A friend and business partner who worked as an intern at a christian elementary school gave me the assignment to illustrate a series of twelve christian holidays (“holy days”) to create a timeline, laser engraved in wooden panels. These are the original drawings. Photos of the engraved panels will follow.
This was a great project to work on, not only for the laser engraving technique involved but also because it involved religious imaging, an art form as old as civilization but something I had not done before in a series. Giving my own personal take on these holidays image wise was pure joy. I was raises a catholic and working on this reminded me of my childhood days when I rather frequently went to church. So working on this provided a sense of home coming, a feeling of going back to the classics, although I have not been a ‘believer’ ever since those childhood days. It is good for an artist to dig into matters that are different from yours, to respectfully envision the feelings of others and make something that might bring joy to those viewers. In other words: a non-believer making images for believers to truly enjoy, that is one of the powers of imaging.
It was great to be illustrating with the laser engraving process in mind. I had not engraved since art school and in those days there were no laser cutters around. This assignment was a engraving-testing-process for the both of us. So I did some of the drawings in pencil and some in ink; some with much detail and some with less detail. Every piece came out different, very much a series but also as individual works. and great. We are both very satisfied with the results.
To be continued.
