paige doodles and shit

Printing is a process that can be executed perfectly by a printer. Every print would be a perfect, identical copy of the design exactly how I rendered it. I could agonize over every detail knowing that I have absolute control over my result.

But I love lino. I love that every printing is a little different. I love that I can’t totally control it. I love that the first test print is always a surprise- that the design has subtly shifted somewhere in the carving in a way that’s never apparent until the paper lifts and the result is revealed. I love that the block is a physical artifact that I am shaping with my hands. I love that it takes a process that is generally so mechanical, so sterile and makes it absolutely human. I love that is completely and gloriously inefficient.

Consider:

Shane “Mr. Businessman” Hollander as the god of wealth

The pomegranate as Ottawa, since Ilya’s move there is the first big step that ultimately leads to him being cut off from his home

Something with Kore vs Persephone as the two sides of Ilya?? The kind, gentle side that his loved ones see (Kore- the Maiden) vs the asshole public persona (Persephone- the Bringer of Death)

Obviously this is a no kidnapping version of the Persephone story so I’m imagining something like Lore Olympus where Persephone loves her mother but is ultimately really stifled by her and by the mortal world which feels very symbiotic with Ilya’s relationship to Russia and to his father