Peace Puzzle and 1000 Woodcuts to Exhibit at Creative Framing & Gallery in California

Exhibits

Just finished exhibiting the previous four puzzle prints at the West Las Vegas Library Gallery courtesy of Clark County & City of Las Vegas Library District Arts Programs. Wonderful venues and always attract young and old art and book lovers and visitors from all over. Thank you all who came by and filled out the guest book.

And always joyous occasions when upcoming shows are taking form! Planning ahead to March 4th, save the date! 

CreativeFramingOakland.com

Here is the announcement Peace Puzzle Print (plus!) 

Event On Facebook: Opening Reception for Exhibit 

Post Cards for all!

The amazing Heather Piazza went on a work binge on Monday and sent me about 6287 messages ding ding ding ding ding dinnnnnggggg! about this show. By nightfall, she had the post card invitation all done. We are working on all the details but meanwhile, follow the link above and sign up to attend the exhibit opening or just say you are interested if you might make it or like it.

And pass these around! 

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

Websites and such other annoying technothings

If you are into art festivals...

I hinted a while back on my Printmakingstudio Notes blog that I was redoing things a bit on the web side of this artist's life. In the meantime I got a bill for another art related website that I was NOT maintaining and so I killed it. I know, kind of radical but that's the way I do things. Since I had my regret-bone removed a long time ago, I just keep going forward wide eyed through life enjoying every new moment and leaving the past where it belongs, waaaaaaaaaaaaay back there.

So I'm now kind of enjoying this not having to relearn web technology every time the "industry" decides to upgrade the xhtml level or make yet another thing I learned obsolete. Now mobile devices make old website cringe and I'm not revising thousands of pages yet again.
So there, now I'm letting Blogger keep up with all that and I will better concentrate on writing stuff and making art.

So here it is, the new and improved Art Festival Guide!

http://artfestivalguide.blogspot.com

I will be uploading excerpts from the book as I revise and make a new edition. I will also add links and books pertinent to the art festival world, something I firmly believe every artist should try once or ten times if only to appreciate the value of making a dollar solely as an artist.

Should be fun, something else to do in the evenings and one less website to maintain! Win win!

Marauding Metaphors

That is the title of a show I have been invited to make a piece for. The show runs during a book fair here in Vegas and when you get invited to be in a show, you show up. I had to interrupt my drunken bee print but I will get to it soon enough.

Meantime, here is my contribution, well, half my contribution!

 The plan (I know I know...) is to print this onto another block, then make prints of each of the mirrored blocks. The blocks then become the book "inside covers" and the prints are bound between.
When seen together, the web becomes a whole web and the books meld into the web both going and coming. People will actually be able to turn the pages, always getting a dual mirror image.

This image came to me because lately, images about books and technology that I have seen are all negative. Negative negative negative, sigh.
Well, I love books, and I love the web.

IMHO, technology, the web in particular, have made books more accessible, not less. Isn't the whole point acquiring vast amounts of knowledge until our heads explode? Well, that's my goal in life anyway, one of them!

And don't get me wrong, I LOVE real bound and printed books as four rooms of books in my house can attest. I have bookshelves against the ceiling, floor to ceiling shelves, books in my studio up high, down low...real books. I also collect and cherish old printmaking books, real gems.

But recently I've read about WordPress, wills and trusts, non-profit law, and caring for geriatric dogs all on my Kindle, or my Kindle app on my iPad. Because "those" books I just recycle after a couple of readings anyway. So now they live forever in my e-library.

Back to my image, I wanted it to be a positive marriage between books and the web and the web and books. There is some quirky symbolism there, using a spider web (reminiscent of the dusty and forgotten) as the symbol for technology. But then I'm kind of a quirky person.

Anyhow, here is the plan as laid out in a quick Photoshop sketch, except the middle "book" is a "web."

Now, what shall I name it? Anyone?

 

Tomorrow, I print and carve the other block. It's Shina ply so the carving goes pretty quick. Each block is 16" x 20". I can't wait to print and "bind" my book.