"Red Chair"

"Red Chair"
Sintra engraving on paper, acrylic paint
8.5" x 8.5" (unconstructed)

My new little papercraft print, "Red Chair," is on view right now in Milwaukee as part of PRNT:MK, the 2013 SGCI printmaking conference.  I'm not attending, sadly, because attending as someone not attached to a university in some way is crazy expensive.  So, I've been attending about every other year.  The picture at left was taken by Colin Roe Ledbetter of the portfolio my piece is included in, Assorted Delights.



 

This piece is also in the upcoming show Cloud 9, at the Trunk Space in Phoenix, AZ with a reception on April 5th.

The piece has an inner chamber, and if you peer through the windows in his torso you can see it, too. Though it's difficult to photograph, I've attempted it to give you some idea.

For the portfolio this piece was made for I needed to construct about 20 individual figures, each one taking a little over an hour to make.  By the time I'd finished cutting and gluing the last one I sort of hated them.  It's been a couple weeks now, so I no longer hold such loathing for the needless complexity I engineered into his construction.

 At left, you can see "Red Chair" inconstructed.

And here's Mulcifer the cat, diligently overseeing me as I print.

The Conversationalists, Part 2

Here's the second print I made for the demo I did at AR4t Gallery as part of the Dennis McNett show. I think of them as two heads having an awkward conversation.

It's linocut on paper in an edition of 200. I added a ton of Japan drier to the ink so that I wouldn't take prints that were completely wet home with me. It actually worked pretty well, and the prints were completely dry to the touch the morning after printing.

These guys are for sale on my etsy site, here.

Conversationalists, part 1

I went all the way from Los Angeles to Laguna Beach to see the Whale of Gratitude show by Dennis McNett. It was pretty amazing, which wasn't particularly surprising, but I was a little surprised and pleased when the gallery owners invited me to do an inhouse demonstration of relief printmaking during the Laguna Artwalk. Dennis McNett is a Brooklyn based artist, and so couldn't attend both receptions.

I carved two new blocks for the demo. They're both a single color linoleum block on a variety of paper stocks in an edition of 100 each and can be left flat or folded into a three dimensional little paper ball.

I had a lot of fun having a couple little kids help me crank the press, and it's wonderful when people applaud when you pull a new print off the block like it's a magic trick.

Speak and See

I attended the Southern Graphics Council International Conference in New Orleans last week, and my oh my, was it wonderful. The conference portfolios were pretty amazing, and I got to meet Katherine Polk, whose work I have long admired.

I made a special print to trade with other people for their artwork, and because I am insane, I printed an edition of 500 with four colors. I am in some ways trying to prepare myself for the book cover I'm working on right now. The book cover I will be printing in an edition of 750, but thankfully only two colors.

I made great use of the paper cutter I was gifted awhile ago.

Here's my table at the SGCI New Orleans conference. I traded this print for a few awesome prints by other people, and I gave some away, too. New Orleans was gorgeous and amazing and I wished that I could have stayed longer.

This was my second trip to NOLA. The first time I went was actually ten years ago, also to attend SGCI. I pretty much only ever travel for work, and I wonder if I should try actually going on a real vacation sometime.

Birthday Boxes

I have had goals to make a present for all of my loved ones on my birthday, but in the last couple of years I've been lax in this endeavor. One year, I handpainted thrifted mugs and bowls, and another I made plush tentacles. But making labor intensive presents would necessitate that I keep the list of recipients short, and there would inevitably be someone whose feelings would be hurt.

I'm 30 this year, as of January 22nd, and this year I made something easily mass produced and easily mailed through the post to avoid having to cut my list of recipients short and to keep myself from going broke from postage. However, I'm also lazy when it comes to implementation so most of my intended recipients via the mail have yet to receive their cards because I've yet to mail them.



Three color screenprint on paper. Four variations of background pattern (polk-a-dots, stripes, faux bois, and damask), and three possible variations of faces plus glasses.



This fancy photo backdrop is made by taping two pieces of office paper together. Very fancy.





I bought my first metal flask for my birthday present to myself. Because adults need to be prepared to drink at all times.

Business Men, 2

Update: Because a few of have expressed interest (well, to be honest, one person), if you send me $5 I'll send you ten cards. Or, if you see me in person I'll just give you one.

I gave away a six inch stack of business cards at the LA Art Show. Though I didn't see an increase in page views to any of my sites, it doesn't hurt to give away a little something for free, especially when it costs me only a little bit of labor. But because of this I was all out of business cards, and I've got a show coming up this weekend.



Since these were new, I took the opportunity to get an easier to remember URL and added five new characters to the collection. Here are the five new ones:



These are the three old ones. There's also a blank businessman, so you can draw in your own face.



These are screenprints and watercolor on found paper. I keep a box in the printshop for people to put their discarded prints in, and that's what I use for the unwitting collaborator series and I use the smaller pieces of paper for this. You can see how diverse the paper stock is because of this:

"Head"

"Head" Blind embossing on paper, paper construction



Blind embossing is incredibly difficult to photograph, I've found. This piece is another in the ON|PAPER show. It's in an edition of 100, and I made it intentionally easy for people to construct themselves, but I don't know if anyone who has purchased one has actually tried it yet or not.



All of the papercraft pieces I've made heretofore have been very complicated. The little man with a ghost in his chest takes me about an hour to construct, and I'm the person who designed it so I can't imagine how long it takes the people who bought one, or if they even try, for that matter. The other concern was how I didn't think I've brought anything very new to the medium so far. What is it that I can do that all of the other artists can't or haven't? A black and white illustration is pretty common.

With this in mind, I designed two new papercrafts that are very simple to construct but a little bit more complicated and innovative on my side. They're blind embossed, so all of the detailed on the surface is actually 3D instead of a flat drawing. To make this one, I carved out the features in reverse--making a mold. It takes some getting used to thinking this way, but since much of printmaking requires a constant awareness of reversal, I got the hang of it pretty soon.

Business Men

I've got a bunch of fancy events this month, so I needed to make some fancy new business card. The card can be cut up to make a little man, with four varieties: devil in tighty whities, sad guy, cat, and a blank so you can draw a face yourself.

Never alone

Look at him, so wee and perfect:



I'm absurdly proud of him. Truly, I've been volunteering information aboutt this print to students who I've never spoken to before.

He's an engraving, using a Resingrave block from McClain's, carved with a burin graver, and printed on Rives BFK on a Showcard letterpress.