Mammoth progress steps!

Progress Update on the Peace Puzzle

Let's check the check-list published a few posts ago and see how we are doing, shall we?

-Finish printing (roughly 3 days) - DONE!

-Finish image composite in high resolution and send to printshop to make posters (by weekend) - DONE!

-Finish colophon/book and send to Create Space (Amazon) to proof and print (another week or soish) - DONE! 

-Stamp all prints with our official Peace Puzzle 2015 stamp (half day) - working...

-Collate 160 sets (the other half) working...

Yet to do:

-Wait wait wait for book and posters to arrive back to me (...) ETA for posters October 28, ETA for books November 4

-Mail out 160 neat packages plus the backers (non-artists) packages (roughly 4 days)

-Go hiking in the Sierras like John Muir and come back six months later enlightened, skinny and with a long beard (six months) (looking forward to this one, especially the beard part, I've never grown a beard before)

Peace in Print: 160 Artists Make Peace

Honestly I didn't think I would finish the book by now but there it is, up and running, waiting for CreateSpace to send me my 190 books, some for participants and backers and some for extras. And the posters for book inserts have already been shipped! Still waiting on the large size posters for other backers of the project.

Soon available worldwide through Amazon online, print and e-book, and on Kindle:

ISBN-13: 978-1518740633 

ISBN-10: 1518740634 

Peace in Print book cover soon available in Amazon

Next?

While I wait I can collate the prints and stamp the backs, should be done in a day. Then I may begin taping the tubes and boxes and inserting the prints but I don't want them rolled up in there longer than they need to be. I can also prepare the spreadsheet for importing into my mailing widget so I can quickly crank out the mailing labels when the books get here.

Estimated mailing dates for artists and backers are November 8-10

I have an urge to clean up the garden and trim some branches and breathe some fresh air too! After a whole week of 14 hour days at the computer, I need some serious exercise in the open air, sun and sky.

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1000woodcuts 
Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener 
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts 
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos

Wee bit of construction and the book Peace in Print

Construction in the studio

There is only one solution when trying to fit 8 stacks of 160 prints each into my humble studio, go high! So this Sunday I built an "apartment building" to aid in collating the prints. Rough construction but I had some scrap wood and it will do very nicely when the time comes for collating the sets of prints. Incidentally for the first few years of my young adult life I stacked my few books and some plants on furniture made with cinder blocks and particle board shelves. Easy construction, easier take down, worked great, cheap as dirt...ah the days!

Anyhow, here are some pics of the Peace Shelves

Major stack of 1380 prints on a convenient hydraulic lift table

2x6 risers, 1x2 cross members, 3-ply corrugated cardboard shelves

First four

Instruments of mass construction

Ready to roll, captain, my captain!

...and the Peace in Print book

Constructing the information book isn't nearly as fun as playing with wood and screws but I really really want to be mailing before the Christmas rush hits the postal services. So I'm progressing nicely, below a pic of my "office" with my BFF Bamboo graphics tablet and Photoshop on the screen. Window keeps me sane. 

Each artist gets a page and that is what I'm working on at the moment, 160 images to be extracted from the Peace prints, one image for the location icon (top right), one image for the block (smaller) and one image for the resulting print with the background faded for effect (larger image). And of course the artist's name and location and whatever they wrote about their image. Coming along nicely!

Where it all gets put together

Thank goodness for the window and the coffee

Sample page for each artist

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1000woodcuts 
Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener 
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts 
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos

Sneak a peek!

Update

I am now merely 80 prints from finishing, sore and tired but extremely delighted to be nearly done. As the printing continues, I have now a good print and a good photo of all the panels and so you may, yes you may, sneak a peek at our Peace Puzzle. I am uploading a large image in 72dpi so make sure you click on the image and view at your heart's content (about 2000 pixels wide). Say it very quietly "yaaahoooooo" shhhhhh...

Peace Puzzle 2015 - 160 international artists

Remaining Tasks

As I finish printing I am also putting together the book, going faster now but there are only 24 good hours in any given day or I would be going faster yet. Oh, and I sleep too! Seriously, very close now to being completely finished. Here are the tasks remaining, each of them taking a wee bit longer to complete than to list:

-Finish printing (roughly 3 days)

-Finish image composite in high resolution and send to printshop to make posters (by weekend)

-Finish colophon/book and send to Create Space (Amazon) to proof and print (another week or soish)

-Stamp all prints with our official Peace Puzzle 2015 stamp (half day)

-Collate 160 sets (the other half)

-Wait wait wait for book and posters to arrive back to me (...)

-Mail out 160 neat packages plus the backers (non-artists) packages (roughly 4 days)

-Go hiking in the Sierras like John Muir and come back six months later enlightened, skinny and with a long beard (six months)

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1000woodcuts 
Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener 
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts 
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos

Quick update and an upcoming gig

Workshop

I have been up at Ft Worden in Port Townsend, Washington for the annual meeting of the Nature Printing Society http://natureprintingsociety.org/ 

Wonderful time! I both taught and learned, hiked and saw sunrises and sunsets. More on a later blog post with pictures.

Update on the Peace Puzzle

I left about 25 prints to be printed on the Flow block and have only two more to go. That means roughly 300 prints and I will be counting down in the days to come. Printing resumes promptly tomorrow and will continue at full throttle until finished. 

I still have to finish building the book-colophon to send to all participants, photograph, collate the prints and mail the whole shebang. Give or take three weeks worth of intensive work but I can now see the distant finish line through the haze.

Gig alert!

Only one gig left this year, in nearby Scottsdale Arizona, really Phoenix area. All the details upcoming here and on my Facebook page so stay tuned. I should have my location very soon and I may give away some tiny prints and other fun things. I love this setting and the whole downtown Scottsdale area, very cultural, very nice to walk around. Here are the details:

Scottsdale ArtFest 2015
Nov 21-22
Downtown Scottsdale Arizona
http://888artfest.com

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1000woodcuts 
Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener 
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts 
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos