Some of the latest.

More from the inky depths of my studio...

Madness!

I ordered the necessaries today to mount about 50 prints. Still need cello bags and mat board for a proper 'ready to frame' presentation. But I am excited about this. It's always been my belief that presentation is 9/10 of professionalism. Sure, technical skillz are nice, but looking sharp is super important.

Also worked on some prints today. I think I might do some greeting cards. And ... uh ... I forget the other thing.

Cool story, bro!

:-)

Embossed!

Printed in pressure on wet paper. No ink.

... with ear goggles for size reference.

More From the Grotto

I started to get some images of some of the prints today ... and discovered that everything was wrong. Still got a few shots, but not nearly as many as I have printed designs. Will have to come back to that project, with some mat board and mounting tape and a bright overcast day, and a LOT more patience.

That said, here are a few little tastes.

A tiny print, don't think the image is even 3" on a side. 

Close up of the tiny print. This image looks grainier than the actual print does. Did I mention, everything was wrong?

One of my recent favorites. Have done this in several colors / color combos. Can't decide which way is up, which is usually a sign that I have done something right.

Detail from the one above. 

This one is another favorite. That plate got changed many, many times, and reprinted after each change. This was my favorite iteration, but I didn't love it at the time, so I only got one good print pulled before it went under the knife again.

Same as the one I posted yesterday, in a much more ... painterly execution. Probably not finished yet, I think I want to add some highlights and outlining by hand. 

Short show & tell, I know. Next step is to get enough mat board to get them all mounted, so they look like something. Maybe even something other people would want.

Printing Progress.

Block print. LDPE block, Speedball ink (elderly), generic printer paper.

My studio is gradually filling with prints. Some are much more interesting than others. This is one that I made yesterday, and love. This may be the first one that I have had little interest in re-working the block after seeing the print. I really do need to try some new ink, though. What I have seems to be almost totally lacking in whatever keeps it workable. Gum arabic? Water? Magic beans? No idea. The New Ink Smell has escaped.

... on the bright side, Akua water soluble intaglio ink actually makes pretty good block prints. Sadly, I only have black at the moment. And at $20 / pot, it is likely to remain that way for a while.

In a totally other direction, el Jefe suggests that things like this would make fantastic stained glass panels. In fact, I think he is right, and I will see about revising this into a glass pattern ... in my free time.

This just in...

I was printing yesterday, and came up with some good stuff, some intriguing stuff, and some crap.

Here is one of the neat ones:

Grey ink block printed from LDPE on printer paper.

Some were block prints, some where intaglio. Some of the most intriguing were attempts at block printing in 2 colors. Even without much in the way of registration, they looked neat. Also, I printed the above image on a piece of white muslin, and that looked pretty cool.

More pictures to follow, but since I was here and this picture was here, and now you are here, posting it seemed like the right thing to do. The sad story about how the studio flooded will have to wait, too.

Busted!

Tonight at the bowling alley, a woman on the team we were bowling against came over and said, "Are you drawing our butts? Because it looked like you might be."

I had to admit, that, yes, actually, I had drawn some butts. Then I flipped back to those pages and showed her the quick sketches I'd made of her. She went away laughing, so I guess that was all right. I really should be careful around people who routinely throw 15# weights around, though.

Recent Works On Paper. With Paper. Whatever.

Various permutations of block printing and embossing. The embossing made my brain tingle a little more than the printing, but where they are combined, that was pretty sweet, too. Not as easy to see in these photos, which were made with a telephone.

A heap of attempts. Some were more rewarding than others. It is difficult to tell if the ink is dorked, it was just too hot in the studio, or I don't know what I am doing. Or, you know, All of the Above.

These are cool enough, I figure they deserve large size! The two images were made from the same embossing plate, but the 2nd one had more carving done to it before going through the press. 

The purple is the same plate, block printed. I think this was one of the first prints I pulled with block printing ink. I tried intalio first to see if I liked it (yeah, yeah, I *know* that is not correct usage!) and I did like it, but the photos of those prints are pretty much impossible to decipher. 

Dry Point Pt 2

I made this plate today, and printed it this evening. I am pleased. (Photographs this time, rather than scans. Much better!)

First run, on heavy heavy paper.

Second run, on super light paper.

Hard to say which is "better" until they are at least both matted, if not framed. Both have pros and cons. Harder to see the pros of the 2nd print in a photo, in person it is the cleaner print. (Light conditions not exactly studio quality.)

More Printing

Although things here have been a little chaotic, and also much, much too hot and dry, I have managed to get myself out to the studio a bit, and pull a few more prints. I think they are getting better, but I am no Master Printer. Yet.

This is the first print I have pulled of that acrylic dry point plate (that I posted about a couple of weeks ago). It is not so much composed as it is a collection of line sizes / weights / directions / etc. A sampler, if you will. There is so much new in this process for me that I most likely will claim every print as a test print for the next 30 years... This one looks especially funky because it does not fit totally on my scanner bed, and I did not want to mash it down, so the left side curved up and away, and seems blurry. In the actual print, it is not.

Revisiting these blocks. 

The two prints above are reprints of the same one I posted last week, with different technique, and the addition of retarder. Those both were beneficial changes to the process, I think.

This last one, however, actually has had a bunch of new cuts done to the block since last time I printed it. I tries printing this on top of prints I had already pulled (with the old cut), but this is a linocut, and the linoleum has become tremendously warped -- makes alignment / registration difficult. This print looks a little funny because the upper left corner is slightly over-inked, but also because this is a mixture of blue and black inks (plus retarder) just to see how that would go. I kinda like it, except the over-inked bit.

Some Printing

I have been trying to get these into my Flickr account, but for some reason, I can't remember how to get into Flickr. So, I am just going to post them here, for now. In a strange moment of obstinacy, I have refused to buy ink to print that plate I posted pics of (last post). Mostly because there is already a quantity of block printing ink here, and I do have blocks, and I am lazy and cheap.

Fear not, I *will* get that intaglio plate printed, and there will be more to come, because that is definitely the correct technique for my style. Until then, check out these:

Linocut on rice paper.

Linocut on heavy handmade paper.

Woodcut on handmade.

Linocut on handmade.

Detail of linocut.

Woodcut on heavy paper.

Sadly, some of the worst images are my favorite prints. For reasons I don't really understand, scanning prints does not produce results as effective as photographing them ... which I am not currently set up to do. Will have to work on that, I guess.

I have many irons in the fire, these days. Possibly too many, but that beats none. I am still working on those crochet cephalopods. Thinking of making an abstract coloring book. Have a couple of woodworking projects just on the verge of start-ready. And, of course, I have a serious backlog of finished projects to catalog and perhaps post for sale. All of these things take time, and energy, and focus, and life loves to challenge those resources. Sometimes I think about an artist retreat or something, where I could hole up and do nothing else, but (drumroll please) haven't even had time to look into that.

It's been HOW long since my last confession?!

Since I last posted here, I finished that silly afghan, knit at least four cephalopods, and knit four skulls (with cross bones!). Well, three knit, one crochet, which is now my official favorite face cloth. Three hats have been knit / crocheted / covered in enormous sequins. I've had my garage converted to a studio space, and have half-constructed a cat yard. I have inherited alarming / awesome masses of art supplies, books, equipment, and knowledge. Seriously, it feels like I have taken the quickening of at least two other artists. There is a new silly afghan underway, and more cephalopods, and another hat. Or maybe two. There was a trip to Utah to volunteer with rescued parrots. My garden is growing; not a Victory Garden yet, but I have eaten seven tomatoes and several handfuls of fresh herbs, and one fairly unpleasant strawberry. I have a job, a writing assignment, and a volunteer spot with the local Maker Faire. I have the Best Person spot in an upcoming wedding, and really-no-kidding nothing to wear for that. Margaritas have been elevated to an art form around here. Oh, and lots and lots of pictures of most of these things, which, mostly, will not transfer to my computer.* 

I did try to scan the drypoint printing plate I have been working on for two days, and it didn't scan at all the first time, and the second time, the scanner software split it into 41 small files, for reasons it did not share with me. Here is a small selection of those:

I am looking forward to seeing this printed. Almost as much as I am looking forward to moving ALL my making-stuff supplies out to the garage studio and rolling around in organizing them. So much going on. I guess I haven't been writing about it here because I have been kinda busy doing it all, and also did not really know where to begin.

*Yes, I know what the problem is, no I don't want help, thanks.

Vague Promises

It has been a while since I posted about that silly afghan, and I am happy to report it is more than twice that size now. I think I am within 5 squares of finishing it? Then I just have to figure out what to do with it.   ... and also with all the leftover bright colored yarns.

I have been working on wax models for metal casting, and will post some of those here soonish. And working on my life drawing skills. Can't claim I have become the new Leonardo BUT I am actually certain I am improving, which is a nice feeling. Someone actually complained that I made a drawing that looked too much like him!

But, the real reason I am posting now is that I have just ordered this:

It's a phone case. But you probably already knew that.

... and am full of squee for when it gets here. Because, shiny! (Literally, went for the gloss finish.)

Finally Admitting to 2013

Maybe I was just really disappointed that the world did not end back in December? Maybe I just Have A Problem with winter? Probably we will never know why there has been no blogging for three months, although most likely the fact that I find the term 'blogging' fairly distasteful, something I am supposed to do when I am not feeling well.

Oh, jeeze, I think I'm gonna blog..!

ANYWAY, there are a few haps happening.

Exhibit 1A: A Silly Afghan

This is a work in progress, and although I expect it to become considerably larger, it is unlikely that it will get any less silly. Probably more so, if I had to guess.

Exhibits 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D: These Flowers

Regular Kind Watercolor

Watercolor Pencils

Still Life of Cut Flowers And Fruit Which Keeps Getting Eaten

Sketched with 4B .05mm mechanical pencil. Ask me about my Kuru Toga!

 I decided to work more on my life drawing skills, and last week picked up a cheap model at the hippie grocery store. (The flowers, I mean, what were YOU thinking??) I also have gotten much better about taking my sketchbook with me and sketching people and things and places when I am out in the world with a few minutes to spare. I often get busted drawing people, especially in restaurants, because I am the type to look at the subject a lot and the paper very little. Eventually I'll share some of my public sketching practice, but the pictures are all you get for now.

I also joined a newly formed Urban Sketchers group here in town. I have only made it to one of their meetings so far, but I think I will get to more of them as the weather for hanging around outside becomes more enticing. In two weeks, we're planning to meet up at the central transit center in town, should be interesting.

Also working on getting studio space in order in the garage. I think I'll need to start with electricity and insulation, and then ventilation, and then furniture. Currently I am using some large cardboard boxes as a make-shift workbench, and running an extension cord from the laundry room whenever I need juice. Of course, working in the garage is another thing that becomes more interesting as the weather improves, because that space is not heated. Signed up for some studio hours at the university metal studio, but have done very little there, so far. Ideas are pouring out my ears, but my time and their availability hasn't lined up so well, so far. I think that will change this week.

Enh, what else is going on?

Went to a lovely show at the Albuquerque Museum, Deco Japan. The link I'm giving is for someone else's exhibition of this show, which is a traveling exhibit. It maybe will come to you, unless it already came past you. If you're a big fan of deco style graphics and prints, the show has a tremendous collection of magazine covers, matchbook covers, songbook covers, posters, and adverts. If you're more into the functional and 3D stuff, they had some fairly nifty containers, screens, kimonos, and smallish sculptures. My personal favorites were the flying fish themed items. A quick image search on 'deco japan' will get you a pretty solid idea of what's out there.

Did a wee bit of gallery-crawling this past week. Revisited my fixation on Travis Black's watercolor images of birds. Was gifted a lovely print of one of the hummingbird images by someone awesome. (Squee!!) Failed to get into the local artist quonset hut, but I will. Now that I know they close at 3pm. (Who does that??) Tripped over work by printer / painter Diana Stetson, who has some extremely harmonious work. Definitely nature-oriented, but it is actually the compositions and executions which are harmonious to me. There were plenty of other interesting works to see in the world, and Mariposa Gallery in Nob Hill had quite a few. In addition to Diana Stetson and some other intriguing artists, Mariposa also currently has an exhibit hanging from Amanda Banker, who seems to have a bit of a fixation with animal-headed portrait figures. That show is worth it if only for the smoking-jacket three quarter posed octopus headed portrait. (Which does not appear on her website, by the way, so if you want to see it, you need to go there and see it!)

Is that all? Well, it has to be enough for now, I suppose. There will be more posts on all these topics, I suspect. Probably the next exciting thing is going to be a mechanical pencil review. If that doesn't strike you as exciting, this probably isn't the blog for you.

a short one ...

I seem to have gotten orders for various batches of holiday cookies coming to about 12 dozen.

... woot ... !

ASUNM Sale Post-Mortem

In three days, I sold three paintings, about 30 snowflakes, and maybe 25 packets of 3 cookies (8 dozenish). I also gave away about that many cookies (as samples, freebies with other purchases, and as advertising, and as little thank-you gestures.) In the final accounting I came out ahead financially, although for the time spent, it is really of dubious value. (not even minimum wage) I certainly didn't make a substantial chunk of a year's art budget at this show, as some people clearly do.

I did get some good stuff, though.

a new experience!
rid of some of my made-things!
time to pick Jamie's brain!
two new cookie recipes!
a few new money-making ideas to chase down!
some new contacts in my field*!
three nifty reproduction prints to hang up in my naked-walled house!
some great compliments, including a marriage proposal!

* My field being People Who Make Stuff And Then Have To Figure Out How to Afford To Make More Stuff.

If you want to have any of the stuff I was selling for yourself, email me. I am working on getting stuff listed on Etsy, but it takes time, and sometimes is hard to find there. The fastest thing, and the thing I prefer, is that you just tell me what you want, we settle on a price and means of payment, and I send it to you. Because not only is that faster, but also it saves me the trouble of putting the listings together. (Administrivia is not my favorite thing...)

And, yes, I will make and ship cookies to you.

Now, here are some pictures from the three day sale, for your amusetertainment.

Five batches of cookies cooling on the counter. Left to right, PB + Mini PB Cups,  Choc Chunk + Boston Baked Beans, Tropical Mix, Bridge Mix, PB + Honey Roasted Peanuts

The final layout of our booth -- lots of stuff hung up on the backdrop, and the side fence and table moved to the back for maximum visibility from both sides. (we were in the back corner of the show)

First day arrangement - a little crowded! Impossible to tell what was going on from anywhere but straight on.

Jamie just finishing setting up on Day 1.

The long view of the hall from our booth - we were furthest from the windows, furthest from the entry doors...

Very nearly made it through the whole show without dumping all my stuff on the ground. ... but, didn't. Because my rolling cart was just not cart enough to withstand the world's most evil rumble strips.

The world's most evil rumble strips ... three rows of scattered rocks about the size of a gumball.

Anyhow, that's the round up. Out of my many, many ideas, I think the most pressingly interesting is the t-shirt printed with the Tight White Warrior Robot. Yes, there will be pictures.