I sent out the rest of this year’s Christmas cards, which use a small block print that I call “Holy Infant.” Technically, I guess it would be considered a wood engraving, since it was cut on the endgrain, but it seems far too primitive for that description, since I used a tool more suited to a woodcut (sidegrain), the piece of wood itself left a lot to be desired (from a quality standpoint), and the actual printing process was a crude affair using old stamp-pad ink. Nevertheless, the rustic effect pleased me, and it was just a limited experiment anyway. It just heightens my desire to do some proper printmaking, using a true engraver’s tool, with one of the good maple blocks I bought over a year ago from Wesley Bates.
Archive for the ‘Craftsmanship’ Category
So tender and mild
Friday, December 23rd, 2005It’s a grand slam
Tuesday, December 6th, 2005Dana and I decided to just go all the way with a “biopic grand slam,” and so we borrowed “Ray” from the library. Every so often I watch an Oscar-winner at work (Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas” comes to mind) and I think, “Is this truly a performance that deserved an Academy Award?” This was definitely not one of those times. I’ll leave it to others more gifted than me to characterize Jamie Foxx’s phenomenal achievement.
As far as the movie goes, it makes “Beyond the Sea” look anemic by comparison—the difference between an obvious indie project and a big commercial picture with the highest production values. “Ray” is one of the best sounding Hollywood products in recent memory. The sound mixers deserved their awards every bit as much as the lead actor. Superbly directed, designed, and edited, the film is a technical masterpiece, but was it a better picture than “Million Dollar Baby?” No—because Clint delivers the full package that your heart is yearning for when you choose a movie like this. “Ray” has its moments—quite a few, and they’re exceptional—but failed to sustain a deep emotional connection for me. I cared more about whether Johnny Cash overcame his addiction in “Walk the Line,” and I really don’t think it was a function of who Ray Charles was or how good a job Jamie Foxx did.
I’ll continue to contemplate the similarities and contrasts of the four musical biographies I’ve discussed in my last two entries, and why one or another excelled in a particular area. In any case, each one of them is well worth the time, but now I plan to accept a couple new assignments in the spare-time department—the complete “Firefly” collection plus an early Paul Watkins novel…
I’d like to do more of this
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005The precision of certain activities has a strong appeal for me—creating fine typography, fishing for king salmon, engraving wood for printing… and now I can add reloading ammunition to the list, which I did for the first time tonight with David, in his gun room. I’m not mechanically inclined enough to fix engines nor meticulous enough in my logic to write code, but there are aspects of the shooting sports that demand an exactitude which I can manage. I found it satisfying to balance all the parameters and tolerances in order to hold a finished .44 Magnum cartridge in my hand.