I Have a Plan

E.A.S.T.--East Austin Studio Tour--is right around the corner. Yikes. I plan to be in my studio every day for the next two weeks trying to get ready. (Do put me on your list of studios to visit for Nov. 15-16 weekend, or Nov. 22-13.)

Step One: Map Out Space
I have to admit I stole this idea from my studio mate who has her space already mapped out.

Step Two: Determine What Needs to be Finished
Step Three: Get Things Done

Step One is done and I've kinda started on Step Two. But because of a really fun but ill-timed commitment, I need to get ready for an event on Friday before I can really kick some butt on my list.

Enter Speedy Cut--oh hell yes
So, I have an event this Friday and, well, I've been completely underwater of late with PrintAustin, so I haven't given it much thought until now. I need to come up with a hands-on activity that uses reclaimed materials and my art.

Voila! I'm going to whip out some stamps and use old textbooks and maps for folks to "Put a Bird On It." Here's more info on the Austin Creative Reuse's Raise the Roof event:

20 bucks for food, brews, wine, art, crafts, music, live entertainment, and more! You're coming to our Raise the Roof event on Friday, right? 7-11pm at South Austin Brewery!

You have seen these birds before, but they've been woodcuts that I've cut out and collaged onto maps and monotypes. That will really be impossible for a large group hands-on activity. Speedy Cut will be my savior and I can cut the birds out like rubber stamps after I carve them. Stay tuned--I'll be posting results.

Open Studio at WPA every Tuesday!

Great news! The WPA studio will be open every Tuesday from 10am - 1pm through December. You can come by and print during that time for a little bit of cash ($25/3 hrs if a WPA member, $35 if not) and get press assistance from printmaker Ashley Salinas or myself--we can offer basic press setting, but won't be instructing, so it's for the individual with some printing experience. You're also welcome just to swing by and check out the shop. Ashley and I are swapping Tuesdays. I'll be there on Sept. 23, Oct. 7, 14, Nov, 4, 18, and Dec 9, 23. More info about WPA's shop here.

Greater news for me: The WPA studio is in the same complex as my own (Canopy, 916 Springdale Road, Bldg. 3, right next door to the place pictured below.) As for my own studio, I've made a stab at setting studio hours--Bldg. 1, studio 218.

I'll be in my studio on these days:
Mondays, Tuesdays (when I'm not at WPA), and Thursdays from 10am - 2pm.

I love studio visits, but I suggest a call or text before popping over in case I'm on a walk or enjoying a coffee at our new Canopy coffee shop (my cell is 512-680-6281). Hey! Let's grab some coffee together!

Yay! The long-awaited cafe!

Sa-Tén is a Japanese-influenced cafe from Komé partner Kayo Asazu and East Side King co-founderMoto Utsunomiya. In addition to espresso, coffee, and tea, the cafe will serve pastries like donuts from Red Rabbit Bakery and Japanese-inspired "light fare." Hours are 7:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sundays.

Lessons Learned during recent Studio Tour (and Camping Trip)

I noticed when compiling this list over T'giving, that all of these items pertained to camping as well. For instance, I camped over Thanksgiving and wished I had reviewed my checklist.

1. Review your checklist. (If you don't have a check list, well, then start at 0. Create a checklist.) I forgot my middle layer of clothing while camping--my fleece jacket--so froze my butt off the first night when it reached 30 degrees. Brrr. I will not do this again.  
2. Invite friends. I've read that 80% of sales come from people you know. (Use your mailing list!)
3. Have enough food. Consider a donation jar? Carolyn and I spent $85 each on wine and food for two weekends, so providing food isn't cheap. The second weekend we opted for smaller, cheaper cookies and store brand Chex Mix plus no drinks, vs. bakery style cookies, Pirate's Booty, and wine and water for the first weekend. Live and learn. 
4. Bring a chair. A stool works great for a studio tour. 
5. Have music. We played Motown at the studio for background tunes, thinking everyone likes that. It was just loud enough to hear if there was quiet shuffling going on in the room. There was a studio down the hall playing loud and obnoxious music and folks were talking about it when they walked into our studio--so beware of making that mistake. For camping? Ukes of course!
6. Bring paper to record stuff. You'll need to jot down down notes, tally your sales, record whatever. I can't live without my Moleskine and I bring it everywhere. 
   
7. Plan your space. Once your work is hung and looking brilliant, take a mental note of anything you'd like to share about your work before the tour starts. I had someone ask me about the piece below, and since some time has passed since doing the research on it, I was super hazy on the details (to me, that piece had long been done and forgotten about, but collectors like this info and if it's not too personal and weird, can be a selling point). I sounded like a bumbling idiot. It was a historical piece and I didn't know jack beyond the dome. I think if I had been able to articulate the meaning behind the piece, it would have sold. Hard lesson here.
   
8. Appropriate attire. No cowboy boots or your feet will be killing you. I have a stress pad to stand on in my studio. Sitting seems kinda weird so I didn't do much of that, even on the stool. If you don't have a stress pad, you must wear comfortable shoes or your feet and legs will hate you by evening. Pockets are a must. See my painted Home Depot "pockets" I use as my cash register. 
   
9. Hand sanitizer. Lots of hand shaking going on. Don't get cooties. Keep a stash for yourself and use it frequently. 
10. Have fun. 

God Bless Tesla

Well, I had a successful first weekend of EAST (East Austin Studio Tour) due to none other than Tesla and all his admirers. I sold dozens of light switches and finger puppets, and several fans. I felt a little guilty as I was counting my earnings and thought, gee, how ironic that I'm profiting off of Tesla when the guy died penniless. At least I'm spreading Tesla Love at an affordable price. ;)

Studio mate Carolyn Kimball and I will be in there again this coming weekend, 11/23-24, from 11-6, 916 Springdale Rd, Ste. 218

I'm lasering more this week in prep for the second weekend of EAST. If you want one,
let me know and I'll put one on hold. Single toggle $10, double $15

5 bucks gets you a Tesla finger puppet and they come in S, M, L, and XL.
I have limited stock. I had no idea they'd be such hot sellers. Go Tesla!

No fan image in my arsenal of pics, but this Tesla print is on blue
card stock with a large wooden craft stick as the handle. $1 each, and
once they run out they are G-O-N-E. 

Here are some shots of our studio during the tour. So clean!! Folks were questioning whether or not we worked there or just used it as a gallery. Ha! They should see the crapola temporarily stacked in my house until the end of EAST when I can bring it all back to the studio.

See the Tesla nook in the corner? This is where all my action was located. You can also see
Carolyn's sweet tea towels, that were also very, very popular. 

Here's the other shot of the room. See the yummy offerings to our guests?
My goodness they put away our stash that we mistakenly thought was
going to cover both weekends. Looks like another Costco trip is on the horizon. 

It would be lovely to see you...

...during E.A.S.T.*! My studio mate Carolyn Kimball and I will be opening our studio during E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour) and we would be thrilled by a visit! You can find us at Canopy, 216 Springdale Rd, Bldg. 1, Ste. 218 here in Austin. I have a feeling we'll be doing some live printing of Tesla (linocut in process below), or perhaps just noshing on treats and sipping our boxed wine, but either way we'll be ready to answer any questions about our work or on printmaking in general. Hope to see you! E.A.S.T: Nov 16-17, 23-24, from 11 am - 6 pm (I will be arriving around 3 pm on the 17th, but otherwise I'll be in my studio both weekends.) *E.A.S.T. is a super ginormous studio tour and it's advisable to take a took at the online catalog to plot your attack. There are a lot of great studios out there with impressive work. And it's fun! Tesla will be printed on the pages of an old Electrical Engineering book. I'm excited about that! I'll also have these guys--Brahe and Kepler as a nod to my father-in-law the astronomer. I had some fun playing around with silver leaf, especially on Brahe's nose (He lost the real one in a duel. I'm not kidding!). I'll have grackles of course. A year ago I started making these grackles and changed them up a bit by collaging them onto old Austin maps. The grackle part is a 2-color woodcut and all is mounted on 6 x 6" panel. Come, share some of that boxed wine and let Carolyn and I tell you what we've been up to this year.

The Gutenberg Press

I started teaching a printmaking workshop this quarter at Griffin School. I've done this a few times now, and this time I've simplified things. In the past I'm waxed eloquent about all the different printmaking techniques that exist and how awesome each one is, blah, blah, blah. I decided to stick to the basics--relief and intaglio--instead of leading a comprehensive class. Specifically I'll be covering linocuts and collagraphs, with drypoint thrown in if time. No more lugging sample prints (framed sometimes) + plates and books on printmaking, and going on and on to an audience that's kinda dumbstruck by the massive amounts of information. If I see a spark in some kid's eye, trust me, I'll be bringing in the bling. But my new plan? Keep it Simple, Stupid.

I talked about the Gutenberg Press and Gutenberg Bible in my kick off class and the kids looked a little puzzled. I decided I'd show this video at the start of class next week. If you need a refresher on the Gutenberg Press/Bible yourself, here you go:



If you're in Austin, you can see a Gutenberg Bible at the Harry Ransom Center! It's in their permanent collection. Pretty sweet! I took a field trip there myself last Thursday, and the bible was open to the book of Ruth, which of course reminded me of my grandma Esther and her twin, Ruth.

King Henry VIII coming soon

I'm working on a new linocut. To get it from paper to linoleum, I placed my drawing face down on the lino and rubbed the back of it with a bone folder. Voila! Time to carve.

This is the current state of my studio:

Everything that's not at Museo for the show there (closing 10/27/13 btw), is now at Russell's Bakery on Hancock. I made the Russell's arrangement three years ago and they had their September artist cancel and asked if I'd do September and October. OK, sure, so now I'm really motivated to get some work done. Canopy is starting open studios on first Fridays and I only have works in progress to show--and lots of them. Time to move those 90%ers to 100%ers. 

Come on Down!

This is what I'm doing on Saturday

Until then, I'm getting my studio all spiffed up for visitors. It'll be a work day for me, but only on projects that can start and stop, so please, come visit and see what I have going on in the studio. 

Art of the Month Club

If you've been wanting to sign up for the art subscription but haven't yet, we're wrapping up the enrollment period. Let me know if you'd like more info. :)

Studio News: Canopy Studio Subscription   Carolyn Kimball and Cathy Savage have teamed up! We've moved into our fabulous new studio together at the Canopy Art Complex--it's a big step, but one we're excited to take. Carolyn has had two successful years of offering an art subscription, and one way we're celebrating and supporting our new leap is to offer an exclusive collaborative art subscription to our fans and supporters. What is an art subscription, you ask? It's a unique art-by-mail offering from our new studio! Carolyn and Cathy will be collaborating on original artworks that will be mailed to your door--or sent as a gift to recipient of your choice--at below-market prices. Every month you'll receive something we've been working on in our studio. It could be a new print, screen printed tea towels, hand printed note cards, laser cut goodies, or something else fabulous we've dreamed up. At the top of the month, we'll send you a preview of what's on tap so you can redirect your item to a friend as a gift, order another one for a friend, or have us mount or frame your print for an additional cost. We can offer you our work at below-market prices because you are buying it sight unseen. Once finished, these same works would sell for up to double or triple the monthly subscription price. Because your subscription helps to cover our overhead costs, we're able to pass along the savings. It's just $15 a month--or as the Kentucky girls says, the price of a good bourbon on the rocks (that's four lattes for the rest of us). 100% of the proceeds from our studio subscription will go to keeping the studio afloat. You can join for 6 months and choose from one easy payment or monthly installments. Yes! This sounds cool and I want to sign up! 6 months, one easy payment 6 months, monthly installments  Thank you for your continued encouragement and support--whether it comes in the form of a subscription or an attagirl. :) Carolyn + Cathy Share Tweet Forward to Friend 40! We need for 40 people to reach our goal! Please help us spread the word and share with your art loving friends. Chicken tea towels from Carolyn's spring line One of Cathy's Grackle monoprints

I'm a Kentucky girl, a printmaker, painter, knitter, gardener and kitchen mess-maker. I create both fine art prints and modern home decor. My fine art work centers on layered landscapes that evoke the history and memory of place- currently I'm working a series based on travels in the Middle East-and bold, graphic, woodcuts inspired by food. My home decor line, Kimball Prints, draws its inspiration from the beauty of the natural world. In addition to my websiteand online store, you can find my work in the permanent collection of the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts and in private collections in the United States, England and Kuwait. www.carolynkimball.com One of Carolyn's fruit woodcuts I dabble in a little of everything, but when it comes down to it, I am most passionate about printmaking. I'm interested in textures and layers and enjoy combining printmaking techniques to achieve end results. My favorite part of printmaking is creating the matrix--I love trying to figure out how the image in my mind's eye can be created in print. Collagraphs are my favorite technique. Once I get started building a plate, I have a hard time walking away from my studio for necessities like food and sleep. It's like putting together a puzzle--it's very hard to step away when the pieces just seem to be fitting! My work is a reflection of my life and interests. I'm a mother of two and my experience as a parent is a common theme. I also have a thing for Central Texas' nastiest bird--the grackle, and they pop up everywhere. I've developed an affinity for mathematical and scientific subject matters as a by-product of my obsession with Nikola Tesla. One thing is for sure, my work is either a hand pulled print, or a collage using my hand pulled prints. www.savageartist.com  Cathy's laser-cut Tesla finger puppet Cathy's blog | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend

Post Mortem of First Open House

Studio mate Carolyn Kimball and I had our first open house last weekend and it was successful! Yay! I'm so happy about our choice to move into Canopy. I love it there and the busy weekend has done nothing but invigorate me. This list may seen pretty boring to most of you, but if you're thinking of holding a similar event some some of these items might be helpful.

Observations:

• Carolyn's side looked very professional and well displayed. Mine seemed a little wonky in comparison. My work in progress magnetic strip was in the way and I'm not sure how to handle that going forward. I use it and it might mess up the walls and never hold again if I try to remove it for a show.
  
  

  

  Carolyn's side

My side

• Marketing materials a must. Several folks picked up the one-card bio and postcard image of Carolyn's work. She had plenty of business cards and I had barely any left from my last gig.
• Paypal triangle thing worked great for me for accepting credit cards on my mini ipad. I loved it and it was easy to master. Carolyn uses Square and finds it equally as awesome. 
• A cash box would be helpful for next time--or a big apron with deep pockets. Needing to retrieve my hidden wallet every 2 seconds--inside my purse, stashed under the desk--was inconvenient.
• Including tax on small items where people usually pay cash is a convenience for all.
• One artist in the building had her work space hidden with a curtain and that looked very professional. She had spotlights installed and pointed at her work and her studio had a very gallery like quality. Ours looked kinda worked in, but that's OK--we do work there. :)
• The small bookcase took up valuable wall space so for future open studios, switch it for something longer and shorter so there's room for hanging up top. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Music drew people to our building, plus sign boards with chalkboard paint were great for directing traffic. I appreciated the signs at the bottom of the stairwell directing people to the upstairs studios. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Food and bottled water were good to have on hand. Philosophically I'm against bottled water due to the waste, but really, going simple was key. 
• $20 and under--great price point. Carolyn sold a bunch of $16 tea towels and I sold a bunch of $10 and $5 Tesla items. The first day I had bigger items sell, but the smaller items were big hits day two. 
  
  

  

  Thumbs up is right on the light switches. Score!

  
  
• Bubble wrap and packaging materials were good to have on hand, but we ended up not needing them. I'm thinking I'd like to offer buyers a small brown handled paper baggie for smaller items. I felt weird handing people their purchases without a bag. 
• The print bin wasn't looked at as much as it could have been. I think we may need a different location next time. It was wedged in a corner (it's big), and when people did the circuit they were kinda already on their way out and didn't do much bin browsing. 
• Name signs looked great! We were going to paint them black but ended up leaving them natural wood and I think that was a good decision. They balance out all the black I have on my frames. 
  
  
  
  
  
• MailChimp was a great tool. I sent out my announcement to everyone--not just Austinites, so I could spread the word of the studio. It brought in a lot of friends on my mailing list. I sent the invite out on a Monday night with the event the upcoming Saturday. Possibly a little shy of a week good timing for planning. 
• Being there with Carolyn at the same time was great. I appreciated not having to lock up during a potty or water break. Plus I noticed a lot of my friends bought tea towels from Carolyn so there's that bonus. (Carolyn, you need to bring in your Tesla-loving friends and assure them they need a puppet.)
• Collective PR was key to our success. There are a lot of motivated artists at Canopy, and we all capitalized on our collective efforts. 
• We should be directing people to our mailing list. It wasn't seen by all and maybe we could have encouraged more people to sign up. 

Tuckered out, But it's All Good

Canopy's First Look Open Studio--it happened!
This weekend my studio had it's debutante ball. It was so, so good. All of it--Friends dropping by, talking with people about printmaking, sharing my time with my studio mate Carolyn Kimball. Yes, I felt the weekend was charmed. And to top it off, I squeezed in son Wes's baseball game and a picnic with my family in perfect weather (somewhat remarkable for Austin since it's usually hot by now). Thanks to those of you that were able to make it, and to those that didn't, don't worry we'll do this again.

Postmortem
I hope to jot down and share observations on the event for those that are curious, though I probably won't get around to that for another day or two.

A Glimpse of Brahe's Nose
Here's my Kepler/Brahe collage project I put on hold while getting ready for the open house. I look forward to getting back to it on Tuesday when I'm in the studio. I have 5 projects in process and need to crack the whip.

I added silver leaf to Brahe's nose. I plan on adding some contrast and definition with India ink to his head and noggin this week.

Open House this weekend!

I'm busy working, hoping to finish up some works in progress. I did finally send out my email campaign newsletter yesterday. Whew! It's exciting and a little unsettling. (How will it be perceived, did I have a typo, etc. Usual nerves...) If I somehow missed you, here's a snippet and you can view the full monty here. If you're not on my mailing list but want to be, enter your email address in the box on the right.

Lasering started today! 
I engraved another Tesla plate that only worked so-so the first time around. He's on mat board. Here's a proof using the old plate. Even though I could have fixed the lack of black in the mustache and eye area, the patent drawings didn't come through very well, so I'm hoping the second time is the charm. I will coat the plate with liquid gel medium and proof at some point. (The lasering happens at MAKEatx)

I made Tesla light switch plates today too, soon to be on Etsy--hopefully with a better picture. If you have to order 10 for your house right away, let me know and I'll get on that STAT. :)

What Was I Thinking?
I starting thinking about how this is May and at the beginning of the year I wanted to finish one piece per month. I finished one piece so far in 2013. Granted, I have several in the works, but I'm wondering if I can ever catch up. Needless to say, I have great plans for May.

Hello Friends

Look who I found lurking in my "One of These Days" pile. Kepler and Brahe! The were printed intaglio (cel-tec substrate on Rives BFK) and then cut out and placed on this new blue monotype background--soon to be adhered. I'm thinking of using silver leaf for Brahe's nose. Poor guy lost it in a duel. Yes. A duel.

I also starting working on this piece. I coated it with a layer of soft gel medium. Still brewing on what's happening there. It hasn't gotten any love for weeks. Usually I have a fixed idea of a project before embarking. This is one where I don't know which move is next until it happens. It feels a little like driving blindfolded, but I'm going with it.

I had a friend and blog reader say to me the other day that she can't believe I get so much done. Well, from my angle it doesn't feel like that at all. I'm a master procrastinator, preferring to watch my recorded PBS programs (name one and I probably watch it) and play WWF when I ever happen to have a spare moment. Because of this my house is generally a disaster. I moved into my studio the end of February and yet my home studio--now the all purpose/guest room--still looks like this.

I promised my husband that I would have it cleaned by the end of April, but what I really meant is that I would start cleaning it once April was over. So May 1 I ventured in and I've been plugging away at it a little each day. I need a scheduled guest to make this a reality. Any takers?




On the other hand, my new studio looks like this. I'm ready for visitors right now! Come to Canopy's First Look on May 11 and 12. I'm so excited to be opening up the studio to the world so I'll be sending out blasts and promoting the tour to everyone I know, no matter how loosely.








The good news is I'm feeling amazingly caught up on non-art related stuff (house is in decent shape and there's food in the fridge) and feeling way behind on art-related stuff, so I'm hot to get into the studio and work. 

The Bright Side of the Moon

Yesterday was an incredible day. 
Simply, I worked in my studio. I'm having fun with my Io painting. I'm hoping to have it finished by Canopy's First Look event, May 11 and 12th. Here I have a bunch of super watery acrylic paint kinda running together all moon-like. While it was drying I put a layer of acrylic medium on my cut-to-size Masonite. I plan on mounting this baby on panel once it's finished using this method.





This is where I started.

Io is an absolutely gorgeous moon. Here's a link to an amazing pic.  I still have work to do on painting my moon, but I'm making progress.

Canopy First Look, Artists Studio Tour
Besides actually working yesterday, I met with some of the other studio artists at Canopy to talk about our open house, First Look. Luckily we have a couple of very capable leaders at the helm, so things appear to be running smoothly. If you haven't put our studio tour on your calendar yet, please do. I'll wait while you take care of that.

Join My Mailing List
I'm working on my personal mailing list today, which unfortunately, needs a lot of work. I need to log into Mail Chimp (have you tried this? Great for managing mailing lists.), enter more names while editing what's already there. My mailing list is my biggest asset and my biggest weakness. I don't use it. If you'd like to be on my mailing list (trust me, I sent announcements out infrequently), shoot an email to me and I'll put you on!

Canopy Press Release--Opening May 11 and 12

If you click on the image it should enlarge. I hope so anyway. :)

Please come! I can't wait to show off the studio I share with Carolyn Kimball. 

And please, tell your art loving friends. 

BTW, Carolyn is participating in Big Medium's WEST Austin Studio Tour, which has been expanded to two weekends. You're invited to tour her home studio Sat. April 27 + 28, and May 4 + 5, 11 am -6 PM, 302 Terrace Drive. She's #159 on the WEST map. 

Canopy Open House

We have a date! May 11 + 12 for the Grand Opening of Canopy Studios. The official hours are Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday from 11-5. Our open house coincides with The Art of the Pot Tour headquartered in Keith Kreeger's studio--in the same complex! Woo hoo! You can see all kinds of good stuff, so mark it down and make it happen!