Moving Again

Okay, I promise this is the last time.  Seriously.

I am relocating my blog from Blogger to my website.  Ihave been considering this for a while but I finally did it.  The new blog went live just a few minutes ago.  There will be more content later, along with some tweaking (there's always tweaking) and then everything will be in place.  And all at one web address.

I have to say, it was a difficult decision.  I realized, though, that I wasn't devoting my attention to the blog and the website equally. Now, like I said, everything is all in one place.  You may call it laziness but I think of it more as efficiency.

I invited you to stroll on over, no rush, and check out the new blog.  It almost looks the same, too...

Keeping Up

 Gingko Leaf, Linocut Print 2 x 2 inches

Levitating Pears  Linocut Print, 6 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches

Although I haven't been keeping up with the blog here, I have been pretty busy.  I not only am printing new blocks but going back to some of the older ones and completing the editions.  It goes without saying that it's a lot easier to accomplish this with a press.  I don't know why it took me so long to actually buy one, well, other than the cost.  That was definitely a factor...

So, here are two of the newest prints.  I have had the blocks for a few months now but only printed them last weekend.  I still have a few of those left.

I am adding work to my website all the time, too.  If you go there, just look under the "Recent Work" tab.  There might even be some things I forgot to post here on the blog.

Recent Work from the Printing Frenzy

Winter Walk Original Linocut Print 6 x 3 in.

Carpentry, Original Linocut Print 5 x 3 in.

Here are two more linocut prints.  Both are the result of my initial printing frenzy when I first got my new press.  This weekend begins Printing Frenzy Chapter 2!  I still have a small box of linocut blocks that I have yet to print.  This weekend seems like a good one to do just that.

As usual, both prints are available on my Etsy shop.

Two More Prints Completed

 (Library Cat Original Linocut Print 4.5 x 7 inches)

(Collecting the Starts Original Linocut Print 4 x 6.5 inches)

Like I knew I would, I have been busy with the new press.  Now that the initial prints I have pulled are dry, it's time to start coloring them and posting them.  Here are the two that I completed yesterday.

There is more information about them on my Etsy Shop

Back to work I go....

Two New Linocuts

As you might already know I finally got my press up and running on Thursday of last week.  The third press bed that I received was functional.  The next day i started printing!

Here are the first two prints I have done since the press arrived.  They are part of the collection of linoleum blocks I have been carving for the last 3 months or so.  I resisted hand printing them ( or baren printing them, if  you will) in anticipation of getting the press.

Needless to say you will be seeing more work from me in the coming weeks.  I think I have at least 15 blocks to print and I just keep carving more.  I may never catch up...

And as usual, both of these prints are available at my Etsy shop, with more being added (probably) by the end of the week.

Hanging Prints

I was busy yesterday!  Get ready, for once these prints are fully dried, I will be ready to color them.

Did I mention I love my new press?  I thought I had...

You may know this but my studio consists of the second bedroom of our apartment.  I have to make do with the space I have and I think I do pretty well.  Once the press arrived, I needed to make the studio more ergonomic and it seems to work a lot better. My table (where I draw, carve, and ink the plates) is on the left, the press is in the middle and these hanging lines are on the right.  It may not be Feng Shui, but there is definitely a flow.   I will post pictures at a later date, once I feel it is more presentable.  I'm still settling back in and tweaking it.

My print hanging system is simple.  I use picture hanging wire, S-hooks, binder clamps and round wooden beads.  The beads are alternated with the clips to prevent the prints from touching each other.  The wires are them hooked to each louvered door.  I have a weight by each door, on the floor, to keep the wires taut.

I think it works out pretty well!

Press Update: A Happy Ending and A New Beginning.

An update on the press saga.  I received the third bed plate the night before last and now my press is finally functional. It has been a frustrating couple of weeks.  This is the first ever print I pulled, which I did yesterday morning.  I'm looking forward to this weekend and am hoping to get a lot of printing in.

I am up early this morning, too, ready to print some more.  I have at least 20 linoleum blocks to print from my most recent carving binge.  I carved blocks without printing them, in anticipation of getting the new press.  I had a difficult time deciding which one to do first.

So, in the next month or so, expect to see a lot of new work being posted.  All work, new and old, will be available on my website and my Etsy shop.

The Saga of The Printmaking Press (A Tale of Woe)

It is a tale that is sad but will hopefully have a happy ending.  My printmaking has come to a standstill because of it..

Two weeks ago I finally took the plunge and bought a 19" Richeson etching press. I have been wanting one for quite awhile.  Because the company that makes the presses is here in Wisconsin, we decided it would be easier to go get it rather than pay the freight charges.  And omigod I would have to wait for it to arrive...

Once we arrived at Richeson I realized I had underestimated the size of the packing crate and there was no way it would fit in the trunk of the car.  So we went to Lowe's, bought the requisite tools and unpacked it right in the parking lot.  After finally wrestling it into the back seat of the car (it weighs around 180 pounds) we were on our way back home.

I spent all day the next day rearranging the studio to make a space for the new press.  Finally Valerie and I were able to lift it onto the waiting table.  I assembled the handle and attached it. I slid the press bed in and onto the bottom roller, turned the handle and....

Nothing.  Nothing happened.  The bed plate is supposed to move back and forth on the bottom roller.

I looked underneath the bed and saw that the plate was severely warped from side to side.

That is me, holding a flashlight while Valerie took a picture to illustrate the gap...

So I called Richeson, sent them photo documentation of said warp.  They shipped me another bed plate.  I got it yesterday and was very excited.  I inserted the plate, turned the handle and....

Same thing.  Nothing.

I will say this.  Richeson Art has so far had wonderful customer service.  They are shipping me a third bed plate and this time assured me they would check it for warping.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do if this one doesn't work.  I do have a surplus of 1/4 inch phenolic resin sheets, though.  Slightly warped.

Coming soon:  Either the continuing saga, or a lot more linocut prints.  I'm hoping it's the latter.  I have at least 20 linoleum blocks that I have yet to print in anticipation of getting this press.  We shall see...

Envelope Project - Jack o' Lantern Mail

Envelope Project - I am....Dracula. I Bid You Welcome

It doesn't look quite like Bela Lugosi.  Not as much as I would have liked.  Still, you get the idea.

Here's the second envelope for the day.  I'm getting in a definite Halloween mood, to be sure.

Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, despite the stageplay-ness and the hammy acting of everyone involved (not just Lugosi) remains one of my favorite films.  I watch it any time it is on, any time I get the opportunity.  Give me Lugosi's Dracula over Gary Oldman's interpretation any day.  Lugosi is the person most identified with the role of Count Dracula, even though he only played the role in two films   (Dracula (1931) and Abbott and Costello meets Frankenstein)  Lugosi's interpretation of the role is now a cultural icon.  I mean seriously, when someone says Dracula, do you really think of Gary Oldman or worse, Gerard Butler?  I didn't think so.

Then again, I'm also a big fan of Christopher Lee's Dracula movies, although each one is a little sillier than the one before...

Happy Halloween!

The Envelope Project Has Risen from the Grave!!

Well, the Envelope Project wasn't dead, it was only sleeping for a bit.  I had just ran out of steam on it, ran out of ideas.  I only have 30 more envelopes to draw and mail out.  One final push and when I'm finished I can finally put the Project to rest.

And it's almost Halloween!  My favorite time of the year....

While I am not saying to expect every envelope I do this month to be Halloween related, do expect there to be a lot of them.  I have always loved to draw monsters.  Trust me, it got me in trouble in school because I was drawing monsters instead of listening...

So here is my best attempt at Boris Karloff's version on the Frankenstein's Monster.  He is, next to Bela Lugosi's Dracula, one of the most instantly recognized images in the country, if not the world.

And yes, he was green.  You couldn't see that because the film was, of course, in black and white.  But the make-up that was used was indeed and gray-green.

Happy Halloween, all....

Marvin's Sneakers

My brother Marvin was a big follower of Hermes.  You know, messenger of the Gods, father of Pan.  He half-jokingly referred to Hermes as his personal savior.

So, this one is (more than usual) inspired by my brother, Marvin(1952-2003).