Coloring my Prints

I have a question for my fellow artists - do you ever feel melancholy at the end of a project?  You're going along, completely enjoying the process, however long that takes (SO nice to not have a strict deadline), and when you find yourself in the final stages of it, you don't want it to end?

That's how I feel with this "Birches" block! :)

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed working on this particular project!  It's the first edition that I've created specifically for printing on my new S.C.O.P.E. press.  It's the first project where I printed all 10 prints of the edition at once.  And it's the first edition that I've colored!

Oh....the COLORING!! I've been having a BLAST with the coloring!  I hand colored this edition, and so far I have two colorways - the "Birches in Spring"":

And "Birches in Winter".   

For the "Spring" print, I used various shades of green/chartreuse watercolor on watercolor paper, but also collaged tiny bits of real birch bark on some of the trunks!  :)  For the "Winter" print, I just used straight-from-the-pan blue-gray watercolor on block printing paper.  I like them both, because they're so different.  I attempted an "Autumn" print, but it just looked like the forest was on fire.  :D

At some point, I WILL attempt a reductive print.  Honest!  I just have to face my fears, is all.  :)

I can't wait to start my new block!!  I may try a woodcut next.  Stay tuned!  :D

Printing Birches

In my last post, about the meditative properties of carving, I was working on a block which would eventually become a grove of birch trees.  I'm happy to report that it's finished!

Even more exciting - yesterday was Print Day! :D

Because I'm so new at this - or maybe you veteran printmakers feel this way, too - I just marvel at the S-L-O-W process.  I'm used to working on a project, from start to finish, in about 4 hours.  With printmaking, one really must remember to be mindful of every step and to be patient.  I must admit, it's taking some getting used to - but I LOVE it.

Here is the palette I chose for my block - I was surprised by how much the brown blended in with the other colors!

Rolling the ink on the block....

Setting up the block on the press....

VOILA!!  Birch prints!!

I decided to make this an edition of 10.  Here are two of the prints, but I printed the block on all sorts of backgrounds - Gampi tissue, an old business letter, rice paper, etc.  

I'm letting the prints dry today, but tomorrow begins Phase III - coloring and final touches!!  Stay tuned!  :)

The Meditative Practice of Carving

Remember those old Westerns, where some old-timer would be sittin' on the front stoop, whittlin' a piece of wood, with a piece of wheat stickin' outta his mouth?  I remember wondering why on earth anyone would do this!  Seemed like a pretty big waste of time to me (as if watching countless sitcoms during the '70s was time well spent).

Well, 35 years later, I'm happy to report that I finally get it.  :)

I began carving just last February out of sheer necessity - I had to make a set of stamps to be replicated for a mixed media class I was teaching, so I grabbed some Speedy Carve™ and got to work, knowing nothing about technique or tools.  The stamps turned out okay, but I carved too deep in many spots and the original stamps became pretty weak.  I'm glad I have them in bulk, or they'd be gone forever! Here's one of those original stamps I made:

Even without the benefit of knowledge or even any skill, I was HOOKED.  I began looking into battleship grey linoleum, which led me to wood (I still carve both).  It was also at this point where I began voraciously reading any book I could get my hands on that would teach me proper carving techniques.  And last November, I took my first woodcut class with the super-talented Angie Zimmerman at Sheboygan Visual Arts (read all about that fantastic experience here).

With a little more knowledge and practice under my belt, I began to relax a little and really enjoy the rhythm of carving.  For you hand-carvers out there, you know what I'm talking about.  :)  You just enter a zone.  And once you're in it, you find yourself whiling away hours doing something you enjoy immensely. My routine is to plug in my tablet into my stereo system, find the Miles Davis channel on Pandora, turn on my Ott-Lite™ (that I got for SUPER cheap thanks to my friend Janel!), and get to work.

Here's a piece I'm currently working on - I'm using my micro gouges, as it only measures 4" X 5" and there are some tiny spaces to carve (my favorite!).  Can you guess what it'll become?  :)

Taking the Plunge for The Print Exchange 2014!!

WOWIE!  In my inbox yesterday, I came across an e-mail from Art House Co-op, who runs The Sketchbook Project.  Many of you may be familiar with this project, but did you know that every year they also do a PRINT exchange?!

Because prints weren't even on my radar until about March of last year, I never noticed this awesome challenge before!!  But this year, I'm going to do it.

Here's the gist of it - you create an edition of 12 prints.  Ten are exchanged with other artists who also signed up for the project (the first 500 to sign up get to play).  The other 2 are archived/exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Library!  Here's the Flickr gallery of the prints from last year.  There is a cost of $50 (plus $8 shipping) but the way I look at it, I'm getting 10 original works of art for that 58 bucks!  That's only $5.80 per print!

I'm really excited - and a little terrified - about this project.  This year, the theme is "Let this be a Sign".  I already have some ideas floating around about what I'm going to do, so I need to get those on paper and spend a day or two ruminating.  :)

What do you say, printmakers?  Want to do this with me?  I think you should.  :)  Oh, and if you do want to try it, the promo code for the discount at checkout is CRAFTSTERBUDDIES.  It'll save you around $11!  :D

Let me know in the comments (or on my Facebook page) if you're going to try this!  I'd love to hear from you!  :D

My New Press!!

Something happened a little over a month ago, and I still can't believe that I'm one of a small group of folks who got in on the ground floor!  This is going to revolutionize how I create from now on.....

I GOT MY NEW PRESS.

When I saw our delightful mail carrier backing his truck up in our driveway on that dreary, rainy Tuesday, I knew that the moment had arrived.  The box was so big and unwieldy that it took both of us to get it into my kitchen.  I had to take a photo the moment I opened the box, just for posterity:

There she is - the S.C.O.P.E. Revolutionary Pack.  Isn't she a beaut?  :D  The package arrived on December 3, but I was so busy that week I wasn't able to experiment until a couple of days later!  

In case you're wondering, the S.C.O.P.E. anagram stands for "Self Contained Outdoor Printing Equipment". It is, quite literally, a backpack printing press - you can see its creator, Jesse McAfee, wearing the press himself!  Yes, this press is HANDMADE in Kansas City.  I love that.  :D

I haven't carried it like that yet, but it also has a regular handle on the top so you can carry it like a briefcase. It only weighs 30 pounds!!

And it prints like a DREAM.  I have indeed taken it out to two separate gallery walks now (more on those in a later post!), and people are fascinated by it.  At one of the gallery walks, a student who's a printmaking major was so intrigued that he said he was going to contact the company himself.

Oh!  And I should probably tell you that the company is Craft and Concept, who are based out of The Print Factory in Kansas City (both Kansas AND Missouri).  I can't tell you how seriously cool it is to talk to the guy (Jesse) who is building your press for you.  When does that ever happen anymore?!?!  

You saw in my previous post that it's got front and center status in my newly redesigned studio, and you also saw the tiny linocut of Yours Truly (which is now the icon of my Facebook page for What a Relief) that I printed on it.  I'm in the middle of another project that incorporates vintage letterpress images, all printed on the press.  I can't tell you how thrilled I am with it!!  Thank you, Jesse - you've made a fantastic product and I hope more people check it out!  :D 

Happy 2014!!

Ah, the promise of a new year!  A fresh start, a chance to try new things, an excuse to make new types of art....  :D

HOORAY for all that!  I am particularly excited about the new year, because it is my impetus to get both feet wet in my (fairly) newfound obsession (and the whole reason for this blog) - PRINTMAKING.  :)

Yes, I know that my blog is already two months old (and thanks to my post three weeks ago, I have a lot of new followers!  Hi there!), but now that the holidays are over I can begin my new chapter in earnest.  And I thought I'd create a tiny lino for the occasion.

That's me!  :D  Oh my heavens, did I have a BLAST creating this little guy, which only measures 2X2"!  I took a photo, cropped it, and played with it in Photoshop until it looked the way I wanted it to.  Then I traced it using some Saral transfer paper, and carved it using micro tools! I 'm going to have MUY, MUY fun with this technique.  :)

So now that you know what I look like, I want to show you my new studio, which I reconfigured from a collage studio to make printmaking the primary focus.

The middle of my studio - notice that my
S.C.O.P.E backpack press has the spotlight!

Here's the studio from the back - the cabinet
on the left was built for me by my wonderful
dad in-law, and so was the book press, using
the blueprint from
Arnold Grummer's "Trash to Treasure Papermaking" book!  :)

Here's my desk, which now has stations for carving, inking,
and collage - and inspiration from some of my favorite artists!  :)

I feel ready to take on this amazing medium!  I don't quite know yet where the year will take me, but I'm so excited to learn, discover, and create, with the help of my printmaking friends!  Here's to a very fruitful 2014!  :D

BLOG HOP!!

Oh my heavens, am I excited about today's post!!  Back in October, the always fabulous Jill Berry asked me if I'd like to participate in a blog hop for her new stencil set, called Artistcellar Signature Series Stencils by Jill K. Berry - TEXTures, Vol. 2.  WOULD I?!?!

Firstly, I would do any art-filled thing that Jill Berry asked of me!  A little back story - Jill and I met when she was teaching her "Personal Geographies" class at Valley Ridge Art Studio in Muscoda, WI, back in March of 2009.  I had never taken an art class before, but I loved the idea of incorporating maps into one's personal history.  I had a life-altering time that weekend, meeting wonderful folks, spending a snowy late-winter weekend at a gorgeous studio, and getting to know Jill a little better.  When Jill returned to Wisconsin for the Raevn's Nest Art Retreat in Cedarburg that October, I HAD to go!  That too was a wonderful evening, and further cemented my resolve to be more involved in my art (I quit my 9-5 job to be a full-time artist the following January).

Because of this blog hop, I was also introduced to Lisa Cousineau of Artistcellar, the company who puts out Jill's designs (check out their other products, too!).  When I got the set of four stencils in the mail, I was positively giddy.  The TEXTure designs are just that - abstract designs loosely consisting of various texts and calligraphic mark-making.  I wanted to know more about the inspiration behind Jill's designs, so I rang her up last week.  Besides spending a glorious hour or more getting caught up, Jill explained that her calligraphic style was greatly influenced by Sister Corita Kent, a nun, instructor and artist. She is the author of the "Art Department Rules", which has been widely shared. She also explained that each of her new stencils is based on a different quote or art style she loves.  If you click on this link, you'll see Jill's new series on top.  They're titled, "Picasso", "Bird", "Gera" and "Miro" (I've shared links with each to a different quote or artist's website).

I focused my attention on the Picasso and Gera stencils for my two stencil projects. Here I am using the Gera stencil to carve a stamp:

Spent a wonderful afternoon gallery sitting with
friends and using the Gera stencil for my first
project!  :)  Thanks to Carolyn Brady for taking
this photo.  :)

I traced just a little (2X2"-ish) portion of the stencil, and then carved it and inked it, using two different colors:

I'm on a big blue and orange kick lately!!  :)  After it was inked, I used fine point pens to trace the outline of the image (which to me looks like an abstract map of a city roundabout, doesn't it?):

YAY! Here's the inked image and the carved stamp, showing the actual image.  (For those of you who would like to play along at home, I used the lower right-hand corner of the Gera stencil and modified it a little in the carving process.)

I suppose it could've been done at this point (it's an ATC), but wait!  I wanted to try a little finishing with my sewing machine!

Okay, NOW it's done.  :)  Isn't it amazing how versatile stencils can be? 

What I love about Jill's TEXTures stencils is that they can be interpreted so many ways! For example, as a printmaker, I wanted to highlight the different techniques one can use in this media.  In the first project, we had a relief-based idea (how fitting!).  For my second project, I did a monoprint using my Gelli Plate! Here are some of the papers that I created using the Gelli and the Picasso stencil:

I love how all of them turned out so differently!!  But I really had my eye on the sheet in the lower right, which I created by not cleaning the plate after the initial use.  Happy accidents!  :D  

Next, I took that sheet, which was printed on rice paper, and shredded it using my household shredder:

Then I hand-dipped each strip in natural beeswax:

I love how translucent they became after the dip!

After the wax cooled, I took the strips and wove them across my hardboard canvas.  I then took some encaustic wax in Yellow Ochre and created a thin layer of color over the woven strips.  Here is the final result: 

What I love about how this turned out is that Jill's beautiful calligraphy shows, but it's still a wholly unique piece of art.  My husband Brian calls it an "abstract forest".  I concur!

I hope my two pieces showed just a tiny fraction of what is possible with these amazing stencils, from my own printmaking point of view!  But I haven't told you the best part - you can win a set of your own!!!  YES!!!

Simply comment below how YOU would use these stencils in your own printmaking style, and I'll pick a name using random.org  on Friday, December 13 at 5 p.m. CST.  In order to qualify, YOU MUST LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENTS USING THE name(at)domain(dot)com FORMAT. I WILL IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFY ANYONE WHO DOESN'T ADHERE TO THIS ONE SIMPLE RULE. (Can you tell that some people still don't follow the rules?)  :)

You only have 2 1/2 days, so enter now!  I can't wait to hear your ideas!  :)