Deer Tao

I’ve recently begun the practice of Tai Chi.  My wife Katherine had prompted  me to do something for myself and I had always had a fascination with the practice of it; the elegant lines performed by the completely controlled and balanced movements of the body.  A sort of physical fitness for myself aside from carrying my daughter and digging in the garden.  Suffice it to say, after practicing for nearly two months I have found the practice to be much more than I originally anticipated.  Not merely a physical exercise ,but an emotional and spiritual one as well.  The start of this practice corresponded with an invitation to a drawing show at the Greenhill Center for NC Art in Greensboro, NC (which will be in September).  I don’t do much drawing aside from very rough preliminary sketches for my prints, and sometimes not even that… the drawing is done directly on the block so it is lost completely in the carving.  Anyway, I was excited about the idea of making a drawing as a drawing, and as no surprise to me my experience of Tai Chi and rudimentary understanding of Tao has bubbled up into it, or perhaps for the fact it is in the forefront of my mind I place my own understanding upon the drawing, after all, I didn’t start it with that in mind… either way, here it is.

I’m sure to make it into a print eventually as well.  What do you think?  Wood Engraving or Color Moku Hanga print?