go away winter

I have been hanging out in the print studio a lot lately. Between my independent study, one week classes, and commission work I can always find a reason to be in the shop. I can’t contain myself either. Currently I am taking up about five tables  and four flat files. Oh well! The most important thing that has happened though is me falling in love with etching! I can translate the tiniest little lines of my drawings. I love it, the copper, the scribe, the lines, the print.  Above are a few little etching I did in my last one week class. Below those are a few shots of the new invite I did for the school.

Lately I have been playing with drawing on the smokey square prints I did in the Fall. The combination of the black ink and the graphite seem to be sticking with me. They remind me of old films and scratchy windows. This Spring I will be doing an independent study centered around the translation of my drawn line to print. I will step away from woodcuts and into some new possibilities. Class starts tomorrow. SGC conference on Wednesday.

Well this isn’t the finale post I promised for my press restoration project, but it is an update of prints. I had to send off for a couple of parts for the press, once I get them and find her a new home I will do an update. I did do a test print run for the Snow Show though, check it out below.

I carved a block that said OH NO and then went crazy with sewing and drawing. It was a fun way to both test my press and make something for the Snow Show. The Snow Show was an amazing event that included an art show in an igloo, hot chocolate, cheesecake and a fire barrel. In short good times!

Below is a shot of the drying rack after I printed my new woodcut, Steady She Goes. I had a lot of fun working on this print even though when I was halfway done I dropped one of my carving tools directly on the point. Sharpening tools is always a challenge for me.

And last of all I finished the Alligator Girl print with a grey bar on the top and bottom. It helped to ground the piece. Now I don’t have to stare at it any longer trying to figure out what it needs.

I am also working on another large scale woodcut and hope to get it done in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck!

I have actually been making work and not just fixing my press. I made birthday cards that had been floating around in my brain for almost a year. In the process I became better acquainted with the polymer plate maker here at Penland. It was only my second time using polymer, but I am sure not the last. Then for the week of Christmas instead of being a normal human being and visiting my family I made a seven color reductive woodcut of a girl riding an alligator. It was the first time in a year that I used colors other than black in a woodcut. I’m not sure if the print is done, but I am taking a break from looking at it. Maybe in a week I will decide if it needs more work.

Last sunday the crew and I set off for Asheville to pick up my press. To say that I was nervous about the move would be an understatement. Thanks to Justin, Leah, and Lance all went well and my press is now living on the loading dock here at the iron studio. Truly exciting. Truly an adventure.

Have I mentioned I bought a press! As my mom said, “Every printer needs a press…”. I would like to think this press needs me too. There is a lot of work to be done, but all parts are intact.

New monoprints from my fall class with Phil Garrett. These are some fun tests I did with sandblasting plexi glass. The ink finds its ways into the tooth of the sandblasted surface, therefore causing it to print darker after wiping the plate.

I have been itching to get a new woodcut started and here is the first sketch!