Phase 8 - make the right choice easy(er)? - continued more

A busy week in Artlandia...

Lady Fortitude (Strength) - 2 .25 x 3" vine black ink on kozo paper

It feels like the sun is setting on a year filled with much learning and the work made, and still...miles to go before I sleep.

It looks like the coming year will
kick off with a beautiful crop of
Honeycrisps - surely a good omen?

The work on the tiny-tarot continues with new plates this week: The Charioteer and Strength

The Charioteer - 2 .25 x 3" vine black ink on kozo paper - I'm proud of this one - getting the horses in perspective almost exclusively with line weight was a challenge (I also like the bugs) 

And here it is with a quarter for scale (the bugs were made possible
 thanks the new more powerful lens I got for my magnavisor
 - facilitating uber-tinyness! Yay phase 8!)

I also made my favorite yet - Lady Fortitude.

I suspected that this was a beautiful plate, but was concerned about whether I'd be able to proof it well enough to get an accurate idea of what the final print could look like.

Phase 8!  I approached it as "What would I do at Zea Mays?" I cleaned off all the tools and surfaces completely, gathered my ink and additives and just started proofing changing one variable at a time until I got a good proof. (I also numbered the proofs - an idea whose time had come!)
                                             

As we can see - it took a few tries 

The most common depiction of Strength is a woman wresting a lion - and I have to say, that doesn't seem like strength to me, more like stupidity (also, fighting with a (big) kitty? No, no, no.) So... I did a little digging and remembered this one from the Mantegna Tarocchi (which is up there with Master P.W.'s cards and the Visconti-Sforza deck as my favorite(s)).

Strength from the Mantegna Tarocchi
Two decks of 15th century, Italian engraved cards

I like this much better because "Forteza" to me isn't just brute force, but more like a strength that endures - translating more as "Fortitude." I think the image of breaking then holding the column is a better representation with the lion, the symbol for bravery, as a companion instead of in opposition - much better.

Putting my kitty-observation skills to good use for the lion and trying to capture the tension and more subtle expression of the face and hand. And! In studying these cards, I learned something interesting - who else loved and copied some of these cards on his trip to Italy?
...Durer - makes me feel like I'm on the right track :)

pushing the micro-focus beyond it's capabilities 

I also had more opportunity to think about and work on Phase 8 - make the right choice easier -with the photography this week.  Another thing I added to this card was a little mouse - trying to show that meekness also has it's place in Fortitude, but when I tried to photograph it...my camera just said "No - no way, I am not focusing on a millimeter-scaled mouse."

I kept trying to figure out how to photograph it (unsuccessfully) until it occurred to me that instead of trying to photograph it, I could scan the whole print [slaps forehead - doh!]

 ...still hard to capture to uber-tiny-joy of this, but closer!

It wasn't all super tininess though...I also kept working on the life-scale piece. The flying rats are now suspended :)  It's closer, but I'm still trying to figure out how to best hang these so that they move on their own...

And in para-art:
Enjoying the late-blooming flowers from the yard, the sites of Hudson, and a bonus cute kitty photo because I really can't help myself from spreading the feline adorableness :).

 

Phase 8 - make the right choice easy(er)? - continued

36 x 24" mixed media collage -
framing this by myself was enough of a nightmare to
push me to consider alternate display options,
but for now - it's done (whew!)

A busy week in Artlandia!

First off - framed and delivered another Angel of Loss - this one will be on display at Limner Gallery in Hudson as part of the show Strange Figurations - opening Sept. 12th 5-7 :)

Then...(drumroll...) I etched my first plates at home!(!!!)

New plates! 3 x 2.25 each - aluminum etched in copper sulfate

Continuing with the tiny tarot series, I started with the emperor:

proof in Akua, Prussian blue ink on unsized kozo paper

I almost can't believe it worked! I am incredibly grateful to have had the chance to learn about green intaglio printmaking at Zea Mays this summer; still...there's a lot of things to remember and keep track of, and I was (with good reason) nervous about mixing the mordant and remembering and executing all the steps of plate preparation and etching. (*No process photos because I didn't have enough spare attention for documentation this go round, haha).

Still have a long (long) way to go learning more about and practicing this technique, but I think it's very different things to learn about something, then to do it under the supervision of an expert, then to do it on one's own, and my first independent plate - feels like a major milestone (whoop! :) )

I was so happy that I decided to go on an art-field trip. Where do Little Arties go to celebrate? The museum of course ;) In this case - the taxidermy collections of the Berkshire Museum. I'd been meaning to go for a while, but I was intimidated by the drive. Now, the time had come, since there's some specific information I need for work, so phase 8! Trying to make it easier, I broke the drive down into parts. On the way there, I stopped half way at a favorite familiar place and on the way back at one of the conservation areas to photograph. 

 While I would never kill a creature for photography, I wanted to study the feet of raptors and rodents in particular, and taxidermy provides the opportunity to see the feet still and up close...

And! I got some great additional views of a brown rat and a good chance to study squirrel bone structure...then got home to discover that maybe I didn't need to go to the museum afterall, since my neighbor's outdoor cat has decided to "assist" me by leaving tokens of her love (Eep! I mean...Good Kitty...)

On the one hand, it was an extremely productive outing! On the other hand, this is one of those times when I try to imagine explaining my day to an acquaintance. The dramatic dialogues goes something like this:

[meet in line for coffee, chit chat ensues, after typical greetings are exchanged...]

Acquaintance:    So, what did you do today?

Me:     O, I had the most wonderful day! I got to see and take pictures of lots of dead rodents - 

and I learned something really helpful - did you know that rodents have really long metacarpals?

Acquaintance:   [silently.takes a sip of drink, walks away]

(Oy.)

But it wasn't all paws and claws and rodents - there were also wings (always wings):




 And! In an unanticipated bonus...

I'd decided to do the Empress card next, but...the most common iconography, of the Empress shown in frontal view on a throne wasn't really resonating with me (I think it looks too much like the high priestess and/or Justice and doesn't seem to relate to the Emperor)...

Then, at the museum I saw this:

Yes- there it is! It's Penelope, who is an archetypal queen, and it reminded me of another of my favorites - the queen of swords from the Visconti-Sforza deck:

Franklin Summons, Penelope, marble 1873, Berkshire Museum

Queen of Swords

Bonifacio Bembo or family
Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards

Italy, Milan

ca. 1450

173 x 87 mm

Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1911

MS M.630 (no. 23)

I used both to create a version of the Empress in profile
3 x 2.25" printed in Akua Prussian blue ink on unsized kozo paper

Finally! A process photo :)  This is after etching with the B.I.G. ground partially removed
(I just like the way it looks - then in a nerd moment realized - O, it looks like a Champleve enamel (lovely medieval art-nerd delicacies that they are ;) ). Also, I built /assembled the drying rack in the background - thumbs up!

All those photos being put to "good" use - continued work on the winged rats - attached the wings and 

added the bells on safety orange cords around their necks. And in yet another "somewhat atypical things I did this week" moment - the bells didn't have clappers (??) So, I stuffed 

airdry clay through the openings so they'd jingle. Did I mention that the whole bell is 6mm - so the holes - pretttttty tiny (oy.) Worth it though - sonitory joy.

And in non art news - I saw this in the park:

So it begins...

In reaction, I started trying to finish the floors (got to get it done before it gets cold).

 And bonus pictures! from this week's art adventures:

Phase 8 - make the right choice easy(er)?

A busy week here in Artlandia!  

I individualized all the rats by drawing on them with ink and colored pencil, then I sewed whiskers on. But they weren't standing out right....so I ironed them to get them to stick out properly (that's right,  I spent time this week ironing the whiskers on collages of winged-rats - silly human.)

 Studio update - I broke in the new space! It's successfully transitioned to being an active space :). 

I didn't think I'd need any more flat space to store wet prints since they'll only sit out for a short time...but [of course there is a 'but' ;) ] I ended up filling the shelves in an single afternoon (and adding a temporary shelf as a result) - ah, 'the best laid plans of mice and men...'                                                                                                   The drastic under-estimation is actually a good thing though - it's because in the new space, I can print much faster - that's about 50 pieces from 16 blocks in a single afternoon. I'll take a drying rack issues due to productivity any day, and it inspired the theme for Phase 8: make the right choice easy(er) :)!

But I'm getting ahead of myself...to get to that point - New blocks this week!

Halt!
I carved those beautiful hands in July...only to decide that I actually
want a different gesture for this piece (doh! - will have to come up a different piece for those :) )

I tried a new transfer technique for this block -
I photocopied a picture of my hand onto water soluble paper,
then transferred it to the block with gel medium and heat.
At first, it looked like it worked great!...

But, then as my hand moved across the block, it rubbed off.
I was disappointed because I had thought it worked
well initially, but I'm not giving up - there are
a few variables I can think of to try adjusting, and since,
 ultimately, it's about the result...about half way through,
 I ended up wiping away most of the transfer and free
 carving the rest.

I also carved this because, it turns out the
small rats are too small for the wings I had....
(sometimes I feel like Goldilocks when it comes to
matching the blocks)

And on the topic of Phase 8...I tried some new things with the paper as well this week.

 by printing on painted or marbled paper,
each one is unique and irreproducible.

I wanted to print the wings and tails on marbled paper and the fur and crown on painted paper -increasing the overall complexity of the piece and adding to the individuation to each element.

It occurred to me (admittedly, somewhat belatedly...:p), that to get the marbling denser, instead of adding more paint, I could just shrink the container [hand to forehead- duh!] For less than the cost of a fancy cup of coffee, I got a container just a little larger than a standard sheet of paper...

Maybe because of the small container size, I finally got the white paint
to show up! This is fantastic because up until now, I've only been able to
marble dark onto a light surface, now I can also marble light onto a dark surface
- this doubles the number of options for the color of the paper (Whoop!)

Still working in the bathtub though ;), but clean-up was much easier.
And! Turns out the print drier works great for drying marbles paper as well
 - two big thumbs up!

And in other Phase 8 developments...

Finally got a full-scale support up onto the wall[!!!] It's not exactly pretty, and I'm sure there will be changes as things develop, but this was one of those "done is better than perfect" things where I just needed to get something (anything!) up onto the wall and functioning so I can move forward... 

standard D rings, 2 thumbtacks, a piece of wood, pet screen
and some quality
time with the staple gun

In addition... 

Also trimmed the edges, framed, packed, and shipped this one: Angel of Loss is headed to New York where happily it's going to be included in the upcoming 126th Annual Member's Exhibition of the National Association of Women Artists at the
Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery - opening September 10th 6 - 8 pm

Lastly - a kitty story.

So...I mentioned last week, that it seems like my feline assistants particularly like the rats. 

But then, I told myself "O, no, it's probably just confirmation bias...maybe they'd be drawn to anything that I was working on in a cool, comfortable space and was getting lots of attention.    

And Yet...

 I almost couldn't get a shot of the rats without Jr.'s assistance.

"Well, maybe Jr. has just missed being a 'helper' while I was working at Zea Mays..."

Then, one of the rats went missing. This is unusual - active parts of collages do not often go missing...

It turned up later out in the hallway. "That's weird...but it has tape on the back; it must have gotten caught on something and tracked out here..."

That was a good rationalization...until later that evening, when Jr.trotted into the bedroom with the same rat between her teeth and proudly dropped it on the floor next to her toy.

....Or maybe, it seems like she particularly likes the rats - because she particularly likes the rats. [Hahaha!]

This confirms my opinion that the idea of "anthropomorphizing" is inherently flawed (not to mention species-centric/narcissistic) because it assumes that qualities, like aesthetic appreciation or altruism are somehow "human-specific" in the first place.

Jr., at least, has excellent taste in art, and I appreciate her vote of confidence in the naturalism of my work :)!