer the block print onto the final product, but before I transferred the block print onto the final product I decided to experiment first. I grabbed a bunch of paper and decided to put ink on my block print so I can transfer it onto the paper. I did this so I can see which part needed to be carved out more, but also because I needed to see which part could use more ink. I wanted to do this experiment first because I didn't want to mess up the final artwork.
Below are the pictures of my block print that didn't turn out well
While I was experimenting I saw many repetitions of when I transferred the block print onto the papers. I saw that many of the outcome either had too much ink or not a lot of ink. I kept repeating the same method of transferring the paper because it was the best method for me that I felt comfortable using. The method that I used was having a large paper on the bottom so I can place my block on top (I did this in order to not get ink all over the place) and then I used an ink tray to put my ink. Once I put my ink on the ink tray I then used a brayer so I can transfer it onto my block print. After I put the ink on the block print I then put a paper on top of the print and used a baren to apply pressure so the ink can transfer onto the paper. When I did this method I had to repeat it over and over since every time I did it, it didn't get to the results I wanted. It was either too much ink or not a lot of ink.
As you can see from above many of the block prints didn't turn out well. They either had too much ink or less ink. This kept happening multiple times and I kind of felt frustrated. To get it to the way I wanted it to look I used about 16 papers.
Here are some other pictures I took of the block print that didn't turn out well.
The picture below is how the final product turned out
The name of this piece is "Buddhism" as the figure drawn is of a Buddhist
The name of this piece is "Buddhism" as the figure drawn is of a Buddhist
Above is the final product in different lightings
REFLECTION
I was proud of how decent the final product of my block print was. I thought that I was able to represent my family religion very well. Even though I thought the final art piece looked decent I do wish that I added more to the background since it kind of looked a little empty. I do wish that I added more elements that would represent the religion Buddhism. Throughout this project I encountered many difficulties especially when I was carving. While I was carving I would accidentally carve some parts where it wasn’t supposed to be carved. Another difficulty that I encountered was not getting to the way I wanted it to look like. I had to use many papers since it either had too much ink especially in the middle or little ink. What I was happy about this project was doing something that I was able to represent about my family and culture. If I were to do this project again I would add more detail to the block print or make the Buddha that I drew much bigger and consider how many amount of ink I needed. Overall I thought the final product looked decent.
CRITIQUE
DIFFERENCES
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SIMILARITIES
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CONNECTION TO ACT QUESTION
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The cause of my inspiration was the subject the artist chose to carve and draw and it had an effect on mine since I was also thinking of doing the same subject since it represents my religion.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach regarding the topic of my inspiration was to create something that represents my culture, my family and our beliefs.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching my inspiration I saw that many artists come from different cultures and have different beliefs and they are able to show the audience that in there own way by creating an art piece.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspiration research is culture. I wanted to create something that represents my culture and my family.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The inferences I made while reading and looking at my research is culture. I wanted to show the audience that there is more than one culture you may not even know about.
The cause of my inspiration was the subject the artist chose to carve and draw and it had an effect on mine since I was also thinking of doing the same subject since it represents my religion.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach regarding the topic of my inspiration was to create something that represents my culture, my family and our beliefs.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching my inspiration I saw that many artists come from different cultures and have different beliefs and they are able to show the audience that in there own way by creating an art piece.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my inspiration research is culture. I wanted to create something that represents my culture and my family.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The inferences I made while reading and looking at my research is culture. I wanted to show the audience that there is more than one culture you may not even know about.
CITATION
MLA FORMAT
- “Faithstoneart.” Faithstoneart.com, faithstoneart.com/home.html. Accessed 29 Aug. 2023.
- “Mountain Medicine Buddha - Woodblock Print by Faith Stone.” Lion’s Roar, store.lionsroar.com/products/mountain-medicine-buddha-faith-stone. Accessed 29 Aug. 2023.