Making art is hard. For every work that arrives in the gallery, there are many that never do, whether they are glass that falls off the pipe at the last moment; ceramic that explodes in the kiln; or stone that cracks at the wrong moment. Sometimes, the idea is there but the material just won’t behave. And other times it seems like the world is just working against you.
That’s the story behind this almost-but-not-quite woodblock print by Alaska-based artist Drew Michael (Inupiaq/Yup’ik). Drew has been trying to print this big, beautiful block (six feet long!) for the gallery, but his materials keep conspiring against him. His latest brainstorm was to use the steamroller his neighbor rented to re-pave his driveway. It was a brilliant idea, and worked great…until the wind picked up and blew a load of grit onto the freshly inked paper. Oops. But, perseverance and creativity are Drew’s watchwords, and we’re sure we’ll eventually see this gorgeous monochrome print in the gallery, come hell or high water…
