Another Escher Relief - "Day & Night"

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Pallin
Well this is certainly going to be interesting. Have you thought of doing the fields in different woods to get the colours, Running the grain in different directions could give the impression of sown crops and would give you the field border lines you want in the piece. Just a thought.

[pallin]

I am seriously thinking of using overlays for all parts of the vertical joint separating light from dark. For the farm fields those overlays may be quite thin, quickly merging with the fields carved into the back panel. In the upper part the centerline cuts through both light & dark birds, so they need to be fitted together like intarzia. The overlay birds may be 1/8" thick over the centerline, increasing to 3/4" thick at the outermost birds.

The back panel will be walnut & poplar with the grain running lengthwise, The woods will be joined in the endgrain by tongue & groove. I usually reinforce these large reliefs with two hardwood strips crossgrain on the back.

Sky&Water4.jpgThis was the glue-up for "Sky & Water I"

Also, I'm planning what features are carved into the back panel. Should the waterways become the deepest parts of this relief? How does the horizon line affect the relief? Is there a horizon on the dark side? All this (and more) before the first cut.

[pallin]

I have the wood now. The overall dimension will be 25" x 15" - with maximum thickness of 1-1/2"

[woodburner807]

Looking forward to the progress and finished piece. Sure is a large one.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hehe well that is going to keep you busy for some time. Will look forward to progress reports.

[Arthur C.]

Phil, seems like veneers would be a natural for the fields.

[pallin]

Phil, seems like veneers would be a natural for the fields.

Yes, but I plan to make this relief, so there may be hills and valleys in the farm fields.
The areas where the overlays will be applied must be flat of course. The high relief birds, for example, will have at least an oval base where mounted to the underlying base. They will be mounted with screws from the back if over 1/4" thick.

[pallin]

I have the wood now. The overall dimension will be 25" x 15" - with maximum thickness of 1-1/2"

The maximum thickness will only be where the two birds of greatest relief overlay the background at the upper left and right. Most of this carving will be 3/4" thick.

[pallin]

Arthur - Sorry if I seemed to brush aside your suggestion of veneers for the farm fields. There are six rows of light figures & six rows of dark figures (figures = birds or fields). Counting from the top, note that the borders of the farm fields in row 4 are irregular. Those irregularities could be caused by hills or depressions in the terrain. If I carve in those terrain features, the variations in color will have to be stained.
It is still being planned - not a single cut has been made yet. Thanks for your thoughtful analysis.

Phil

[Randy]

[QUOTE=pallin;n1183656]Randy - The staining of these relief carvings is similar to the carving process, that is, it is "subtractive." When carving we are removing the wood that is not part of our vision of the final form. When staining, I seal the smooth carving to make it possible to wipe off unwanted stain. Then I brush on gel stain mainly to get it into incised lines, textures, and undercuts. I remove (wipe off) the stain from surface where I don't want it. I can even scrape off dry stain as in the celestial objects in this relief:

Thanks pallin! I will have to give that a try.

[Arthur C.]

Arthur - Sorry if I seemed to brush aside your suggestion of veneers for the farm fields. There are six rows of light figures & six rows of dark figures (figures = birds or fields). Counting from the top, note that the borders of the farm fields in row 4 are irregular. Those irregularities could be caused by hills or depressions in the terrain. If I carve in those terrain features, the variations in color will have to be stained.
It is still being planned - not a single cut has been made yet. Thanks for your thoughtful analysis.

Phil

Kind of you to say that, Phil, but I didn't get the impression you brushed aside my suggestion...I look at suggestions as merely food for thought, stimulation for the imagination...taken for what they're worth, LOL!

Looking forward to developments!

[pallin]

Well here we go! This is the full size pattern for the carving. The vertical white lines are the edges of the multiple printer copies to achieve the size. I have glued up the light half (poplar) of the carving blank. The dark piece will be black walnut from the same salvaged bookshelves as the recent "White Cat" carving. The two color blank will be overlaid with cutouts for fifteen of the birds that are flying over contrasting farm fields. There will also be overlays of the farm fields split by the center line. Overall dimensions - 26" x 15-1/8"

DN1b.jpg
The "Sky & Water" carvings in the background show how the bird overlays will appear on the background scene. This is Escher's "Day & Night," a woodcut from February 1938.

[Glenn Jennings]

That will be one heck of a challenge but I have no doubt you will ace it. Will be watching with much interest.
Cheers
Glenn

[pallin]

Here is the light half of the carving blank after hand-planing it flat and cutting the tenon that will join it to the walnut half which is also glued up. Next, scroll-sawing the birds.

DN2.jpg

[pallin]

Now the light & dark halves are joined and I've aligned the pattern so you can see the figures that fall along the centerline. These will have to be cut precisely and fitted together like intarsia. After glueing in place they will be carved with a little shaping and incised lines. The overlay birds to the left and right will have more shape, more relief, and more details. The 3 dark birds on the left, and 3 light birds on the right will be carved on a separate work board and mounted to this blank with screws from the back.

DN3a.jpg