Month: August 2013

Over Night on the River

At first
along the shoreline
another retired tire
another lost sole,
and this wet conduit flows
with the smallest fish
swimming through–
one little heart at a time
among billions–
some turn as I approach
some leap clear.

…

And now
in the distance
a broken line of white,
like bubbles floating upstream:
a slow procession
of white pelicans
in single file
along Point-No-Point.

All sound is suddenly far away
while the sun pulls down the sky
and everything with it
except a big fish
that jumps.

…

And now
the philharmonic trill of legs
rubbing in the dark
while a coyote makes tracks
along the nervous sand
where the moon always finds us
less than full.

…

At dawn one pelican moves
along the distant pointless shore
but around the bend
about to come into view
more pelicans!

Since the last post three more White Bass colors have been printed. Here the cutting of a separate yellow block is underway.

Each of the three reduction cuttings of the key block were proofed onto the yellow block for reference.

On the left the yellow pigmentation of the fish has been exaggerated in Photoshop. On the right a scan of the printed fish thus far helps to keep orientated while working on the yellow block.

Two basic steps are involved in the cutting of the block: first the lines are engraved; then enough wood is hand-cleared from around the areas to be printed to allow room for the mechanical router bit to pass through.

Hand-clearing is complete and the block is ready for the router.

The Nolan routing.

The routing complete.

The yellow is printed–one of five colors so far–with the possibly four more to follow.