More phase 5 - trying again/again/again

The caption for this week:

An irony of an irony - the text is written by hand and each bird is unique [cue mad scientist laughter in background ;) ].

   

All the birds that haven't yet made it into a collage

cut out and individualized all the parrots (my favorite are the obnoxious neon ones ;) )

New blocks this week - flowers, branch, new fly

It wasn't all birds -  I also finished the flower block and put it to immediate (o so cheerful) use:

Over weekend I went to Zea Mays for a wonderful workshop in polyester plate lithography and monotype printmaking. This was very much in the spirit of phase 5 and trying again - I first learned about polyester plate lithography through a Zea Mays workshop last May. I liked it, but at the time, I didn't have access to a press, and hadn't yet done the block carving mini-project to consolidate relief carving skills. 

Now, I'm starting to feel ready to start trying to incorporate it, but I thought I didn't quite have enough experience to try it alone. I know doing a second workshop was pretty self-indulgent, but I did learn a lot. Even though I have notes, some of the information didn't stick the first time before I'd tried it, and seeing some of the ways the plate can be manipulated was a revelation (...though it will probably take a while for me to think it through while practicing (and practicing, and practicing)  the basic skills first...)

11 x 15" Part of the reason I'm interested in
polyester plate lithography is that it lends itself
to larger (but still economical) plates

More birds with text

close up - the results of looking at the Dover edition of Gerard's Herbal (cough, cough, obsessively ;) )
for a few weeks

one of the nice things about polyester plates is that they can be cut out and collaged on the press bed

The flowers were based on the illustration of roses, but they morphed into a sort of
marigold/zinnia hybrid...which is what's blooming in my yard - coincidence?

The sun is setting and the forest is going dormant.

Bonus! flower still life

Because I just printed (by hand, with the trusty wooden spoon) the flower still life block, and I'm so excited, I can't help myself posting it right away! It will (fingers crossed!) come out more evenly on a press, but this proof gives an idea of how it will look :). (Also, photographing and posting it gives me something to do to distract me from trying to layer in color right away before the ink dries ;) ).

I can't wait to add the flies/ants to this!

Also, while I wait for the ink to dry, I've been individualizing all the parrots (alllll the parrots - haha). I'm thinking the still life needs a green parrot, and a skull, and flies, and ants, maybe a squirrel? (Coloring and collaging this is going to be so much fun!) The flower block made me cry, but it was worth it ;).

Before

After

phase 5 - have the fortitude to try again (and again, and again...)

A busy week in Artlandia!

More parrots! I know, one might think that I have enough parrots already, but these are different (promise!) - they're printed in green ink on every shade of green paper that could find and marble (marblise?) earlier in the week. (And such a good example of trying again-again-again, haha) Next up will be adding ink and finding them an art home...

 This is a "representative sample," with more waiting to be cut out. 

I also printed a ton of birds (another "representative sample")

and some squirrels

 I also started this block which (fingers crossed!) may be really nice when it's finished...but right now - it's a little challenging (ok, or a lot challenging - there may have been tears involved.)

putting my flower photos to good use

It was my birthday this week! All my favorite things came together - talking to/ seeing family and friends, kitties (who I gave extra treats on the big day - they may not know "birthday," but they understood "happy day when we get lots of treats" - close enough ;) ), flowers, cookies, books, time spent outside with creatures - fun times! And, naturally, there was art!

My Penates gave me blue flowers.

Egon Schiele, Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, Standing
Edith Schiele in StripedDress),1915
Collection Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Netherlands
http://www.neuegalerie.org/exhibitions/items/2841

Line going around the block at the Whitney -
pass! 

On birthday weekend, I was going to try to see the Jeff Koons exhibition at the Whitney before it closed, but the line was around the block, and crowds are on the "I prefer not to" list...so I went to see a different show instead (and I think I enjoyed it more!) The Egon Schiele: Portraits show at the Neue Galerie. While there, I also got to visit Klimt's Adele Bloch-Bauer (love, love.)

It's starting to get cold and dark, so I've been spending as much time outside as I can trying to fortify my memories of creatures and sunlight for winter.

Animals photographed this week

Also...I was really into boats this week (??? - who knows :p )

phase 5 - Happy News!

Exciting News: This week my piece Nocturne #1 received the Medal of Honor in mixed media and the Walinska Memorial Award  from the National Association of Women Artists (:)!!)

It's an actual medal! :)

Rock, Paper, Scissor opening at Greene County Council of the Arts
with two of my collages :)

Coincidence? - I saw this digital reprint of
Audubon's Snowy Owls this week -
I don't remember having seen this
before, but the similarity is a little creepy

In addition to the two openings, lots of new work:

putting the new train to good use :)

Also preparing a proposal/portfolio for a submission this week and printed these blocks in gray, heightened with black, white, and metallic ink, and collaged onto new marbled paper:

I wanted to see if I could use the blocks in other ways, so I tried these 'ghost' monotypes by pressing the block into white ink on plexiglass plate and printing them on black paper so that the image comes from pulling ink off the plate: 

More animals:

In para art news:

  

last harvest of flowers and veggies from the garden

my last rose of the season