Where 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.

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.

 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.

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.

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:

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:

The Giant's Garden:  Tea Time

6" x 8"

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!

Photo Finish

The 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!

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….

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 -

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.

Trouble at the OK Corral

This 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.

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, QuikWood, 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.

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.

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.

The Gift Horse

It 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.

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.

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.
But, before I managed to scan it I plunged into the blue body which required two drops to get a bright blue.

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:

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!

Starfish in trouble

Insanity 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.

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:

There it is in the lower half of the page!  Next I traced it onto a piece of acetate and exposed it onto a Solarplate™.  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.

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.

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.

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?  

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 Barenforum 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.

The Ampersand Project

Sometimes 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:

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:

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.

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.

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. 

The Winds of Change

Image size  8" x 7" 

Multi plate intaglio a la poupee

Edition of 30

Somerset Satin paper Gamblin Etching Inks

$75.00

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.

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.)

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….

Flags Are Finally Flying High

The 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.

Here's a close up of them all in a row.

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".)

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.

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!

Fairy Queen

I'm assuming that you are also participating, or at least know of, the next monumental puzzle print - the babe of Miss Maria of the Monumental Mysteries.  You will recall that the last such endeavor was the City of the World, 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.

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...)

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. 

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!!

Change of tune

Anyone 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:

 And, somewhere along the line, probably on the reverse, will be some expanded version of Keepers of the Flame.

Both are small intaglio prints I did last year using Solarplate™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.

It will be interesting to see how these women translate into painting.  Well, we should be finding out soon!

A little distraction

Flags 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 Peace Health Southwest Medical Foundation 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.

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.)

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:

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.

Or, I could do this - a kind of Remedios Varo 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.

 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!

Mum's The Word

It was an all around successful day in the studio.  The Blossom Race was a runaway win with the old fashioned, albeit perennial favorite, Chrysanthemum as the undisputed winner.  Truthfully, there was never any doubt about who the winner would be - friendship had to be in the mix.  The drawing went well and I may have uncovered the secret to getting that transfer paper to do a better job of its intended purpose.  First, the image needs to be 300 dpi.  Second, the paper setting should be on plain white paper.  Third, the ink should be set to black or grayscale.  Fourth, use a baren to burnish the image to the block.  So, there you go - all secrets have been bared for all to see.

The only addition I could ask for would be some Artificial Intelligence that would automatically know not to transfer the lines I decided not to use....   Maybe in a parallel universe.

Meanwhile, tomorrow morning the carving will begin.  Can't wait to get started.  Being a printmaker  is so much like being a kid playing with favorite toys.  Think of the studio as a playpen although  I don't know that parents use those anymore.  I guess kids go to daycare instead.  Well, think of the studio as my daycare without a supervising know-it-all adult.  (Although, at times I could use one....)

The Rose Marches On

A memory must be a wonderful thing to have.  I wish I could remember when I had mine.  There should be a course, somewhere in the academic career of each individual, which would require that all students be mandated to cherish their memories because they will be bound to screw up at some time in their life.  Apparently, that day has arrived, once again, in mine.  Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I could have sworn that the rose was the final prayer flag image.  Alas, it is only the penultimate.  Nevertheless, this is what has happened since the previous post.  At least, this is my memory of it.

The block is carved and ready to proof:

And the proof:

There are a few little spots to clean up, but not too bad for a person with no memory.

So now, as they say, it is back to the drawing board for the final image.  Which one will it be? I had several tied for last place when I thought the rose had won.  It would appear that I need to revert to a previous post to see what the heck those were.  Stay tuned.  Providing I remember to post again the secret will be revealed.

BTW - have I mentioned that I've been doing the Luminosity.com brain exercises?  It may not be believable, but I have been very good at doing these 5 days a week.  They are guaranteed to improve ones memory. Hmmmmm. Maybe I should see about a refund.  If I can remember.....

A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose... On a Flag

Back in the studio after a couple of days of other projects and a day of pure fun with an old friend.  In fact we are so old we go all the way back to 4th or 5th grade (neither of us can remember).  When we get together we giggle like a couple of 4th graders, so maybe that was it and we have failed to progress.  But, I'm rambling which reminds me of roses and that is where we are.  It was a tough fight between sunflower, chrysanthemum, bird of paradise, zinnia, acanthus and, my fave, bells of Ireland.  Rose won not for being faster, but because I remember the roses in front of Pat's house and how she loves them.  And, what do you know, in Flower Language the red rose means love.  Every garden should have lots and lots of love wafting about on the breeze - in fact, I think it may be a law, or a code, or something.

The drawing is ready:

Next is to print it out onto the studio paper and then transfer to the block, sharpen knives, and carve, baby, carve!

Let The Carving Begin, Almost

Probably no one is interested in this, but I thought I would give it a go and see if I could do it.  "It" is documentation of a print from start to finish.  Not knowing quite where the beginning is I decided (quite arbitrarily) to start right after the block has been cut and sanded as smooth as a babies behind.

This method of transferring the image to the block is using the Studio Paper from McClain's.  I have found from experience with the Print From Hell (see previous post) that the ink tends to spread on the wood I'm using and lines are thicker than what I've drawn, which is one of the many reasons I had so much trouble with registration on the PFH, but it works great for one color prints and especially for Western style printmaking.

So, here we go with the image having been scanned and printed via ink jet printer onto the Studio Paper and placed face down on the block:

The ink will stay wet long enough for you to dink about taking photos, etc., so no need to be in a hurry.  However, don't go out for a beer - there isn't enough time for that right now.

Here's the tricky part:

Rub the back with your hand - does not need pressure to transfer.  At least not a lot of pressure.  You can use a baren or the back of a wooden spoon or a smooth river rock or - anything.  McClain's recommends using a slip sheet (maybe if I did that I would get a cleaner transfer?  I'll have to try that next time...)


And:  here is the result using the hand only:

That's not too bad, and certainly clear enough for my purposes on this print.  

And, here we are: all ready to start carving - tomorrow.  Times up for today.  Actually, tomorrow is a social (aka chocolate dessert with friend) day, therefore carving will not start until Friday - but watch the chips fly then!

Aha!  You thought I couldn't hear you, didn't you?  You were saying, "I don't see any kento marks.  She is going to have the same problems she had before - she has forgotten all about registration.  Hoo, boy, she is headed for Print From Hell #2".  Au contraire, mes amis! I do have a plan.  It may be ill begotten, but it is a plan.  We will see when the time comes.  Uh oh.  ;-)

(Isn't printmaking just more fun than a barrel of adolescent primates? One just never knows what's in store for one, does one??  Unless, of course, you are one of those stodgier types who have learned from experience not to experiment and do what you know works.  I have yet to learn that lesson.  Maybe I'm not as smart as an adolescent primate...)

Back to the Flags

You may, or may not, recall the Prayer Flag project that I started last Fall, or maybe it was last Summer.  Time just seems to fly by and I feel like I'm running along behind it, as fast as my little feet will go, but I just cannot catch up with it.  It seems like the harder I try the more I get behind.  Nevertheless, I've managed to catch the flag project and today I think I got the drawing done and ready to be transferred to the block.  This flower is the orchid and according to the Language of Flowers site it means "beauty".  Seems fitting for the idea that these flags, as they flutter in the garden, will be releasing the blessings attributed to them.

I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but the impetus for this project was the death of a dear friend's husband.  I wanted to do something in his memory and came up with the prayer flags because she is such an avid gardener and loves flowers.  One of his pet names for her was "Beauty" - and so we must have this image.

Tomorrow the image will go on the block and let the carving begin!  By George, I think I've caught this thing.  I knew those new sneakers would be good for more than just sneaking.

The Print From Hell Begins...

All of the deadlines have been met except one:  Barenforum exchange # 55, which I foolishly signed up for on Oct. 1, 2012 when Feb. 1, 2013 sounded years away.  I thought I needed something to occupy my time, and then I turned around and flew to North Dakota for a week, and then it was Thanksgiving, and then flew to ND again for Christmas, and then it was Dec. 31, 2012 and I discovered that the Sketchbook Project was due in two weeks.  Their  "next Jan." was tomorrow and my "next Jan." had been 2014.  Well, got to work quickly and did that and the portrait and now it is back to woodblock.

It all started with a simple drawing which I had planned to do Moku Hanga.  This is the drawing:

The theme is motion in nature - immediately I had thought of my daughter, when she was a toddler, and rode on a little seat on the back of my bike.  I updated it with a helmet, but in those days the only thing I really remember was a little plastic strap that went around her middle.  All during our rides she was absolutely dead quiet and I thought she must be scared to death and certain I was out to kill us both. In contrast, her older brother when he rode back there chatted continually about everything in sight.  I never had long straight blond hair, either - call it artistic license.

OK - so got the block carved and proofed and ready to print and realized that I had no way to register this beauty.  Out came the cheater registration system. Voila!  I lined everything up, got my margins all set and pulled some proofs for registration purposes and went to bed.

The next morning the blocks were all waiting for me and I went to work.

I had blocks for blue, red, brown,  and grey and yellow on one block, and a blended blue to green background block.  Oh oh!  Right away I can't get the background to line up properly.  Finally, after hours of trial and error I gave up and carved a new background and printed it - so far Moku Hanga is working great!

But, NONE OF THE BLOCKS WILL LINE UP AND REGISTRATION IS DRIVING ME NUTZ.

It was obvious that I should throw in the towel and start over, but I was already late, so what to do? What to do?  Fuss and fury, what to do!  I did what any half crazed, previously level headed printmaker would do, I opted for hand coloring and got to work on that, which went rather quickly compared to recutting half a dozen blocks.  The only problem was that it looked really goofy with a mix of even sides and sides that went off to nowhere.  So, cut another block!  A frame block to cover all the sins.  I mixed up some blu/black Akua Intaglio ink, rolled it onto the block and to the press with paper and rubber blanket.  Moku Hanga has been totally abandoned at this point.  My patience is caput.

Toddler Flight

It worked moderately well, but this was about as far as I could go with what I had.  Barely visible in this shot is a swirl of interference pigment, added via stencil,  which shimmers when the light hits it properly.  At this point I did throw all the towels in - (the washer) and rushed this lot to the USPS.  And, I want to tell you that I really don't know what they're worried about money-wise.  The fee was outrageous and should keep the USPS solvent for several years.  And, now I need to go write another check to Monica because what I included was pathetic.

One more thing - I want to apologize to all the #55 folk who have been eagerly awaiting this portfolio. This is the first time I've ever been late.  I promise that reformation is on my resolution list.

Lisa and Her Inner Child

Well, before I get carried away with the current woodcarving project, there was one more thing that had to be done before February 1.  That was a portrait.  There were hundreds if not millions of ways I could have gone with this assignment, and any of them probably would have been easier than the one I chose.  The paints, brushes, easel and a spanking clean canvas were sitting right there next to my drawing table and they shouted louder than anyone else.  My guess is that they were feeling neglected and wanting attention.  It worked.  Before I knew what had hit me I was smearing paint around on a small 20" x 16" surface.  Some bubble wrap was handy so it was smeared and pressed onto the other smeared pigments. A small piece of netting - the kind produce sometimes comes in - found its way to the canvas and paint was brushed and smushed over it leaving a delicious texture.  I just painted, smushed, smeared, crushed, smashed, slapped and slumped almost everything I could find onto that surface.  Basically, I produced a monotype without the transfer from matrix to intended surface.  Again, those printmaking skills were saving my derriere.

Then it just had to dry for a day which I spent cutting word stencils from heavy paper.  I had asked Lisa for some words she would use to describe herself and some she thought her friends and family might use to label her, too.  She sent a list to choose from.  I started with curious, then caring and creative, honest, and lastly: kind.  The idea was to use different fonts and sizes for each, but I didn't have a huge surface, so fortunately there was a limit built in.

When the first layers were dry enough I stenciled the words in a more or less random manner.  The idea I had in the back of my mind was to create this richly textured surface with the words woven in and a simple line drawing of Lisa over the top of everything.  So far, the work was going according to plan.

And, then it came time to add that line drawing idea.  It looked like it didn't even belong in the same room, let alone on the same surface.  I had made the background too dominant.  Rats.  Two choices: glace and tone down the background or just fill in the line with a grisaille rendering.  I settled for the grisaille because, here again, a deadline was nipping at my backside.  (Grisaille is a monochrome under painting used mainly to establish darks and lights and shadows for modeling.  When this method is used the artist generally goes on to then put in all the flesh tones, eye color, etc.  But, I stopped with grisaille.) 

This exhibition was originally to be a portrait exchange.  Each of us would choose another artist, from our group, or not, and we would each produce a portrait of the other person.  About half of us did the exchange thing,  some did self portraits.  There are some wonderful portraits in this show!  Anyway, it was a delight to meet Lisa, look at her work, and I had much fun attempting her portrait.  In Lisa's work she uses a lot of animals and especially a rabbit, very much like this blue one, that she had labeled her "inner child".  Every portrait should include one's inner child, don't you think?

Lisa and Her Inner Child

The opening of the exhibition was Feb. 1 - this had to be done, dry and delivered the middle of the week prior.  Another deadline met!  The exhibition is at Northbank Gallery, 1005 Main St., Vancouver, WA and will be up through Feb. 23.  The year was off to a very good start.  Except.

Except that last Oct. First it seemed very reasonable to sign up for a print exchange requiring 31 prints on Feb. 1.  I must have been in some alternate universe for this to seem like a good idea, but it did and I did and now the prints were due and all I had was a drawing on a block of wood.  Oh dear.  The woodblock print from hell will be the next installment.

Trophy Art (?)

Okay, this is not printmaking - it is a little break from carving, inking, registering, etc., which has been being done, but just not on this little project.  At Northbank Gallery we have had a Gallery Chair-person who has just been over-the-top-on-the-job-fantastically-tremendous. She has ridden herd on us with diligence - she has discovered how to nail jello to a tree, herd cats, and get artists to not only do as they have been asked, but to follow the rules and do it on time!  In my mind that deserves a trophy, so I have made one and will present it to her this evening.  In addition to doing her Gallery Chair duties she has also done two shows: one on all things onion and another on all things eyes and her next series is all things bees.  That will help explain some of the items on her Exemplary Gallery Chair award.  Most of the items are pretty self explanatory - paint can and brush for the constant maintenance of the gallery between shows, tool box, hammer, carpenter's rule, for hanging shows and so on.  (Did I mention that I now need a new supply of Sculpey?  That stuff is so much fun.  All of us pre-schoolers (and above) love it!

It is my hope that, upon seeing this amazing object d'art, the membership will be jumping at the chance to take on the Gallery Chair job with the dream of having one of these for their very own.  Either that or they will race across the bridge where they think they will be safe, but we will hunt them down if need be.

                                                                    Front view

                                                                         Back view  (that piece of paper is a list of shows)

                                                                   close up of back

                                                                close up of front

Thank goodness for Goodwill or Salvation Army, memory is not serving as to where I found this elegant trophy, and to the person who donated it so I could pick it up for a song.  Also, to the person who forfeited the Barbie Boom-box which became a yellow tool box.  And, last but not least, to the person who made the doll house chair so I didn't have to make one from scratch (or Sculpey).  And, to our Illustrious Gallery Chair (person) who brought this project to mind.  I had more fun than "Gallagher at a Farmer's Market" to quote a certain car insurance commercial.

And, I beg forgiveness for this having absolutely nothing to do with printmaking!

Iris is Ready To Rock and Roll

The proofing went relatively well today - with a minimum of additional clean-up carving.  Registration is still a problem, but much better than with the poppy.  Of course anything short of hari-kari would be an improvement over the Poppy Problems.  So, Iris is ready to go and now we are on to the next one. The drawing hasn't even started on that, yet. Heck, I haven't even decided on the flower.  Right now the sunflower (adoration) is in the lead, but inching up close on her hienie is a yellow tulip (love & friendship).  And, of course, there are others.  There are two that have to be: Amarylis (Beauty) and a thistle (Nobility and the flower of Scotland).  Meanwhile, here's a look at today's project.

Stay tuned - you never know what might happen tomorrow....

Iris in the Making

A couple of weeks ago the image was transferred to the block via the magic studio paper sold at McClain's Printmaking Supplies.  I love this stuff - it is truly magic.  You just scan your image and print it (ink jet) onto this paper and while the ink is wet lay it upon the block and burnish lightly with a baren. Poof! Your image is on the block and ready to go. Magnifique!

So, then comes the carving.  It is mesmerizing when it is complex and there are many little fine lines. There is nothing quick about it, but as my friend Dave once said, "If you love doing something isn't it a good thing if it takes a long time?"  Or words to that effect, and I have to agree whole heartedly.  I've spent the greatest part of the week, whenever I wasn't doing laundry or cleaning up a mess, in the studio carving away and tomorrow we proof.  I can almost smell the ink.  Proofing days can be both exciting and depressing.  If there is only a small amount of correction that is good, but more can be a problem.  Mostly because now the block has been inked and either you clean it vigorously, or you muck about in sticky ink.  That is when you know the Japanese have it right and you should be using water color, rice paste and sumi ink.  But, this is going to be printed on fabric, so I think it will have to be printed in the Western tradition.  Ahhh, well - wish me luck and check back tomorrow.