'Merry Christmas'

Original hand pulled Lino print

Dec 19, 2010

Approx 5" x 7"

White Sulphite paper

Edition of 10

Not for sale

The semester is over and I find myself with free time for a change. It's always a bit intimidating getting back into my artistic endeavors because it is so dang hard to stop afterward! I very much enjoyed creating this piece and will hopefully have something else to show before Spring 2011 semester starts. This print was created as a Christmas card on its way to a few lucky friends and family. The metallic silver calligraphy and accents on the tree are hard to see in this scan but it says Merry Christmas.

We're expecting our first (a little girl!) next spring so I'm working on some ideas for the nursery :) Merry Christmas to you all, thanks for all who visit and support even when my posting is sporadic at best. May we all remember who we celebrate at this time of the year, He lives!

My second print

Today I printed an edition of 15 of my latest linocut. A few nights ago I planned it, the next day I sketched out ideas until I was satisfied, then I transferred it to the linoleum block in reverse and started carving. The carving takes quite a while but I quite enjoy it. For my first block (golf club) I just wanted to get to the printing so I rushed through the carving. This time I went slow and found that the carving is just about as good as the inking and pulling. Then I pulled a few proofs and made the necessary adjustments last night. Today came the hard work of printing but I'm happy to report that the result is exactly what I was going for. Nothing was lost in the transition from idea to sketch to block to print- in fact much was gained. I realize that the process is probably a mystery to some of you, it sure was to me a few weeks ago! So for my next print I'm going to record each step for a tutorial :) The subject is a South American cowboy drinking the national Argentine drink yerba mate.

El Gaucho con su mate' / The cowboy with his mate'

Image approximately 5"x7"

Black water based ink on white sulphite paper

Available for $10 plus $2 shipping

Exploring other media...

I have a new obsession. For the last couple weeks I've been doing a lot of research on printmaking, specifically woodblock and linocut prints. My artistic passion was ignited and I knew I had to try my hand at it. The catalyst was a little homemade face stamp I carved into an eraser last year-

I have also always been an admirer of chinese and japanese woodblock prints. So for my first foray into this ancient art I planned a linoleum print for a hand made Father's Day card. From the carving, inking, pressing, and hand pulling the print- I was hooked. The whole process is very tactile and rewarding. I love all the little irregularities and personality in each print. I loved making my first print and I'm already planning dozens more.