There are a variety of methods for distilling content into graphic form. Line, shape, color, scale, and material are all formal features. All of these can be given a monetary value and a meaning. I have been collecting various types of souvenir keychains when I traveled to other countries. Those consisted of Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and, of course, India, I gathered a significant number of keychains.

Traditional block printing was something I really wanted to look into during this process. I was really looking forward to carving things out and experimenting with them. Block printing is a relief printing technique that uses carved materials to transfer ink onto cloth or paper (usually wood, linoleum, or rubber). The block serves as a stamp, and the final product is a reflection of the carving.

Block printing has been practiced in India from at least the 12th century, while the technique is considered to be over 2,000 years old. According to one idea, Indian artisans adopted a Chinese method and transformed it into a culturally separate art form. Carving out a piece of rubber and seeing where it goes with that was one of my first experiments!