Ash Round
Ash log, Charcoal Printmaking. 2022
Beautifully straight grained Ash log I cleaved into slices. As a city dweller, using wood in the round (a tree trunk) isn't something I've grown up doing and I really like the way it makes explicit the relationship between trees and timber, which can sometimes become quite divorced when considering wooden objects.
I then charred the log on an open fire, like traditional methods of Yaki-Suki, without the need for propane gas, capturing a natural aspect of the Carbon cycle. From the charred dust of the log I made charcoal crayons to make the subsequent rubbings / prints.
The geometry of using wood in the round, forced me to explore the relationship between the object and the resulting composition of the prints. Folding the paper sequentially through the log, resulting in a long sectional print of the log, sandwiching the material and taking 1:1 scale markings off each face, and on both sides of the paper. Like a fax machine, scanning and printing the inner composition of a tree.
This work was completed during an Open Studio residency, at Haystack Mountain School Of Craft, in Maine. With special thanks to Josh at Haystack for gifting me this piece of wood from his garden.
