Crafty Savage

Speedy Carve--When you only have time for a quickie

2012-01-30T08:20:00.000-06:00

I carved Brahe on Friday. My plan was to laser that night during my allotted time at MAKEatx, and I wanted a lino print to use as my roadmap. When I went into my studio to get to work, I was lured by the word Speedy that was peeking out at me from my shelf o' crap. If you haven't come in contact with this stuff before, Speedy Stamp/Carve is a pink-eraser like slab that is a breeze to cut, though it should really be called "Easy" vs. "Speedy," since it still took about 2.5 hours. (For some reason, brand name Speedball has similiar products with various names: Speedy Cut, Speedy Carve/Stamp--and I can't tell the difference between them besides the color--one white one pink. I did ask Google, however, and one blogger considers Speedy Carve/Stamp superior to Speedy Cut. Who knew?) You also have to be careful when printing with this stuff. I didn't mount it on anything which it claims can be done, but the material squishes if the pressure is too tight, turning your 4x6 into a 4x8.

I transferred my sketch of Brahe, which was a scanned drawing, using a Chartpak Blender Pen. This transfer method is easy but really gross because the pen contains Xylene. The pen says "non-toxic" on it. Yeah, right. Use it outside and consider a respirator. The blender pen transfer came through as promised, easy breezy.

I lasered Brahe into the same wood as Kepler and I hope to proof it today. I did some hand work on Kepler over the weekend since one pass on the laser turned out to be too shallow. I lasered Brahe twice to get some extra depth, and once I proof I'll be able to see if that was enough. (When you use the laser on wood is chars the wood, that's why Brahe looks like espresso. He has a nice aroma too.)

Handwork today

2012-01-28T06:00:00.001-06:00

I'm finishing up 2 prints that are going into a B&W show at Davis & Blevins Gallery, just north of Dallas. I have two sets of watercolor pencils that I love. Staedtler is one and Derwent is the other. I can always blend them with a wet brush or keep them as is. One set has a grey that's more warm, and the other set has a cooler black. The differences are subtle, but when you want it right, you want it right.


Here's a photo taken on the hike and bike trail on Town Lake maybe 10 years ago.

I set a schedule last weekend and so this has been an exhausting week! I'm fitting in exercise now, so that's new. I've also fit in two marketing days at 2 hours each. I can read marketing books--I've accumulated quite a few--as well as perform business tasks like correspondence and data entry so it's flexible. Before I set my schedule, I didn't differentiate between studio hours and marketing hours, and I'd often spend more time working and scheming on the marketing side when I really needed to up the art making. Plus there's always the problem of getting sucked into the Internet vortex, and this way by limiting my studio hours to actually working on art, I've been super productive. My daily household responsibilities have taken a nose dive because they're not on the schedule (grin), but husband has been very encouraging for me to stay at it, convincing me I'll eventually get the hang of it all, including laundry. My inspiration for setting up a more detailed schedule (vs. x hours per week) was Mary Hunter, an artist in my art marketing group, who admitted she actually clocks in and out when going into her studio. My schedule is just broken down into expected hours per day, etc, leaving it up to me to do the time since I often have to break up work into segments, but you get the idea.

Picasa--Fabulous and Free

2012-01-27T08:46:00.000-06:00

Contact sheet view of web album

Haven Gallery requested samples of work to show a collector. I used Picasa and uploaded pics to a private album and inserted captions (title, dimensions, medium) and comments (currently in X show but comes down on X date). Google's Picasa, FREE BTW, has all kinds of applications. For this task, all I needed to do was send Haven the album's link which can be forwarded to the collector. (Luckily gathering art info/location was easy since it's cataloged in Working Artist.) I'm sure I can have Picasa work even more miracles for me. One of these days I need to really examine the possibilities.

Kepler in Wood--I have a proof!

2012-01-26T17:03:00.000-06:00

I proofed Kepler today. I am sooo excited! Though the lasered woodcut wasn't as clean as I would have liked it to be, it's easily remedied by going in with my woodcarving tools. This will not be an issue next time I laser into wood since the depth of the laser can be altered. (Oh MAKEatx, how I love you and your Epilog laser cutter!)

I have started to work on my mini Brahe linocut. Here's the image that I plan on using. It takes awhile to get something I like sometimes, and Brahe was difficult. I liked the head at one point, and the body, but they weren't at the correct ratio, so I needed to scan the sketch and increase portions of the sketch electronically, then print it out.

I reworked the image with marker, then took out what I didn't like with this stuff--Pentel Fine Point Correction Pen. When ready I'll rescan, increase the contrast, and then transfer image to my linoleum and start carving. If I like the printed results, I'll do the same process as Kepler and have Brahe carved into a block of wood. Kepler and Brahe are meant to be on the same block, opposite each other like a playing card. The finished size will be 15 x 11, with the possibility of going larger with the laser cutter.

Kitchen Litho, take 2

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Kelly showed me this link the other night, and I was excited to see that Émilie Aizier Brouard has a new Kitchen Litho video--this version is slightly updated from the one from this post. Émilie has a handbook on her website, but it's in French, though she hopes to have an English version in the coming months. (I'm sure there's a translation website out there that can translate for you. I'll be looking into that myself because I see that Émilie has altered her technique.) If you try this, send me some pics and I'll post them!

Mr. Wood, meet my friend Ms. Laser

2012-01-25T11:48:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a great art day. I carved a lino then printed it, scanned it, enlarged it, inverted it, flipped it and then had it lasered into wood. Did you follow that?

Here are prints from the lino version. The image on the left was rolled with a small roller, so it picked up all kinds of incidental marks that I did not want. I pulled out my Cadillac of rollers and had much better results on the one on the right.

Here's the same image, larger now, that has been lasered into wood.

I also lasered another mat board (which I think would be fantastic if it actually prints like it looks, but I have to be honest, I'm skeptical).

Here's the original:

The original is an encaustic piece that sold recently at Haven Gallery and I used a picture of the original for the laser file. I'll need to coat the mat board with acrylic medium--following my steps posted here--at some point and schedule more time at WPA's studio.

Proofing will need to wait until tomorrow on the woodcut. Will post as soon as I get a chance to print!

Love the Jello!

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

Gelatin prints are great for cards. Carolyn Kimball came over Friday morning and we whipped some out.

I made a new batch of gelatin that morning, and within 2 hours we pulled our first print.

Recipe
4 boxes of gelatin, 16 packets total
dissolve with 3 cups of cold water
add 3 cups boiling water, stir

I poured the liquid gelatin into a beat up jello roll pan, made it as level as possible, skimmed off any bubbles, and let it set for one hour before putting in fridge. After an hour in the fridge, I used a butter knife and gently went around the perimeter of the pan then gently lifted out the slab. Then it was ready for rolling up with ink and printing!

Here's another batch.

Kepler meets some ink

2012-01-23T22:59:00.000-06:00

Today was a busy day. I fit in a run (!) to adhere with my new move it plan, then headed to the studio to give my laser cut mat board a go. I printed Kepler 4x using the intaglio method (apply ink, wipe ink off, ink stays in cracks and comes off on paper when run through press) and 1x with relief (roll ink on top--ink misses in places where there's a recess).

The paper used was Arches 88, and since I left my plastic bag of presoaked paper at home (rats!), I just did a quick dip in the water bath and let it sit for a few mins before printing. Ink was Akua Intaglio.

Pretty sweet! The possibilities with the laser cutter are pretty exciting. I look forward to exploring them all. Now that I've tried this plate as is, I'll probably go back in and add some texture using traditional collagraph methods.

His eyes are kinda freaky, so I'll be making some changes there. They also wiped out easier than other areas, so I'll have to be mindful of that when I try this again. I head back in to MAKEatx tomorrow. This time to try wood relief.

Who did I get to share the studio with today? None other than Carolyn Kimball. She's printing an edition for her monthly print subscription. Check it out here.

Love the color! Nice work on the pamplemousse!

I did attempt one more print and managed 3 proofs. Here it is after one plate has been printed. I hope to show results after I add color by way of monotype.

I have to go to bed. I need to sketch before heading to MAKE tomorrow, but I'm too wiped out and will have to wait until morning. Luckily it includes Kepler, so I'm at least 1/2 way done.

Laser cut printmaking plates

2012-01-22T10:45:00.000-06:00

I'm attempting to make some printmaking plates in a new and different way, and MAKEatx is where I'll be doing it. Here's a little bit about their laser cutting machine that I grabbed from their website:

The 24" x 36" bed Epilog laser cutter at MAKEatx has a wide variety of applications. It can be used for designing, prototyping, production and learning about the process of making. It can cut and engrave wood and plywood, paper, acrylic, fabric and leather and can engrave coated metals, glass, ceramics and stone. objects produced with the machine range from engraved bottles & glasses to jewelry to home decor to art and inventions of all kinds.

MAKEatx's Epilog machine in action

I love adding text to my prints and this is one way to do it. I'm still figuring things out in my noggin, but with a 3-month subscription to MakeATX, I think I can come up with some stuff to print. In the next couple of week I'll be researching appropriate matrices since I can't use Cintra--the PVC coated foam core I like for drypoints (PVC evaporates into chlorine apparently, which would be toxic to inhale + the machine doesn't like the fumes either). Wood is a possibility, as in linoleum. Mat board is a given.

Once I arrived home I beveled my edges using a straight edge and an Xacto blade. Here's a pic after my first side has been beveled.

To get the mat board ready to be made into a printer-ready collagraph, I coated the front 2x with 50:50 acrylic medium and water, drying in between coats. I coated the back and the bevels with 100% acrylic medium. Monday I'll proof it and post results! I'm actually itching to alter the collagraph plate, but figured I can do that after my 1st proof.

My first objective is to create printmaking plates, but I may be playing around with other cool applications of this laser cutting wonder. Here are some of MAKEatx's earrings. Here's a link to their shop for a closer look.

These date dice were created on the Epilog by artist Joelle Felyce Geisler, and for a better pic, I suggest visiting her website. She has really awesome stuff on her Etsy site, including the dice, so do check it out.

4 of my pieces heading to Dallas!

2012-01-21T13:39:00.000-06:00

I'm very excited to report that I will be showing 4 prints at Davis & Blevins Gallery in Saint Jo, TX starting late February. I plan on making an artist weekend of it--driving up and checking out the big galleries as well as the local ones, hopefully hooking up with artist Lynne Hubner, and then attending the opening. I'll give more details as I have them. The show is a B&W themed show and these are the four that were chosen:


© Cathy Savage, Raleigh Bird, Monoprint, 16 x 16"

2012 Art Goals

2012-01-19T10:39:00.000-06:00

I just spent the last 2 hours working on I'd Rather be in the Studio. Our first art marketing salon starts today, and as co-facilitator, I figured I should be prepared. We're following the outlines from artbizconnection.com, and I encourage you to visit the site and form your own group. I am pumped up! Seriously. It's exciting thinking about the future and what could be if I dedicated more time to marketing.

Some of my 2012 art-related goals:

Create lesson plans for teaching art. It started with a meeting I had about instructing an 8-week workshop at The Griffin School next year. I'd like to explore teaching and an 8-week stint will be a great test to see if I can hack it. Plus it'll supplement my ultimate financial goals and the workshop would only be 2 days/week, so manageable without taking away from my current studio schedule.
I'd like to have my art on display at 10 different venues in 2012 (Etsy is included in the 10 by the way, so I'll be spending a chunk of time getting up to speed.) I was contacted out of the blue yesterday by a gallery north of Dallas to see if I'm interested in participating in a show. I am of course, and will be checking my calendar and inventory today to see if I can swing it, so that's at least 2. (Road trip anyone? Opening is Feb. 28.)
I'm beginning to work with Master Printer Darin Forehand in Houston. I'd like him to edition a print for me.
Create new marketing materials.
Distribute said marketing materials.
Redo website so it's easier to maintain.

I have others but they are boring. The ones above are the biggies. If you'd like to swap goals, I'm happy to email you the full list, but I want to see yours.

Handy Linocut Tools

2012-01-18T14:15:00.001-06:00

I had a bunch of fun last night working on my linocut. I look forward to finishing it, but it may not happen today. Full schedule and all that.

I wanted to mention my tools in case anyone decides to give linoleum a try. I have really nice ones from McClains, but you can use Speedball tools also, and you can pick them up in just about any hobby store. My tools can be sharpened, which makes them a bit better for long-term use. But Speedball blades are affordable if you decide to go the disposable route.

Artist Cathy Savage. Kepler print 1/2 way finished!

Linoleum--mounted or unmounted? I've carved both and don't particularly favor one over another. The press that I'm using requires mounted, but I have a ton of unmounted linoleum that I plan on using after I figure out a way to build up the press bed. I also have a bench hook, which is the black thing that the lino block is seated on. Bench hooks are great because the linoleum is seated against the lip on the desk so you don't have to use a hand for support--therefore preventing a possible major injury. I notice I'm a lot more mindful about the direction I'm carving (away from me vs. towards me) when using the bench hook. I have a plywood one too that I made that I use for larger pieces. I've been careful not to ram my tools into the metal bench hook, which I can see might be a disadvantage over a wood model.

When transferring your image to your block you can use all sorts of things: Wintergreen (I've heard this but never tried it), acetone, carbon paper, soft pencil on paper that's transferred when run through a press (rubbing with a spoon works in the same fashion) to name a few.

Inspiration provided by artist Elizabeth White

Inspiration
I try to keep a little around. This is mine for the block I'm working on. It's from a show postcard of a print by Elizabeth White. Here's a link to a larger image plus linocuts. Be careful as you scroll through, as they're grouped with other pics from that exhibit that may not be safe for work.

The Start of a Very Fortuitous Week

2012-01-17T16:27:00.001-06:00

I had a great weekend. We have a new table, courtesy of a neighbor who left it out on his curb as refuse. (Hey, I'm not ashamed that I'm a trash picker!) And bonus: The table came with a leaf!

Our previous dining table is now in my studio so there's some rearranging going on there, as you can tell. Now I have one desk for stacking and one desk for working! Well hopefully the stacking is temporary. It's more cramped but I love that I have the signpress off the kitchen counter and in my studio where it's supposed to be.

Transferring line drawing to piece of linoleum
I started a line drawing of Kepler in pencil, then scanned it and printed it out. To transfer it to my linoleum there are several things I could do, but the easiest is using acetone (nasty stuff--do this outside with gloves on) and a cotton ball. Just take your photocopy and lay it face down on your block. Wet your cotton ball with acetone and gently apply. Immediately rub the heck out of the back of the paper with a wooden spoon. The results are faint but enough for me to see what's going on. Acetone transfers work on a variety of surfaces, but I suggest trying out a sample to make sure the acetone doesn't do anything funky to your surface. I made a silly statement the other day about wanting to do one lino a week and I think I may try to see how long I can keep it up.

Gelatin printing on Tissue Paper

2012-01-14T11:03:00.000-06:00

Gelatin prints on Tissue Paper

I read about this on Linda Germain's blog, my go-to-person-for-gelatin-related-inspiration. I like to do encaustic collages on occasion, and these tissue paper prints will work very well for textures. Tissue paper appears to dissolve when it absorbs wax, so all white areas will disappear and in it's place you'll see the layer underneath. I used Akua inks directly on the gelatin plate--just a few drops per color on my 8 x 8 slab--then employed a brayer to cover the slab with the ink. The Fleur-de-lis pattern is a commercially purchased foam stamp. The circles are simply a plastic container that I gently touched the plate with, and in some cases, smeared around.

(I have several posts on Gelatin Printmaking--you could do a search on the blog to find out more. Linda Germain is the bomb though... Do check out her sight.)

A used gelatin plate that's been frozen
and now ready for nuking

The gelatin I used for this experiment was originally used around Thanksgiving time. After a week of use it had developed a nasty bit of mold, and so I broke it up and put it in the freezer. Here it is before I nuked it until it boiled. It gets discolored after every use, and especially now after the mold, but it worked just fine! Hopefully I killed enough of the mold to keep it around for a few more days. Artist Carolyn Kimball is coming over on Monday for some jello fun, so I need it to last the weekend!

Ok, this is totally unrelated to printmaking, but I can't resist talking about the pancakes we had this morning. The recipe was given to me by a friend that got it from her sister-in-law. I've made a few of my own changes and I decided to share it with the world. I have a weakness for oatmeal and I've blogged about it before, and if you try these pancakes, I think you'll agree that the oatmeal makes them especially fantastic!

Oatmeal Pancakes
2 c. milk of choice
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs beaten
1/3 c oil

Mix together and let sit for 10 mins. Do not over mix. While sitting, oats will soften a bit and the the batter will thicken a bit. Make as usual and enjoy!

This recipe fed the 4 of us. They are dense, chewy, and delicious.

Abraham's Caravan finally saw the Light of Day

2012-01-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

Carolyn Kimball's Abraham Caravan on card

I often get overwhelmed when I return from being out of town, and this year's 2-week trip over Christmas break was no exception. Today I thought I'd tackle opening Holiday Greetings that have remained in a stack since sorting our pile of mail. I guess part of why it's been put off until mid-January, is that I've failed to send out my own greeting and I'm feeling a wee bad about it. Last year we did New Year's cards, but this year we've only talked about it. I guess there's always Valentine's Day.... So, today, imagine my delight when I opened this card. It's a reproduction of Carolyn Kimball's Abraham Caravan, with her own greeting inside of "Wishing you a joyous journey through the New Year." How clever! She managed to show off her work in a non-denominational way so it could be sent to a wide audience--friend, family, collectors. The back has her name, title, and medium. OK, Carolyn, if you're reading this, please comment on where you had your cards made. They look really nice and I like the size (4 1/8 x 5 7/8") and weight of the card.

Reaching out to Gallery Contacts

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm starting the dance. I've made a few gallery contacts over the past couple of years, especially in 2011, and so today I'm reminding these people that I'm alive by sending a card, a follow up thank you, a what-have-you. I'm using my Tesla cards, though I'm running out... (I thankfully need to print some more. Nothing is worse that ordering a bunch of crap and having it linger around for years. It's at least a sign that I'm sending them out into the world.)

My return address? A print of course! I carved this eraser awhile ago with blog post about it here. Results are below.

Since I'm using ink vs. a stamp pad, I thought I'd load up on the envelopes. It'll be nice to be ready to go for my next correspondence.

Finishing a Woodcut--novel idea

2012-01-12T09:05:00.000-06:00

Cathy Savage, Lucky Find II, Woodcut with Monotype

I started a woodcut about 2 years ago and never finished it. (I have so many partially worked projects. Oi vey.) Since I have this lovely lovely new press that loves relief, I thought I'd finish the woodcut where this bird and apple originate. In the print to the left, you see the bird with apple woodcut that was printed on a separate sheet of paper, then cut out and collaged onto a monotype background. The red on the apple was applied as a final step. As for the woodcut, the bird and the apple are the only things going on right now--the rest is an open slate. Hopefully you'll see a print in a few weeks time. I'll need to trim one side of the 12 x 16 piece of Shina since my press bed has an 11" max width.

Incidentally, the monotype/woodcut above will be hung at the JCC at 7300 Hart Lane with the opening tonight--1/12/2012--from 7-8:30 pm. Turns out I've posted this on FB but never posted it here. If you're local and catch this, I hope to see you tonight! If you can't make it, the show will be up until the end of February. More on the Mono y Mono exhibit here.

Chess Anyone?

2012-01-11T06:00:00.002-06:00

I whipped out this print today. Well, not quite. It took a bit to carve but the printing was a cinch with my new signpress. So exciting!! The block is a petite little thing--2 x 3" mounted linoleum--and I made some notecards which I've listed on my Etsy site already. I've been fantasizing all morning of printing a new design once a week to build up my Etsy shop with low cost items that move. That is definitely a premature notion at this point because I've only had 3 sales (thank you Ronnie from TN for my latest order!). I'm thinking maybe these cards will cover my coffee expenses, one latte at at time. :)

Here's the press all set up and ready for action. I used foam core cut to size to register my block. This signpress has a paper grabber shown on the left that is super handy. I used a strip of Naugahyde for added presser and to protect the roller.

Dang! I couldn't be any more tickled than I am right now about this press!

Embroidery and Daniel Johnston

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Most fabulous dish towels ever!

Masterpiece's Downton Abbey is back, and so is embroidery! I can't resist doing hand work during Masterpiece Theater, and this is what I worked on Sunday night. Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching has a Daniel Johnston (musician/artist) pattern in her artist series, and it is finally getting more attention after I embroidered this jacket a year ago or so. (The documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston is worth a watch.)

New year, new goals, new vision board

2012-01-09T06:00:00.002-06:00

Task:
1. Take a stack of magazines and find pictures and text and pick out items that reference 2012 goals. Cut and glue. Add other stuff, paint, markers, etc.
2. Hang up and look at everyday.

You manifest what you see.

First print off of Signpress!

2012-01-08T06:00:00.001-06:00

Cathy Savage, Tesla the Visual Thinker, 6 x 4", Linocut

I did it! Man, it wasn't easy figuring it out. We had the hardest time getting the roller onto the bed plate, but then it turned out to be a simple solution in the end. I spent some time cleaning the bed plate and researching the basic function of the press on the net. I have some more work to do on registration, plus the pressure handle is still kaput, but if I stick the same pressure used when the handle broke, I'll be OK. If the handle can't be repaired I'll just work around it by mounting my linoleum on wood, which I'd need to do otherwise, and then using a piece of Naugahyde on top of the paper to add in another bit of pressure and protect the roller. The press is a Magnetic Signpress by Dick Blick. My guess is it's a 1950s model. (Thank you Linda Lemon for the press! It's finally getting some TLC!)

This is the year of the Signpress

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

I acquired a signpress a few years ago and I never got it going. I brought it to the WPA studio thinking someone might get inspired and refurbish it and teach the rest of us how to use the dang thing, but it never found any love there. I've decided to give rehabbing it a shot myself. I went on youtube and found a video, and this little press could work very well for wood and linocuts. I found a user's manual on Flicker--man, I love the internet!!--so there is nothing holding me back. I think this is going to open up some very interesting possibilities.

Unfortunately the press grid is super rusted. I'm going to try and spruce it up today, though I suppose it isn't really necessary since I won't be using blocks of type, but I'd like to return it to it's original splendor. I can't get the roller portion to reattach to the pressbed, so there are other, much bigger issues... But while it's unattached, it's a good time to attack that rust.

The handle that regulates the pressure broke two seconds after I brought it home. It appears to have previously been soldered and it just crumbled in my hand. Keith thinks he might be able to fix it.

This machine is an absolute beast--the pressbed is unbelievably heavy so moving it from shelf to tabletop when in use, really isn't a feasible option. Still working out its final resting place. I am determined to use this thing in 2012.

Artist Judith Raphael--studio visit

2012-01-05T23:39:00.000-06:00

While in Chicago last week I visited the studio of Judith Raphael. Most of her work was packaged up for a show, but I was able to see a few works in progress. Don't you love her space? She and her husband Tony Phillips (also an artist with an equally enviable studio) live in a loft upstairs which is absolutely gorgeous.

Artist Judith Raphael, work in progress

My sis and I spent most of our time catching up while together (we're actually Judith's 2nd cousins once removed and so that took a little time to figure out!) and so there wasn't much time to really pick Judith's brain about her work.

Artist Judith Raphael, work in progress

I love the softness of her palette, and then look at the doodads in the background, which reminds me of what I was trying to do with this piece here. Wow. Let me get a bigger pic. (I believe the works on paper are gouache.)

Artist Judith Raphael, work in progress, detail

The girls are at that tween age. Not quite ready to be women yet still holding on to sense of innocence. I love it.

Artist Judith Raphael, work in progress

Judith Raphael on left, Sister Sue on right

Hoped you liked these as much as I did. We three had such a nice time talking and sharing about our lives and our families. Another visit to Chicago to pick up where we left off is in our near future... Next time I'll ask more art related questions [grin].

First Etsy Sale!

2012-01-04T14:02:00.000-06:00

Cathy Savage, Tesla the Visual Thinker, Linocut, 6 x 4"

I'm trying to calm myself down! Granted, the sale was a small order, ahem, $3, but still. Right on! Thank you Kimberly from MN!

I'm excited about learning all about Etsy. My go to connection has been Kelly Tankersley, and I was lucky enough to get a one-on-one with Kelly just before the holidays. I look forward to beefing up my site.

Since we're on the topic of marketing, there's a marketing group starting in a few weeks that is based on the book, I'd Rather be in the Studio. I look forward to sharing my progress as well as the progress of the peeps that are joining me. If you're out of town and want to lurk in on our group, there may be a way to do that on our newsgroup. Just let me know and I'll pose the question to the others at our first meeting. The course is aimed towards artists, but people of other disciplines could benefit. Better yet, start your own marketing group through this link.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T15:24:00.000-06:00

Thank you for reading the blog! I appreciate the opportunity to share about what I'm doing in my creative life and it's nice to know that others are interested.

Another resolution I plan to keep: Stop for afternoon tea!
(This is my first pull, just to see how the print is progressing.
I'm thinking note cards....)

I create New Year's Resolutions every year and this year is no exception. I paired my list down to the basics and this is what came of it:
1. Do something creative every day.
2. Move my body every day.
3. Simplify. Say yes to things I love, say no to things I don't.
4. Be present for myself and for my family.
5. Shamelessly self-promote. It's not going to magically happen unless I make it happen.

Before pic.
This was all made possible by cleaning off my workspace. :)

Note: there are other areas for improvement that didn't make the short list such as "be more consistent in plucking my eyebrows," but you get the drift. The ones above are big enough to keep me busy all year. So there will be days when I'm looking a bit wooly--don't be shocked when you see me.

Leaving Mad City

2011-12-31T10:37:00.000-06:00

I had a glorious time in Madison, WI. I left a little thank you in the form of a yarn bomb. I followed the same procedure as the one I made in Austin: cheap 100% acrylic yarn, size 15 needles, 17 stitches wide.

I have some fabulous pics to share from Madison's university museum, the Chazen. I saw a Jim Dine up close and personal. I read a book last year on Grant Wood and they had one of his more famous paintings without glass. I was able to get up super close to inspect it. They don't have obnoxious security folks lurking around since there's a sophisticated video system, which was a refreshing change from UT's Blanton. They had a ton of contemporary prints and a dedicated print room. I have to say little ol' Madison's university museum overshadows the Blanton by a huge margin. I realize Madison is a print town, but so is Austin. What the heck?! I saw mostly works on paper at a local gallery and 90% of them were prints vs. paintings. Austin needs to get with the program.

Luck of the Irish

2011-12-29T20:49:00.000-06:00

While in Chicago yesterday I got the chance to visit Tony Fitzpatrick, an artist I've been enamored with for about 10 years now, so it was a thrill. I heard Tony speak to a room full of people at Univ of TX about 1.5-2 years ago, but a one-on-one in his living room felt . . . well . . . pretty dang lucky. He had a show at Slugfest in Austin with an opening just a few short weeks ago. I mentioned to him that I'd be in Chicago, and could I pay him a visit? So yesterday my sis and I confirmed our appointment and drove over. Long and short of it--great conversation, fantastic art at every glance, good coffee, friendly dog, and a fabulous impression of Tony. And, he liked my work.

That book in my hands above? It's Tony's book This Train, which has 150 glorious pages of journal writings and collages. I woke up this morning at 5:40, unable to sleep, and it's because this book was calling to me. It oozes passion in every way, in every word and image.

Last night we drove back in Madison and today we visited the zoo. I had Keith take this picture because I've had this quote on my mind for the last 24 hours:

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out." --James Bryant Conant

Duct Tape Wallet--Oh so nice!!

2011-12-23T13:34:00.000-06:00

I finally made a duct tape wallet. I've been wanting to for years. The kids each made themselves one and we had a grand time for about 3 hours. Wes made a braided duct table guitar strap as well. Perfect afternoon activity!

I made a gusset!

I found a tutorial on youtube for a super fancy wallet in case you want to go forth and conquer.

felted coffee sleeve thingy

2011-12-22T06:00:00.003-06:00

I made this as a gift and I can't help but crack up every time I see it. I read an article once about Kate Winslet and a movie she was in (The Reader) where she needed a merkin. And since this thing looks like something Borat would wear, I'm not sure I can give it as a gift. It's also super-sized (30% too large??) and I've washed it maybe 8 times, so I think all shrinking has occurred. I found out today that I can cut felted knits without fear of unraveling, so I may do that.

Here's the before pic. It is pretty cool how it shrinks.

Maybe I could embroider a little something on it to make it less merkin-like. (Don't you love that word? If it didn't have such a weird meaning I'd try to incorporate into my vernacular.)

I found the pattern for free online, so they're out there.

Kicking back and looking Glam

2011-12-21T11:27:00.000-06:00

I bought this skirt at Blue Genie from Angie's Sweatshop. I love it!!! Look at the zipper shown below... What's so fun about this skirt is it's gotten me interested in using my huge stack of material to make my own skirts. I love the use of the screenprint too. Clever! The material is on the thin side so good for TX summers and with a pair of leggings, it's been perfect for frigid temps in WI.

I am loving the sewing machine lately with all the pillowcases I've been making for birthday and holiday gifts. The pattern is simple (just sew per instructions and trust the force because the method is unusual) and from beginning to end it's 30-45 mins, including cutting.

Snow report: there was some snow on the ground when we arrived in Madison, but it has since melted. It gets below freezing every night, so we're hopeful.

More than just a Book on a Bench

2011-12-19T23:43:00.000-06:00

Sample BookCrossing label

I found a book yesterday. It was left on a bench in the Chicago airport and after asking everyone in the vicinity if they left it on accident, I decided to take it with me on my flight to Madison, WI. Later on I remembered the global book trade BookCrossing (though I can't for the life of me remember where I heard of it. NPR?). The idea is you affix an identifying label on the left behind book and the finder is to log it as found, then pass it on for the next person after reading. Once you register a book you can see all the great adventures its having traveling to who knows where. Isn't that fun? Leaving the book in an airport was brilliant, but the previous owner had not heard of BookCrossing, so it's up to me to start this book on its path to becoming more than just a book on a bench.

Furoshiki

2011-12-17T21:13:00.000-06:00

I unpacked THE BOX of holiday gear, which is a hassle to get down and there's lots of nagging involved. I came across my stash of Furoshiki and so I thought I'd repost this blog page where I talk about how awesome it is.
________

12/26/2010
After Christmas last year I visited the fabric store and bought a bunch of discount Christmas-themed material for Furoshiki, the Japanese method of using cloth to wrap gifts. I chose material the kids would like under the tree, but selections without Frosty and glitter do exist should you decide you like this idea. I hemmed up the edges (a serger would be great for this...) and created all kinds of different sized squares. Now wrapping literally takes seconds, the gifts look nice, and the wrapping can be used over and over again. We leave a stack out for Santa and so far he prefers them over paper. I also created tags out of red poster board, used a hole punch and a strand of yarn, and voila, done. For more information on Furoshiki, visit link here.

I've been basically sitting around for the last few days and getting up to eat. I suppose I burned a few calories opening gifts, but not many as the Furoshiki has less flailing, so I think I'm going to break up the board game playing with walks. I do hope to refine my 2011 goals at some point during this visit, so I plan on getting some work in.

Bad Cat Comics

2011-12-15T22:02:00.000-06:00

Artist Tim Doyle, screenprint on canvas, 12 x 12"

I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Doyle about 10 years ago when I purchased this piece of his from a coffee shop. We met for coffee during the exchange and it took a couple of years, but now I bump into him semi-regularly. He sells his work around town at various fairs + he's a Tesla fan, so we have The Tesla Project connection. Next time you see his work, make sure to say . . . HELLO.

Tim Doyle, King Crab, 18 x 24", Screenprint

My most recent bump into Tim happened at Renegade Craft Fair and son Wes spent his piggy bank money on this gem of a print. It's about 18 x 24." You can find out more about the process of creating the print here. The pics will walk you through the 5-color process.

Tim Doyle, Bad Cat Comics

Tim gave me this comic when I saw him, where King Crab plays a part. It's written and drawn by Tim and the cover is screenprinted!!! I love it!

Artist Carolyn Kimball

While at Renegade I picked up these cards from Carolyn Kimball. Aren't they fun? I picked up some linoleum the other day at a gift exchange, and I'm looking forward to doing quick carvings just like this--wonderful in it's simplicity.

Art Catalog Kinda Thing

2011-12-12T09:37:00.001-06:00

6.5 x 6.5" book that I bought from gelatin
printmaking guru Linda Germain. She used Blurb too.

I saw a Blurb catalog by Carol Hayman yesterday and I thought it looked beautiful. It was maybe an 8 x 10" soft bound book with 50 color pages, full-bleed, no text like the book pictured on the left. Timely, also, because thanks to my A&I Books Groupon expiring tomorrow, I will be working on my own photo book. I bought the Groupon months ago thinking a photo book would be a great and portable way to showcase my work when I'm out of town and checking out galleries and meeting other artists or potential collectors. OK--this is really not me. I'd be terrified to walk up to a gallery owner and ask her to look at my book, but, one never knows when the opportunity will strike to show one's work. When I go out of town in a few weeks, I will have my book with me. I will mention to all that I'm an artist and live in Austin. If there's a spark of interest, believe me, I will be ready. I honestly believe this is how luck works--recognizing an opportunity and being ready.

I bought this from Shutterfly last year around this time. It's a hardbound book that's 8 x 8." It's really a nicely made book. I had a problem with the spine and emailed them about it, and they sent me a replacement book right away that has held up. (Both of our dogs died last year, having lived long and happy lives, and this book was a tribute to our furry beasts.)

Here's an inside spread.

Egads. I just checked my Groupon account and I bought two more books from Mixbook expiring in February. Groupon is evil/awesome.

If you have made an art book, please comment and give your report!

Moving On! Hopefully....

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

This is my art bin. It has vintage prints in it that have been backed by foam core and wrapped in cellophane, waiting for someone to fall in love with them and take them home. The trouble is, I don't have any place for them to be seen and when I do, I forget to bring them. So, I've made an effort to upload them to my Etsy site which has basically just been laying in wait, patiently sitting there while I get my act together. I know I need to do some fancy footwork and clever posting, but right now I'm just celebrating the fact that I have stuff posted (I think creating an Etsy site was on my list of goals for the first quarter of this year--oops). If you have any Etsy tips, please share! I'm a newbie and in desperate need. Right now I have mostly older prints, which are more affordable than my current, more complicated and larger works. For all I know this might be the wrong market totally for these and the larger stuff, but since one post only costs .20, I figure it's worth a shot.

Studio Visit--Susan Whyne

2011-12-10T13:45:00.000-06:00

I met Susan Whyne about a month ago and had a pleasant visit to her studio. Susan is a painter and professor of art at UT. I really loved her work. Her canvases and works on paper are filled with these wonderful flowing images and figures that are super colorful. The works seem to each contain a touch of unease. Is that vase going to fall to the ground? Is that figure floating or falling? Anyway, here are some pics--I also took some of her assemblages. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.


I love these!

This is the first thing I saw when coming down the steps to Susan's studio space. Wow.

Susan pulled some paintings out for me to see.

I love all these colors!

Outside of the studio.

I love this transom created by Susan.

Susan's beautiful patio...

...complete with outdoor shower!


A Sharon Smith creation.

While on my way home I drove by this painted fence. I love South Austin! You never know what you're going to find!

This and That and Some Borax

2011-12-07T23:29:00.000-06:00

As someone who is crafty, I am really rather lame at decorating the house for the holidays. The thought of getting a bunch of stuff out and then having to put it away a month later makes me tired just thinking about it. If it's functional, say the ironing board, and I'm going to use it in a week's time for a sewing project in the hopper, I could conceivably leave it out for that length of time. A decorative plate with Santa painted on it? Not so much. (Disclaimer: I love and admire the homes of others that go to the effort!) We did make some borax crystal "snowflakes" by twisting up some pipe cleaners and hanging them by a thread in a solution of boiling water and as much borax as the water could dissolve. After 24 hours the pipe cleaners looked like this, so maybe this counts as decorating?

I knitted this hat about a year ago, maybe longer, and I tried to felt it and shape it on a hat form (a hard plastic deal that basically looks exactly like this hat you see here) and it never quite held. I shoved the hat in a drawer but gave reshaping it another try yesterday and PRESTO! It's beautiful! I'm afraid my hair it too poofy to wear it, but that's OK, it looks mighty fine on Wes. If the hat gets wet, I'll have to go through the reshape steps all over again. The dang thing is a bit on the fragile side--I can't roll it up and travel with it or anything cool like that. Therefore, I have my eye on one at REI.

This is a fleece cat bed made from a fun sewing book called One-Yard-Wonders. I have so many of these sewing books. One project down, 499 to go! The cats are now fighting over who sleeps in it so I may be making another one.

I promise to get back to printmaking at some point (see? more pillowcases...). I also have another artist to show you, Susan Whyne. I paid her studio a visit about a month ago and I want to show you the pics I took of her work (and her outside shower). I hope to finally post the pics tomorrow. You're probably tired of the knitting and sewing posts, but dang I'm feeling the urge to move the needles!

Creating Spacers for Hinged Work

2011-12-05T09:03:00.000-06:00

Cathy Savage, Tesla and Fleur-de-lis, 10 x 10

I sold this the other week from my little show at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin. I reframed it before the sale--not because the buyer requested it, but because it was the right thing to do for the longevity of my print. (Viva la Tesla, right?)

Let me explain. Often when I'm in a hurry to frame something, or I don't want to go to the expense of having the work hung professionally for a little show, I will grab a frame and sandwich the print between the mat and the glass--which is a giant no-no. As a consumer you should be aware that the glass should not directly touch the work of art since condensation, dust, and tiny bits of funk can build up and stick to the glass in the frame and could damage the work of art. I really like the look of floating prints and I often have prints going all the way to the edge of the paper, so this is a concern when I frame work.

What a spacer does is put a little space between the work of art and the glass. Ordinarily this is a mat, but if you want a floating piece of work, there are solutions. You can buy little strips of plexi with adhesive on the back from frame shops (I know Austin's Jerry's Artarama sells them but you need to ask the guy behind the frame counter), and so you'd cut them down to size and adhere them to your glass to add a buffer. I wanted a little more depth for Tesla so I used black foam core strips and essentially did the same thing.

Here's another pic up close and personal. I used the tape mentioned below.

Getting your print to hinge beautifully from it's mat board backer is another ball of wax. If you've found some awesome way to do this, please share. I've used several tapes over the years but my current favorite is Scotch Scrapbooking Tape, which is double sided and removable. It's photo safe and acid-free (be aware that doesn't mean archival.)

So, after my print was nicely reframed, I packaged up the piece with the invoice and tossed in some complimentary Tesla cards I had printed of my work, and now the buyer of Tesla Fleur-de-lis has commissioned me to make an assemblage similar to what was on one of the cards! The marketing worked, even though they really were intended as a free gift. I hope you have cards printed of your work and you give them out like mad. You never know...

Opening Reception Tomorrow!

2011-12-02T16:49:00.000-06:00

Cathy Savage, Lucky Find II, 10.5 x 16,
Monotype with Woodcut Collage

Cathy Savage, Pendulous Perriot, Monoprint with Intaglio Collage

I sent out emails and a FB status update, but I think I failed to mention Saturday's reception on this blog--oops. (I've been busy making more pillowcases if you can believe it.)

WPA is having an opening tomorrow at Pump Project, 702 Shady Lane, in Austin. Gallery hours are Wednesday and Saturday 12:00 to 5:00 pm if you can't make tomorrow evening. I'll have these two prints on the walls along with work hung by other WPA members. Come chat!

Exhibition Dates: December 3rd - 30th 2011

Opening Reception: December 3rd, 6-9 pm

The exhibit will include WPA's 2011 trade portfolio On The Edge.

Pump Project Art Gallery (map)

My Serious Vacation

2011-12-01T08:43:00.000-06:00

I've taken my vacation very seriously. I organized the depths of my closet, my sewing supplies (OMG I am not allowed to buy any more material!), and made a dent in my studio. I set up this cool pulley system to keep my studio door closed so our cats don't go in there and ~~puke~~ shed. I was getting tired of finding the door open (unfortunately the garage access is through my very own slice of heaven) so now it will automatically close and I can sit back and feel good about my expensive paper that is a cat hair magnet. The key is getting the right amount of weight so the door doesn't bang shut. Still refining, but it's working! It only cost $6 for the hook, eyelet screw, and little pulley.

OK, so it took a couple hooks and holes to find the right orientation. Nothing putty can't fix.

It felt great to get my sewing machine out and make a few projects like my pillowcases. I need to keep up the sewing. I enjoy it so much.

I finished knitting this cowl last night. (My first cable, ooh la la!)

Because I need to go back and work in the studio at some point, I bought this calendar to record my art, exercise, and craft projects. This year we went digital with the calendar, but I'm kinda missing the misc stuff I used to write in my old personal calendar that I wouldn't necessarily want on a linked calendar with Husband.

This is a Slingshot Organizer (all the pages are cool like this BTW) by the Slingshot Collective. I'm not an activist or an anarchist, but I love this calendar. In the back they have listed links to the radical community, of which I am not part of, but thankfully I know where I can go should I ever become radical.

My First Yarn Bomb!

2011-11-28T19:40:00.000-06:00

We did it! My mom was in town for T'giving, and I successfully convinced her to partake in my delinquency. We chose a stop sign within view of our front window. We've been having roadwork done and so that area needed some much needed flair. My friend Laura's company www.stripedshirts.com, just celebrated it's first anniversary, and since she's part of the block we thought we'd do it in stripes to commemorate her first year in business. I love yarn bombs! If you are dying to do one too, let me tell you the details on how we did it. We chose 100% acrylic yarn (we used 2 $3.50 skeins of Lion Brand Vanna Choice Yarn) and used the biggest needles we had on hand--US 15. We measured the circumference of the pole and I read somewhere (probably on the Queen of Yarn Bombs' website, Magda Sayeg 's Knitta Please) that it's better to attach the yarn bomb snugly, so we made the width of our "scarf" an inch smaller than the circumference of the pole. With our worsted weight yarn and large needles, each row turned out to be 17 stitches.

My mom and I knitted different balls of yarn then switched after the required number of rows. After we both did several blocks, we knitted them together to get one giant scarf. I just stitched it up the side of the pole and used clear zip ties to reinforce.

Our house is the one on the left. See? I can peer right outside my picture window and see our handiwork! (Imagine all our trim is red. Supposedly it'll get painted next weekend. If not, I have promised to adopt the pet below as retaliation.)

Still Giving Thanks Day After

2011-11-26T01:16:00.000-06:00

I love Thanksgiving. It's so wonderful to really contemplate life and give credit where credit is due. I have to admit we do a ditty at dinner every night where we say what we're thankful for that day as we go around the table, but yesterday I spent a good part of the day thinking about how very thankful--and lucky--I am. This blog was started as a way to keep me energized about my artist life. If I felt as though I was reporting something about my studio practice, perhaps it would help me maintain a studio practice? It has. Thank you readers! You've provided me with lots of encouraging emails over the year and I am thankful to have your support!

Artist Nancy Luton

I've been meaning to post these images for weeks now. All of them are by Nancy Luton, an artist from Houston. Here's a suite of prints that include a bit of fabric--I believe a swatch of dress fabric that belonged to Nancy's mother.

Artist Nancy Luton

A little closer.

Artist Nancy Luton

Isn't this wonderful?

Artist Nancy Luton

These are monoprints I believe were made in part with a stencil from paper dolls.

Artist Nancy Luton

I really liked these next 2 pieces. They're not prints but collaged color studies made by cutting out magazine pages and overlapping them.

Artist Nancy Luton

Frank Gehry

2011-11-22T23:19:00.000-06:00

I watched the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry a couple of weeks ago, and I recommend it. Stepping outside my bubble to see what other people are working on, even in completely different medium like architecture, is important for my growth as a artist. I tend to be one of those people that tries to find the most efficient route while driving from A to B and it's infrequent that I stop and look at architecture. (What a shame! There is so much out there to enjoy!) I guarantee if you are the same kind rat in a maze driver, if you see even a glimpse of a Frank Gehry building, it will give you pause.

I saw Frank Gehry's work for the first time a few years ago on my Berlin/Prague trip. He was the architect for buildings in both cities and strangely enough, I needed to leave the country to find out about this American architect. If you've seen one of his buildings in person, I'd love for you to leave a comment about your impressions.

I may not post again until after T'giving since I'm lucky enough to be sharing it with family and friends. Yea! We're kicking things off with a ukulele jam tomorrow morning. (Big grin.) Have fun and be safe!

Sweet Dreams

2011-11-20T22:38:00.000-06:00

My brother-in-law had a serious operation--he's fine--but he's convalescing. I made a pillowcase for my daughter's stocking last night and so I thought my BIL would like one to jazz up his room. I found this fabric at JoAnn's (no kidding!!), with several pinups in various poses, wearing Christmas hats and the word JOY throughout.

but, I want my BIL to like me so thought he'd prefer cards with a fun polka dot border. I have to find someone that would appreciate the pinups. (Mom? You interested?)

There are directions on pillowcases all over the information super highway, but here's the one I followed. It's the hotdog pillowcase method, which sounds really weird, but it's easy and there are no exposed seams! Pretty cool.

Alfonso Huerta, Valentin,
Linoleum print on paper
(Limited edition of 50)
18 x 12 inches

I ventured out for E.A.S.T. and had a wonderful time with Carolyn Kimball and Jean Caffeine. I super enjoyed visiting Flatbed and seeing Alfonso Huerta and his new work. He has an amazing cheetah print that I hope he posts on his website soon since I was too agog to snap one today.

Well, that's all I have time for now. If I plan on making more spritz cookies for my BIL to go with the pillowcase, I better get cracking.

Kicking back

2011-11-18T22:13:00.001-06:00

I have been taking it easy the month of November, just like I promised myself after my ~~hellish~~ busy October. I never posted images from Halloween, but it involved sewing and Wonder Woman. I think the costume creation pushed the needle to overdrive. Wes's costume was easy since it took me maybe 5 mins to do his makeup. Which was nice because last year his costume was maybe 15-20 hrs.

I fused on some shimmery gold fabric and added embroidery

I have to admit the WW costume was fun and fairly easy, but because of my hectic month I put if off until the last few days so there was some stress involved. Luckily we borrowed the boots and wrist bands from a friend.

Yea for star stamp and white acrylic I had in my stash! Skirt was a simple pattern with the same bias tape I used on my magic skirt.

I made a headband too, but the picture is MIA and I'm not about to dig through Raleigh's dress up box.

Yesterday I did pretty much did nothing other than clear out my email inbox. It was a fairly boring day but it needed to be tackled at some point. I did stop to whip out a batch of cookies that are surprisingly close to making prints. I use this thing. It's an awesome cookie press. If you decide you want one, buy it from an estate sale or try ebay. I've purchased two before--one from Williams-Sonoma and one from Target and they both didn't work very well. Nothing touches the old metal ones.

See, look? I threw in some lemon extract and they are divine with tea.

These spritz cookies always remind me of childhood. My mom has one of these things and over the years we've pressed a lot of green wreaths and trees.

I promise to get back to more art-related posts. I recently visited with 2 artists and I have images of their work to share. I'm going around and doing E.A.S.T. on Sunday, so maybe I'll have a little something extra? But, I am technically on vacation, so who knows when and what I'll post next? :)

Monoprints galore

2011-11-15T23:08:00.015-06:00

Judy Chambers, Shallow Water II, 7.5 x 9.8"

Update: I think there were issues with the images so I reloaded them. I don't want you to miss out!

I've been organizing a monotype and monoprint show for WPA, and so I've been privy to the submissions that have since been sent on to our juror, Ron Pokrasso. There have been some wonderful prints submitted and you can see a virtual gallery of most of them here. I am especially drawn to the work submitted by Judy Chambers.

Judy Chambers, Shallow Water I, 7.5 x 9.8"

Judy's prints are viscosity collagraphs--viscosity is something I've always wanted to experiment more with and, well, I love collagraphs. Isn't this work amazing?

Judy Chambers, Dew Pond, Monoprint, 7.9 x 9.75"

Darin Forehand's Print Shop, Houston, TX

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

I visited artist (and fellow FSU alum) Darin Forehand's print shop in Houston over the weekend. I'm thinking about working with Darin on a lithograph and I'm super excited about the prospect. Basically I'll get to create the images and Darin will do all the labor. It's strange. I've always done the whole thing from soup to nuts, but I figure it'll be a great experience and something I'd like to try at least once. (Here's Darin in his shop with my friend Beth.)

I figure if I went all out at a spa (unlikely, but within the realm of possible) I would be spending the same amount, but I'll have more than mud in my ears as my takeaway. Besides, I'll be able to blog about my experience. Hopefully you'll be hearing more about this as I get my husband on board--there will be weekends away so I need to find the right time to spring it. Stay tuned. ;)

2nd print courtesy of Magic Skirt

2011-11-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

Cathy Savage, Lucky Find II, 10.5 x 16",
monoprint with woodcut collage

This is the second print pulled while wearing my magic skirt (which, incidentally, used to be a pair of cargo shorts that belonged to my husband. It has lots of pockets so I love it!).

I had residual ink left on a plate from a month ago ...

Cathy Savage, Lucky Find I, 10.5 x 16",
monoprint with woodcut collage

... from this print. (Akua ink is awesome.)

Here's my found plate printed onto a piece of Rives BFK with a roll of Hansa Yellow as a base color. Next step was to add Ochre.

I printed my woodcut using Mars Black--just straight out of the can Akua Intaglio. I then cut out a bird and apple, over printed the apple in red, and then collaged them onto my printed paper with archival glue. Voila!

So, Lucky Find II and Pendulous Perriot from yesterday were entered into the Mono y Mono exhibit. Hopefully they'll get in...

My Magic Skirt rocked the Lab last week

2011-11-07T23:41:00.000-06:00

OK, maybe it's not magic, but I wore a skirt to the print lab after adding a little flair of red trim the night before, and I was on fire in the studio. Fire! I made my deadline for participating in the Mono y Mono exhibit!!! Yea! Here are a few studio shots which might be of interest.

This is a carborundum monotype that I made the other week. The graphite color was a bit too dark for the bit of collage I wanted to add, so here I am trying to spot treat the graphite using Akua's Opaque White. I'll be taking a paper towel and Q-tip to the stuff out of bounds. I didn't have a piece of plexi the same size as the carborundum plate, so I used a huge piece of plexi with the print hinged on one end with tape.

This is a cel-tec/Sintra plate drypoint. I used an old library card to push the Akua Mars Black into the drypoint lines and wiped it with telephone book paper. I've noticed that when I wipe with telephone book papers or a paper towels, sometimes I don't ink evenly because I'm failing to adequately push the ink into the lines. Not the case here.

Here's the printed collage piece. I printed on Rives Lightweight after dipping it into a water bath and letting it sit for 10 seconds.

Now I've hinged this print onto a piece of plexi (Sharpie guide on reverse) and I'm going to add some blue.

Cathy Savage, Pendulous Perriot,
17 x 8", Monotype, intaglio, collage

Next came carefully cutting out my collage elements. The string holding up the clown is a print from an actual string--found in the parking lot of the studio, no less. I glued all collage papers with archival white glue. My art books helped keep the print nice and flat during the glue drying process.

I'm taking this week off to get back to basics. This is the soap the family has been using lately since we're out of basic necessities (crazy, crazy last 5 weeks). I purposely held it in my hand so you wouldn't think we were using a jumbo duck.

Yea for deadlines wrapping up!!

Studio Visit--Andis Applewhite

2011-11-01T20:40:00.000-05:00

Artist: Andis Applewhite

While in Houston 2 weekends ago, I managed to visit Andis Applewhite in her studio. Andis just came off a successful show in the DC area at the Washington Printmaker's Gallery and I was happy to see some of the serigraphs from her Freedom series--which she hung in the DC show--plus other prints.

Artist: Andis Applewhite

Andis Applewhite and one of her pieces.

Andis' studio (Man! It's clean! How does she do that?)

Another studio shot. Notice screen.

Burning Bones Studio, Houston

2011-10-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I ventured into Houston, needing to drop off some work for an upcoming show. It was a quick visit, but I managed to squeeze in a stop to Burning Bones Press.

Burning Bones Press is a cool shop, and they have interesting workshops. Artists can rent the shop for a day and hire a master printer to accompany them. It looks like a fantastic working studio. They have everything!

Carlos Hernandez is working on a screen print for his Day of the Dead Rock Stars Series.

Just weeks ago watched the Daniel Johnston documentary, so I had to snap this poster.

I have several pictures of art to show you too! I had a quick visit with artists Andis Applewhite and Nancy Luton, and they were kind enough to let me take some pics.

Carborundum Take Two

2011-10-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

This is tricky stuff. Granted, what's shown here on my plate isn't quite where I stopped with the carborundum/medium mixture. I went back in wanting a stronger black.

The plate is mat board with a 100% coat of acrylic medium brushed on, then the carborundum/acrylic medium mixture (1:1).

Here's the first state. I think I went a bit overboard with the carborundum. I'll be sanding some off and maybe filling some in with 100% medium.

Off-topic but fun.
I have a banner hanging over a street in Georgetown. It's all due to the brainchild of Nick Ramos, link here. There are great banners by all kinds of artists. It was a fun stroll through downtown looking at the banners and if you need an afternoon away, check it out. It's only up until mid-November.

I especially liked this banner by embroidery artist Jennifer Andrews.

Interesting Print + some Carborundum Results

2011-10-25T00:35:00.000-05:00

Artist: Jill Alo, intaglio

I was at Jill Alo's studio the other day and saw a very interesting print and plate. The plate was made from cel-tec/sintra with an added layer of gesso, giving it a very nice texture. Jill gouged out the lines using a lino or woodcut tool. Isn't it wonderful? The blue is chine colle.

Artist: Jill Alo, close up

Here's a closeup so you can really see the texture.

I experimented with carborundum the other day. Here are my plates. They're just on mat board with a coating of acrylic medium. The carborundum was mixed about 50/50 with medium and applied with a brush. This stuff really needs to cure overnight, so keep that in mind if your interest in piqued.

I've inked with Akua Intaglio and wiped with a blue shop towel. The carborundum is hard on anything. Expect it to chew up your towel or tarlatan.

I willy-nilly chose colors and plate orientation. Luckily I have that fantastic press grid to help me stay registered.

Here we go, all done. I want to collage pieces from a drypoint from last year, but I'll need to print the drypoint to do that. This is going to be a tough week with Halloween costume creation going on. I want to enter WPA's Mono y Mono exhibit (which I am organizing--so I really must) but right now I don't have anything to submit. Wish me luck!

This is random, but I wanted to mention a new biscuits and gravy trailer that opened up in Austin on 51st and Duval. They have all kinds of awesomeness. This is straight up biscuits and gravy with vegan sausage and jalapenos. They have stuff for the pure carnivore, so never fear my meat-eating friends.

Drool Worthy Prints

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I happened upon Kate Boxer's website and found the most lovely prints (thanks to my Google search of carborundum and collagraph). I had a hard time choosing just a few to repost, so what I recommend is going to Kate Boxer's website and taking a look yourself.

Kate Boxer, Napoleon in the snow, drypoint and hand painted, 27 x 28"

Kate Boxer, Mayakovsky and Lily Brik, drypoint and Chine colle, 25 x 24"

Kate Boxer, Jack Boleardo, drypoint, 8 x 10"

Kate Boxer, Crow, drypoint and carborundum, 22 x 26"

Carborundum (or silicon carbide), and the reason for my Google search, produces a beautiful black when printed intaglio. It's a mineral but is man-made now apparently, and it's used as an abrasive and it comes in all all different kinds of grit levels. It's primary use in printmaking is for sanding lithography limestones, but it can also be used in collagraphs. All you need is a decent PVA and you mix your grit in while it's wet and apply with a brush. I've also seen folks paint with glue then pour on the carborundum and shake off the excess, just like glitter crafts ~~of yesteryear~~. Here's one link that will show you the basics of carborundum intaglio prints.

Jill Alo was kind enough to lend me her bag carborundum. I had a chance to visit Jill today and I took some pictures of a cool print and it's respective plate, which I'll probably blog about soonish.

And a big thank you to Kate Boxer for allowing me to post her images!

Texas heat, you are not my friend

2011-10-17T23:32:00.000-05:00

PETG left in hot car. (The blue stuff is an anti-scratch film.
It's actually clear plastic when the film is removed.)

I had a very strange week last week. It was one of those weeks where it's two steps forward, one step (or more) back. I've posted before about what happens to a piece of thin plex (my monotype plates are PETG .03") when left in a hot car, and I vowed to never do that again. Well disaster struck twice in regards to my plastic. I had a 4 x 8' roll of it in my garage over the summer and apparently it needed to be kept in a temperature controlled environment. I took off the cardboard to find a 4' high tootsie roll of plastic.

Master Framer Winner "Augie" Augustine
cuts my warped plastic for me.

My friend Augie (and go to guy for awesome framing at L'Antillaise Gallery) helped me by cutting it into lots of small curled pieces. If the plastic wasn't held on both sides, life was risked since it could automatically curl up at any moment. (I swear I only left Augie alone for a second while I grabbed the camera! Then I was back on holding duty.) Augie is using his glass cutter.

A friend recommended placing the plates under a piece of thick glass and putting them in the sun--and it worked! Basically the plastic needs to get nuked out in the sun for a few hours and the heavy glass keeps it from warping or curling during the nuking. It took about 4 hours of direct Texas sun, but it worked.

Unfortunately I have about 25 pieces to unfurl and I have a few of them pictured here... There is no lack of sun in these parts, so it looks like the sun will actually be my friend this week.

I'm starting on my Kepler/Brahe print. I have the sketch on a piece of tracing paper so I can flip it over and use carbon paper to transfer the drawing to my drypoint matrix.

So far I've completed:

cel-tec/sintra cut and beveled
monotype PETG cut and unfurled
sketch of drypoint transferred from tissue paper to drypoint matrix using carbon paper

In my next post I'll show my progress. I also found some fun links I want to share. It's been a great day working on my new collagraph/drypoint. Building a matrix has to be one of my favorite things to do.

Monotype with Drypoint--working on new plate, kind of

2011-10-14T08:28:00.000-05:00

I've had a week of set-backs on my current plan of pumping out a monoprint for this exhibit. My print will hopefully come together in the next couple of weeks. I've read up on Kepler and Brahe and I have the basic composition. I've had some plate issues (finding one), and time issues (lack of). But I acted as a consultant on this project, so my time was well spent.

Diarama for The Lightning Thief, by Wes Savage, 4th grade

Next step, carve out a nugget of time and cut out my cel-tec/sintra for the drypoint and bevel the plate (post here about this step). Then transfer my image onto the plate, and start inscribing.

I went for a walk the other day and since I was missing my dog Banjo (we're dogless at the moment), I brought along a poem to try and memorize and keep me from feeling lonely for him. I chose a great one by Kahil Gibran, which I've posted here because it's such a great poem and I couldn't resist. I did bump into a fellow artist Francesca Samsel on my stop to a coffee shop. It was great to talk to her about a gallery issue I'm dealing with. She had a fresh perspective. It's so important to have a network of artists to go to for advice and I'm happy that I have begun to build a network of support.

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Moving the Old Body

2011-10-10T09:44:00.000-05:00

Cathy Savage
That Can't Be Right, linoleum and stratograph chine colle

I decided after months of neglect and an especially food-heavy weekend, I was going to exercise this morning. As the kids and I walked around the track at the nearby middle school, we were rewarded with a flock of monk parakeets--maybe 30? So fun! Anyway, this mental clarity about the necessity of keeping my body in shape, reminds me of this print. This print is probably 7 years old and I'd like to report that I'm at the same weight, but alas, I am not.

I'm starting a new print on Kepler and Brahe. Today I hope to make a dent in the research. I'm thinking they'll be on the same print like a face playing card--opposite each other. I also have a commission piece that's cooking with the hopes of a thumbnail by the end of the day. It was great walking around the track thinking of these new pieces--I think the movement helped!

Quickie light box

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, these viscosity monotypes from a few weeks ago have been needing a portrait. I did Galileo already and I moved onto Tesla, Darwin (my 6 yr old's recommendation), and Isaac Newton. My father-in-law has suggested Brahe and Kepler, so maybe there are more to come. Brahe was an interesting dude. His nose was partially chopped off in a dual. I think these guys should be on the same print and I'm already brainstorming that composition.

So, the pen and inks. How did I do them because they look pretty good? Well, I cheated big time. At first I was going to collage a laser print copy or do an image transfer, but then decided a pen and ink might seem more fitting. I took an empty frame and covered it with a piece of plexi, and under the plexi I put in 3 book lights.

I needed to work in the dark since the book lights aren't that bright so I could actually see the photocopy of each portrait.

I used Arches lightweight as my paper and placed it over the photocopy. Then I traced the basic outline of each great thinker using a quill pen and India ink.

Then I added a wash, then I went back in and made darker marks with varying water:ink ratios.

Voila. Darwin. At least with the preliminary tracing the features are in the right place and the correct ratio.

Here I've started out the same with Isaac Newton.

Here are my big thinkers all together. Now to cut out and collage onto my monotypes.

Wood block as art

2011-10-05T23:24:00.001-05:00

Artist: Jenny Pope
Block for A Starling Guide
MDF Woodcut

I really enjoy looking and touching my collagraph plates after they're printed. I'm not one to strike a plate--where a printmaker destroys the plate so no more images can be printed off of the limited edition. It's just against my nature to take out something that I spent so much time with. Used plates hold some residual ink and the texture really stands out. Maybe that's why I loved this block by artist Jenny Pope? Looks like the artist feels the same why I do about my matrices. I saw it hanging in a Ithaca, NY this summer. It stood alone--no sister print to say Hey! Look what I did! I think that made it stand out to me even more.

Update: Do check out Jenny's website and blog. Her work is really amazing, and though this block is cool and all, her printed stuff is really amazing.

I'm hoping to spend some time in the studio tomorrow. I neglected to factor in down time after the rush of getting together work for the show at House Wine, that today and part of yesterday was a bust. I spent most of my time on domestic duties instead of something cool. C'est la vie. Someone must wash the undies.

House Wine

2011-10-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

See Savage originals at House Wine, 408 Josephine, until early December. I did bring out a few classics, so it's kinda fun to show some of my older work--before Tesla with an extra dose of birds. My framer, Augie of L'Antillaise Gallery, really saved me when I called him a week ago needing several pieces framed ASAP. If you're local, you won't find a better framer.

Chicago and Yarn Bombs

2011-10-03T23:34:00.000-05:00

I was in Chicago this past weekend and had a short but delightful visit with my sister and nephew. As my husband and I were driving around downtown trying to find a wedding, we saw a few of the city's public art. They are all over!

I remembered seeing these yarn bombs on the east side of Austin a couple of months ago. Chicago needs yarn bombs more than Austin (there was a 40 degree temp difference this past weekend!!), but how fun would it be to put one up in my neighborhood for a holiday surprise?! OK, so maybe decorating a stop sign isn't quite like a 25' statue of the people from American Gothic, but it's pretty dang cool.

I mean, look! How fun is this?

I've been talking about doing this for awhile, but now I have a goal of Dec. 24, so I'm on it. If you want to make your own yarn bomb, here's a link to a how-to.

If you're intrigued by yarn bombs, you have to see Magda Sayeg's work. Click here for a look at the possibilities!

Juried Monotype Show

2011-10-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

I've been talking about this for a few posts. If you're interested in entering this event, the deadline is coming up fast. It's Nov. 1, but it's juried by monotype superstar Ron Pokrasso, so you know you want to enter. Here's a link to the online entry form.

A hard copy Call for Entries is pictured below. I'm hoping you can click on it and then print it as a larger size. If you have trouble, email me at artSubmissions@womenprintmakers.com and I'll send you a PDF. But the online entry form link up top should have all the details too.

Fun gift idea

2011-09-30T08:14:00.000-05:00

My daughter drew this. Isn't it adorable? I clipped if off the homework she turned in this morning since I didn't want to risk having it land in the recycle bin at her teacher's desk. I'm going to get cards printed for Raleigh for Christmas (maybe she'll get the writing-letters-the-old-fashioned-way bug early?) and embroider the cat on a shirt using her outlines. My son suggested she redo the feet because they look like claws. That is crazy talk! The claw foot is my favorite part!

I've had a glorious week, despite making a huge and irretrievable blunder in the studio yesterday. I put chine colle adhesive on the front, the front!!!, of a drawing of Isaac Newton. It seems like that would be hard to do, but I did it. Oh well. That happens. I'm learning the song Don't Worry, Be Happy on the uke, so I just made sure to practice it several times yesterday. It's all good.

Have a great weekend y'all!!

White Balance

2011-09-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Cathy Savage
Raleigh Means Field of Birds,
Monoprint, 16 x 16"

I have a fancy camera (40th bday present from my sis!!) and even though I took a photography class in college, the whole f-stop business is a little too much for me, so my camera is usually on Auto (no flash) when I photograph my work for my portfolio. If the light is coming through just right, I take pictures in our family room on a white wall. Otherwise I revert to my cramped home studio nook, where the walls are a buttery yellow. I've noticed my camera translates the buttery yellow into white if it doesn't have a reference, therefore changing the color of the artwork slightly. In this shot I have a white piece of paper tacked behind my image so the camera knows what's up. One of these days I'll change the buttery yellow to white, but for now the sheet of printer paper is helping. I'll crop and adjust in Photoshop before finalizing.

The print is a collagraph a la poupee (color applied all at once on plate and run through press once) with additional hand work. This came off the press only 3x about 3 years ago. I turned one into an encaustic piece that is for sale right now at Haven Gallery, then I have this one, and I think I have one in BW floating around somewhere. I can't remember why I never editioned the dang thing. One day... But for now, this image is considered a monoprint.

Wages of Vanity

2011-09-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I saw Eleanor Droll the other day at the studio and this is a new creation of hers. Feast your eyes! (More shoes on her site, with closer pics, so be sure to look.)

Eleanor Droll
Wages of Vanity
A Suite of prints, 7.75 x 6.5"

Galileo and Fleur-de-lis

2011-09-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

I've had a whirlwind couple of weeks. I'm busy with studio hours and I'm staying relatively on top of things business-wise. My new motto as mentioned in a recent post, Be Prepared.

I have Galileo here. (I've had Bohemian Rhapsody on my mind ever since I did the drawing last week...) He was done on Rives Lightweight using black India ink.

Now in the studio, I marked on my plexi with Sharpie indicating his shirt. I have it off set here to show you my guide.

This boggles the minds of some, but I flipped my plexi over so the Sharpie is on the back and I'm going to ink up in blue the marked area--the reverse of my drawing--since I plan to print some color on Galileo's shirt. I have the word TOP written in reverse on the back so I know that when I'm reading TOP correctly, I'm using the inking side.

To Chine colle Galileo (collage while printing), I'm using the 3M adhesive talked about here. When I applied the adhesive to the back of the drawing, the paper started to curl a bit so I went ahead and lightly positioned it on my viscosity monotype, shown on your left.

Using my very handy registration guide and notes on the back of my monotype, I ran my plexi with the blue through the press on top of my monotype with Galileo hanging on, and this is what I got.

Oh my! Is that perfect registration? I do believe it is! You cannot beat the Takach Press registration grid. This grid has saved tons of frustration and hair yanking. It's turned an 90% off registration printer into a spot on printer. It's all about the tools, baby.

I have a bunch of these backgrounds. I think the next ones will be Fermat, Sir Isaac Newton, Darwin, Hypatia, Tesla (of course) and maybe Thoreau. Amelia Earhart? She was cool. Abe Lincoln? I have a show at the UU church that I'm hanging next week and I need to crank out 7 more drawings. Expect some peeps on Fleur-de-lis!

Kitchen Litho

2011-09-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm am so going to try this! You can download and print the instructions here.

Good luck or good practices?

2011-09-20T06:00:00.035-05:00

Wes at the Pinewood Derby competition, 2010.

I'm just so aghast that the boy scout motto of "be prepared, be prepared, be prepared" is rubbing off on me.

Hold on. I'm going to brag for a minute.

I'm a member of the professional printmaking group PrintMatters and they have a link to my website. A Houston artist saw my work due to that link, and I was invited to have my work reviewed for possible inclusion in an upcoming small group show in Houston. I needed to submit images, and if approved, have them framed and delivered. I set aside the entire day to get JPGs and details of my images ready to send. With only an hour in, I finished with the submissions which included photographing 2 new works. I'm shocked. Ordinarily this would have taken all day (Woo hoo! I had some time to practice the uke--my new hobby!).

I thank my cataloging software (WorkingArtist) and my time spent actually entering stuff in and photographing work as I finished it. And the real beauty of the initial request? It's a monotype show and I've been in the studio working on monotypes. Who knew? I hope you're working and cataloging and ready when good fortune comes your way. It feels great to be able to say yes to these types of opportunities with confidence.

Most of all I think I owe Alyson B. Stanfield and her book I'd Rather be in the Studio--a fabulous book and blog that really has pointed me in the right direction. (I'm lobbying for Alyson to come to Austin for a workshop!)

Monotype, step by step

2011-09-18T23:16:00.000-05:00

I've been working on monotypes lately hoping to get some images ready for Artmakers Collective. The process is loose and fun and I'm enjoying it. I'll be going back to my super controlled and technical processes, but for the time being, I'm enjoying my dance with the monotype.

Here are a few shots of a piece from start to the "now what?" stage. I plan on adding some collage elements from my stash or possibly a drawing. For one of my two plates, I'm use the plastic found in a cheap frame. It's thin and seems to work just fine. It seems a bit more brittle than my other plates--which are PETG .030 thickness--but it held up just fine.

I used Akua Intaglio inks except for a wee bit of black Akua Kolor as a vertical stripe on the final pull. The Akua Intaglio was applied with a brayer and the Aqua Kolor was applied with a brush. I used paper towels and Q-tips to remove ink from the plates.

Here I am using a piece of vinyl as my 2nd plate instead of the rigid piece of plastic mentioned above. It works fine--ink transfers nicely and it rolls up as expected. The only drawback is lining up the vinyl on the press's flatbed grid that I'm using for registration. It's a little wobbly as you might imagine.

The pressure does not seem quite right yet. Time to crank it down a bit.

Oh! Here we go. I've added red and some more ochre to the plate, along with some opaque white and some graphite-black.

Here's the same piece on the far right. The one directly to the left of it is it's reworked ghost. Working off of two plates at the same time is really a great technique. If something looks sweet one can always pull a ghost on a second sheet of paper, and using a roll of release agent pulls off even the slighted bit of residual ink.

Nice, clean linocut

2011-09-15T23:30:00.000-05:00

Artist: Eleanor Droll, lino plate on left

I went into the studio today and ran into artist Eleanor Droll and immediately fell for the linocut she's working on.

Eleanor Droll's linoleum

I can't get over how nice and clean her carving is. She really carves the lino to the backing on the negative areas and so doesn't get any incidental marks. (If you click on "process" on Eleanor's website you can watch a short video on how a linoleum print is made.)

Detail shot of Eleanor Droll's linocut

I love these sharp lines.

Print on far left by Catherine Small.
4th print from left is a collaborative print by
Catherine Small and myself. The other prints are pure Savage.

I worked on a couple of monotypes today and am really enjoying this technique. I'm typically very controlled with a set agenda when I walk into the studio, and for these monotypes I'm simply playing. I chronicled a print step by step to show the process and will post it probably this weekend.

Call for Entries
The printmaking group I'm affiliated with in Austin, WPA, is holding a Monotype/Monoprint exhibit called Mono y Mono. I'm helping to orchestrate the event, and if you're interested, let me know and I'll send you the prospectus. Entries are due Nov. 1 and the show will be juried by none other than Ron Pokrasso, the guy I've been blubbering about for the last few posts.

Ron-a-thon

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Carolyn Kimball came up with the Ron-a-thon moniker for our week of reviewing Ron Pokrasso's techniques, and I just had to share it. It perfectly describes our energy filled monotype playing that took place last week. We hope to have more of the same this week, and will hopefully be hooking up in the WPA studio later today.
I would be remiss if I didn't show off some work generated by Carolyn Kimball and Catherine Small at our Ron-a-thon.

Here you go! Please excuse the pics that were taken on the fly.

Artist: Catherine Small

Catherine Small pulling her print off the press bed.

Catherine Small's freshly pulled print

Artist: Carolyn Kimball

Viscosity Monotype

2011-09-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

Image 1 and Image 2

Well I tried this the other day with Akua inks and it was fairly successful. Viscosity printing is basically inking one plate with inks of varying viscosities and running it through the press once. The key is to use inks that are different (one thick ink, one thin) so when rolling up one ink after the other, you don't pick up the first color with the 2nd roll since the varying viscosities prevent them from mixing. On Image 2 on the right, I used a foam stamp rolled up with Akua Intaglio Payne's Gray and stamped it on my Plexiglas. Then on my inking plate, mixed several drops of Akua Kolor Hansa Yellow with a drop of retarder, and then rolled up over the stamped pattern. The roll of yellow didn't pick up the Akua intaglio and I think it printed quite nicely. I tried printing using the opposite method (Image 1)--a roll of Akua Kolor first, then stamped with the Akua Intaglio, and it seemed to work just as well. The Payne's Gray printed slightly yellowish since the yellow printed on top of the gray.

Image 2, ghost

I printed a ghost with the plate used for Image 2, pictured here.

Image 2, 2nd ghost with additional
green rolled on before printing.

Then I rolled up again with green and printed the ghost a second time. The pattern is very subtle and I really like this one.

3rd ghost with roll of Akua Release Agent

This is the same plate used in the print above, no additional ink, only a roll of Akua Release Agent on the plate. Wow! Look how much ink was still on my plate!

Ron Pokrasso Disciples Print Week

2011-09-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

Catherine Small and I are printing this week with Akua inks (we took Ron's workshop earlier this year) and we're showing Carolyn Kimball all we know about monotypes. It's been a nice week, albeit we're a little cramped in the WPA studio, and we have some images to show. (The lighting isn't great in the studio for photographing--these images are w/o a flash or tripod, so they could be better--but at least you can get an idea of the prints.)

Here's print #1. I still need to glue on the bird, which hopefully I'll do today. The bird is originally from this print, which I cut up and stashed in my scrap box for a moment just like this.

I took the ghost from the print mentioned above and printed on a second sheet of paper for print #2. After running it through a couple more times with blue then with ochre, I was ready for my chine colle, which was a bird with his apple from a woodcut I started but never finished. I overprinted the apple with a bit of red.

Print #3 is a monotype background with a collage from last year's drypoint (a proof like the woodcut bird above that never made it very far--yet). It's begging for some hand work, so I imagine this piece will change before it's said and done.

Print #4 is just a background so far. I got the awesome pattern from a foam stamp that I use quite a bit in my work. I think it needs a portrait of Tesla, but Carolyn and Catherine responded with a collective "NO!"

Catherine pulled some interesting prints using salt and string--kind of like a stencil--and here a snapshot of a first pull right off the press. This print has really evolved and I'll try to get a finished pic for a future post. It's really quite interesting to see the prints as they move along. I'll try to capture some of Carolyn's results, plus the process in general over the next couple of days...

Ron Pokrasso has a slide show of his process on his website, which is a great place to start if you're intrigued. A workshop with Ron would even be better! Consider if he comes to your area or if you make it to Santa Fe.

On a serious note, it's been a tough week in Central Texas with all the wildfires. Please send some good mojo our way! And if you have some connection with the rain gods, put in a good word for us.

Never Give Up!

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Cathy Savage
Monstrous Crow
(before the latest alterations)

I don't think anyone relishes putting work out there and having it rejected. A couple of months ago I submitted a JPG of the work on the left to Haven Gallery, and the response was more or less, "Do you have anything else?" Though that wasn't a flat out rejection, I read it as "yawn" and it bummed me out. On Friday I had a meeting with Haven's owner and brought the piece out just in case. Guess what? She's interested. I guess the point of relaying all this is to try and overcome that feeling of dread when a piece gets rejected. I did eventually add a red strip of color and changed the bird's eye color, but my modifications weren't that significant, but I suppose they may have been enough to tip the balance. I think seeing the work in person really made a huge difference--photographing work accurately is challenging, especially with added difficulty of photographing shiny graphite. I'm glad I didn't balk at resubmitting it. Never give up!


Cathy Savage Monstrous Crow, 16 x 28" Mixed media collage on gessoed paper

So, about those changes--which may or may not have had anything at all to do with the work being successful the 2nd go around. Here they are:

The red strip change happened quite by accident. I had the crow collage in a stack of other work, and noticed my "finished" piece looked especially better when red from a collage underneath was showing. Van Gogh painted with complementary colors a lot--just think of all the blues and yellows he used--knowing that when colors on the opposite end of the color wheel were placed next to each other, the colors appeared more vibrant. So, I sewed on a red strip. I'd always felt the crow needed a bit more breathing room around that beak anyway, so that solved another problem with the piece. The eye color was a contrast decision. Crow's may have black eyes, but that didn't work in my piece because the eye was getting lost.

All this extra work on a finished piece begs the question--When is a work truly finished? I guess when it leaves the studio for good...

Studio Visit with Deborah McLouth

2011-09-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

Artist: Deborah McLouth

I've always been amazed at Deborah McLouth's fish prints, and this past Thursday I was able to have a personal tour of Deborah's studio to see her latest projects. At the beginning of the summer I was able to see a collection of Deborah's prints, so I've been especially eager for a studio visit.

Artist: Deborah McLouth

These prints are actual rubbings from real fish--a technique called Gyotaku, which is a Japanese word for . . . fish rubbings (!), a form of nature printing.

Artist: Deborah McLouth

Earlier in the summer Deborah pointed me in the direction of The Art of Printing from Nature printmaking guide book put out by the Nature Printing Society, which I immediately purchased. I'm not sure I'll master any of the techniques in the book, but since I'm a printmaking junkie I had to buy it to find out more. The book was worth every penny. It's technical and chock full of pictures. The Nature Printing Society holds a annual conference including workshops, and after hearing about Deborah's experience, I am itching to attend. These prints by Deborah were created after she read about the technique used by Vickie Schumacher, which is covered in the book referenced above.

Artist: Deborah McLouth

Deborah took an encaustic workshop at the latest Nature Printing Society conference and this was her end result. This is very similar to the encaustic techniques I employ, so I loved seeing it. The textures in the background were made by stamping tissue paper and fusing.

Deborah also has some handmade stamps where she's created her own textures.

If you're an artist, I know you're interested in seeing Deborah's studio, so I've taken a few pictures. Here's Deborah in front of her white line woodcut, a technique she learned last weekend from Lynne Hubner.

Studio visits are a great way to get inspired, and Thursday's visit was no exception. Thank you Deborah!

Saving blobs of acrylic paint

2011-08-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Cathy Savage, Monstrous Crow

I mixed some awesome green the other day for this piece and I had some left over and wanted to save it. I put it in a square of Glad Press and Seal--this stuff--and sealed it up right next to by blob, eliminating as much air as possible, and 1 1/2 weeks later I tried it out and it was still good! The blob wasn't totally used up on the 2nd piece, and it's floating around on my studio desk still. It's appears to still be squishy as ever, so there's hope that it will be around in the near future.

Image Transfer, Down and Dirty

2011-08-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

I did an image transfer last night and since it's been awhile, it took me a minute to think about how to do it. I thought maybe some of you haven't done it in awhile either and could use a refresher.

1. Take a photocopy or laser printer image (ink jet probably works too, but haven't used it with this method) with your image in reverse. I'm using a drawing by Leonardo ~~DaBomb~~ DaVinci.

2. Lay your image face down on the paper you want it transferred to that has been prepared with a nice and juicy layer of gel medium. I use Golden Soft Gel --my gel is semi-gloss, but it really doesn't matter what you use for transferring--on a thick piece of printmaking paper. Rives BFK is wonderful since it holds up nicely in water, which will be covered in step #4. My Rives has been slightly tinted with Golden Fluid Acrylics and then dried before applying the gel medium, that's why it's a bit orange.

3. Use a brayer, or spoon, or heavy books and glue that sucker down really, really well. At this stage I glue then leave it stacked under a pile of books so it won't ripple while drying. Let dry completely.

4. When your paper is dry--it will be hard to wait, I know, but don't jump the gun on this--wet down the top of your laser printer paper and gently rub until your image appears.Basically you're wearing away the laser printer paper.
5. Now it's time to blot and then stack under more heavy books to prevent ripples.
6. After your transferred image is dry, you may notice some of the laser printer paper that never quite got worn away. Give it another go with the water and rubbing. Dry as before. In my finished work, which was the first pic, I topped the finished piece with a thin coat of the gel medium. This isn't a necessary step, but doing so absorbed any residual paper fibers that can leave a white haze.

Cathy Savage, Electric Charges, 2010

Here's another piece where I used the same method. It worked directly on wood, so the applications are pretty wide open.

Have fun!

Tearing printmaking paper easily

2011-08-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

This is so simple it's brilliant. I saw this in action at Ron Pokrasso's workshop that I took earlier this year (post about the actual workshop here). He marked off tear lines for a 1/2 and 1/4 sheet of printmaking paper and indicated where to line up the edge of the paper. I replicated this by drawing vertical lines at the 11 and 15" marks, making paper tearing super quick! I'm excited to be printing with some friends next week--Catherine Small and Jill Alo--and so I am here today just refreshing my memory on monoprints as well as the awesomeness of Ron Pokrasso.

Hot Pockets

2011-08-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Me before coffee. My eyes can barely open
at this early hour, so I've spared you.

I wear a lot of skirts and I have a lot of wrap arounds because they're easy. I haven't made any with pockets--yet--but will change my pattern henceforth! But if I get lazy next time I'm at the machine or want to wear one of my old skirts, I can always wear this. Sure, it'll also come in handy for nails, but what about on a hike for found treasures? carnivals when I have a lot of tickets to hold? I probably won't ever do a craft fair ever again, but if I do, well, this would come in handy.

I bought my nail pouch at Lowe's for about $2.50.

I applied a layer of gesso on the front and copied my favorite face ever (from Toulouse-Lautrec's At the Moulin Rouge). Then I just painted using good ol' acrylics.

It's a bit stiff, but it'll soften up over time with use and washings.

Brunelleschi's Dome

2011-08-22T17:32:00.000-05:00

Cathy Savage, Brunelleschi's Dome, 22 x 30", mixed media collage

I may end up adding some final touches, but basically the collage I've been working on for the past few weeks is finished.

I have another one that I'm thinking about--one on Amelia Earhart. It'll take awhile for that one to percolate, but since I like birds and I like the mechanical and engineering aspect behind planes, I thought I could incorporate all subjects into a collage.

What Jill Alo has cookin'

2011-08-18T22:50:00.001-05:00

Jill Alo, How Do You Know?

Artist Jill Alo sent me this image in response to my "What's on your desk/easel?" question yesterday. Right now it's a collage on it's way to being converted to a solar plate (a photographic method of getting an image onto a plate for traditional printmaking--ink, wipe, print, repeat. I have a blog post about exposing a plate using a low-tech method of a space bag and the good old sun. No kidding!)

Jill Alo, Sisters (III)

As I was clicking around on Jill's website, I came across this beauty. I love it! This is what she says about it: Part of a continuing series exploring the amazing connections between siblings. Intended to become a relief print, after drawing and carving the cel-tec I decided to add collage elements and keep the plate as the final piece. 12"H x 12"W

I spent a good chunk of time printing in the WPA studio again today, along with my friend, musician and artist Jean Caffeine keeping me company. Tomorrow I plan on working on my collage and then skipping out to give bits of the house a good scrub while paint or glue is drying. I love these super productive periods. Why are they so fleeting? I may not know the answer to that, but I'm going to ride the wave as long as I can.

Any others out there wanting to share what's new in your studio?

127? No way!

2011-08-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year--though summer vacation has seemed way too short this go around--but there is something exciting about a new school year. I tend to do my year-end eval and New Year's Resolutions around this time (NYE is in the crux of holiday season and therefore not conducive to a sit down and ponder session). Plus there's the anticipation of ~~the end to our wretched summer~~ fall, so that's added excitement. It's a perfect time for me to reevaluate my studio goals:

how many hours to shoot for per week, plus
specific production goals

I was in the studio for 5 hours today and it was fantastic! I was working on finishing the print above, which needs 3 more prints to finish the edition. My old registration methods were horrendous, so putting on the last layer of color after months of sitting in the queue, was challenging. I will go back in tomorrow for another whack at it. But what's cool is I can get this print off to Haven Gallery as requested, then cross it off my list of things to tackle this week. I'm still working the collage from the other day (here's a glimpse of it so far)

and I decided to rework this piece again (yet to get started)

after deciding it was finished about 2 months ago. I have quite a bit to accomplish yet since it's almost midnight on Wednesday, but I'm thrilled still with the progress I've made over the last week. (Plus, the kids and I went bowling yesterday and I made my lifetime best score of 127! To put this in context, I'm a 70s kind of girl. It's been a banner week!)

What's on your desk or easel? I'd love to see it!

Adding texture to a collage using modeling paste

2011-08-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

I had a general idea of elements when I began my current collage project, but it was hazy, so the piece keeps evolving in front of me in unexpected ways. I decided to add some texture to the piece and wanted to blog about it. I have a favorite modeling paste, Lascaux Modeling Paste A. It's thick but very smooth, like pudding. I applied a think layer of modeling pasted on the area I wanted to texture, using blue tape in areas where I didn't wanted any residue. Then I used a foam stamp picked up at a hobby store and stamped away in the wet paste.

After drying, this is what it looked like:

And here's a section where I spread the modeling paste over a color before stamping. Bonus!

For the result in the top pic, I painted a layer of Golden Quinacridone Gold Fluid Acrylics over the dried modeling paste and then Burnt Umber Golden Acrylics, making handy use of a paper towel until I reached the color I wanted.

New work! Inspired by PBS and my clean (ish) studio

2011-08-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

Frigid Winter Day, Sold at Haven Gallery earlier this year...

I'm working on a new collage. I had fun putting together this collage from earlier this year and I'm kinda going in the same direction with this new collage.

To get started I gessoed some Arches 88 (my usual paper choice of Rives BFK was MIA). I gessoed on both sides to help prevent the paper from curling and to get a nice hardy surface. The hardest part is waiting for the gesso to dry. I'm eager to get going and I have to wait it out.

This doodle and the PBS special on the Medici family got me inspired to do a piece in red and incorporate drawings of eggs, the dome of the Florence cathedral, and the Galilean Moons.

I started wading through my stash of papers and established a pile to pull from. Then I got to work gluing stuff down. I used Golden Soft Gel as my primary adhesive, covering the back of my papers with a decent amount of the gel, then use a brayer to press it into my Arches 88 to get a really nice adhesion (I use my heavy art books for about 15 mins to press down on the papers if I sense the glued paper wants to ripple). For a huge piece of paper I tried using my 3M pressure adhesive and I have to say, thumbs up! It was easy to use. It's like a huge roll of double stick tape that comes with backing for easy application. They include a squeegee too.

Here's the piece at a stopping point. I put in a silver envelope from a wedding save the date that I had in my stash box. My silver paint will get some heavy use, I'm thinking. I plan on using good old fashioned pencils too when I start in on the sketches.

Shimmering paint that is absolutely marvelous!

2011-08-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

I bought this paint the other day at Jerry's Artarama. It's beautiful! I have a love of graphite, and this fits the bill. It's from Golden's Fluid Acrylic line and it's Iridescent Stainless Steel (Coarse). It's all over my new collage that I'm working on, to be revealed soonish.

It's dark at one angle and shiny at the next--see below. You are going to want some.

Cookies on the brink of madness

2011-08-10T23:31:00.001-05:00

Monday was my last day of Camp Crafty. I had a great time with the kids--we stayed on task, there were minimal sibling issues, and during playdoh time I sneaked away for some tea and the last of my homemade cookies that I, gasp, did not share.

Starting off the day, we did some crayon drawings on mat board after indenting the board with a dull stylus, make fun lines. Previous post on this here. The girls loved this project and the tools seemed to make drawing with crayons more exotic. The boys opted for Lego play, so it was nice and quiet while the girls worked.

Next we screenprinted t-shirts with my old trusty Lego Indiana Jones, which I've used now on hundreds of t-shirts. It never gets old.

playdoh, before massive amounts of food coloring was added.

Then we made playdoh. This is the best recipe out there, courtesy of the All Austin Co-operative Nursery School, where my kids and I spent many a year.

Mix:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 Tbs cream of tartar
2-3 Tbs oil
2 c boiling water
then add food coloring

While the kids were happily squeezing the warm playdoh into the extruder, I sneaked off for my tea in the kitchen, literally 10 paces away. The kids decided to experiment with more food coloring to the point of shock when I waltzed back into the room. But no clothing was permanently soiled and the kids had a blast, so it was all good. Like I said, brink of madness.

Warm playdoh is fabulous. Even my 9-yr-old got in on the action.

Crow's Feet

2011-08-08T22:22:00.001-05:00

By artist Jill Alo, Tornado with Crows

Well, and the rest of him too. I pulled from my stash of unfinished work and finally made a dent in this piece. It's mixed-media on gessoed paper (colored pencils, acrylics) with some stitching. To sew on something like this, you either do it carefully by hand, or just roll up your paper to feed it through your machine and hope for the best--which is what I did. (The photo shows off my messy workbench, but no matter how clean my studio gets, my desk is always a mess.)

The background of the crow changed drastically from my first attempt. It was darker and so the bird wasn't popping out. I was looking at the Jill Alo painting on my wall, and so thought, hey, that a lighter green would be nice! And so I tried it, and I'm much happier.

I've been in my studio quite a bit over the last several days--mostly tidying up, but some doodling too. For this doodle I was inspired by the hat Cosimo de 'Medici was wearing in PBS special on the Medici family. It's my latest Netflix play it now, and after one episode, I must say thumbs up!

Dental tools finally coming in handy

2011-08-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

I had fun in my studio on Saturday night. I was trying the pressure reliefy kind of drawing that I mentioned seeing at Jean Caffeine's place, blog post here. Jean was hazy on the details, but used a stylus-type tool on Bristol Board (I think she said glossy? That would make sense...) and pressed into the board and then used frisket and brayers and pencils and paint to make her image. I didn't have great luck with the brayer, but did have some with colored pencils. I'm sure this type of drawing has a name, but the only thing I can think that it may be called is frottage. Frottage is basically a rubbing. Think tombstone, a piece of paper, and soft pencil.

These are the tools I used. I got them from a friend that called them dental tools--they came in a set... But surely these things are not used on teeth?? These two are dull vs. sharp. One end you can see is made out of plastic.

Basically I just firmly pressed into my scrap of mat board at different intervals of coloring. I look forward to showing my kids and seeing what they come up with! I did have to keep sharpening my colored pencils at a maddeningly rapid pace.

One fabulous thing to note: I cleaned my studio! There is still more work to do on my desk, but the months of stacking and accumulation during the prep for The Tesla Project has finally been stowed in its proper place.

Mail Chimp and a Kick-Butt Newsletter

2011-08-06T06:00:00.004-05:00

Girlfriend and artist extraordinaire Carolyn Kimball gave me these post-its when we met up earlier this week to remind me of my commitment to stay uncommitted. They read: Stop me before I volunteer again. (Unrelated this post's topic, but I couldn't help sharing.)

Carolyn just put out an awesome artist's newsletter (link here!) and she has me inspired to do the same at some point. She created it in Mail Chimp, which is FREE. If you have an art newsletter, post a link in the comments so I can check it out!

Camp Crafty -- Day 2

2011-08-06T06:00:00.002-05:00

Roar! Or maybe T-Rex squeaked? :)

You know, I have 2 kids of my own, but when you add 3 more under the age of 6, it gets quite interesting. So my main plan on attack was have the kids busy every second they were to be here.

Step 1: Make gelatin mold for gelatin printmaking. The awesome Linda Germain will show you how to do this on this youtube video.

Step 2: Paint paper mache creations from yesterday. We used cheap acrylic and some maybe tempera.

helicopter

Dalmatian with googly eyes.

Step 3: Print! The kids used regular old Speedball since my Akua is patiently waiting for me at the WPA studio. I'd rather use Akua personally--it's it a delight to work with and the colors are so vibrant--but Speedball is cheap and it didn't make me wince when the kids squeezed out way more than necessary. I think the results look pretty good!

Camp Crafty--Day 1

2011-08-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

I had 3 kids over for camp, plus my 2, working on paper mache yesterday and it was a lot of fun! First thing was to make forms out of twisted newspaper and masking tape, then we tore strips of newspaper and let them soak in a 50/50 solution of Elmer's glue and water for a few minutes. Next we took the strips and covered the forms, with the goal that no masking tape would peek through, but honestly the kids were bored with that goal and declared themselves finished way before they should have. I touched up some of the forms a bit--that's the control side of me--and set them out in the 106 degree heat and they were dry in no time.

First pic, T-Rex. This one, a dog

This one is a helicopter.

The next step was gesso. Oh it was hard seeing my lovely gesso scooped out with way too much fervor and glopped on! But I survived and so did my brushes. Raleigh used circles of cardboard and covered them with short strips of paper. She's going to make a necklace.

One of the boys insisted on taking home his helicopter so I don't have a picture of the gesso stage on his--yes, he took it home wet and gloppy.

We had a few mins before pickup so I let them all have a sheet of watercolor paper and go after it with my watercolor pencils and Caran D'ache crayons. Day one was a success. We have two more days of crafty delights!

Enlightenment during an iced coffee

2011-08-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

The kids and I have finally returned from our 2-week vacation. We jumped right back into the busy life of swim and guitar lessons, but the wake up sans alarm clock this morning was wonderful. During Wes' guitar lesson, Raleigh and I hit a coffee shop to wait it out, and during my iced coffee I had an epiphany: I need to trim the fat. Not literally--that's too much work--but activity wise. I need to focus on my art goals (specifically earning my goal of 20K at some point, which at this point is truly laughable) and really get serious about it. But in order to do that I need to be in my studio working. But with that, knowing that I need time out for just plain marveling at moths or kids or music or taking time for tea--or iced coffee--daily.

Thank you iced coffee (or was it just because I took 45-mins to sit?) for giving me a wake-up call.

I'm soooo glad I didn't renew my PTA position for the next school year. Yea to the springtime me that was nuts with volunteer duties and had enough guts to reply NO when requested to sign up for another year.

What do you plan on saying NO to so you can have more time doing what you love?

Mexican Wedding Cookie--studio visit #2

2011-08-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

OK, so this studio visit wasn't exactly like a Mexican wedding cookie, but it reminded me of the cookie's delightful confectionery splendor. Jean Caffeine's house had eye candy sprinkled all throughout her house, and I only saw it in a state of packing (she and husband Oliver are moving back to Texas). Jean is a musician extraordinaire with a new album out and she is also an artist. I was lucky to experience conversation, music and art during our few hour visit. This Elvis moon greeted my arrival.

Jean was the first one I witnessed cutting up prints and collaging them back into work. I owe my process of also doing this to her.

This was a project that was done on Bristol board using a ball-point-pen-without-ink like-tool to indent the paper, then lighted colored, which left the indented lines the color of the board (white). I want to try this. Jean was hazy on the details since she did this piece long ago, but the results are pretty interesting.

Jean is a super big fan of trace monotype, which you can see in the upper left. I tried this technique awhile ago on a baseball print, shown how in this blog post.

This is not Jean's work, but a Mexican paper mache artist in Mexico City and sadly I don't recall the name. I have another one pictured below. I'll try and edit this post with his name once I get back in contact with Jean....

Here's another Jean work. She uses frisket at times--and I think she's used it here--which I've never tried.

I love this one of the Elvis moon. My guess is this is done on Bristol board with the indenting action mentioned above, then rubbed with color. The moon looks like trace monotype with some hand coloring.

More eye candy.

Here's a little fun nugget! Jean has been an elementary art teacher for years and I'm thinking this might be from her teaching world.

Keith brought in his uke and he and Jean jammed a bit. After awhile we all got into it playing various things like the tambourine and the shaker egg. FUN! Even though Jean is moving in a matter of days back to Austin, it was great seeing both Jean and Oliver in Durham, NC.

Gallery visit #1--neon galore

2011-07-27T13:09:00.000-05:00

The first gallery visit during my vacation was to Drew Deane's gallery and studio in Brevard, NC. In the back of her gallery she has 2 banjos propped up in case a musical diversion is required. Drew records bits and pieces of Americana in her paintings, and for the last year I've been taking pictures during my travels in case they're an interest for Drew. She loves neon.

Drew took a trip a couple of years ago to Fredericksburg, TX and found the cowboy sign which she painted in the picture below. Recognize it?

Drew's passion are the paintings of Americana, but she's branched out to take advantage of lower priced items that appeal to the tourist crowd. These items she sells under the name "Orphan Girl."

Here's a close up of a collage. Her frames are sometimes decoupaged.

Her covered cigar boxes are big sellers.

Drew also paints portraits for bread and butter sales. If anything, this visit proves that in order to make my 20K goal of art and freelance graphic design sales, I need to do something other than Tesla-centered work. Let's face it, there are only so many Tesla fanatics out there, and not one of them purchased my work at the recent Tesla Project.

Woodworking

2011-07-25T14:28:00.000-05:00

I made a tool caddy last week like this one, designed and created by my friend Preston and a re-purposed poker chip carousel. (Preston is a lute and dulcimer maker, plus maker of bowls and spoons--and spatulas it turns out. Click here for more info.)

I started with this poker chip carousel and did all kinds of stuff to it. Preston led me by the hand, of course.

After removing the hardware and the rotating base, I sanded with a belt sander and then used contact cement to glue a veneer around the circumference of the holder. Here it is with clamps on the seam. It all glued beautifully, except the seam didn't want to adher. The seam took some extra wood glue and 24 hours. Otherwise it all went according to plan.

We went ahead and glued veneer to the bottom of the holder while the wood glue was busy curing.

Trimming the veneer was the next day's first step, using a planer and belt sander. Then some spray shellac and more sanding, shellacing, sanding, shellacing, etc. Here it is during one of the shellacings. Then the hardware and base was put back on and voila! A tool caddy! I can't wait to fill it up with stuff. Colored or graphite pencils? Brushes? Oh the possibilities!

I think the most important thing for me during this exercise was just to get out and learn something new, and allow me to take a break from my usual creative outlets--the actual caddy was gravy. I was given a jolt of enthusiasm by expanding my tool repertoire, plus it was fun needing to problem solve in a completely different medium. Even though woodworking may just be an annual deal, that's OK. It compliments my other work just by being different. Does that make sense?