One block reduction workshop

Last weekend I led a workshop on one-block reduction woodcut printing at the Schack Art Center in Everett, Washington.  For twelve hours, over two days, the nine participants carved and printed, carved and printed, carved and printed.  For some it was their very first time wielding a Japanese wood carving tool, an ink-loaded brayer or a paper stencil made sticky with ink and tape. Printmaking, and in particular reduction printmaking, can be a frustrating exercise in thinking backwards; so I commend them all on their stick-to-it-ness.  Take a look below at the participants hard at work and at their finished or in-progress one-block reduction woodcuts.

Almost done.

Holymoly it was difficult to stay indoors this weekend, with the sunshine and warm temperatures and all.  I managed to stay studio-focused long enough to do some serious block carving and one more run through the press.  With a bit more tweaking I believe this one will be done.

All in a day's work

Hooray, it's the weekend!   I hit the studio early this morning and spent the day working on my spider print.  Four additions and now it's time for both the print, and me, to take a break.  I'm putting my feet up and enjoying a glass of wine while my edition of prints are resting on the drying rack.  They need a few days of repose before I smush them through the press again.

Day jobs are necessary, but why do they have to take up so much time?

I'm working an extra day at church each week and while the extra money is appreciated, the reshuffling of my weekly schedule has taken some time to get used to.  Fortunately, over the past weekend I was able to eek out some much needed studio time.  In addition to washing, drying and folding several loads of laundry;  purchasing cat food for three hungry felines; making an excellent pot of minestrone, (really, I out-did myself); and delivering some artwork for an upcoming group exhibit;  I also found time to completely fatigue my right arm carving spider web patterns into plywood and get two colors on my latest print.  I like how it looks at this point and am now entering into the phase where I'm convinced I will (and just might) ruin the whole thing.

Catalog Shopping

 As long as I can remember I have loved looking at catalogs.  When we were little, my sisters and I would shriek with delight when the five pound J.C. Penney catalog would arrive, usually sometime during the sweltering month of July, or the frigidly cold month of February.  We'd find a blanket, sit on top of it or, (depending on the season) snuggle up under it, and carefully tear off the brown, kraft paper, band that held the thick publication together while in transit. Then, we'd turn the pages, inhaling fresh ink and compiling a list of all the clothes we wanted for the next season's wardrobe. (We also played a silly game called, I-Like-Her, which regularly resulted in six fists of fury and drove my mother nuts.)  Those one-thousand page tomes are no longer produced as far as I can tell, nevertheless, a dozen or so bantam weight catalogs arrive in my mailbox each week; office supplies, home goods, sporting goods and yes, fashions for the upcoming season. In my world it is currently, Summer Clothing Catalog Season.  Each day when I open the mailbox I am greeted by glossy catalogs from Nordstrom, J. Crew, and Boden, to name a few.  But alas, nothing stays the same. My sisters now live thousands of miles away and we can no longer gather on a blanket turning the pages together; we no longer have spirited games of I-Like-Her ending with mom snatching the catalog from our raging fists.  Just as disappointing, also gone are the days when I can imagine myself in such flirty, seasonal attire;  the skirts are too short, the bathing suits too revealing, my skin is too loose, my pocketbook too empty.  Still, I peruse the pages, sighing wistfully as I look at cute clothes I'll never wear.   To assuage my woebegone nostalgia, I now turn the pages of my summer fashion catalogs looking for figures and images that inspire me to pick up my sketchbook.

after the Boden Spring Catalog

 

after the Antrhopologie Spring Catalog

Don't even want to discuss it...

I'm back.

Happy Lunar New Year

Happy Year of the Sssssssnake!