On to something new...

OK, so the last moku hanga didn't work out like I wanted. There's a number of things that I don't like about it, but there's a number of things that I do. The trick is now to figure out how to separate the two so it all comes together into a cohesive piece that I'm satisfied with. Well, that's the trick, isn't it?!

But, I've got a stack of ideas that I need to pursue.

I ran a reduction print several years ago of a brook trout surrounded by the stages of the moon, sky and mayflies. It was a very satisfying print personally, and it was well received:

I like the whole framed image as an image, so I'm going with that as a base. I'm most comfortable with reduction prints, so I'm going to go with my old standby of pulling reduction prints off from a single maple block again.

I'm thinking a couple trout this time, with the four seasons surrounding them. I pulled out my folder of images - pieces and parts of ideas that have made it to scrap paper - and started shuffling images around:

A bit of graphite paper, and I've got the start of an image:

More images for the rest of the border:

I'm liking this more and more as it goes....