OMG - More Flags

Will 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.....

Here are the flags hanging above the studio door, ready for Open Studios Tour last weekend:

 And, below is a closeup of three of them:

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?

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

The Next Flag Iteration

A 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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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!

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!

5 Flags All In a Row

It 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.

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!

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.

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.

 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.

Flag 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:

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.

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....

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.

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.

The Great Border Debate

No, 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.

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.

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.

However, I did knock 'em dead at luminosity this afternoon when I took a break.  I was a lot younger then.

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!

Proof of the Pudding

The pudding being the flags, of course.  Chips have been flying around here and there is another batch to be swept up and sent to that great mulch eater that we call "the garden" (which is really the battle ground where we fight for survival against deer, moles, voles and slugs).  But, before that happens (and because there will be a few more when I find out where I need to carve a little deeper or a little more - there's no sense in making extra work my mother used to say -).  Therefore, I show you the block in its more or less pristine condition (sans any ink).  My blocks look more as if I had chewed on them than carved them - not neat and tidy and smooth like David Bull's.

 But they work, and  from this here is the first proof done using Akua Intaglio inks.  I'll be printing these with textile or oil base inks and the orchid itself will probably be printed with some shade of purple ink on the yellow flag:

Not too bad - there is a minimum of cleaning up to do on the block.

Here is a sample of the blossom with the border -  (the same border will be used with each flower)

There will be some registration adjustments, just a slight movement and I'll use my trusty all purpose registration board with these:

With the image printed onto the acetates I can line them up on the registration board and voila! Everything will come out easy as pie. We hope.

There will be some improvisation with these flag prints as they are to be printed on fabric.  The proofs I took today were burnished by hand and the fabric is going to have to go through the press - when all the blocks are ready I'll start fabric trials.  They are all laundered and just waiting for some images - I can hear them in the back of my head, " Is she ever going to get to us or are we just folded fabric sitting here to decorate her studio?"  The answer to all of the above is yes.  OK.  I'm on it.  Just not today because there are other things to do.  Not tomorrow, either, because I'm going across the bridge to the Big City (Portland, OR) and play with the other kids.  Maybe I can get the next drawing done by Tuesday.  We'll see....  There is not a real deadline on these which is very, very nice - but, I have to keep a close watch on self or she will get preoccupied with something else and it could be years before she gets back to these.  I think the alter-ego-task-master-person is going to have to be in charge.

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.

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.

One more poppy & an Iris

Spent a few more minutes working on the poppy and opened it up quite a bit more.  It should print better on the fabric when I get to that point.  Meanwhile, I'm much happier with the lighter look.

The second image will be the Iris.  It is such a delicate and beautiful flower.  There are iris gardens not far from here where they have every color you can imagine, even black.  They are not in bloom now or I would trot over and take a photo to share.  Remind me next spring and I'll do that.  But, for the time being I have to be satisfied with some old photos from my morgue.  This one is actually a combo of two images, one for the flower and another for the stem.  And, I love the meaning that this flower carries with it: wisdom.  Isn't that supposed to come with age?  I don't know how much longer I can wait.  But. perhaps with this on a flag, blowing in the wind it will scatter a bit of it my way.

This time I hope to eliminate at least one of the previous registration dilemmas, hence the text below.  It will all be transferred to the wood and will only need the addition of the border.  I won't be able to work on this next week, but the following week I will be up to my ears in wood chips and ink!

Poppy Registration Solved

A HUGE thanks to Terri Peart for the suggestion to use freezer wrap to solve my fabric registration issues.  The puzzlement was that I needed to register three times for this image (chalk that up, at least partially, to very poor planning).  Accomplishing this feat with sturdy paper you could do with your eyes closed, but a floppy piece of fabric? Not so easy.  However, Terri wrote to say that quilters often use freezer wrap - it has a plasticized back which allows it to adhere to the fabric with the help of an iron and when you don't need it anymore you simply peel it off and it leaves no residue. Well, call me Ishmael, if it isn't true!  It works like a dream.

Coming up with fabric scraps 11 inches wide was not easy.  I was able to find a piece just large enough - it is left over from making a dust ruffle for my granddaughter's bed.  The flags will not be pink and green stripe, but this fabric is the approximate weight and texture of what I will be using, so it was perfect for the test.

So, aside from needing to do a much better job of inking, I think the Poppy Problems are under control. The thing I really appreciate is being able to use the freezer paper over and over.  Once the required size has been cut it is a simple matter of adhering it to the back of the fabric and then treating the paper and fabric as one piece.

It's too bad the flags won't be pink and green stripe - I rather like it, but I suppose it would be good to hold to tradition somewhat, so they will be solid colors.  This might look good on a sweatshirt or a T, though.... hmmmm, more registration issues, maybe not...

Clearing the Block

Carving the actual pattern is always fun and you can get to that zone where time doesn't exist anymore and you are one with the wood.  Awakening from this trance and having to face the boring and repetitious part of clearing away whatever you don't want to print can be absolutely brutal.  I wonder if it could be fatal to an older, arthritic person?  (Maybe we don't want to know the answer to that question.) On this block there is quite a bit of clearing away of unwanted wood and it is a rather hard wood (cherry) so it could be a daunting task, however - not in this case because it is Foredom to the rescue.  Foredom is a power tool much like a Dremel on steroids.  It has a flexible cable and interchangeable bits.  One cable is for etching, engraving, etc. and is what I used on the copper piece (see previous posts) and the other cable is for more like a chisel.  The clearing requires the latter.  You can see the tool head next to the block -

This was cleared in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken me to do it with the regular chisel (sitting next to the power head in this photo) and my hand would have ached for hours.  Not to mention how it would have felt during the process.  Using the Foredom I can hold it so that I am pushing from the shoulder in one continuous motion using both hands on the tool.  The blade only cuts back and forth when pressure is applied.  It is a really cool little toy!

There are no registration marks on this block, yet, because I really have no idea, or rather I have several ideas, of how to do this and will figure that out when I get to it...

Next - there is some computer work to get the drawing for the center image where I want it and then transferred to another block.

Beginning of the Flags

For years I've intended to carve blocks and make prayer flags for the garden.  And every year the project has played second fiddle to everything else.  Finally, I am off to a well intended beginning and, more or less, holding my breath that this time prayer flags will actually materialize.  For anyone not familiar with prayer flags they are a part of Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhist culture.  The flags are each dedicated to a particular element or virtue and as they flutter in the wind those wishes are carried on the air.  For a more detailed explanation (and probably more accurate, although I am going with the belief I just stated ,try this link.  I have never been one to be side-tracked by facts.)

My thought is to carve a border block which can be used for each individual print.  After many drawings and ideas I finally came up with a simple leaf and berry design with spirals in each corner. Traditionally the flags have a different image in each corner, but at our house we do spirals.

To get the image onto the block I scanned it first into the computer and then printed it out on the transfer paper sold by McClain's. Working quickly so the ink doesn't dry it is a simple matter of placing the transfer paper face down onto the block and burnishing it lightly with a baren.  Voila, the image is on the block!  Generally, with other transfer techniques, I like to tint the block with Sumi Ink, but if I had done that using the transfer paper obviously I would never be able to see it and I have enough trouble seeing things without interference. (Notice the magnifier hanging on the Hori-dai  which I learned about from my good friend Graham Scholes.)

A closer look at the quality of the transfer on a cherry block:

And so, tomorrow the carving commences!  Once I get to working on a project and the knife actually hits the wood I am committed to the project.  This block will be pretty easy - it will be the central images that will require most of the work.