Sticks, Stones, and Paper Stew Blog

Is he done yet?

The border collie named Rogue has been in the works for a year now and I’m happy to report he’s almost done!

He’s certainly come a long way in the past couple of weeks. Today’s state proof is close to completion. Part of me is wanting to pop out a bit more white on his closer leg and to clean up stray bits on his face. Right now I need to clean up the workspace and block before the cat comes back downstairs. Oil-based ink and cats don’t mix!

It would be kind of fun to chine-colle the ball… For those of you who don’t know what that process is, it’s basically a way to add an additional piece of colored paper into the print during the printing process. It’s also been fun to stamp color using a stencil.

We shall see where the muse takes me! 🙂

Rogue Progress

It’s sunny and over 60 degrees Fahrenheit and I’m inside working on a print. Hmm, somethings wrong here! Anyway, Rogue has been waiting for so long to get attention and today is his day!

I used Daniel Smith black water soluble ink to proof it. The stuff dries way too quickly and doesn’t even like to let go of the block with soap and water. What a pain. Think it’s time to find a different water soluble brand. The red ball was colored using a stencil.

More to resolve before it’s finished!

Zeek Progress

With illness abated and energy levels rising, I’m finally starting to focus on printmaking again. Zeek received a little attention today and proofed in black ink. I’m slowly sneaking up on his nose because it’s one area I feel less confident. Nose texture is so different than hair! The teeth, tongue and gums are also zones filled with trepidation, but I’ll keep moving forward. Slowly he’s emerging. I just hope to keep his character shining through all the hair.

Sunday afternoon I sat down and calculated numbers, including matting and framing requirements.

Goal for show: 12 images

Finished prints: 6 images. In-process: 3 (2 block, 1 screen).

That leaves 3 more from concept to finish before mid April, plus completion of the in process. Still need to do an artist statement very soon. Never my favorite thing, but at least this subject is close to my heart and pretty straight forward.

🙂

Starting Zeek

Dog Block print#5.

Oh, my dear fuzzy friend Zeek. He’s become quite a lovely Labradoodle as he’s grown up. His big brother Reggie was my second attempt at doggie block prints. Now it’s time for this curly guy. The image was taken last fall during my dad’s wake.

Working from the photo, I transferred the important landmarks (eyes, nose, teeth).

Starting the carving and testing the image.

checking progress…

He’s looking so serious! Probably the change of hair over his eyes.

Finished image will be 5″x 7″

Screen Woes

I feel like I’ve stacked the deck for failure with this print by incorporating way too many variables. First, I chose to use a different screen and registration system. Both of which are yielding enormous headaches on their own. Then I chose an image with multiple value changes. Not a horrible thing, but certainly more challenging for registration. Next issue is the use of older inks and extenders. Hmmm, that is proving to be a really bad thing. Maybe this will become an image that reads great from a distance, but looks like crap close up!

This is color 4 on straight computer paper. Not terrible, paper wrinkled during drying process, but the ink was grabbed by the paper texture.

When it is applied to the working print, the ink fails to adhere and 90% of the image looks bad.

So, what’s happening? The ink doesn’t want to release from the screen. It has kind of an alligator crackle appearance when you look at it closely. Maybe it’s all to do with the extender being too old. It certainly doesn’t flow well at all! I think it’s time to visit the art shop. I have to make a trip to Eugene anyway…. Might as well stop by Oregon Art supply and see what they have.

Following a path

How did I get here with my art? I never imagined creating pet portraits of friends and family dogs for a show (and being paired with a painter of space aliens? That’s an interesting twist if I ever get all my dogs done!). Blame could be allocated to an art friend Judith Sander, who encouraged pursuing this line of printmaking during a mutual friends birthday, along with many others since then. For the party I happened to create a little image of a terrier slightly resembling one the birthday boy had just lost (due to age). Most likely this adventure is due to living with dogs for 20 years. They start to rub off on you. Maybe this is what normal artists do, find a subject and explore it. In some ways, I guess I’ve been doing this all along but not paying a bit of attention. Apparently this path needs to be followed until it branches or hits a dead end. It has a way of stretching my brain in different ways and pulling at a desire to work with color. You can click on the Prints section in the overhead bar to see some of the images thus far, but not all are up. They are coming slowly amongst the layers of life.

And now another dog has slipped into the works. Duke, the faithful companion of my friend Pam, passed away over a week ago. He was everything to her.

Looks like a worthy subject for another print. I love all his color markings. Not certain what technique to apply. After Pam saw the recent” Counter Surfer” image, she requested Duke in color. Possibly another screen print on the way. I think I can manage that as long as it’s not a painting. *sigh* the shoes for my niece are still in the works…. a painful process that I will eventually get through… and possibly post photos of.

😀

Sunday colors

I got a break from dog walking/care today. My husband took Moby out for a huge walk at Peavy. Sunshine and beautiful blue sky, though it’s not super warm. This break allowed me to stay home and work through a few colors on the next screen print. Not feeling the love on color 3, but things can change around. It is Oscar night and we have been talking about watching a bit, but I might take the opportunity to get in one more inky round before Monday hell sets in. Homemade gluten free pizza in the works plus cider = Yum!

Here are the colors applied today.

The subtle change to color 3…

New print start

Finally, a new print started! Below is a photo of the white screen with the initial dose of screen filler.

Voila! Color!

The first color down and it’s certainly peachy. We shall see how the colors shift in this image (I’m not certain at the moment which is the fun part). You can probably tell from the initial highlights that it’s yet another Moby print. He was sleeping on one of our living room chairs with the winter sunlight streaming in on him. Makes me warm just thinking about it. Especially since our weather has shifted back to grey, windy and rainy!

Paper is BFK Rives

First entry of the year

The Umpqua Valley Art Association, located in Roseburg, placed their annual call to artists. After a week of deliberation I decided to enter. Today, being the final entry day (must be postmarked with this date), I pulled out a couple of sculptural images with potential. I would love to enter the leaf coat but it was created too many years ago. Most galleries are wanting work no older than 2 years. So I reformatted and labeled 3 images: 2 created for the Art About Agriculture show back in 2011, and the odd ball recent Moby print. Probably should have just sent the 2 sculptures but I couldn’t resist adding the print. I’m paying to submit up to 3 works, so what the heck! The gallery/arts center had a very easy online entry. No pain what so ever and it allowed me to avoid going to the post office! Hurray!

This year I’m hoping to enter more juried shows. Little Corvallis sees enough of my work. Now it’s time for other cities and people to get their chance… if I get accepted! The juror is a Portland gallery curator.

Now I can forget all about it!

Saturday I’ll drop off a work (the Rivers test piece below) into the Corvallis Arts Center for their annual “Howland Community Open”. Always fun! Noon to 4pm entry.

🙂

Changing screens

Today, I took a break from dealing with the estate to do another chore holding up the next print. Screen prep! My father left behind many frames for screen printing. Most are empty, some have one system for holding screens in place, others have the revised method. Four screens still have images of his work , which will remain so I can utilize them for family projects. Those 4 screens all have hinge hardware set in place (hardware I can’t get additional of due to their age). I love the hinge system and have used it for years but the new screens lack hinges. Fortunately, there is a way around this! Amongst the piles in the studio, a pair of Speedball screen clamps have resided for many years, untouched! They are finally getting a chance to be USED! Below are some images of the new approach. I’ll let you know how it works.

Those extra scraps of mat board can come in handy!

I had to change screen direction in order to fit my squeegee. Another plus for using the clamps!

Below: How I register my colors. Use tape to create guides!

Close-up of tape.

Why have I switched screens? Mainly due to the fact the beautiful yellow 200 thread count screens are not washing out well anymore. There are horrible photo emulsion remnants from school projects and I’m experiencing problems removing regular screen filler. This is probably due to the fact my sprayer is wimpy and not providing enough “oomph” to get the job done.

You might be wondering why my dad created so many screen frames? I probably have about 20+ in various stages. He and I were going into production of coastal images to sell. The plan was to have him join the Yachats Art Guild so we would have an “in” when they did their sales. There was also the option of signing up for a booth during the Sunday Farmers market (full season commitment). We were always hatching collaborative art ideas. Too bad it didn’t take off on my side. I should have realized that was something really important for him. Death certainly ends the collaboration. *sigh*

Another dog print will start soon! 🙂