Sea of Colors

This is one of 16 limited-edition woodblock prints I made in Bill Jeter's Printmaking class. I used 6 colors of water-based ink.

This print is based off of the song "Sea of Colors" by my friend Danny Schwarze.

The music conjured up images in my head that fit well into this style of printmaking.

This print was difficult to do for me, because in order to create it, I had to destroy it. I started with a blank block of wood and I put yellow ink on it first.

Then, I had to carve away all the parts that I wanted to stay yellow, effectively making it so I could never print the yellow parts again. I printed the pink and carved it away, and continued with orange, blue, and green.

After I carved away the green, I was left with only a black outline. I can still make prints in this outline, but there are only ever going to be 16 of these in color.

In a way, this idea of destroying something in order to create it is sort of Zen, and it teaches you that nothing can live forever except in the imprint it leaves.

The song, Sea of Colors, is a metaphor for growing up.

"I'm floating through a sea of colors
the wind is at my back and the sun is in my face
I'm passing by on my way to freedom
it's the only way to get from place to place

my mind is clouded, completely unclear
I see my future as a wide open slate
freedom brings its own confusion
deliberate action, it's hard to relate

I lay on a boat floating towards tomorrow
the sea of colors eases its rush
I stare at the sun until I go blind
I look at my past and watch it turn to dust"

—Sea of Colors by Danny Schwarze

I have talked with Danny about making the song into a music video using light painting, but we haven't delved into it too much.