yin-yang diptych (light and shade)

As you may know from reading about my recent Barn Owl print, I have discovered a new found love for relief printmaking. My hand has been giving me a bit of trouble lately, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do much more carving before OOAK, but I did finish a new diptych edition and I’m excited to share it…. I had 5 full sheets of gorgeous black arches paper, and had just received two small sample bottles of gold and silver block printing ink. For my plate, I carved a long, delicate feather but upon finishing it, I couldn’t decide if I liked it better with the feather standing on it’s quill or having the falling plumes first, nor could I choose between only ONE glorious metallic color, and so, both were born together as a diptych. The way the feathers make your eye flow around the composition made me instantly think of the ancient symbol Yin-Yang. This ancient Asian philosophy is used to explain how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. The gold and silver feathers are complementary opposites that interact within a greater whole and are tones that directly reference yin and yang (light and shade).I am thrilled with the carved plate, and it was a lot of fun working with metallic ink and black paper for the first time in at least 3 years. These beauties are now available for sale in my etsy shop either as individual prints “Yin-Yang I (light)” or “Yin-Yang II (shade)” or purchase both at a discount price here. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback.