A Different Kind of Self-Portrait

In this video, we look at a Thomas Nason print entitled Engraving A Block.  Despite its minimal qualities (and size, at 1 1/2 x 2 1/8" it's the smallest print in our Thomas Nason exhibition), I think it speaks volumes of Nason's sense of self.  In the print Nason represents his own two hands, at work, cutting a block.  All of the images in this video are on view in The Road Less Traveled: Thomas Nason's Rural New England, along with Nason's own tools and blocks.

The Flip Side of Nason

In the current Thomas Nason exhibition I've pointed out the modern elements incorporated into several of Nason's prints. I knew I was on the right track when I was able to examine some of his wood blocks up close. I thought the blocks would help to explain the process of printmaking and wanted to include a number of them in the show. I was very surprised to find that some blocks revealed a "flip side" to Nason's aesthetic. On one face of the block was a a typical landscape or farm scene, but on the other side. . .  well, let's just say the imagery leans more toward the Dada or Pop Art styles. This video explains what I mean.

Wood Engraving Explained

Tammi helped me make this video to explain the process of wood engraving. The blocks shown in the video are two versions of Birches on for the cover and one for the title page of Robert Frost's 1959 volume You Come Too.