Two Exhibits

 

Geographical Divides: Finding Common Ground October 24th, 2012 - January 5th, 2013 The Art Institute of Las Vegas Gallery

2350 Corporate Circle, Henderson, NV 89074

702.369.9944 school main number

 

Gallery Hours:

M-Th 8:00AM-8:00PM

Fri-Sat 9AM-5PM, closed Sundays

 

Reception

Thursday November 15th

6:00PM-8:00PM

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OFF MY PLATE!!! New Year, New Resolution

Last year I started out the year calling it a simpler year...or was that the year before that?! Hmmmm...see!? I'm already in trouble.
I am declaring this 2012 the OFF-MY-PLATE year. I'm deep into a bad case of project indigestion. I have one print to finish for an exchange and a commission for a block/print set.
And that's it, that IS IT!!!
Oh yeah, the puzzle project yet to be finished and printed...sigh... http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com


My to-do list is ridiculous with projects so old that I had to shut off the reminders in my Outlook so that I wouldn't see the annoying: "eight months overdue" notices.
My website in dire need of revising, my books in need of revising...hey, just those two things could take me the rest of the year.

Goldwell: Red Barn from the East

But no, no no nononono!!! I have little notebooks and pieces of paper hanging all over my very disorganized studio (in need of revision as well) that will keep me busy until I'm old and gray...make that older and grayer.
Blocks like the Goldwell series (above) yell at me every morning to get my act together or they're walking off. My piles of wood are dusty and sad.

So that's it, I'm done with the new and on with the old. Or something like that.
2012, Chinese Lunar New Year of the Black Dragon's Den, which is where I'm going to mercilessly toss anyone that tries to recruit me for any project that isn't my own. And that includes me.

2012, get off OFF MY PLATE!!! year.

You heard it here first.

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.

Catching up on website work

When I first started this web site "thing" I had no idea how much work it was going to be. I really just wanted a little website with some info on me, my art and the woodcut process.

Fast forward 100 years (it feels like that!) and now my website is begging to be upgraded to modern standards and split into at least two, if not three, separate sites. Sigh!

In the meantime and following the adage, "never mind that the horse is lame, load the wagon!", I continue to update my projects, works, process and whatever else I can think of. Now I also update this blog, my Facebook page, my mailing list and various online galleries. I need another Maria!

But to the current post, my very favorite updates are to upload those tiny thumbnails of each of my works on my "1000" pages.
The main page is here: http://1000woodcuts.com/1000woodcuts/1000.html
And from there you have a glimpse into my entire output since I started making woodcuts.

I love how the little tiles change with my current style...

Well, back for more updates! My database is calling.

Transfering design to block with Iron-on T-shirt transfer

Here is the printed iron-on transfer stuff. The printout showed all of the fine detail with very good contrast so I was encouraged.

The detail of this transfer was probably the best of the three because of the high contrast.

Bring on the heat! I used an iron that's perhaps older than me...well, maybe not. This method needs a high heat setting and no-steam setting. I keep this old fashioned plain iron in the studio for just this type of project.
It takes some pressure and quite a high setting. My mini-iron (used for crafts) did not work; had to be a full-size iron.

The process of transfering with this method also "tanned" my block so no tinting would be necessary later.

The drawback is that the transfer is a rubbery ink designed for t-shirts, so there is quite a bit of relief that transfers to the block. It scrapes off easily enough, but it does transfer a film of rubber all over the block, even the white parts. I carved a little on it and the film comes off fairly easily by pulling it up without damage to the block.

Here is the enlargement of the transfer printed and on the block:

On to transfer number three, the hanshita.

Keeping in touch with collectors!

My two cents on marketing...

When I first started this crazy "business" I sent everyone that collected my artwork a thank you card, a Christmas card, and a quarterly printed newsletter. Marketing is a full-time job; making art is a full-time job; selling art is a full-time job. Who can keep up! (Besides Annie Bisset and David Bull, that is, my heroes!).

Anyhow, here we are a few years later...my little customer list grew and grew! Where I began with about 100 faithful followers, I now have around 2100 in my database. What to do?
First thing I did was start to "clean it up" so every year I drop a few that have gone silent. I drop bounces and returned cards as I don't want to waste precious marketing pennies and I'm sure my customers don't want to be bothered again and again after they are no longer in touch.

Still keeping up with the thank you cards for every purchase at festivals. NOT even close keeping up with Christmas cards or printed newsletters; the Christmas "card" and the neatly printed newsletter have metamorphosed into:

- An email Christmas greeting.

- An email newsletter, I call it 1000 Woodcuts Updates and am pretty faithful about sending about 2-6 a year depending on how busy I am and how much I have that is really "news". Here is a sample: http://1000woodcuts.com/1000woodcuts/updates/updateindex.html

- This blog, which is a Blogger blog but kept archived in my own website just in case. Every artist should have one (did I just say that?).

- My own website, of course. Actually, two websites, one for me and one for my Art Festival Guide http://artfestivalguide.info
They take a bit of work to keep updated, but the "building" is the hard part. I would like to have more Studio Notes for all the artist friends out there, but they will come in due time.

- Pages in Facebook, Inkteraction, eBay ME page, Etsy Shop, AbsoluteArts, and every once in a while I find one that I had forgotten and is in horrible need of an update. Now that I can update Facebook from my iPhone I might keep up a little better there.

- I also belong but rarely log on to WetCanvas, various online printmaking groups, various online art festival groups, the National Association for Independent Artists, the Nevada Arts Council...I'm getting a headache...

Every little bit helps and the world wide web has really changed the way us lowly artists can market themselves to a global audience. Keeping up with it all is the problem!

This year I'm going to surprise my collectors by sending them all a printed newsletter again. The printed physical piece has become so rare in these days that I always welcome post-cards and letters from people I want to follow in their art adventures.

What a wacky career we have chosen...

Goldwell Blocks Get Going

I can't believe it's been four months since my residency last October!

Anyhow, I managed some trench digging projects (ongoing) and other home things and now I'm beginning to carve the 8 Goldwell Blocks.

First cuts are always pretty cool; I'm using cherry plywood which shows the marks very well and allows me to see exactly what's going to happen in the print. Almost exactly.

Notice to the right of my block is my new favorite device for keeping tools handy: a magnetic tool organizer from either Rockler.com or Woodcraft.com, I forget which. Keeps all my carving tools handy, at eye level and off my working desk-- not that my working desk is clean at any time, but the tool holder helps.

The second picture is of my favorite helper. She makes me stand up by taking over my chair because she knows I carve so much better when standing (hmmm...)

Me in a tree...

Here is my latest attempt at moku-hanga, the traditional Japanese technique.

I actually had fun this time! I enjoyed working with transparent colors even though some need to be printed twice for my preferred saturation.

I used the Baren Mall's hanshita paper to transfer the key block to the color blocks, kento and all. Then a mixture of tube watercolors, raw pigment also from the Baren Mall and Akua suspension pigments for tinting.

All in all, a fun image to work with. I tried for "goma" on the tree blocks, but the truth is that I can't control it quite yet. No problems with registration, actually got 46+ good prints out of 48 pieces of New Hosho paper.

When I was a child I used to clim trees, mostly as an escape from the "cliques" and "groupies" that children form around each other. I was a bit of a loner...and a great tree climber! While I was printing with my Murasaki Baren (in dire need of a new skin) I got swept by the rhythm of the printing action and a poem came to me. My husband says it's sad but I didn't really see it that way.

Me in a tree
No one looks up
No one can find me
Or laugh at me

The gory details:

Holiday Greetings from Las Vegas?

How's this for a strange Las Vegas almost-Christmas??

Last time I saw snow like this was 1979. I used to ride a bike in those days, not for pleasure but as transportation. I believe that was the year I abandoned my road bike in favor of a mountain bike, more grip on them fat tires.

And now, a carol...

• 12 broken branches
• 11 flattenned oleanders
• 10 hours of snow
• 9 frozen palm trees
• 8 years a'coming
• 7 broken cacti
  
• 6 snowball fights
  
• 5 freaked out kitties
• 4 inches of sno-ow
• 3 snow angels
  
• 2 howling wolf-dogs
• 1 gorgeous sunset
• and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee

thank you, thank you very much...

Goldwell pages updated with photo albums

Updated my photo albums section in the Goldwell Open Air Museum Residency pages.

Next on the project is to continue to carve the blocks, make some prints and publish a book with photos, journal entries, woodcuts and even some poetry. I'm well into revising my first few pages and the template so I can begin the painful process of getting it all together.

Here are the recently updated links:

Projects Index page:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/projectsindex.html

Goldwell Index page:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/goldwell_residency/index.html

Photo Album:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/goldwell_residency/photos/index.html

And don't miss the Panoramas page:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/goldwell_residency/photos/panoramas.html

Enjoy!

Updated Latest Works

My latest creation: "Moonshadow" is done on black Arches paper, a cork color block and cherry line block.

Printing on black paper with opaque inks can be tricky because the opacity is different for each color. Obviously white prints best, but it also "eats" other colors and makes everything milky.

This time I chose to use pearl pigment in the inks to make the image glow and give opacity to the subtle colors wihout milk. Not that I'm against milk, but with breakfast, not on my prints. The pearl pigment makes the inks shimmer.

When the prints were drying in the studio, the image could be seen in the dark. I thought it was pretty cool to have a fluorescent moon lady (or a bunch of them) hanging in the studio. The cork once again traps some of the ink and spits it back out in darker lines and clumps, but this time I used lighter ink on the moon to let the black paper add some irregular shadows on the moon.

So there she is, "Moonshadow" in all her glory.

Goldwell Adventures Update and the Red Barn Art Center

The Goldwell Adventure has been partially uploaded. I uploaded pictures from the workshop which show off the interior of the Red Barn Art Center and me working away. Well, if you can call making art in eden "working".

I also uploaded pictures of the workshop, some of my faithful and fearless students, and their work. It was fun leading them into the world of the woodcut in such a great place.

Photo albums of the place itself are coming but there are about 1200 photos to go through and I get tired of sitting, click, click, click...so they will get there but in due time. Meanwhile, the view to the South is prominent in the Goldwell Project page, it's almost enchanting even in a small web size. Imagine the silence and the wind brushing gently against the creosote ocean...

A personal effort to stimulate the US economy (wink wink)?

Warning: shameless self-promotion follows...

Who says you can't find affordable great quality art to give for the Season?!
I just re-opened my ebay shop, in view of their new friendlier seller terms and lower selling fees. I haven't been doing festivals and hate to see thousands of prints in my drawers collecting dust.

I also tried my hand at an Etsy Shop and even made some sales. Different "animals" the Etsy Shop seems to attract mostly other Etsy users and perhaps some die-hard craft and/or hand-made by the artist lovers. The ebay store attracts anyone from scammer to print dealers to serious collectors, but mostly nice folk looking for bargains.

I figure by the time the art festival circuit recovers from these turbulent times I will have plenty of new works. What to do with all these darned prints is always a big dilemma, but I am just not willing to sit on them forever. I have an idea to put in my will that any of my works that didn't sell while I was alive must be burned upon my death so that art vultures don't make a penny from my art after I'm gone. Really, society should support live artists above all.

So there it goes, ink on paper at bargain prices.
Etsy Shop 1000 Woodcuts at http://1000woodcuts.etsy.com
Ebay Store 1000 Woodcuts at http://stores.ebay.com/1000woodcuts

What did you do with YOUR Cairn?

I'm taking my Cairn on the road to show off all my Baren friends to my workshop attendees this next weekend at the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

Should be a nice way to expose new initiates into the woodcut art to a variety of carving styles and, at the same time, smaller image suggestions.

Here is what Lynita Shimizu did with her Cairn! I cracked up...

Check it out at the project page and send me your images of the Cairn, framed, shown, exposed...???

I got my plexiglass and will be sticking mine on the ceiling also; then I can see everyone while I work.

Is everyone ready for the next Great Puzzle Print?

Launch of the Simple Year and the New Updates

To celebrate 2008, the Simple Year, I combined the Diary and Updates into a compact and hopefully more frequent format.
What's the Simple Year all about? Well, for starters I'm taking 2008 off the festival circuit to get back on track on some art creation projects and home stuff. I'm no Thoreau, but hope to rekindle my love affair with wood, art, family, and all the important simple things in life.
For now, I'm on full rest and planning mode.

More later...