Linoleum block
Paper: Stonehenge and BFK
I had a hard time with the imagery since the destruction of war is
what readily came to mind. I believe everyone innately desires peace,
so I didn't want to focus on the negative, but the ultimate triumph
of the positive.
So I started with some basic symbolism, the gore crow is the traditional
symbol of death and war and the dove is the traditional symbol of life
(Noah's dove returning with a twig) and peace. The gentle dove overshadows
the stronger, but cowering, crow-who holds the arrows of war in his
talons. The image still did not really convey the emotion I was going
for, so I incorporated the organic forms in the background and the undulating
lines under the birds in order to 'ground' them. Together these two
elements gave a vivacious feeling of life unfettered by the destructions
of war.
Originally the composition was square with the eye of the dove in the
focal point, but after pulling the first proof, the birds seemed really
cramped. I then added a rectangular block to the bottom for the organic
shapes there. (Luckily you can't tell it is two blocks instead of one
when it was printed). Which shifted the focal point to acquiescence
of the crow.
Ah, ha! Another triumph!