A cleaning and organising week - with rats

A busy week in Artlandia...

I made these lovely rats with wings, but first off, there was cleaning...

Does making the "before" picture small lessen the shame?

After

I hasten to point out that even in the "before," the trays themselves were meticulously organized (even amidst a mess, I do take good care of my tools and blocks); however, everything around the trays had become too chaotic, even for me. (Obviously) it was time to make some changes, but I'd been putting it off, thinking (justifying?) that I might have a clearer idea of what to do after the certificate program - which, luckily, turned out to be correct. Studio set up and organization were part of the curriculum (thumbs up! Have I mentioned how much I heart Zea Mays today? ;))

I added more shelving and the rest of the stuff is re-purposed/adapted. Still a little more to go, but it's (much) better and more functional - that's my version of a print drier in front of the fan that I just learned how to make - and here's a helpful link to a similar set up: http://www.magicalsecrets.com/dryer )

I'm super excited to start working with some of the new techniques, but there's going to be a little delay as I organize and gather some supplies. That's ok - I missed my carving tools and wouldn't want them to feel neglected ;)

New Blocks this week:

So, the theme was rats. (If this seems random - have faith :) - promise, they're for something specific in the works - more to come on that as it develops...) I think all the bunny photos and research I've been doing for the past few weeks helped (- bunnies also being rodents :o ). These were a little less intimidating than bunnies because they're small, but also, as a kid, we had "classroom pet" rats (Peaches and Peanuts), so I can remember handling rats. 

I've been thinking that even though I've done a lot of research on bunnies and have been photographing them for months, and have carved them before (5 times that I can think of, twice at full-scale); somehow, I just don't feel ready. I don't know why exactly - maybe the thing that would be most helpful would be spending some time with a pet bunny? (Hmmmmmmm.)

Or maybe not? This on the same sheet of paper with one of the rats from this week and an earlier rat block. The "old" block is from March  - 5 months ago. The old block is fine - the drawing is accurate enough and the carving is neatly done, but I think the new block is just better (?? -it's a more lively pose and carved more aggressively so that there's more/better light areas)...and it's not like I've handled any pet rats between then and now...(so maybe I should stop being an art-wimp and carve some bunnies?[Eep.])

Another block in the works...challenging 

Can't  resist - so cute :)

I had lots of feline assistance with these, and I'm not sure if it's because they approve...or because the studio has a fan.

Happy to be reunited with the garden

Jr. marking the new print drier - "Thanks Mom for
the lovely new napping spot in front of the fan :)"

This week's harvest! My first tomato of the season and blackberries :)

Something about the black, orange, yellow together - so pretty.

Conservation Area looking especially summer-pretty

Last week of mission learn green intaglio (part 1)!

Final week of the Green Printmaking Certificate at Zea Mays!

This was my final print - happy with this one!
I started on this version of the tarot card - Justice a few weeks ago by drawing it on a polyester lithography plate and then
printing it onto a prepared plate as an under drawing. Then drew it little by little over the course of 3 weeks.
It's a Baldwin Ink Ground hard ground on copper, with an aquatint over the whole thing and areas stopped out, then a selective aquatint with burnishing. Printed with Portland black and transparent base ink on Hahnamuhler warm white paper, 6 x 4.5

this is the plate before the second aquatint with
areas stopped out ,
- just liked the way it looks :).

for comparison - the polyester plate
from 3 weeks ago

I think the toes are so cute and I'm happy that I even got the
little shine on the (very tiny) toe nails

But that wasn't the only tiny-tarot joy of the week. I also made a tiny print of the Tower

triple etched with copper sulfate on aluminum, then spit etched. Printed with bone black on Hahnamuhler warm white paper. 3 x 2.25"

I paid tribute to one of my favorite artists- Master of the Playing Cards 
by including a deer in the background after one of his prints
(also, you can see my very inky thumbnail- included for scale)

Master of the Playing Cards,
engraving, ca. 1435-55

I kid not - this is in
the backyard of the studio -
life imitating art imitating life?

And there's more...

I also made this version of the Hermit with the same process at the tower.

I also re-inked the Termperance with Akua ink and then selectively wiped it so that it became a monotype.

all the prints stacked together

all the plates

Me, on graduation da,y, looking extremely happy.
haha - and notice, the scope in the background.

Throw back to May 2014 - I took a new picture with the broom
for scale (and also because I'm mid-studio-cleaning ;) )/

It's sort of funny, for someone who says "I'm going to make big things! with soft materials!" I've spent the last 3 summers working with metal under a scope...I guess there's no denying the satisfaction of the tiny...

And yet...I don't think I'm totally off base either - Looking at the new Justice print, it reminded me of the life-sized+ version of Sophia that I made over a year ago in May 2014 and has been on my wall ever since...

Maybe I left it up for so long because I've been (sloooowly) working out the technical issues before going back to these. I like this, but the figure is drawn in charcoal, so it's not iterative...now, if I were to make it as an intaglio print...(we see where this is going, yes? ;) ). Also, I've needed to figure out the support, so there were a lot of issues to think about (for a year - oy!)

A detail of the
figures in the side panels -
they're relief prints, but they
look an awful lot like the new
aluminum prints - like I wanted
to make intaglio prints but didn't know it yet,
so I carved in the inverse and printed them in white
ink on black paper

It's a different card (High Priestess), but still my feet look
about the same as in the new Justice print

On the topic of flash from the past and life imitating art imitating life...

I saw the most beautiful electrical towers I've ever seen:

And thought, gee, they sort of look familiar...

That's a detail of "Invisible Carousel" from March (which coincidentally, is also a time when the Sophia was on my mind in relation to the Zeigarnik effect - since coming home from Zea Mays, I finally finished the piece.)

And in more-art and para-art news

Lucky to have so much color in my life!
- at the Akua demonstration with Joyce Silverstone

Flowers on the campus of Smith College

flowers to greet me at  home :)

Um...and some weeding (that's a wheel barrow under there ;) )

And last, but certainly not least!
Wishes of much joy and happiness to my beautiful and accomplished sister!

more, more, prints

Continuing to learn more printmaking techniques at Zea Mays! They average to a print a day (though the timeline wasn't quite that neat in reality, it's a good organizational structure ;) )

Monday: 

"Temperance"  tarot card, 6 x 4.5,"-  I have always wanted to make a set :)  
Baldwin Ink Ground (hardened) on aluminum, etched with Copper Sulfate in 2 stages (9 and 3 minutes), then spit etched.
Printed with stiff Black ink on warm white Hahnemuhle paper

Tuesday: 

My interpretation of "The Devil" tarot card
Baldwin Ink Ground (hardened) on aluminum, etched with Copper Sulfate in 3 stages (7, 3, 1:5 minutes), then spit etched.
Printed with Renaissance Black ink on warm white  Hahnemuhle paper

Wednesday:

Tiny tarot card of Death! I have always wanted to make one of these :)
Baldwin Ink Ground (hardened) on aluminum, etched with Copper Sulfate in 3 stages (6, 3, 1:45 minutes), then spit etched.
Printed with bone black ink (haha!) on warm white  Hahnemuhle paper 
(waited for the ground to set overnight for less "foul biting" - those speckles in the background, and lowered the first etching time slightly)

Thursday:

Battista Sforza, by Piero della Francesca, c. 1465–70

I know, this seems like the odd (hu)man out at first, - I was learning about  photopolymer printmaking with a photographic image. In the same vein of re-interpreting early Renaissance images - one idea was a contemporary take on the portrait of Baptista Sforza by Piero Della Francesca

Photopolymer plate in mixed warm brown (bone black, stick black, red, transparent base) on 

 Hahnemuhle paper warm white, 5 x 7"

Friday:

back to the tarot cards - "the Hanged Man" (at least I gave him a parrot to keep him company?)
Photopolymer exposure of a pen and crayon drawing on Denril paper
mixed brown ink (yellow, red, stiff black and transparent base?) on  Hahnemuhle paper, warm white, app 5 x 7"

Which brings us up to the present :). I'm taking some time off to share and support a major life event in the family (:)!!). More art to come next week!

Onward!

more adventures in printmaking :)

A busy week of printmaking! I'm learning so (so, so!) much and working hard to integrate it.

A visual breakdown of this week's art adventures:

Process: Baldwin Ink Ground - soft ground with textures pressed in (tarlatan for the grass and tin foil for the mountains)
baked to a hard ground, added the horse
then aquatinted
burnished/sanded/scraped
horse masked out, then soy ground etched

burnished/sanded/scraped

 horse re-masked and re-aquatinted

burnished/sanded/scraped

voila!
4.5 x 6," Portland black ink on warm white hahnemuhle paper

Baldwin Ink Ground (hard ground)
aquatint
selective burnishing
6 x 4.5," stiff black ink on hahnemuhle paper

original collage with linocuts from last September (12 x 12")

edited and transferred to copper plate

tried some selective inking

added an aquatint layer and selective burnishing,

4.5 x 6," Renaissance black ink on warm white hahnemuhle paper

more bunnies - studying up to make more linocuts and now,  maybe transfers too! :)