SW+07+-+Black,+Red+and+White+Tessellation

Black, Red and White Tessellation Size: 29.75 x 23.3 Medium: linocut Month of completion: May 2012 **Description:** This is a linocut of my tessellation. In studio work 4, I made print of this tessellation as well, however, the previous studio work was only black and white. This studio work consists of black, red and white. This was inspired by M.C Escher's work on metamorphosis. I used the colors red, white and black for a reason. Red represents contradiction, white represents honesty and black represents concealment. This relates to my freedom theme. Eventually this will be turned into a metamorphosis where the cats morph into another creature, possibly a bird.

**Analysis:** **What were the artistic and/or cultural influences for this project?** **Who/what influenced either the composition and/or the style.** This was inspired by M.C. Esher's work on metamorphosis and tessellations and his use of woodcuts. I used linocut because it is the most similar to woodcut and it is the most accessible. Also, Escher usually uses multiple colors in his woodcuts, so I decided to try using multiple colors in my linocuts by adding the color red. the cat relates to my culture because in Ancient Egypt, cats were important to the extent where ancient Egyptians worshiped them.

**What materials/media/processes did you use and or experiment with, and how?** I used linocut, which is a block printing technique. To make this print, i had to make at least 10 good quality red prints. Afterwards, i carved every other shape on the linoleum plate. I rolled up black ink over the carved plate and attempted, but failed multiple times, to align the plate to the red print. The reason why i have to align it is because i wanted the areas on the plate that were not carved to overlap the red print so that the black areas only consist of black ink and the red areas only consist of red ink. I had difficulty with the red ink since the texture of the ink was much smoother than the black ink and the overall color is more transparent than the black ink. Therefore, i had to use more red ink.

I had many help from my peers as well as the teacher. The teacher helped me identify with the problems that i encountered, such as ink that could have expired. She sometimes also helped me with alignment when i needed two people to check if the plate was aligned with the red print. Some of my peers also helped me with alignment and some gave criticisms of the different textures created when using different types of paper. More people leaned toward the paper that created a smoother texture. I did actively seek advice and the advice that was given by the teacher as well as my fellow students were useful.
 * How do you think you have responded to advice and criticism during this project (and during the term), both from fellow students and the teacher. Did you actively seek advice? If so, was it useful?**

**Clearly explain the weaknesses/areas for improvement -** Although the colors may be vivid, in some of the areas that should be all black, some red marks were showing. This was possibly because i didn't press on the plate as hard as i should have pressed. Also, the alignment was slightly off. The areas that were black went slightly to the right of the red print.I should have been more careful when aligning the plate on the print.

**Clearly explain the strengths of the piece –** The colors were vivd, meaning the black and the red were not transparent. Also, the quality of the print was higher than expected. The edges of the print were straight, the texture was smooth, print was aligned with the shape of the paper; it was not angled.

**What could you take through to the next project and develop further? This could be anything, from a technique to an idea, not neccessarily just the theme.** For the next project, i would like to deviate my attention away from tessellation and focus on realism. I was thinking of making paintings that look similar to American advertisements in the 50s and early 60s. This piece would be about sexism. This would also relate to my theme of freedom. Women, especially in societies like the Middle East, sometimes feel trapped and thus, they desire freedom. Illustrators used watercolor so this would help improve my skill in water color. Also, i would like to include a tail-less cat which is a reference to a book I read in English called //A Room of One's Own// by Virginia Woolf. A tail-less cat represents how women are degraded in society.