Wind Shaped
By Jo McChesney
Woodcut print on Japanese paper
Limited edition print - 6/60
Framed
Framed size: H: 57cm x W: 57cm approx
Seasonal change in the natural world is the source of inspiration for printmaker Jo McChesney. Her work focuses on transient moments in time, such as ripples on water, the nature of weather and rain, light and shadow, nightfall and seed dispersal.
In this beautiful and slightly haunting block print she depicts a lone tree which has been shaped by the strong prevailing wind. The sense of energy and movement ie heightened by the background texture where the wood grain shows up thanks to a flamed block revealing its surface.
Jo's woodcuts are hand carved from Japanese plywood, using knives and gouges. After inking up, the image is hand burnished, and layered into a final woodcut onto Japanese Mulberry paper. Each colour requires a separate hand carved plate.
The little red stamp, that provides the perfect finishing touch to these prints on Japanese paper, is called a Hanko, a Japanese-style seal Jo learned in Japan, when she was studying Japanese woodcarving. It is carved out of marble and stamped onto a traditional red ink pad and sits next to her signature. The one she created in Japan was with Kanji (Japanese ideograms) so she carved another with her own initials back in the UK. It is tradition in Japan and China for all artists to have their own Hanko.
ABOUT JO McCHESNEY
Jo graduated from Bath Academy of Art in 1985, specialising in illustration, handmade paper and print. During this time she was selected to study at the Cooper Union School of Art, New York. It was here she experimented with handmade paper and typography, later building on these themes for her MA in printed textiles.
After working as an illustrator and part-time lecturer, she travelled to Kyoto, Japan to study the traditional technique of woodblock printing. Since returning to the UK, she has continued to work with woodblock prints with a more western approach to image making.
She is based in Leicestershire and has exhibited at the Bath Open, RWA, Wells Contemporary and three times at the Royal Academy summer exhibition.