Rethinking Rapunzel?

Over the last couple of weeks I made a collagraph block to experiment with using silhouettes and shapes.

  I found when trying to ink it that using Pritt stick to glue it together before varnishing may work for the larger shapes but certainly doesn’t on the trees-they kept lifting. I had to ink and wipe sparingly. The colour scheme is a bit garish but I think I could develop the composition. Possibly into etching as it would be easier to wipe uniformly for an edition. As usual I think I like the plate better than the print.

We visited Castell Coch near Cardiff last weekend. The castle fell into ruins in the early 14th century but in 1875 it was transformed by the architect William Burges and John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the third marquis of Bute. It is a wonderful Victorian gothic fantasy and well worth a visit.

It also got me thinking. If my benevolent witch wanted to protect Rapunzel would she lock her up in a single room at the top of a tower? Would she be more likely to provide an enclosed safe space that Rapunzel could live in comfortably? A tall castle complex, with no windows on the external walls but with windows opening onto an interior courtyard could provide comfortable space and fresh air and also isolate the inhabitants from the outside.

 I’m not sure if I will follow this line of thought or stick with the more iconic tall thin tower

 Arriving home on a grey wet Monday I received a package from Amanda - a zine, small red and shiny, beautiful textures. It cheered me up. Thank you.