Winds of change...

Long time no post!
Seems sometimes in my life I just shake things up just to see what happens. Not that I have that much time in my hands, I just have to jump around and try new things once in a while...make that often!

This year I'm working on shrinking my unwieldy website and expanding presence in other venues. Announcements to come as they happen and on my website front page, and in here, and...sigh...

Anyhow, for starters I just proudly donated this piece Recto Verso to the Las Vegas/Clark County Library Permanent Art Collection:

Recto-Verso two blocks and bound prints 2012

 

The piece was done for a show last year in conjunction with the book festival in Las Vegas. I got carried away and carved two blocks, mirror image, large print...so much fun to get carried away in art.

 

 

I have various projects going on and will be posting (so she says) regularly, whatever that means.

Carry on...

GRRROOAAAARRRRR!

I had all intentions of finishing my Valley of Fire II print before I left on a little trip across the West US, but I decided I needed more bokashi-practice. So my blocks for that print are all cut and ready to print when I get back.

Meantime, I actually got my Chinese Lunar New Year 2010 Tigers all done!
This was a fun little print where I wanted to push the Shina ply a bit and see how small I could go before cursing and throwing my tiny blocks out the window. Luckily, none of that came to pass and my proud little tigers are all ready to travel.

The three blocks needed to make the tigers, key printed in sumi ink, green/yellow mix and bright orange and just below, the two first stages of the print:

I must say there is something immensely satisfying about seeing a whole lot of prints drying on the desk (or hanging, depending on size). I think this is the part I like most, all those near-identical prints...

In any case, the tigers will fly off tomorrow. I'm still debating whether to buy actual Tiger stamps or use up the Ox stamps that I overbought from earlier this year. I guess you'll see when you get them!

Oh, I didn't include an official info sheet with these, they are going as First Class postcard mail, so:

Title: 2010

Woodblock on 3 Shina plywood blocks, Akua inks, key block black Sumi ink

Paper are ready cut postcards from the Baren Mall http://www.barenforum.org/

Happy Year of the Tiger everyone!

A new print finally!

First, a new image! Amazing, I know, it's been a while. I actually have two blocks carved and ready to go but life keeps getting in the way.

On the other hand, my home projects are coming right along this year and I'm getting buffed and tanned driving the wheelbarrow around.

But back to art...

There it is, an exchange print in full color. I kept the image simple. The key (black) block is standard cherry, the color block is a puzzle cork block. Cork is tough to work with, hard to print and generally a big pain in the booty. But I really like the irregular surface to fill with color but leave the paper showing.

Is this a sign of more color to come? Hmmm...mixed feelings here. I actually have two more blocks of the Grand Canyon series ready to print, and they are black on my favorite Beech Grove Paperworks hand-crafted paper.

The color was fun too, but there is something about the traditional honest one-color woodcut. We'll see!

Woodcuts in the desert

My temporary gallery at the Valley of Fire Visitor's Center. This is a small Nevada state park that is just beautiful to visit, especially (and almost exclusively) in the winter.

Compared to an art festival, this is an easy setup. I used my festival panels for the back wall and also the browse bins for information on woodcuts, business cards and, of course those portable matted works that hopefully will find their way into the suitcases of tourists.

The park benefits from the artist's sales and for the artist, it is a chance to show works to countless tourists and other desert loving critters.
Woodcuts are again at an advantage because they are so rarely seen in these parts. Of course I have free for the taking my standard "How to Make Woodcuts" handout. Knowing that the State Park gets a percentage is huge for me. As I grow older, I yearn for the days when the desert was a largely uninhabited place. More and more developers are building and building and it feels good to be a part of a preservation movement.

The weather forecast for the rest of February in these parts calls for spring-like 60's and 70's, and, of course... sunny and clear!