tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51257622971907004052024-02-19T06:52:25.707-08:00Rag & BoneOne artist's journey through the valley of PrintmakingSharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-55219833984928422312015-12-03T17:55:00.002-08:002015-12-03T17:55:48.327-08:00On the WallSince it is officially the Peace On Earth season what could be more fitting than to put the Peace in Print up on the wall? So, here it is on the wall at North Bank Gallery in Vancouver, WA, in time for the First Friday Art Walk. Let me tell you, one has to be a bit of a contortionist to get this baby on that wall. Fortunately, there were enough people passing through while I was attempting this that they could hand me the hammer, or hold this end for a minute -- and they were all willing to help, lucky for me!<br />
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I have a better table for the book and will take that in tomorrow and get it all set up right and proper like.</div>
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It will probably end up under the sign and poster and the small print bin will move someplace else.</div>
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Another view. I'm betting we will have a ton of people go through and it will be fun to hear the comments! If I can remember I will take photos tomorrow night --</div>
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To all who were participants in the Puzzle Project - here's another line on your resumé - North Bank Gallery 1005 Main St., Vancouver, WA. </div>
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Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-31295886943786328762015-12-03T17:29:00.003-08:002015-12-03T17:29:30.396-08:00Happy Holiday!Here are those kids again! They seem to have moved into my imagination and plan to stay there.<br />
This is one of those times when I really need your input, if you would please. What do you think of this direction? Is it silly, simplistic, fun, funny, has possibilities, or junk this stupid idea right now.<br />
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The Giant's garden: Christmas Morning is the latest in this series:<br />
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The kids all seem to be pretty happy with what they've found - the puppy has yet to open her gift and is a little anxious about the whole affair. The frog just watches. And I'm wondering if I should be making these as woodblock prints, or doing them at all.</div>
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I'll be eagerly awaiting your ideas and comments and if they are not pats on the back, but more like pats on the head, I promise not to send the Art Exterminators after you -- ;-)</div>
Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-70965556821875089842015-11-23T14:40:00.003-08:002015-11-23T14:40:36.630-08:00Ponies as art?I confess: I really do not know what is art and what isn't anymore. All I know is that my gallery has called for Toy related images for Dec. It is a group show and the entire downtown is going to be toy themed. Ugh. I don't do toys. Or do I? For the year of the horse last year I did a little ride about pony that my granddaughters both dearly loved. They rode that pony until I think it's little red wheels were down to the hubs. As usual, I had printed way more cards than I needed for the Horse Year, so I took one of the left-overs and whacked off the 2014, added an eyeball and a different ribbon, and voila! We have art. I think. What I do know for sure is that it is a toy. Of course, I didn't think of taking photos until it was already in the frame, so I apologize for the reflections.<br />
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All dressed up in a frame, he-she-it is looking pretty fancy.</div>
Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-17936506358145671842015-11-08T15:23:00.001-08:002015-11-08T15:29:44.856-08:00Where did this come from?Surprise! I know -- it has been many moons since I've sat down to actually do a blog entry (as opposed to thinking about doing a blog entry). Last winter I broke my shoulder, actually gumming up the rotator cuff, and causing it to scream some of the most obscene obscenities. The result has been the better part of a year with no production. The first quarter of the year I was stumbling around with a blank mind -- absolutely nothing going on up there. The skull functioned purely as a place to stick my face and place a gob of hair on it.<br />
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Finally, at some point in the Spring, the urge to sketch and think about getting back to work happened. Maybe it was Maria's Peace Puzzle piece arriving and needing to have something drawn and carved, or maybe it was the longer days and more sunlight. Maybe I was suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Whatever it was I started sketching every evening while propped in front of the TV. Mostly it was Zentangle type things, but then children started entering the scene. I have no idea where they came from, but more and more of them kept appearing.<br />
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And then, the strangest thing of all happened, they started interfacing with the medallion/mandala drawings and the next thing I knew there were children playing in the Giant's Garden.<br />
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One of the galleries where I show my work has a Salon group which meets once a month and anyone having any questions, or just wanting to socialize, can bring a work needing a critique. So, one Sunday I took my sketchbook and asked the group what they thought of my kids. Maybe they were just being kind to an older person with her arm in a sling, but they all encouraged me to go on and see what I could do with them. And this is what came of that.<br />
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Many more sketches ensued and finally I got up enough gumption to actually place one of the kids on a Solarplate and make an intaglio print. And so here we have the result of that action:</div>
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It is actually on BFK and considerably lighter and more black and white than this, but you get the idea; fairly boring and not all that much fun. Mostly a gabble of lines and confusion. So, we add a little color. Considering the cost of plates and making one for each color, more or less, I opted for hand color. What I didn't consider when making that decision was that it would have to be done with a brush with three hairs and would take all day. Other than that everything was perfect. Here's the result of one day of coloring, more or less:</div>
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The Giant's Garden: Tea Time</div>
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6" x 8"</div>
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It will be a very small edition - depending on how long I am willing to sit and color! Many activities have been taking place in the Garden. The Giant must be a very gentle and generous being, but it has told the kids that they can play as much as they want. And, they will! And, they are!</div>
Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-67286736507165671892015-02-27T17:52:00.004-08:002015-02-27T17:52:44.493-08:00Yet More Superb Starling and The Hunt For IridescenceYou're probably thinking that I'm beating this poor old Starling print to death, but I wanted to share a few new things I learned on the way to finally getting an iridescent Superb Starling. I had tried everything from soup to nuts including several different inks, mixing mica with the ink, mixing gold powder in the ink, chine colléing (is that a verb?) several different papers, and finally cutting a stencil and applying the mica on top of the wet Akua ink. Bologna! Nothing achieved the effect I wanted or came close to the bird I was trying to replicate. And then - whoopee! I discovered this wonderful paper at a local art store - it is --- IRIDESCENT!! Wowie - I could hardly wait to try it.<br />
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It is listed as Purple Somethingorother, and it can be solid purple until you move and then this luscious limey green appears, and some turquoise and some gold, or wait maybe that's pink. It is amazing. The red paper under it is regular red mulberry. Well, I got right to work cutting out little bird bodies and red breasts. And then I tried to print. Surprise! Ink printed everywhere, but none on the bird body. This wonderful paper would not accept ink! What the ...? <br />
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Phooey, (or similar exclamation) as we seasoned printmakers like to say at times like these. I gave up on that process for the moment. On the same day that I bought the problem paper I also bought some plain white lacy papers with the intent of exposing them onto solar plates and using them as background texture. The first exposure went as usual: nothing on the plate. Not to be discouraged I inked some of the paper with black ink, exposed again and voila! Perfect. So, that is what I used for the background on this Starling print. <br />
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Now back to the reason for the Phooey (it's a technical term) statement. I put the Akua inks away and went back to the old standby: Gamblin Artist Colors Portland Black. Same result - ink everywhere but on the iridescent wonderful glorious paper which is now causing me to become mildly irate. Back on to the shelf it went and down came the Litho Roll Up ink - the muscle bound, body builder of inks. Yes! A little difficult to maneuver, a bugger to wipe, but it prints beautifully on my wonderful heart fulfilling purply-green-turquoise, gold, pinkey paper. Yaha! We have success, Houston! Not the best photo - ignore the shadow in the lower corner -<br />
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It is still difficult to see the iridescent quality in a photo - maybe you just have to take my word for it or maybe it will be more evident if you click on it and see it larger. Or, maybe this little close-up will help (there's darned shadow again, darn it) -</div>
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Yeah, I think you can see the sparkle in his coat in this close up. The detail of the background from the lacy paper shows up, too.<br />
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So, those are my recent successes, you really don't want to see all the failures that transpired during the trip to the final printing of the Superb Starling. I'm confident that all the East Africans from Kenya and Tanzania will approve of my take on their resident bird.<br />
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My apologies to all my woodblock buddies - this is not a woodblock, but it could have been! And, maybe my struggles with the ink and chine collé will help you someday - maybe - could happen -<br />
forgive??<br />
<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-32376591554324949702015-01-26T15:43:00.000-08:002015-01-26T15:43:15.317-08:00FOUR! There has been little or no printmaking taking place around here while waiting for a broken shoulder to mend. The break was in mid-December, so we are pretty much healed and ready for rehab. Physical therapy (aka Extreme Interrogations of muscles and ligaments beyond what any human is expected to endure) starts this week. I am such the wimp.<br />
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Meanwhile, however, while sitting around waiting for healing to occur I discovered <a href="http://www.thepiproject.org/" target="_blank">The Pi Project</a> which is a collaboration put together by local Vancouver (WA, not Canada) fiber/textile artist <a href="http://sallysellers.com/" target="_blank">Sally Sellers</a>. Sally was clever enough to notice that March 3 of this year will be 3/14/15, the first digits of pi = 3.1415 ad infinitum, so she asked artists from all over the planet to make 9.5" square flags with any number from 1 - 0. There was a great article on the project in our local paper, <a href="http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jan/03/pi-ties-it-together-wraps-it-around-art-project/" target="_blank">The Columbian , </a>which explains it all.<br />
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Being temporarily one armed this was right up my alley and provided several evenings worth of entertainment. First came Four:<br />
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And then came 0: </div>
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The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros" target="_blank">ouroboros</a> seemed to me to be the perfect representative for 0 - you can't get much more circular than when you consume your own tail. </div>
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Next on the agenda is a return to printmaking - first comes the sketch and then the decision: should it be woodblock or should it be etching? Guess I should do the sketch first.... </div>
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Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-76178560056126895942014-12-02T22:21:00.002-08:002014-12-02T22:21:28.388-08:00Startled StarlingWhen we left off we had two transparencies ready to expose. We exposed and then had: 2 exposed plates which I'm sure I photographed, but can't find and so we're moving to the next bit.<br />
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First, the background plate was inked. It may be hard to determine in this photo, but the dots are an aqua blue with a lime green surface roll.<br />
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Two stencils were cut, one with the bird, and the bird. (Sorry, I forgot to rotate this one -)<br />
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The one without the bird was placed on the inked background plate<br />
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And, then the one with the bird was inserted and the one without was removed leaving the bird stencil in place. Now we're ready to print this plate leaving a white space for the bird.<br />
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A little ink has come through in the white space, but it won't matter since it will be covered by the bird.<br />
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Next, we ink the bird plate<br />
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And cut out the two chine collé pieces from very thin Japanese papers: (oops, forgot to rotate again!)<br />
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And, after applying glue to the wrong side of the papers, but placing glue side up, they are placed on the plate in the proper place where they will stay if they know what's good for them.<br />
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This is placed on the press bed in the registration jig aka blue masking tape:<br />
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And, the print paper with the background lowered into place, run through the press and voila!<br />
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We have a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superb_starling" target="_blank">Superb Starling</a>. <br />
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Superb Starlings are all over Tanzania - like Seagulls at the beach. Every rest stop is well populated as they scrounge for tidbits of dropped or discarded food. But, they are gorgeous. They are much more iridescent. I was unable to get any combo of ink with gold powder, or mica, to achieve the desired effect, but maybe I can find a paper which will do the trick on my next trip to Portland. <br />
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-56396349016554102702014-11-26T16:37:00.000-08:002014-11-26T16:37:06.904-08:00A Little of EverythingIf a person were to judge the activity here from the number of posts it would appear that most of the time there is absolute quiet. However, even though we don't make much noise, several things have been on-going. Firstly, there is the LaPierre Lane sign. About 2, maybe 3, years ago hubby brought this poor bedraggled worn and soggy wooden sign in and asked if I could re-hab it. Oh sure, I answered with fake confidence, and quickly stuck the thing under the press and forgot about it. Maybe 6 months later I got it out and sanded it a bit. At that point I began to realize just how much work was going to be involved and quickly stuck it back in its temporary home, under the press. Now the several years passed and it accidentally surfaced again. I decided it would make the perfect birthday gift for the guy who has everything, including me. So, I set to work - and honestly, I wish I had a before picture because the transformation has been shocking, to say the least. It involved a lot more sanding, which was infinitely easier to do once it had r-e-a-l-l-y dried. And, then the fun began: first with the oil-based exterior primer where ever paint was going. Then the staining for the background, followed by 3 coats of exterior latex paint (dark brown edge and back) and raw sienna (they call it cedar) for the lettering and last, but not least, 3 coats of Spar Varnish over the part that was stained. The last of the varnish went on today, so it should be good and dry by next Wed., which is the Lucky Guy's 80th birthday. Unfortunately, he will not be surprised because he walked right by this thing half a dozen times and didn't notice it and then on the 7th time he saw it. I should have known that my luck was not going to hold out indefinitely.<br />
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The origin of the sign is unknown. It was something that the younger brother, Len, had at his house in Salmon Creek, Idaho. When Len died his widow gave it to Mr. Lucky and he brought it home. So, we don't know whose handiwork it is, nor do we know its age. All we know is that now it is looking good and will hopefully last way past us.<br />
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Meanwhile, the other day I got the ladder out, moved a bunch of furniture and other stuff around, and hung the Puzzle Print "City of The World". It consists of five 22" x 30" sheets, or a total of 30" x 110". I don't know if there's any significance that the road in the middle heads off down to the bathroom door, but I choose to think that there just might be...<br />
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And, here is where the nonsense ends and the, more or less, serious work begins. Below are two (you probably will have to take my word for this, two pieces of acetate with black ink. The one on the left will be the background and the one on the right will be a Superb Starling (the ornithologist name for him, not mine - if I had my way he would not be in the Starling family -). These will be exposed onto the solar plates as soon as I get back to the studio. And, then we will see if we can get a decent print to develop. Or, it may end up a woodblock - but since this has a deadline and the holidays are nipping at my heels, I'm hoping to knock out a quick little intaglio. <br />
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Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-15849064163372281352014-11-22T20:12:00.001-08:002014-11-22T20:17:49.134-08:00The Fantastic Fantastic GardenSomehow time has flown by and I am just getting around to hanging the Fantastic Garden print. I'm sure that I will enjoy it much more now that it is out of the drawers and up on the wall. Hanging was not an easy project and definitely not for the faint of heart, or those of us who have our qualms about teetering on step stools on top of cabinets leaning precariously over exposure units thinking all the while that we are about to fall and break our neck. But, the job is done and I am breathing again. (Isn't it strange that when we put our bodies in peril, no matter how slight, we tend to hold our breath until back to normal footing? You'd think we would be busy getting as much air in as possible, not keeping it out. Oh, well.... that's what most of us do, anyway.)<br />
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I suppose to really appreciate the peril involved in this activity you first must realize that the ceiling is at least 10 ft. (I'm sure it is 15 ft. if it is an inch, but I'm told it is 10 ft. and he has made me a believer after all these years that he is always right.) But, I was the one hanging in mid-air hanging the garden. NEWS FLASH!! This just in: the ceiling is 12ft. This is the first time in the history of Francis that he has been mistaken. Not wrong, mind you, but a little mistaken. There's a difference.<br />
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The Fantastic Garden is a <a href="http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/fantasticgarden/index.html" target="_blank">puzzle print</a> - the result of the organizational, drafting, cutting, sawing, creative, herding, and printing skills of <a href="http://www.1000woodcuts.com/" target="_blank">Maria Arango-Diener.</a> I've forgotten how many artists are involved, but they come from all over the globe and each contributes their idea of the project theme, in this case the Fantastic Garden, and then Maria re-assembles all the parts, prints them and sends us each a print. This print is 4 sheets, each 22" x 30", so that would make the total surface 44" x 60" if my calculator doesn't lie. Altogether it is a pretty fantastic woodblock print carved from cherry plywood and printed on Stonehenge Rising.<br />
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Thanks to all you wonderful <a href="http://www.barenforum.org/" target="_blank">Baren Forum</a> woodblock members (and especially to Maria the Wonder Woman of the World of Woodblock) for enriching my life and making my studio Extraordinaire. It will be even more extraordinaire when I get the City of the World up on the wall. But, that will have to wait until next week - it will take me that long to drag the ladder back in again.Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-85148954534327835442014-10-22T14:39:00.000-07:002014-10-22T14:39:36.375-07:00A Printmaker At HeartA funny thing happened on my way to nowhere in the middle of the Serengeti last week. My party and I were merrily bouncing along when we happened upon a Lion pair snoozing beside the road. The moment we stopped moving they stopped napping and began inspecting our vehicles. This could have been a Vehicle Emissions Test Station, but it was not so marked. Mr. Lion continued his snooze, but his lady friend was intensely curious. She was particularly enamored with the spare tire cover on the vehicle immediately preceding the one I was in. I'm sure I could read her mind and she was saying:<br />
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"Hummm, This is something new. I wonder how they did this, it is a very interesting effect.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking from this angle I think I can see how they did it.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91wkAf7U3y8X2excO7u038Prv4TqxcDi7OjdKfEqHSq51JTZfKXLTp_kr6Y10JmOaRMtXp8j8N1qGkRWzrc14j4rRkgZqSuvyFSrLSPlwpO7OXHgJl60EPbfiMifeyECKd-19o-C0sa-e/s1600/DSC01881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91wkAf7U3y8X2excO7u038Prv4TqxcDi7OjdKfEqHSq51JTZfKXLTp_kr6Y10JmOaRMtXp8j8N1qGkRWzrc14j4rRkgZqSuvyFSrLSPlwpO7OXHgJl60EPbfiMifeyECKd-19o-C0sa-e/s1600/DSC01881.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahh, yes, first the tire and then this thing over it. Yes, I will have to try that.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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But, for now, I think I'll just have a little snooze and think about it."</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Now, if that doesn't sound like a printmaker I'll eat my Wildebeest. We had to wait several minutes for this couple to get out from under the vehicles so we could be on our way to snapping photos of other beautiful creatures. I must have roughly 652 photos of lions, although some of those could be elephants. Some day I will have to count them, but for today, I think I'll snooze and think about it. There could be a print in there - in fact, I think there is......zzzzzzzzSharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-6672668093494318992014-04-28T15:19:00.000-07:002014-04-28T15:19:20.628-07:00Photo FinishThe ponies are headed for the finish line and with any luck at all, they will reach it today! The latest incarnation involves playing in mica. Well, why not? The deadline is flexible so I can take as long as it takes, which is really quite a grand feeling!<br />
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There is some pesky trimming to be done, too - unfortunately, the fingers were not always pristinely clean when handling the paper. Rats. Here is a photo of the pony with his/her iridescent circles - I hope they will show up on various monitors….<br />
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Now the only thing remaining is the clothing. You didn't think I would send these babies out in the buff, did you? Having already gone silly over this project, here is the finishing touch -</div>
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After the trimming and dressing are complete there will be the little matter of finding envelopes which fit. Oh oh. Probably should have thought about that quite some time ago. And then there is also the story about this little pony to be written. He/she has had quite an illustrious past and I'm sure everyone will want to know all the delicious details….. maybe not! At any rate, I do hope everyone will enjoy this little fella as much as I've enjoyed putting it together and that it will bring you veritable downpours of good luck in many different forms.</div>
Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-6711028839948243752014-04-23T17:14:00.002-07:002014-04-23T17:14:47.076-07:00Trouble at the OK CorralThis gift horse is quickly becoming the gift that keeps on giving. Finally, I finished mucking about in the background and moved onto the blue and yay! it was time for red. Such excitement in the corral, and then to my horrified eyes should appear - the part of the red block that I had mistakenly carved away. <br />
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The stripe on the saddle nearest the animal's head has no red. I'm sure to the less obsessive compulsive of us this would not have mattered, but to the rest of us - well, this had to be remedied. So, on comes the fake wood - or to be more genteel, <a href="http://imcclains.com/" target="_blank">QuikWood</a>, as it is known at McClain's. Or, you can find a similar product at your local home improvement store. I simply mixed a little ball of this wood putty stuff, flattened it to the right height, smushed it on the block where I'd made my mistake, and when it was dry, carved the missing part back in.</div>
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Now all the stripes have their red part. The purple line block has been printed again and everyone is in blotters drying. Or eating, or sleeping, or whatever critters do when they are between blotters and weighted with a piece of plywood. They will rest there until morning and then it will be on to the next step. I'm not hearing any noise from them - they must be resting peacefully. I think we can surmise that the trouble at the corral is over. For the moment.</div>
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Meanwhile, I need to run down to the local version of a yarn store and see if I can get the right size needles for the next knitting project. It is a constant problem to keep me entertained and off the streets.</div>
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Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-40930215276375704512014-04-18T15:45:00.000-07:002014-04-18T15:45:06.008-07:00The Gift HorseIt must be the Year of the Horse - I assume that is why ponies of every description have been galloping in here since last December. After a few years forced hiatus (forced by lack of time, and/or energy) from the Barenforum New Years Card Exchange, I decided to again participate. But, January, February, March and now most of April have come and gone and I have yet to produce a pony.<br />
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We've seen Trojan horses, galloping horses, dancing horses, prancing horses, rocking horses, stick horses, horses of many colors, chess piece horses (that was the one I had in mind and then Andrew did it first and better which really ticked me off! Especially the "better" part), and you name it, that kind of horse has been through here. Henceforth, and to wit and all that, it was really hard to come up with something everyone hasn't already seen. And then I had a flash of brilliance. Truthfully, that may be a bit overstated, but suddenly I remembered this little horse on wheels that my granddaughters had when they were toddlers. They rode that horse all over the house until their legs got too long for it. Their mother tells me it is a "hand me down horse" from Kmart. So, I decided to call it the Gift Horse. <br />
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Pre-launch of the gift horse I was going to post moment by moment progress, however I was several moments into it before I remembered that that was the plan. It started with a plain yellow background, followed by a stencil of green circles, another stencil of kind of orangy circles, then those seemed too bright, so another drop of lemon yellow and then I remembered that this was going to be step by step.<br />
But, before I managed to scan it I plunged into the blue body which required two drops to get a bright blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLqe_FPKYpXNhq6zJ9CMU0jUOIZlZKcNmGAc5xAubS27w91nQQXnIkExuiA7O0vYYWt0ZPIgoBK5XogW9Gk5OD67T-e8sK6WrZTPyomS5dpE8rHLNH4K54ntYe0gvZ0NjCLbqwdjcSMXB/s1600/Gift+horse+5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLqe_FPKYpXNhq6zJ9CMU0jUOIZlZKcNmGAc5xAubS27w91nQQXnIkExuiA7O0vYYWt0ZPIgoBK5XogW9Gk5OD67T-e8sK6WrZTPyomS5dpE8rHLNH4K54ntYe0gvZ0NjCLbqwdjcSMXB/s1600/Gift+horse+5.jpeg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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Up until this point it really looked pretty much like a beagle with round legs anyway, so you didn't miss much. And then I realized that I really should have printed the purple so I could tell if things were lining up properly. Guess it has been awhile since I printed this way. Today the purple is going down and we can see that registration is going pretty well:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUFJ601jLUUHxGccYZKaRuo4xj7SeQgrXv13Fc5YMBSVe9LjQgANNYWQqCsR3_G78690oVVjYoBP4gIOESx_WR4R6E6FDoBa1TOt4oWiaQi1EP3_msO89XA4T5ZRE3wtMwjw0QNN6BfMb/s1600/Gift+horse+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUFJ601jLUUHxGccYZKaRuo4xj7SeQgrXv13Fc5YMBSVe9LjQgANNYWQqCsR3_G78690oVVjYoBP4gIOESx_WR4R6E6FDoBa1TOt4oWiaQi1EP3_msO89XA4T5ZRE3wtMwjw0QNN6BfMb/s1600/Gift+horse+1.jpeg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, this is where we are today - about half way through the purple. When we move to the next color I'll let you know. But, a funny thing happened on the way to this print. I started cutting paper and apparently didn't know when to stop because I have about 68 of these things and it takes a while for me to get through the pile. Sometimes it is two days to get one color down. Therefore, don't hold your breath for the next sign of progress. Easter is coming and there are eggs to prepare and other forms of foolishness and fun. Happy Easter, Passover, Solstice (a few days late, but hey! any excuse to party) or whatever you may be celebrating this weekend! We will be having our annual Geriatric Egg Hunt at son and daughter-in-law's house this year. The age range of hunters is 4 - 80+. We are heavily slanted on the over 60 end of this thing. The bunny hides about 150 eggs and it is every man or woman for themselves when the starting whistle is blown!</div>
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Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-84764719473673641802014-03-25T15:43:00.000-07:002014-03-25T15:59:51.562-07:00Starfish in troubleInsanity seems to be King around here and was apparently waving his scepter and demanding allegiance about last January, when in a fit of fealty I signed up for yet another exchange. Albeit, this one is a small one - paper size is a petite 5" X 7", it has a large theme: Let This Be A Sign. Say, what? Immediately after sign up I realized that the dizziness I was feeling was caused by the million and one questions rotating in my mind, trying to land on something substantial that I could evolve an image from. But, nothing was happening - it was like when the little whirling circle on the computer just keeps whirling and never stops until you force quit. This unfortunate state of being lasted for approximately two months. Then there was a miracle, I kid you not.<br />
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On the news one night there was a segment on the status of starfish, some people know them as sea stars, and their perilous fight for survival. Or fight for something. They are dying up and down both coasts of the US. and probably other places, too, but those two for sure. Furthermore. they were exhibiting very unusual behavior such as tearing their own arms off and eating them. Ewww. These poor things are in peril big time. And, then it hit: OMG that has to be a sign of something, pollution, change in water temperature or salinity due to the polar ice cap melting, no one seems to know what. But, wait a minute! Did I say "a sign of something"? Yes, yes! It is a SIGN! And, to add to the festivities, there is a zen tangle drawing in my sketchbook that might be just what I need. Ahh, but which sketchbook? I found it without too much sleuthing:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwAZ2i8Ugw8HrsTGqx8jPD2p81ggY03HdrD73MyZFL52Gxit8XV28N7lpZOAhf9bjkCndOvXObsbeSZvqH9DoLvoOF0-_hKZK2WgiOAWEYBR1h9s1xqaZm064at51UeWxnmNOgNeIocj1/s1600/STARFISH+DRAWING.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwAZ2i8Ugw8HrsTGqx8jPD2p81ggY03HdrD73MyZFL52Gxit8XV28N7lpZOAhf9bjkCndOvXObsbeSZvqH9DoLvoOF0-_hKZK2WgiOAWEYBR1h9s1xqaZm064at51UeWxnmNOgNeIocj1/s1600/STARFISH+DRAWING.jpeg" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
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There it is in the lower half of the page! Next I traced it onto a piece of acetate and exposed it onto a <a href="http://solarplate.com/" target="_blank">Solarplate</a>™. Now, a normal person would have just printed it black on white and been perfectly happy with it. But, we are speaking about moi. The first thing I thought was, rainbow roll behind the image - yes I could do that - so I did.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-MMM-P1AjbJ3I43yKKCO3g-75o9sedKtjnOfBnDn__w2si2rVirDlFSxUAcWm7CEcjX0wOlJAWHmSh0IBsMxUIFgRdbH3c0WHgUdvB8iYiiLWqC_ywIFNxIUIedpID7c4f10yJBQlHB2/s1600/STARFISH+DRAWING+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-MMM-P1AjbJ3I43yKKCO3g-75o9sedKtjnOfBnDn__w2si2rVirDlFSxUAcWm7CEcjX0wOlJAWHmSh0IBsMxUIFgRdbH3c0WHgUdvB8iYiiLWqC_ywIFNxIUIedpID7c4f10yJBQlHB2/s1600/STARFISH+DRAWING+2.jpeg" height="312" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ummmm, she kind of gets lost in the background - maybe a little chine collé. After trying a pink and a purple I landed on yellow - most of the starfish I've seen on our coast have been a bright yellow, so that was a winner. I made an acetate stencil to lay down after the black ink and before the rainbow roll.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhX9nwIEXkmllTjqNYWMJkIv4pE9NhbYuKJm6Vvr4aMxRAQ79n_J3pH1DZgOZsXj7gwhemKKA-51hi4rKsVExT6VfKttLTutp2Qnak4SecbNoC1ch-YzM2zf5TpG1Sg1sk8WWGooERqZf-/s1600/STARFISH+chine+colle.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhX9nwIEXkmllTjqNYWMJkIv4pE9NhbYuKJm6Vvr4aMxRAQ79n_J3pH1DZgOZsXj7gwhemKKA-51hi4rKsVExT6VfKttLTutp2Qnak4SecbNoC1ch-YzM2zf5TpG1Sg1sk8WWGooERqZf-/s1600/STARFISH+chine+colle.jpeg" height="312" width="320" /></a></div>
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Never one to quit before it's too late, if one chine collé is good, how about two? I just happened to have something perfect in the "white decorate papers" drawer. So, a wonderful paper with streaks of silver undulating through it seemed to me to be the perfect complement. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3By2OA22YRLrYyoORHd9RE4K14DCQEELkYg3cjXhR0lwmi8802qM8WQfuSRPAiRZbdYVw7sQgTxCoUWrMSIoUNmVjdb01WeLKdxt33IvgXPFDGuB_0MQeuPh7XNfyrIY2IaLESsoXYbnO/s1600/STARFISH+chine+colle+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3By2OA22YRLrYyoORHd9RE4K14DCQEELkYg3cjXhR0lwmi8802qM8WQfuSRPAiRZbdYVw7sQgTxCoUWrMSIoUNmVjdb01WeLKdxt33IvgXPFDGuB_0MQeuPh7XNfyrIY2IaLESsoXYbnO/s1600/STARFISH+chine+colle+1.jpeg" height="400" width="228" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The only problem was that the silver from the wonder paper would be forced onto the plate after every trip through the press and it would not come off with anything. I tried baby oil, turps, mineral spirits, water (which is really not a good thing on solar plate). and finally, in a fit of desperation, De-Solv-It. Which fortunately did not dissolve the plate, but did get rid of the silver residue, and that stuff had to go because it wanted to collect black ink on the next print and that certainly would not do. After that problem was solved (no pun intended) I could go on to the last step: a blind embossing of the name STARFISH. (You may have to click on the image and enlarge it to see the embossing.) To my demented mind this signified the disappearance of this oceanic life form, if we humans don't do something to help them out. Without them how and what will the anemones eat? </span></div>
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The answer to the theme "Let This Be A Sign" was held in one little news segment on the Nightly News Report. Who would have guessed? Well, I'm very glad to have that out of the way and now it is on to the next quandary. What am I going to do for my Year of the Horse card for the exchange on the <a href="http://barenforum.org/" target="_blank">Barenforum</a> site? I'll be watching the news for inspiration. And, I'm thinking it will be a woodblock print - just for a change of pace and because the fingers are actually feeling pretty good these days! Just will be keeping those fingers crossed that Arthur Itis doesn't rear his ugly head before I'm finished.</div>
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-20208610437083582002014-02-23T13:49:00.000-08:002014-02-23T13:49:51.305-08:00The Ampersand ProjectSometimes I sign up for things for which there is no rational explanation. This was one of those times. And then, to make matters a little worse I had a genius idea for the project: an Ampersand Chicken. I considered her to be absolutely the most gorgeous Ampersand Chick I had ever seen - the only one, as a matter of fact. The only problem was that no one I showed it to could find the ampersand. You be the judge:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v1ZDKbFMZrXAW_7A7LiqPpkcQxcNsC2R2Ie2HHj9Vw2Uye2TUVLcT1_g-OVGC3dR6ihn3tkSxSZEe_KkJiSLZEFnSfQ5dTn7modH-4R_PTseRJxUdZfdXP8UiDWfS3JiQJSNlmTFTeLz/s1600/Ampersand+chick+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v1ZDKbFMZrXAW_7A7LiqPpkcQxcNsC2R2Ie2HHj9Vw2Uye2TUVLcT1_g-OVGC3dR6ihn3tkSxSZEe_KkJiSLZEFnSfQ5dTn7modH-4R_PTseRJxUdZfdXP8UiDWfS3JiQJSNlmTFTeLz/s1600/Ampersand+chick+1.jpeg" height="320" width="232" /></a></div>
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I thought the tail was a dead giveaway, but alas, no one else I came in contact with agreed. So, under a coat of paint she went. The end product is pretty lack luster and not near as comely as my chick, but there was a deadline and this could not go on forever. The final submission was:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBUPfl094nhqTTWkkZIXNLih1oDfgkn_La7zMAr2VVL-XuNIq5AGM2bKKYdhICfKQMlXcmD-ADtGsLFUWU2CRI968MGF9L33oSaVnECTDRQ3pKk4M1bvTiJKOE1rGfmRLm0NHVADWat_L/s1600/Ampersand+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBUPfl094nhqTTWkkZIXNLih1oDfgkn_La7zMAr2VVL-XuNIq5AGM2bKKYdhICfKQMlXcmD-ADtGsLFUWU2CRI968MGF9L33oSaVnECTDRQ3pKk4M1bvTiJKOE1rGfmRLm0NHVADWat_L/s1600/Ampersand+2.jpeg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
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And that is the end of the ampersand project. If you look closely you will see one red boot - all that is left of the Ampersand Chick. Bless her soul, she is resting in peace.</div>
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It was a rush to get the above project finished and in the mail before the floor refinishers arrived on the scene to correct the mess from the water leak last October - the one I came back from Turkey to discover. The restoration company brought a carload of boxes and we started loading them, two or three a day, and carting them to the studio. Eventually, they showed up and moved the dining room furniture out and we started piling boxes on top of it. Then they moved the living room out to whatever room was still available in the first studio room and what wouldn't fit there went into the garage. Boxes of books and family memorabilia were everywhere.</div>
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Next was our move to the remaining rooms of the studio, where we were to reside for a week. I thought, "This will be a piece of cake! I have an edition to print and we can go out to dinner every night courtesy of our insurance premiums." HA! WRONG - O! As soon as we were firmly ensconced it started to snow and the following week was nothing but snow and ice. We were, effectively, snowed in. It doesn't take much in the Northwest. We didn't want to go out and have one of those crazy drivers who don't slow down for anything slamming into us, so we just stayed put until the roads were clear. My edition was pulled and then some. This is for the Soltice exchange that Charles Morgan curates - the theme is Making a Difference. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHy8SKYWl-yJ1YmCMPDCuVDFf0ds3yg_bFa72G5dRaaN0DXvgYAlLxCJsznZnlogZAZ0QCZXQCWFKK-IesKS4nC788LnPX97Y9FkzmcGaJPowf3My4SOjMg4mr7x6gl2YhL8U9j0ydDCs/s1600/The+Winds+of+Change.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHy8SKYWl-yJ1YmCMPDCuVDFf0ds3yg_bFa72G5dRaaN0DXvgYAlLxCJsznZnlogZAZ0QCZXQCWFKK-IesKS4nC788LnPX97Y9FkzmcGaJPowf3My4SOjMg4mr7x6gl2YhL8U9j0ydDCs/s1600/The+Winds+of+Change.jpeg" height="320" width="260" /></a></div>
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The Winds of Change</div>
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Image size 8" x 7" </div>
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Multi plate intaglio a la poupee</div>
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Edition of 30</div>
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Somerset Satin paper Gamblin Etching Inks</div>
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The image is based, loosely, on the wheat fields of Eastern Oregon which, in recent years, have been sprouting wind turbines right and left. We have a choice on our electric bill to opt for renewable resources for a certain percentage of the bill, which we do. I hope we are making a difference in our own tiny way.</div>
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We are now almost totally moved back in to the house and everything put away where it belongs, or close to it, anyway. The only thing left is removing the cardboard from under chair and table legs and putting the carpets back down. That is due to happen tomorrow and when it is complete I'm cracking a bottle of champaign and possibly downing it single handed. (Hopefully not! I am a terrible drunk - going from tipsy to sickly somewhere between two and three glasses.)</div>
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Now it is time to tackle the next project and I am determined to KISS (keep it simple, Stupid) as this last one turned out to be a monster to print cleanly. After trying everything this side of Mars to allow me to wipe a Solarplate™ cleanly, I finally opted for acetate masks. They worked, but between the delicate inking and getting the masks to stay in place during their trips through the press, the kill rate was very high! We'll see if the lesson has been learned….</div>
<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-7957998534702750642013-11-11T13:15:00.000-08:002013-11-11T13:17:41.225-08:00OMG - More FlagsWill this flag saga never end? I think I left off with having the background printed (before I left to traverse the world). That proved to be more problematic than I had anticipated. I thought the flat of gold textile ink, which was screened onto the fabric, was in the middle of the fabric and that it would be a simple matter to print the border and the flower where I wanted them. None of this proved to be true. First - the flat somehow was not in the exact same place on each flag although I am at a loss to explain that since I put them all down in precisely the same place on the bed and pulled them exactly the same. Oh well - another of those printmaking mysteries. This made it nigh impossible to get the border and image in the middle of the flat, but I donned my suit of armor, jumped on my white charger, and spear (or brayer) in hand, forged ahead pretending that I knew exactly what I was doing. Most of them turned out to be, more or less, in the middle. At any rate, I am pleased with the result and am now ready to move on to the next project, although at the moment I am not entirely certain what that will be.....<br />
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Here are the flags hanging above the studio door, ready for Open Studios Tour last weekend:<br />
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And, below is a closeup of three of them:<br />
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I'm certain they are going to waft their thoughts of wisdom, beauty, love, friendship and imagination all about the house and garden and we will live in perfect tranquility forever after. Well, it's a beautiful thought, don't you think?<br />
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Of course, these beauties are for sale - you can have a set of your own for a pittance! If you're interested the set is $100 or $25 each for an individual flag. Each flag is 12.5" x 16", hemmed and strung on polyester cord. Contact me at Barebonesart@ comcast.net<br />
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-88731974143336193042013-09-22T16:38:00.000-07:002013-09-22T16:38:39.322-07:00The Next Flag IterationA reasonable person would ask if this flag obsession will ever end. As things stand at the moment my answer would be, possibly - maybe even probably - not soon. The thing is, I have promised a few more sets and then Vancouver will be doing Open Studios in November and I'm thinking I would like to have some for sale then. We'll see if that happens since so far only the fabric has been prepared, cut, and the background printed.<br />
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Background? you ask. Well, I had the bright (?) idea to print a metallic gold background thinking that the woodblock prints would be more readable, maybe. To confuse matters more (because why keep it simple, Stupid, when you can complicate it beyond all reasonable standards), I thought this might be as good a time as any to try out the Yudu machine I purchased over a year ago. You see, I had a coupon. Need I say more? but, I will. I had a coupon for 40% off, and the machines were on sale, and with it all added up they practically paid me to take it off their hands. So, I did. I think the machine was about $20 and then I probably spent a hundred on supplies for it. Yeah, I've been known to exaggerate, but I do recall that the supplies were about 3 times as much as the machine. AND, since it was such a good deal I should have smelled a skunk. Michael's Art & Crafts, the skunk, no longer carries Yudu or any of the supplies - so now I must find a place to mail order, I guess. Because, I love this machine. It is so easy - and the light table, exposure unit, drying rack, registration posts, printing and everything is in one compact unit. True, you are restricted to about 12 x 16 inch image but that is big enough for me.<br />
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As you can see there is even a timer to set for exposures and drying times. So, supplies are the only problem, but there are several places on line from which to order, so I'll give that a try and report later.<br />
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Two yards of 45" broadcloth will make sixteen 11 x 16 inch flags. I masked the screen to the size I want for the background and printed away. These things were hanging willy nilly here and there all over the studio and the clothesline in the garage to dry (80 of them) and then I ironed them to set the ink. (That's more than I've ironed in 30 years). The metallic gold is a water based fabric ink which needs to be heat-set for it to be permanent. I've tried printing regular old black etching ink over it and it seems to work very well, so that is what I plan to use for the woodblock images.<br />
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Here the little lovelies are - all ready for the woodblocks when I return from Turkey. My Alter-ego wants to get busy printing, but my lousy conscience is saying, rather sternly, "If you are going to be ready to depart the day after tomorrow at some ungodly early hour then you had better start laundering and packing and you can print when you get back home." That Conscience gal is named Constance because she is Constantly forcing me to do the practical thing. There is a name for women like her and it starts with B and ends with H and has 5 letters. And, she's a nag. But, I suppose I should let her win this one...<br />
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-43298419435541425042013-08-20T15:19:00.002-07:002013-08-20T15:22:37.798-07:00Flags Are Finally Flying HighThe printing of these was actually completed some time ago, but I just got them up and flying last night. It was a fir climb up those trees (they are actually Western Red Cedar - not fir, but I couldn't resist a little pun.) If I were really part monkey, like my mother had always told me, it would have been much easier. As it was, the squirrels were not happy with me, but no one else seemed to care one iota.<br />
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Here's a close up of them all in a row.<br />
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Just getting the extention ladder down the 45° slope and up against each tree without me plummeting to the bottom of the canyon and kersplatting in the creek was enough of a challenge - I didn't tempt fate by trying to adjust each increment in its proper space. (Did I mention that the children are not happy that I was on a ladder in the first place? And that hubby's comment as, "Not a good idea." It probably wasn't, but they're up now! Besides, nothing I have ever done that had the tiniest degree of risk involved ever elicited anything other than, "Not a good idea".)<br />
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When I started this project I had actually had the foolish idea that I might try to sell these. Now, knowing how bloomin' bloody much work they are I will make them for friends and family, but as for the marketing and manufacture -- not so much into that, anymore! You never know, though - give me a few days to recover from the ladder and the climbing and my mind could change - - again.<br />
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And, now it is time for violin practice. I read the other day that if I keep practicing at the rate I'm going in 27 years I'll be an expert. I think that if we're expecting that I had better up the practice time considerably!<br />
<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-6373338278008008892013-07-21T16:01:00.003-07:002013-07-22T17:05:45.067-07:00Back to the Heart of the Matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before the beginning of time, or at least before the block for the Puzzle Print occupied my time, there was the Heart. You may not recall, but the Heart is part of the <a href="http://www.peacehealth.org/Documents/FDNS/FDN-PHSW-HeArt_Event2013.pdf" target="_blank">Peace Health Hospital's fund raiser</a> for their new vascular and heart health unit at SW WA Medical Center. 25 artists were ask to paint a heart and they will be displayed about the city before they are finally auctioned to the highest bidder in mid-September.<br />
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Well, this "large gray thing" was delivered about six weeks ago and has ruled my life since. First off was a thorough wash down, then a couple of coats of oil based primer to make sure the pigment didn't flake off due to weather conditions. Then the painting began and once the blue for the sky was there it looked for all the world like a giant blue butt. That was partially because most of the heart was obscured by the folded-up ping pong table. Eventually the heart's name became Helga because half a century ago I saw a TV program about cross country skiing and the host's name was Helga and she had the biggest back-side I had ever seen. Right then and there I proclaimed that I would never cross country ski because I did not want those results. Of course, later I learned that her shape was probably genetic and had nothing to do with skiing, but still I never took up the sport. Why risk it?<br />
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But, I digress. The painting of the heart occurred over the ensuing six weeks, or so, and when it was all done I thought it resembled a balloon. My son agreed and with his and Preston the Welder's help we managed to concoct a balloon floating off into the air with ribbon streamers following.<br />
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This involved cutting the pole, tilting the heart, and then welding it into place, bending 1/4 inch rebar to resemble ribbon streamers and welding those to the pole, building (via more welding) an armature and welding that into place. Covering the armature with quarter inch hardware cloth, then fiberglas repair stuff (messy and incredibly stinky), then Bondo and a lot of sanding. After that came the attaching of rubber tubing which had been sliced half way through and attached, via epoxy, along the bottom edge of the creation. Then all that was left was the painting of the additions and the part that had been destroyed through this last process. I cannot thank my son, Don and his friend, Preston (Kimsey) the welder, enough for their part in this endeavor.<br />
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The ladies and the birds have been the object of several paintings and prints - which will explain why they may look familiar. They, all nine of them, are dancing and cavorting in a meadow, with birds, birds, more birds, and a butterfly or two.<br />
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The finishing touch was the application of some silver jewelry hearts by my darling daughter-in-law, Kara:<br />
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This is one of those things I would have futsed with forever if it had stuck around, but mercifully two adorable young movers came on Friday and wrapped and carted Helga away to be clear coated by a local car dealership. I am very thankful to this man for his donation to the cause as otherwise I would have been applying two or three coats of UV safe finish coats. Hallelujah! Helga is off to wherever Hearts go before they go to their spot in downtown Vancouver, WA. Helga herself will eventually be in front of the <a href="http://www.kigginstheatre.net/" target="_blank">Kiggins Theater</a> on Main Street.<br />
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Bye-bye Helga! Did I mention that Helga is over 6' and weighs around 150 lbs.? She is a big girl and not easily moved. At least, I couldn't get her to budge an inch.<br />
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And now, because I must mention woodblock work at some point in this post, I am eager to return to block printing. What d'ya wanna bet that the next ones will have to do with printed balloons - maybe?? I am certain of one thing, those girls will be back for sure. I feel another attempt at moku hanga coming on.... Just what I need: another challenge.<br />
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-22030701267122734912013-06-13T15:30:00.000-07:002013-06-13T15:30:57.512-07:00Fairy QueenI'm assuming that you are also participating, or at least know of, the next<a href="http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> monumental puzzle print</a> - the babe of Miss Maria of the Monumental Mysteries. You will recall that the last such endeavor was the <a href="http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/2012/05/hello-my-dear-dear-dear-citizens-full.html" target="_blank">City of the World</a>, in which my contribution was a playground for children. I used a photo of my oldest granddaughter, Grace, on the monkey bars in a park in Madison, WI, for my inspiration. I think she was about 4 yrs. old then - now she is an old woman of 15.<div>
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The theme for this year's Monumental Puzzle Print is a Fantasy Garden. The puzzle piece I received reminded me immediately of a butterfly. But, I thought there would be plenty of butterflies and I should do something that would reflect my younger granddaughter, Camille. When Camille was around 4 yrs. old she was your ultimate faery queen. Upon arising in the morning one of her first demands was, "Where is my crown?" As soon as she located it she whipped on her wings, donned the crown and was good for the day unless they had to go out and then the wings would have to come off in order to get the jacket and and car seat accommodated. It didn't take long for me to decide that every garden needs fairies - especially ones who carry on long conversations with lady bugs while the fire flies light the night. (Camille loves bugs! She thinks the baby leeches are just the cutest things, as they crawl up her arm...)</div>
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It will be great fun to see all of the other contributions to the Fantasy Garden and I'm looking forward to the next day and night Printing Party! Meanwhile, I've decided to take violin lessons and see if I can play it after a hiatus of roughly 60 years. My poor, long suffering, instructor will be here momentarily. </div>
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BTW, I forgot to mention that Ms. Maria forbids us to proof our blocks. They do unpredictable things having to do with humidity and lack there of when they have been inked and cleaned and then go to Las Vegas where she resides. In order to proof both of these blocks I wrapped them in foil, put them through the press, inked and printed them very carefully. Once they go to Maria they are pretty much gone forever - until she arrives with all of the pieces glued onto their matrix and ready to print the w-h-o-l-e thing. I believe she said there will be 6 sheets of paper to complete the image - maybe it was more. I know there are a lot of us involved in this project. Printmakers have the most fun!!</div>
Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-64400598762367722902013-04-16T17:25:00.000-07:002013-04-16T17:25:23.666-07:00Change of tuneAnyone who knows me can tell you that I change my tune every time I turn around. And here we go again. No sooner than the last entry had been posted I had changed my mind about the imagery to use on the heart. I'm sticking with the girls dancing through the woods releasing birds with reckless abandon, but they will be more on the order of Procession of the Birds:<br />
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And, somewhere along the line, probably on the reverse, will be some expanded version of Keepers of the Flame.<br />
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Both are small intaglio prints I did last year using <a href="http://www.solarplate.com/" target="_blank">Solarplate™</a>and inking ala poupeé. Way back at the beginning of time I made little daubers from scraps of an old chamois stuffed with a cotton ball and secured with twine. They look like simple little dolls in long dresses, which is the translation of poupeé: doll. They are used to dab the different colors of ink onto the plate before wiping very carefully. These little dolls have served me well - and, I trust, will continue to do so. They sleep in an old coolwhip container when not in use.<br />
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It will be interesting to see how these women translate into painting. Well, we should be finding out soon!<br />
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Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-62671574225881188192013-04-14T16:40:00.001-07:002013-04-14T16:40:47.351-07:00A little distractionFlags have had to go on hold for a couple of days. A deadline of Apr. 15 descended upon me with gusto - no, not taxes this time, but another project. The <a href="http://www.sw-medicalgroup.org/hearts" target="_blank">Peace Health Southwest Medical Foundation </a>is conducting an auction to raise funds to add space and upgrade imaging equipment for their most fragile heart and vascular patients. 25 three foot fiberglas hearts will make their way to Vancouver and corresponding artists studios where they will be painted and towards the end of summer be put up for adoption by the highest bidders. After that some of them, if not all, will be exhibited as public art around the city. The sketches of what I plan to do with my giant heart are due tomorrow and never wanting to be ahead of a deadline I have valiantly upheld my tradition of being right down to the wire. As I was singing along and getting ready to scan the images and printed forms and actually send them off A DAY EARLY, mind you, the scanner won't work. I've tried everything: turned everything off and back on a couple of times (this is my cure-all and generally works, but not this time), downloaded a driver, tried to re-install the software, kicked, screamed, cried - well, not cried, but almost. Nothing works, I just keep getting a notice that says, in a very cranky and irritating tone, "this is no longer supported --". Can they do that? Just order their machines to quit and not give a person any notice? Probably yes, because they are the Computer Gods. I have a call in to my favorite of all time Guru, but he is out of town until tomorrow afternoon.<br />
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There was no choice, well - truthfully, their was a choice - I could have bundled this all up and trooped down to Kinkos and had them scan everything, but I chose to photograph the sketches, write the little bio, and send that much off today with a note that the thing I really need to scan will follow tomorrow, one way or another. I'm really, really, hoping that my Guru will tell me to click this and click that and the scanner will work again. If I have to buy a new one I am going to be a wee bit upset, (translation: mighty pissed.)<br />
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Anyway, the sketches I submitted were: my dancing women and children - kind of an old stand-by that I've done a million ways if I've done it once, but it is still fun to do:<br />
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The plan would be to have the girls dance all the way around - birds and butterflies in abundance and frogs and turtles, ladybugs and snails in the foliage. Pure fun everywhere.<br />
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Or, I could do this - a kind of <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/hiphop/diablo4u/remedios.html" target="_blank">Remedios Varo</a> type of image. I've always been fascinated with her work and have many sketches of my own versions of which this is high on the list of favorites. I could see this on one side of the heart with the tapestry going around to the other side where the rivers and oceans would be made. <br />
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Unless someone makes the decision for me I will vacillate from now until the moment to actually start painting. Which do you think is the more interesting? Please help me decide!<br />
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-35247236588676772992013-04-08T18:41:00.000-07:002013-04-08T18:41:52.310-07:005 Flags All In a RowIt seems like ages since I've posted, and that's mainly because it has been ages. The blocks are all carved, the flags have been printed and hemmed and I'm ready to do a little hand embellishment and string them onto a cord. I also picked up some wooden beads to intersperse. These definitely are not your traditional Buddhist Prayer Flags - they have mutated into Sharri's Version Prayer Flags. I hope they will work the same way and the blessings will still waft their way along the wings of the wind.<br />
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Printing went very well. They were printed with black etching ink with quite a bit of gold metallic powder and transparent base mixed together. I printed them exactly as you would on paper with the fabric laid on the block using a registration jig so I could get things where they belonged. If I had laid the block onto the fabric as the Tibetan printers do I would have had totally blind registration and I seem to have enough trouble when I can see what I'm doing. Then I used a rubber blanket and zipped them through the etching press. Clive says he has a Tee Shirt printed with letterpress ink and it has lasted for years, and come to think of it, I have a sweatshirt in the same condition. However, it has not hung out in the rain and sun for any of those years, so this could be a different game. We'll see!<br />
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As soon as I get these babies strung they are going either into the garage or outside where I can spray them with a UV protector. It must be highly toxic stuff because they tell you to do this outside. Guess I will wear my respirator mask when I do that... it has a haute couture look, if you're a bug.<br />
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A friend had some flags in her garden and they gradually disappeared. She had no idea where they were going. One day a squirrel nest fell from a tree and there were her flags, they had been shredded into nesting material. We are wondering if I spray them with Varathane if that would deter the squirrels. Yet another thing to try. We will be ready for our totally random and uncontrolled lab trials in a day or two. So far there isn't any hurry for the UV trials as it is cloudy, rainy, with sudden flashes of sunlight between showers, and very much April in our corner of the map.<br />
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The flowering trees are blooming and the bulbs are signalling that Spring is on its way. We are swamped (literally) with daffodils of every persuasion, fritelaria (not sure how you spell any of these) and bergonia. I hope you gardeners will recognize these phonetically and correct my spelling! However they are spelled they are uplifting and gorgeous. And, hopefully, flags will be performing the same miracle shortly.<br />
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-13301796036410690382013-03-22T12:45:00.001-07:002013-03-22T12:52:49.534-07:00Flag Progress:From paper to fabric in one easy motion -If anyone out there knows of a better way to do this - please! Speak up! Share your knowledge. Meanwhile, I continue to stumble down the Flag Road left to my own devices. Since the intended design involves two blocks there is a little matter of registration. The problem has been how to get the fabric down onto the registration jig in the right place since it is floppy, you know. So, I went back to when I was doing the large hanga prints and managed to get the floppy paper down by using a carrier sheet. But, how to get the fabric onto the block with a carrier sheet. My solution is to use an easy tack adhesive, intended for moving paste-ups and such around. I sprayed the carrier sheet with the Easy Tack:<br />
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So far, so good. I can flip this over and the fabric doesn't flop to the counter top. I was able to get it down on the jig in good form.</div>
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And, even through the press, using the wonderful little rubber blanket which the PIP printers gave to me. If you are in the market, I'm sure any printer would be happy to donate a sheet or two. I just wish PIP used bigger blankets. A splurge to buy one may be in my future. We'll see....<br />
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I'm pleased! None of the actual flags will be on purple fabric and this piece is all wonky-wishy. It is a remnant I found in the bottom of the left-overs box and was a solid color so it was immediately drafted into service.</div>
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The fabric ink I had ordered does not roll on and print satisfactorily. Nor does it paint onto the block and print satisfactorily, therefore I am back to good old oil based etching ink. It does not stiffen the fabric one iota and should be tough enough to withstand the elements. I will be trying these out in various parts of the country - if you would like to be a tryer-outer, let me know. So far, I have one desert dweller and one Northwestern gardner (me). They will be subjected to blazing hot sun and horrendous hot winds on one side and deluges of water, algae and moss on the other end. Should they survive one season of this menu I will consider marketing them - otherwise, it is just a fun project and I want them for my garden, anyway.</div>
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<br />Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5125762297190700405.post-11581292831584709822013-03-12T19:03:00.003-07:002013-03-12T19:03:57.503-07:00The Great Border DebateNo, not the Northern border, although we do have to watch for those Canadians, and not the Southern border either - but the prayer flag border. That is the problem. One should never mess around printing anything more than one way. It almost always leads to distraction not to mention being stalled on top dead center not knowing which way to go now.<br />
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It greatly surprised me that I was drawn to the gold border. It had looked way to anemic on its own, but add the mum and somehow - the wonder of color theory, I suspect - the central image pops forth, where as in the black/gold border the central image is being controlled. So now, do I want to pop or stay within bounds. That is the question. All opinions will be gratefully accepted. Please.<br />
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Unfortunately, this is a rather poor gold proof, but it was what I had left, having screwed up one way or another on the other 3 or 4 I had ready to go. I had a devil of a time getting the press set to the correct pressure. My planets must be whirling around every which way because they are definitely not lined-up properly. By the time I solved the problem of the press, and the problem of the brayer that was not inking in the middle, I was too spent to print more gold borders. Bear with me, this may take a while.<br />
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However, I did knock 'em dead at luminosity this afternoon when I took a break. I was a lot younger then.<br />
Sharrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00941567668722751740noreply@blogger.com0