Birds in the Bird Cherry

The Bird Cherry tree is dripping with red fruit.

 

The blackbirds love them. So do the wasps. I have picked some to cook with quite a bit of sugar, then to freeze, to bring a little August sunshine to the dark days of Winter.

These are some print trials for “August” in my “Bird Cherry Year” project. At this time of year the greens are dark and saturated but so far I have lightened the green to get the cherries to print. I may add some highlights on the cherries but they are not very shiny. Its more of a a sheen, along with the dusky bloom of these cherry/plums.

Many more trials to come. So far these are just tests, printed with cheap water-based inks. The better quality inks will look quite different.  I think it will be well into November before I can consider printing them all as a set.

Blackbirds and Birdcherries

Some (late) Spring Bees

In between things I am continuing with recording what happens to the Bird Cherry this year in print. The idea is to be able to make a small book. Rather than rely on photos I am waiting until things happen to the tree so I can make some observations from life.

In the Spring with the first blossoms came the bees. I have had the plate cut for ages and only now got round to printing some trials. I combine the plates so it’s a slow and uncertain process. here are the first ones.

This one is the nearest to what I need.. I wont be able to print the set until much later in the year. So plenty of variations to come.

Spring Blossom

In my garden the wild cherries are blossoming at last. The wild cherry is my tree following tree for this year. They were chopped back severely in the winter but still they are covered in the tiny pretty white flowers. The bees love them which is one of the few good reasons to have this tree is your garden.

As part of the tree following project I am intending to make a small print based on a twig of the cherry each month, to reflect the changes of the seasons. I have images for Jan and Feb when nothing much happened although in Feb there was snow. In early March the buds started to swell, followed  last week by the white blossom. Already some of the petals are falling in these strong March winds. So March will be the buds and April will be blossom and bees.

Eventually I hope to bind them in into a small book so the printing has had to be carefully worked out with a registration plate and each of the printing plates cut approximately to size. The project is really a vehicle to try out different print techniques on a small scale.

These are a few of Jan Feb and March trials… nothing quite working well enough yes but good practice.

The white flowers are giving me a problem because I need to use the white paper for the white. White ink is not very satisfactory unless really opaque. It might work better if slightly tinted. But I am using quite thin translucent layers so am persevering with the cut away shapes ( very fiddly and patience trying).
Some first proofs with various colour trials

 

Printmaking is pure alchemy, every combination throws up new possibilities. Frustrating and rewarding in equal measure. This year is all about experimentation in print, bookmaking and in developing ideas for the coursework.

It is all equally frustrating and fascinating!