Yvette sent me some beautiful images of Loteria cards for her printmaking class. I've seen cards like this before but never knew what the name was. Loteria, its a game like bingo but instead of the caller just calling numbers, he calls objects and people that are illustrated on the cards. The cards are so popular in Mexico that they have turned into a national symbol, and I want to try my hand at making some! After talking to Yvette, and making sure I was not stealing her project idea, I drove to Home Depot that same night to get four sheets of Luan. Luan is a wood that I was introduced to after working with Rahoul Deal as a printmaking assistant as a cheap alternative to baltic birch. It has this beautiful swirling grain that gets picked up if the block print is not inked with a heavy handed technique
Detailed shot of the grain pattern.
I specifically chose this wood for its full grain. I used it in previous projects such as a huge buffalo and it turned out amazing.
Four 4'x2' boards yielded 46 cards. The realization is setting in that this is the biggest carving project that I have taken.
I always coat my blocks with shellac that is colored so that I see a difference of positive and negative space when carving.
As I was painting the shellac on, I found myself running out of room for the boards to dry. All over the table saw, on the router table, drillpress, sander, EVERYWHERE!
The real question is can you find all the places in the basement where there is a Loteria card?
Stay tuned, I cannot wait to show you the progress on all these cards.
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