Miscreations Theatre commission Wilding Theatre poster linocut print Cat Moore rewilding climate crisis nature tree roots fungi mychorrizal curlew butterfly giant sleeping roots — MISCREATIONS presents…

WILDING THEATRE
A poster I designed and carved for a local theatre company on the theme of the importance of rewilding in the fight to preserve our planet. MISCREATIONS will bring their innovative and accessible show to primary school aged children around the region, telling them through humour, song and appealing characters all about the wild world around them, and why looking after it matters.
This project holds a special place in my heart, not only because of the vital message the production brings, but also because it was the result of a positive change brought about by the coronavirus lockdown of 2020, and a chance for a talented actor/director to show the world her mettle.
The block is one of the largest ones I have ever carved, at 36x40cm, and hand pulling each copy has been a workout. I added the text digitally in the end, stamping individual letterpress blocks and scanning the results, but you can scroll down to see the placeholder text I carved whilst making the design.

The process behind the poster

(hover over each image to learn more)

Initial sketch ideas: a tangle of giants

Initial sketch ideas: a scientist

Initial sketch ideas: a scientist digging

Initial sketch ideas: a 'wildman of the woods'

Initial sketch ideas: pulling elements together to make the poster design

Giving the sleeping giant a more recognisable head

Digitally playing with contrast

Carving tiny details: the sleeping giant, roots and mycorrhizal fungi

Carving tiny details: Mr Mole

Taking rubbings to check progress

Carving tiny details: purple emperor butterflies, curlew, jay, wildman/tree

Carving tiny details: fungi and wild garlic

Carving tiny details: roots

Carving tiny details: Mr Mole, his tunnel wild garlic and betony

Carving tiny details: the sleeping giant's palm, connected to the roots via mycorrhizal fungi

Taking small test rubbings

Carving tiny details: the curlew, nettles, dog rose, roots and sky

Carving tiny details: Mr Mole, betony, wild garlic, sky

Most of the design carved; reducing the textures in the sky to bring the image to life

Carving tiny details: curlew's corner

Carving tiny details: a flying curlew

Final poster printed with placeholder text

Hand stamped letterpress text, digitally inverted

The final poster design with black upper banner

The process

It all began with a chat about what the print was going to be used for, and how my client saw the project. My client was brilliant, and furnished me with all sorts of words to prompt ideas to get the design process going, as well as a concise brief for the production. I knew the print was going to be used as a poster, so it had to be clear, and to give a hint of the content of the production:

Themes and key words/phrases

“Ecological awareness is an explosion of context” - Timothy Morton

Alice in Wonderland - rabbit holes - worm holes - mychorrizal networks - interconnection - weaving - fabric - the wood wide web - communication - storytelling

Bite/Edge/Looming darkness/Quirky/Anxiety

Communication = hearing, listening, speaking, transmitting and sharing information, consciously and unconsciously

Characters:

Giants

Scarecrow/Wildman/Green man/Lorax/Guardian/Protector of Giants

Scientist

Nature (worms, fungi, curlews, ravens, meadow cranesbill, etc)

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Miscreations Theatre

The process behind the poster

The process

Themes and key words/phrases

Characters: