Wrapping it up!

The latest few tasks are now completed.
First a re-count of the piles, onced aired out. Amazing what a bit of cobalt drier and 6% humidity will do to ink! Dry as a bone by the time I got home, although the studio windows remained opened for a couple of days.

Will have to remember next time to take a click counter, seems we were off on every block! But no fear, plenty for everyone. Make a mental note that there are (thank goodness!) 101 sheets of paper in each 100-pack of Stonehenge...or else someone at the paper shop also needs a counter!

And last but not least, today I assembled, tweaked, played with and otherwise messed around with imagery to come up with a "key" that will be mailed out to everyone. I will also upload to the website soon enough. I left the key pages unassembled so that participants could spread them out as they explore the imagery in the "real" prints.

Now to await the print-shop output, to be delivered in a day or so. Then I can begin to mail out the sets. At the very latest, all sets will be mailed by end of next week. Can you feel the anticipation?

Here's a low-resolution peek at the cover for the key.

Neato! Huh?

Next task, update the website with the final images...

Live! From Portland Oregon! It'ssssss the Print Party!!! (and the audience goes wild...)

Alrighty then YouTube fans just forced me to make a video and upload the ugly truth about the recent Print Party in the Atelier Meridian in Portland Oregon USA.

Just go here and watch and weep:
http://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts
Obviously named, PrintParty1 and PrintParty2

We simply repeated 600 times over the course of 3 days and we were finished. Prints are happily sitting in my studio airing out.

Next tasks are to take a photo of each panel, repeat the Key-making process backwards (easier now that I have all the names in Photoshop) and then upload the result to the website. After that I will send everyone of you a copy of the Key with your prints; mailing party photos and videos to come soon enough.

The Colophon with the expanded information for each print will be published as a .pdf file distributed to all participants for free and as a bound book soon after. I will make the .pdf file available online as as a download. Once I finish the book and proof it, I will publish on demand as a bound book for those who prefer to caress the beauty of a real book. 

The Amazing City of the World Colophon Book will be available at publisher's price to all participants and at retail for anyone else. Any proceeds from the "real" book will go to the bank account of the next project, of course!

There is still time to add to the colophon information if you have not yet sent it. Also, those with blogs, websites, or other web-spaces, feel free to send me via email the link to your web-place and I will add that to your print information. I will send an email to all participants with that request for those who don't follow the blog, or for those who do follow but distractedly so.

Send info here:
http://1000woodcuts.com/forms/cityblockinfo.htm

Email me at 1000woodcuts at gmail dot com to send me links to your respective web places if you want that added to the colophon.
Onward!

A new dance! The paper "jig"

Here's the gist of the problem: the paper is roughly 22 x 30 inches, the blocks are roughly 22 x 30 inches. Printing will require very careful placing of the paper on a rather large inked block, both nearly the same size.
Not wanting to put too much pressure on the printing team or end up with too many mis-printed precious sheets, I decided to build a paper placement jig. This contraption allows one person to handle a larger sheet of paper, place it with confidence on a little shelf perfectly aligned over the block, then lower the paper in perfect position.
The jig can then be retired to run the block through the press, and replaced to position the next sheet of paper.

Basically the paper-placement jig is a simple “kento” (Japanese registration guide) shaped foamboard construction.

Take foamboard strips and glue them together in a corner shaped “L”, checked with a square. I used two strips for the entire length of the contraption, about 22 inches long side and maybe 8 inches short leg.

I next cut enough smaller strips of foamboard to build up the paper-shelf supports in the corner and some distance along the long side.

I built it to the height of the block plus one layer because the block will be inked when the jig is placed next to the block and the paper shelf needs to be above the block.

Next I glue a paper support “shelf” on the corner and a papr support shelf somewhere along the long side of the jig. I made these out of a contrasting blue matt-board to aid in visibility.

The corner shelf is below the square in the picture above, already secured with the paper guide made of foamboard on top. The long-side shelf shows the (blue) shelf before the paper guide goes in place.

Secure with another piece of foamboard, the paper guide, aligned to the exact place you want the paper to be. I offset the long side about a quarter inch because my paper is that much larger than the block (when centered, of course). You can see the pencil marks on the blue shelf above indicating where the paper guide will be.

Next picture is the completed guide placed against the block:

Next picture is paper placement, pretty self explanatory. Just place guide against the block, and place corner of paper against corner guide.

Hold paper in place with two fingers, guide with the thumb or however it works for you; the guide is very lightweight so it has to be held in place while placing the paper or it will shift away from the block.

Lower the long side of paper against the long-side guide, let the paper drop gently. Secure to the block with a caress of the hand and remove the paper guide before running the block through the press.

After a few tries and the invaluable "husband test" I glued a strip of rug-hug to the bottom of the paper-placement-jig so that now it does not slip at all when placing the paper. I hope the print-team is reading this, there will be a quiz before we begin!



Caboose!

Aside from my own blocks, coming next post, these are the last three citizens. The project ended up with 112 participants and 2 memorial blocks carved to honor former project participants. Honestly, I'm amazed at the result and the resiliency of all the citizens who chose to finish.

The reward for everyone will be a truly awesome collection of tiny prints from all over the world, assembled into a viewing whole of rather large proportions. I hope to inspire present and future participants in creating collaborations such as this one. The exercise is tedious and time consuming at times but ultimately rewarding.

Here are the last three city blocks.

Kris Alder from Springdale, Utah USA one of my favorite stops en route to endless and magic back roads in the Southwest.

Michaela Stubbs from West Preston, Victoria AUSTRALIA sends her contribution:

Carol Myers from Indianapolis, Indiana USA sends her city block:

And that concludes all the city blocks except for mine, posted next time.

I have been busy carving the "skeleton" blocks, updating the spreadsheet, building a "key" so everyone can see who did what and a hundred other things. My list of things to do seems to keep getting longer as I check things off.

Among the urgent tasks yet to do:

-Post progress pictures in blog

-Post final block pictures on website

-Glue all blocks loosely to backing matboard, ready to proof and print

-Build paper-drop jigs for ease in placing the paper when printing

-Finish "key" for everyone to download, will be mailed with finished prints

-If time allows, proof blocks to identify printing problems

-Build colophon, although I'm leaving this one on simmer while I travel to the print party

-Publish colophon for everyone to download and/or purchase bound booklet

And of course pack for my 1000-mile trip but, having done some 200 art festivals out of town in the past 12 years, I'm pretty good at that by now.

Carry on...

Another contribution from Canada and the Pacific Northwest USA

Oscar Bearinger from Killaloe, Ontario CANADA, writes this:

There were several archetypal street inhabitants of the city, identified by Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), the great social critic:  the flaneur (the strolling idler), the gambler, the ragpicker and the sandwich man.

"Empathy with the commodity is fundamentally empathy with exchange value itself.  The flaneur is the virtuoso of this empathy.  He takes the concept of marketability itself for a stroll.  Just as his final ambit is the department store [shopping mall], his last incarnation is the sandwich man."  (Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project)

Misty Haskins (formerly Arnold, congrats!) from Sprignfield, Oregon USA has this to contribute:

Granite and Pine, Maine coast

I've lived in a few cities, but never far from the coast.  Although I've now settled down far from my home state, when I really think about home, about my place in the world, this image springs to mind - a snapshot in my heart of a foggy morning on Cadillac Mountain, which overlooks the nearby town of Bar Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.  I would go there sometimes hoping to watch the sunrise.  More often than not, though, the view would be entirely obscured by a thick, velvety fog and I would instead find myself daydreaming among the resilient trees and stones, wrapped in vapor, until it generally became light... close to a lively community, but removed just enough for some much needed introspection.  Upon discovering my puzzle piece is on the periphery of our print, I was delighted to be able to incorporate this image.   To be a part of such a vibrant whole, while maintaining just a bit of quiet away from the bustling city below, somehow feels just right.

And with that I'm done with this batch of arrivals. I have a fresh catch all photographed and ready to go, my last group! I can't believe I've done this nearly 100 times but here we are on the last 15.

The colophon should be something to savor. I have not yet decided just exactly how to publish this 100+ page beast. My eco-sense tells me to assemble a .pdf file and let everyone download their own.

I am also planning to publish that very same .pdf into a nice book for others to purchase and savor.

As I have it visualized, every page is a participant with a close up of their block, news included and the wise words I have received. Photos of the process scattered about, especially the upcoming printing party. And of course a nice picture of the overall print, albeit small and split into its five parts.

I think that will make a nice coffee-table book and give a glimpse into an awesome collaboration for printmakers and art lovers all over the world.

As I hear the rumors, you can make a blog into a book with Google tools so I will explore that solution as well. There is time for everything.

City within a city from the UK and another Brazilian citizen

Harry French, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom writes this about his beautiful contribution:

My city of the world is a personal, composite print of my own city, Lincoln set in the rural county of Lincolnshire, England, UK. It was used by the Roman 9th Legion Hispania as their fortress in 65AD followed by the 2nd Legion Adiutrix in 71AD that eventually moved north. In the ninth century the Vikings invaded and settled down in the area until 1066AD when William conquered England. To establish his power he built a castle to keep us under control and ordered the building of a cathedral.

So what’s Lincoln’s contribution today as a city of the world in such a rural and isolated area?

I still use the Roman archway to enter the top end of the city.                                                     William’s castle is now the custodian of the world famous document of freedom, “The Magna Carta (1215AD)”.

His great cathedral still stands at the side of the castle and dominates the city skyline.

Architectural experts now rank it as one of the finest in Europe.

I came to Lincoln in 1964 and have never had any great desire to leave it.

Awesome!

And Nancy Guedes Nastari Saia, from Guaruja, Sao Paulo Brazil sends a wonderful image and more news from lands far and fantastic.

More to come, keep them flying home!

October Update, where have I been?

I've been in the studio, of course!
Working on the "Baby Grand", a tiny print with a larger than life subject for (what else!) the barenforum.org (http://barenforum.org) 50th Anniversary Exchange. I thought everyone in the world should have the Grand Canyon in their pocket.

I'm busy working on block number 4 of 9 blocks but they go quickly. The print is 2.5 by 3.5 inches (ACEO size) and it is delightful to work on. All the blocks are carved, now I'm just printing like a mad woman, an edition of 160.

The Grand Canyon is all about color so I'm going to make this tiny print huge in palette. Well, it's all about size too and thus my tiny representation. I was going to call it Pocket Canyon but I think Baby Grand is better. What do you think?

Here are the first three blocks:

Right to left: The key block, blue background, green foreground trees.

And here is the fruit of my labor so far...all those tiny prints! I built a registration board just for these little cherry blocks and also a small printing "baren" made of wood buttons and a doorknob. Works like a charm!

All these tiny prints will be trimmed even smaller when finished. I had to leave a margin to register properly.

All the blocks required for this print. The first three (the dirty ones!) have been printed. I built the registration board from foamboard to accommodate the cherry blocks. The tiny doorknob with glued on wood buttons makes quick work of printing by hand.

From Brrrrrrrrrrrazil!!!

Priscila de Souza Bomfim is one of our many contributors from Sao Paulo BRAZIL
Her image through the window is perfect and to me it symbolizes the communal and delicate privacy we enjoy in big cities. Inside our "world" we feel safe from the eyes of the rest of the city...and yet the entire city is right there on the other side of that window. Very nice image.

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Don't forget!
Deadline: December 31st 2011

Send Block Details/Information for the Colophon: http://1000woodcuts.com/forms/cityblockinfo.htm

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The North and the North contribute

Nancy Osadchuk from Calgary, Alberta CANADA brings us a little greenery for the great city. Every city has (and NEEDS!) its own "lungs" in the form of parks and open spaces and the City of the World is no different!

Lynita Shimizu, in Pomfret Center Connecticut USA goes for a drive and brings the landscape back in the car. What a clever image! I'm a big fan of driving and enjoy the road almost like nobody else I know and this little car fits perfectly with the feeling of drinking in the landscape as I drive. The scenery stays with you long after the car is back in the driveway.

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Don't forget!
Deadline: December 31st 2011

Send Block Details/Information for the Colophon: http://1000woodcuts.com/forms/cityblockinfo.htm

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Citizens from Canada and Belgium

Virginia Sheehan from Ottawa, Ontario CANADA brings us a clever contribution. I like to share the cards and inserts that our citizens send me because I think they are unique and certainly enhance my experience.
I had to brush up on my French to read the paper but I got the gist of the enclosure.

And Luc VanQuickenborne from Brugge Sint-Kruis BELGIUM sends a delicately carved block which I hope to print faithfully. I thought the contrast between the block and the news was curious.

And I'm reminded I have another language to learn before I go to the great city in the sky.

******************************************************

Don't forget!
Deadline: December 31st 2011

Send Block Details/Information for the Colophon: http://1000woodcuts.com/forms/cityblockinfo.htm

******************************************************



Nature Printing and the yearly workshop

The Nature Printing Society is a wonderful collection of slightly nutty but very well behaved individuals who get together year after year to print fish and plants and anything else that can sit still for just a few minutes.

Their website link is: http://www.natureprintingsociety.info/ and they now have a Facebook page so look them up there too. Exploring the work from past workshops will yield a variety of expertly pulled prints taken from natural things, including an amazing poodle print, (real poodle, like...the dog breed!).

I last went to their workshop in Santa Barbara, California and had a blast. This last workshop was in Fort Collins, Colorado and I learned even more stuff that would have never ocurred to me. Now every time I hike I take a brayer, not really but I feel like I could print "the trail" as I see it and walk by.

Certainly adds a whole new dimension to a printmaker's bag of tools!!!

Here's a sampling of everyone's work showing a wide variety of techniques taught at the workshop:

Update, just keeping on...

Block for City of the World project by Don Halpern

Let's see, since last post, I cut and mailed out the blocks for the City of the World project. In fact, some of the blocks are coming back to me already!
Here is the Puzzle Prints Blog:
http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

Other than that, I finished a couple more prints. My latest work is always viewable from the 1000 Woodcuts Page in my website:
http://1000woodcuts.com/1000woodcuts/1000.html

Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar
Reduction woodcut for SSNW Exchange

Aloja, five block color woodcut for Barenforum.org's 48th Exchange

For this last print, I tried printing a grissaille of sorts as a base before over-printing with transparent colors. I wanted the sky and water to have an uneven dark/light feel as if lit by moonlight. Many possibilities with this technique; I'm thinking a base of bright yellow to brighten a desert landscape, a base of red or blue to fire up or tone down a figure...

I have achieved a wonderful balance between taking care of the house and garden, making art and still keeping my collector's well fed with online sales.
I have another print on the bench ready to carve, a tribute to the Japanese for a benefit a bunch of printmakers are concocting in order to help out the victims of the earthquake and Tsunami.
And life just keeps going.

Where did the winter go?!

Where did the winter go already?
Oh yeah, finished remodeling the kitchen and printed this print and another one for two exchanges (will someone remind me NOT to sign up for anything else?), and coordinated the latest Barenforum.org exchange.

I'm also working on a mega-project, another collab puzzle, can be followed here:
http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/

But make art we must, lest we go insane.
Meet my latest creation, "Fool on the Hill".
Here are the specs:

Print Title: Fool on the Hill

Paper Dimension: 13" x 6"
Image Dimension: 12" x 5"
Block: 8 Cherry
Pigment or Ink: Akua-Kolor
Paper: Nishinouchi Natural
Edition: 100

I am challenged and humbled by the process once more. More blocks, more chances to goof. In the end I think I ended up with a fairly good success rate on the prints despite my annoying habit of experimenting.

I used Akua-Kolor without rice paste, with rice paste applied separately and with rice paste mixed in. It flows better with paste, although the "without" look is very deserty.

Image: I grew up listening and memorizing Beatles songs even though I never understood the words until I learned English later in life. "The Fool on the Hill" attracted me as a child, which may give some insight into what kind of child I was.

I always liked nature and climbing and being where others could only point to in amazement. Three years ago in the Grand Canyon (South Rim, Colorado USA) I again had a chance to climb and sit on my hill, and watch the sun going down.

Valley of Fire II - States of the Print

Again I had some fun with this print. Also, an accomplishment: I made mold in Vegas! I didn't think it was possible, but there it was...tiny bits of round fungus right on some of my paper. For the record, the New Hosho paper did not mold at all, the proof paper got the most mold and the Stonehenge Cream somewhere in between. Oh, HOW I made the mold...too long inside the plastic, too hot in the studio, too lazy or dumb to put stack in fridge.

I can't really help mysef when printing I like to try different papers and see the paper "change" the final print. Stonehenge Cream is tough to print on (literally! hard stuff) but some very nice results and registers very well because it is thicker than the New Hosho.

Here are the blocks in sequence:

And the final image on New Hosho:

"Final" is debatable, still thinking on adding another color, perhaps a blotchy olive green in the closer desert to add texture. And maybe on the foreground mallow as well. We'll see...right now I have to get ready for my show, setup in two days, loading tomorrow. Oh, see previous post if you missed the announcement!