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.

North East in USA and South West in Canada, it's all relative

Occurs to me that I have been placing everyone according to my own geographical-centrism. I suppose we all have ourselves and where we live as "the" point of reference for the rest of the world, otherwise we would get hopelessly lost as we travel. But be assured I mean no ego-centrism when I refer to Canada as North and Brazil as South, it's just that I'm smack in the middle...always in the middle, it's all relative!

Wow, that was deep...
Anyhow, here are the latest two arrivals.

AEleen Frisch from Wallingford Connecticut, USA sends this little window into her world. The block is actually resting on a borrowed newspaper but it's all good.

And Randie Feil, from Victoria British Columbia in Canada sends this contribution. Randie did write a smart little ditty on paper about the crows and I will be updating all those as I type them:

*******

I am very happy to report that I have now heard several "wait for meeeee!" from almost all the participants and looks like all but two at most will be making the extended extended deadline of February 29th.

That is a big relief because I have very few blocks to replace and, depending on where they are located, I can just carve a few lines to coincide with the outline.

As I reported a few days back, my paper sampler is here and I'm still deciding between the contenders:

-Daniel Smith Lenox

-Canson Warm White

-Stonehenge Warm White

All are equally yummy with the Stonehenge and Canson having two deckled edges and the Lenox (or is it Lennox?) having four cut edges. Time to ring up the suppliers and see what they have on hand. Plenty of time yet but I want to make sure there is leeway for backorders and also would like to lock in a price before all the carriers decide to double their shipping rates in tandem with the price of fuel.

Yikes, good thing I ride a bike!

As you were, carry on...

Ontario Canada and Baltimore Maryland bring us two more city blocks

Louise Cass, from Toronto, Ontario CANADA, says this about her block:
This is simply the view of downtown Toronto (with a smidgeon of Lake Ontario) seen from my studio window! Also to be noticed is what used to be the tallest edifice in the world - the CN Tower!

That's a very cool image, a city within a city. I'm just delighted!

Amanda Gordon Miller sends her block from Baltimore Maryland USA refreshes us with her image and words:

I have lived or worked in a city for most of my adult life.  I find myself both attracted to and repulsed by the city, and this ambivalence made it hard for me to settle on a subject.  I'm very excited to be part of the City of the World Project, and so I decided that my contribution should focus on the positive.  I chose to show water, as cleansing, restorative, and regenerative.  The fountain image is based on a photo I took when visiting St. Augustine, FL, the oldest city in the United States and one of my favorite places. 

Thank you both and everyone else!

Links to remember for those who have not yet sent information about their blocks:

PROJECT MAIN PAGE
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/cityoftheworld/index.html

THE BLOG! Where everything happens:http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/

The place to send information about your city block:http://1000woodcuts.com/forms/cityblockinfo.htm

Two Ladies from Freeville New York to Birmingham United Kingdom

Fiona Humphrey from Birmingham United Kingdom brings us a very nice contribution.

And I thoroughly enjoyed a bit of news from the Kingdom! Geez, no wonder I'm so slow at getting the photos done! All these wonderful tidbits from lands far far away just catch my attention and I can't help myself but to stop and learn what's happening all over the world. One of the perks of my mad project, I guess.

Sylvia Taylor, another world traveler sends her block from Freeville New York USA

Nicely done!

I'm happy to report that I have now heard from all but very few and almost all the blocks are on the way back to me. Until I see where the "holes" are I can't really tell what I will do with the missing blocks. Sometimes I carve a "quickie" sometimes I just incorporate the piece into the background.

Assembly will commence next week and I'm seriously coming out of my skin with excitement. Well, not seriously, but nearly.

The task of assembly includes spreading my "map" over my work table first as a guide. Once my guide is taped up where I can see it, I grab the block "skeletons" and place them each on a matboard cut to size, where they will be later permanently adhered along with all their little city blocks.

Then the fun part begins; I grab each block and find its place in the puzzle, loosely placing them until they are all in their slot. All 102! and counting...

Photos coming up, you MUST be involved in the magic of watching each image come alive as the little pieces are carefully assembled.

Stay tuned!