Here are the 4 block prints I’ve made for the upcoming heart show at Gerrard Art Space in Toronto. The gallery has called for submissions of up to four pieces which got me thinking about the four chambers of the heart. This led me to the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. Though I made these prints as a series with the birds, mammals, trees and clouds making different appearances, it wasn’t until I completed all 4 that I saw they could be characters in a story. The Hearts of Fire print in particular brings to mind children’s books.
I enjoyed the process of making these prints. Only the Hearts of Air turned out to my liking after the first proof and I made no corrections to what I had already carved. With Hearts of Earth, I made a few changes after taking a rough proof. But with the other two–water and fire–I carved three renditions of each until I was happy with them. In each case, they ended up with very different designs than those I began with.
Hearts of Earth:
Hearts of Air:
Hearts of Fire:
Hearts of Water:
Arts of May 
I particularly like hearts of earth. It has an earthy, gritty feel suited to this time of year.
Hearts of earth is more pared down than the others. I can see how you find it suited to winter. Many thanks for commenting!
Lovely strong shapes and lots of movement , terrific Lily
Thank you ver much, Phil.
Very nice indeed! I especially liked the hearts of earth – didn’t immediately notice it but the way you have incorporated the spaces between the bunches of tree roots stands out as soon as you do notice… lovely work!
Thank you very much. I’ve been drawn to the roots of trees and the use of negative space since early on when I started printmaking.