Printmaking II: Wax Encaustics

Some examples of using wax/color pigments to create unique prints. The process is super easy & fun... basically it's like coloring. You take color pigmented wax sticks (think oversized crayons) & draw/color your design onto a hot metal plate that melts the wax. You then simply place the paper over the design & burnish it... which transfers it to the paper. The top one is just a variation on my mountain/river scene that has been repeating itself in my art, and the 2nd image- kinda self explanatory... I thought I'd make some handmade valentines cards from scraps of paper I had leftover. Really fun!

Printmaking II or No Time to Waste...

Well, let me begin by saying I was happier with this print than any I've done in Print so far. I spent most of the day yesterday working on this linocut... and as you may be able to tell by the pics above, it took forever to cut out! But, like I said, I was happy with the results so it was worth the effort. I'll be experimenting with different color schemes/backgrounds on this one when I have time, but we're also learning new techniques every week (resingrave, wax encaustics & aquatint so far!) so time is something I'm feeling just a little short of. I think you could easily just take this class & no other, and keep quite busy. So yes, that means no concrete ideas yet for my Digital Print class... crapola. Words like "balance" & "time management" pop into my head & then I have to be honest... I have been watching a bit too many episodes of "Bones" lately. It's just a nice little escape from my constant thinking is all. Most red blooded Americans do it all the time (watch t.v. that is, & I don't even own one)... just a phase, I'll get over it & down to serious digital work soon...

Printmaking II: Woodcut Results

The long awaited- and by that I mean it took a long time to finish- Woodcut. I picked the finished print up from the studio today & was a little impatient with the photographing... poor natural light as it's such a gray day, but when I use the flash it obviously reflects the ink. I think it turned out much better than what shows up on the final print below. Anyhow, just showing some of the stages:

Initial run- orange; then cut away sky,

2nd run- brown; then cut away mountains,

3rd run- dark blue/light blue rainbow roll,

inking just the river on the last run.

This quarter, we're only turning in 4 single prints, rather than editions of 3 to 5... but I've found to get the results you want, it's necessary to do a lot of printing. So, to my family/friends... you may be getting some prints in the mail soon! :)

Printmaking I: Woodcut Reduction

I get frustrated with adding images to blogger sometimes. It's hard to get the layout exactly how you want it. Anyhow... just a couple examples of Woodcut reduction from last quarter. Our assignment was to do something abstract. Woodcut is a little difficult as the wood is sometimes hard to cut exactly how you want it to go & can splinter easily. (I ended up with bloody knuckles & sore fingers working on my Print II project yesterday.)

Printmaking I: Linocut Demo & Print

Above is my instructor, Tracy Templeton, giving our Print I class a demo on Linocut last quarter. As I mentioned in my last post, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the reduction process. Our assignment was to do a self portrait, so I took a picture from when I was a kid, scanned it to a black & white photo copy & used a special pen to semi-tranfer it to the lino. The white areas were the first cut. It was then inked, ran through the press, cut again, inked with another color, ran through the press again... and there it is- the final print. Compared to what others did in the class, I wasn't especially happy with the end result... but putting comparisons aside, I was surprised to see it turn out this well. I also wanted to include a link to check out Tracy's work- she is a master Printmaker with specialty in Photo Etching. I am lucky to be learning tools & techniques of printmaking from her as her experience and work are phenomenal. The link below to a local gallery in Ashland has a good representation of Tracy's work.

http://www.gallerydeforest.com/artist-profile.php?ArtistID=44

Printmaking I: Copper Etching- Soft Ground & Hard Ground Examples

Printmaking I, for me, was more about learning the processes, rather than creating "fine art." I've decided to post a couple of my first prints as a visual log of the process as I go along through Print II, and in the spring, Photo Etching. In Print I, we were instructed in Copper Etching (drypoint, hardground & softground), as well as Linocut & Woodcut. The last 2 being reduction processes which were really hard to wrap my mind around & now, in Print 2, I feel like it's just starting to make a bit more sense. More to follow.

Digital Print

Wow. Already 2 weeks back at school. It has gone by fast! I've decided to lighten my load a bit for 2 reasons:

1.) Thinking about part time work so I don't go too much further in debt....

2.) If I go half time, I pay in state tuition for a year, then become a resident & pay in state tuition for the remainder of my time here... which means if I do decide to continue with my Art studies I won't be in as much debt as I would if I just continued on full time. I still go back & forth on how far I'll go with this. I don't need a degree to make art, and in some classes I feel like I'm not learning a whole lot... or not enough to justify the financial output. I'll just take it a quarter at a time & see how I feel as I go. My 2 classes this quarter are Digital Print Studio & Printmaking II. I had this great idea for a project for Digital Print... a children's book, but now being logical I see how difficult it is going to be to illustrate, as my drawing ability is quite lacking. So, I have spent my time in class so far just playing with some of the tools & the drawing tablet. While I haven't come up with what I am going to do about this daunting book project, I did get some ideas for Printmaking. I made this "drawing" using the magnetic lasso tool & paint bucket. I am using this drawing as a template of sorts for Printmaking. I'm 2 parts into a 3 part woodcut reduction process. So far, it is turning out pretty cool & I'll post the final result when I get it done.

Happy New Year~ On The Road Again Part II

Happy New Year 2010~ to all those out in blogland. A little late, but what can I say... I've been on the road & much too tired to blog. 3 days & 1,420 miles later, I am once again safe & sound in Ashland. Still recuperating from lots of work, lots of driving & being sick on top of it all. Most of my first day on the road looked like this as I drove through the desolate stretch of I-40 in New Mexico... snowy & cold. Lots of people I meet seem to think I live this free, adventurous lifestyle~ and I guess some of that is true. But, what they don't take into account is the constant packing & unpacking, the long & sometimes boring drives, solo motel rooms & lack of roots. I know, I know, I am choosing this lifestyle. Sort of... but sometimes I feel like it's taken on a life of it's own. Kinda like Newton's 1st Law of Motion: The tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. I really do want to settle down, but can't seem to find the reason, the circumstance, or "the place" where everything seems to fit. And I am starting to wonder if such a place exists. It's just that I don't want to settle or stagnate. The phrase "a rolling stone gathers no moss" came to me somewhere on the 2nd day of driving. I thought, hmmm, that phrase really does apply to me. I've been a rolling stone of sorts for the past 5 years. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Neither, really... and honestly, in the past year, I've spent more time in Ashland & Santa Fe than anywhere else in the past 5 years, so perhaps I am narrowing it down a bit. Perhaps. I'll give it some more thought in 2010 & keep you all posted...

Christmas Eve on Canyon Rd, Santa Fe

Christmas eve on Canyon Rd~ no better place to be on Christmas eve in Santa Fe. The streets are closed down to traffic, and everyone walks the faralito lined walkways enjoying the festive atmosphere, stopping perhaps to warm themselves & sing a Christmas carol or sip some hot chocolate at one of the bonfires along the way. It's a Santa Fe tradition, and it being my first time, I can see why so many people come out to walk... despite the freezing temperatures, the experience warms the heart.

Christmas Lights on the Plaza, Santa Fe

Well, as most of you who know me can attest- when I am in work mode, I generally don't have much energy left for myself in the evening. But, since I'm only in Santa Fe a couple of weeks this time around, I have decided to fight the fatigue & at least get out a bit, if only to walk around the plaza & enjoy the Christmas lights. I am however, too lazy to set up the tripod in quest for the perfect shot. Therefore, my images are not the best to start with... but with a little editing, I am finding I can get some interesting images anyhow. My goal was to try to get that old film feeling... where the resulting pictures were always a bit distorted & had funky colors. Mission accomplished.

On the Road Again

Random pics from the road. Pokey & Gumby were in my stocking & I felt it appropriate that they be placed on my dash for the journey to New Mexico. They seemed happy to be out of the plastic wrap & on the open road. This time my road trip took me through Hatch, NM, which is actually "the chile capital of the world...." an interesting tidbit of info that may come in handy should you ever go on Jeopardy. The next pic is of what I assume to be an old water tower (silo?), somewhere along highway 26. The contrast, size & texture of the structure made it stand out among the emptiness that is highway 26... I actually drove past, but had to turn around & photograph it because it just looked so striking to me. The last photo kinda caught me off guard, as the logo on this ambulance bears a very striking resemblance to the computer drawing I had done in class... I swear I had never seen it before. Trippy. Well, that's it for now... safe & sound in Santa Fe. It's always a good feeling to get to where you were going safely. Back to work tomorrow, so it is possible these posts may thin out a bit...

Getting Hungry?

Just trying to make you all hungry out there. I had written in a much earlier post about my mom, the artist... so I just wanted to share this work of art... a meal prepared by mom. She put together an "early christmas" for me during my short time in San Diego, complete with a lovingly prepared meal & the company of my awesome family. Thanks, mom!

Welcome to Sunny Southern California

I've decided to keep this blog going, even though my DMF class has come to an end. It's fun for me... kinda like journaling with pictures. Sooooo, hoping for a few sunny warm days in San Diego during my journey once again from Ashland to Santa Fe. No such luck. This is what it looked like most of the time, although we did get at least one beautiful, sunny day w/ temps in the mid sixties- heat wave!

DMF Assignment: Book Project

I love a good quote almost as much as I love the beauty of nature. John Muir has some great quotes & wanted to pair them with some of my images for the book project. I think it turned out pretty well.

Image #1: When I Heard the Storm: Hwy 375, Nevada

Image #2: Climb the Mountains: Olympic National Park, Washington

Image #3: Out for a Walk: Cannon Beach, Oregon

Image #4: Forest Wilderness: Sangre de Christos Mountain Range, New Mexico

Image #5 Beautiful World: Mt Rainier National Park, Washington

DMF Assignment: InDesign/Table of Contents

With help from Dennis, notes from Miles' You Tube tutorials & the nice guy that sits next to me in DMF lab, I was able to at least figure out the itsiest bit of Indesign. Steep learning curve for the computer illiterate (that's me!) This seems much easier to do in Photoshop, but I can see how Indesign would be extremely useful... once I figured out how to use it. For me, I think that I'd need a full quarter specifically for that program. For now though, since I did the book over Thanksgiving break in Photoshop, I'll post it in that format. Oh, and the background looked black in Indesign, but it came out dark green in the blog???

DMF Week10: Other/Artist Andy Goldsworthy

My final entry for DMF's "other images" is artist Andy Goldsworthy. A friend brought me his film; River & Tides, which was absolutely beautiful & I highly recommend watching it. I'm not going to say much about his work, as I think the beauty speaks for itself... but I highly recommend this film.