Christmas Story

Oh, dear! It is Christmas Eve!
I've done NOTHING but draw for money$, which is good...
BUT, also good
was bringing the Rooster back from a hopeful adaption,
thinking he would have a better life elsewhere.

A high end coop with gorgeous chickens didn't interest him.
Nor did the company of alpacas at the far end of the field.

Two weeks...he made no friends,
refused to roost in the coop or trees.
Sooner or later he'd be eaten by coyotes who would find him sleeping alone in the fields.

I slipped his harness on, and we got into the car.

He let me know he was happy to be under my arm as we drove home...
he carefully preened the hair that stuck out my hat.

We'll share a pomegranate for Christmas.

December arting

I've been busy.

The RocketRing Grant Blogging is taking a break
due to a big project
I'll tell you about in 2013!

There are new CaffeinatedTrout T-shirts at CrossRoads CoffeeHouse in Cross Plains,
AND ARE new mugs available in time for the holidays...or just have for sipping,
If you want one...or more,
contact Mary, who IS CrossRoads Coffeehouse,
or Leslie, who is her wonderful right hand sidekick!

Two very strong body building friends of a very lovely body building friend of mine moved my etching press into my studio!

I'll post more about this 

once it's squared up and working fine again.

And THEN!
At the Middleton HighSchool Gallery 2000,
I've got a little show....
Not having a lot of time to pull it together properly, it's a little loose around the edges,
but I've hung a few ladies, some of the Religionator's world, some chasing/repousse.

Gallery and Contact information

The Gallery 2000 is open to the public Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM -3:30 PM, 

Tuesday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 

or by appointment. 

Please call email Robin Kourakis rkourakis@mcpasd.k12.wi.us to schedule an appointment.

Letterpress NOTEBOOKS!

I'm assembling the notebooks

inbetween my efforts to ready for the Fall Art Tour

which starts TOMORROW!.

The 3-4 weeks of nasty poison ivy set me WAY back.

BUT! I'm busy getting done what I wanted to get done,

and will be STILL getting things done, and demonstrating HOW 

all this weekend during the Fall Art Tour...

the notebooks, the linoleum block carving, the rocket rings,

the whiteline woodblock printmaking...

and then I discovered how to make those frames out of aluminum flashing,

and a little while ago I figured a great way to make card hangers of simple wire....

it doesn't stop

I can't help it

I art.

Thank-you! Flying Rabbit Press for helping me with the printing,

teaching me about presentation, and assembly, and simply taking care of me

because I tend to jump into projects without considering all the supporting factors.

Thank-you1 Mark of Spring Printing in Spring Green, Wisconsin 

for the stapler instructions

Thank-you! Mary D'Alton & Eric Ferguson of Convivio

for the encouragement to LetterPress.

Letterpress and Wedding Invitations

I was fortunate being asked to cut woodblocks for a wedding invitation

which would be printed by LetterPress, something new for me.

Chefs, with an organic farm, and an excellent catering business

told me a little about themselves and what they wanted, 
complete with notes.

A couple weeks later, I showed them my drawings of what they had in mind,

and then I showed them what I couldn't get out of mine.

The Dish runs away with the Spoon!

So,the largest block is cut into Cherry Wood,

which I will give to them as soon as I make a small copper plaque.

 

All letterpress printing was done at Archive Press in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
I did the postage stamp also, which I'll post as soon as I find them.
The happy couple on the water glasses was just a wonderful touch.
E. & J...you are responsible for my new interest in letterpress block cutting.  
Thank-you. This was fun.

Art at CrossRoads

CrossRoads Coffeehouse has another fine show which includes one of the proofed prints off a block that is becoming a letterpressed card:

This show is actually the reason I got involved in making the frames.

Aluminum Frames

In trying to make some kind of order of this place for the Fall Art Tour, (I'm Artist # 19)
I uncovered these clay tiles that keep floating about.


I couldn't help myself.
I had to find out if I could make frames for them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Oh! Oh! Oh!! Oh,my!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Framed artist proofs for Fall Art Tour

The Fall Art Tour is October 18th, 19th, and 20th.

I'm #19.

On the left:
The Honey Bee is one of a limited number of artist proofs.

On the right:
The Religionator is one of three hand colored drypoint variations.

Below are a couple artist proofs of a bicycle block I cut as an experiment.
\

Fall Art Tour . . . 2013

Fall Art Tour!
October 18, 19, 20...2013 and coming up fast.
I'm #19!

Right now, today, this drawing table is the scene of linoleum block proof printing,
the making of frames for some of these prints,
the drawing up of my Grant winning Rocket Ring project,
and my favorite place for whiteline woodblock printing.

I cut blocks for letterpressed Wedding Invitations and all the collateral pieces
which peaked my interest in this printing process,
so I kept cutting, which will result in some small notebooks, and cards....
just to see what they would look like.
You'll see them too,
and the wedding invitation set...
and their similarity to White Line woodblock printmaking...
and how it all fits together for me.



The nine Red Herrings will all be present in force
and are ready for new homes,
along with some arting I rarely get out, but know it's time to move on, so I'll grit my teeth and release them.

I'm still determined to get the entire studio concrete floor stained, but for the moment I'm preoccupied with other curiosities.

Printmaking Show at Plymouth Arts Center

I am one of 24 printmakers in the:

Plymouth Arts Center
Total Print Show,
October 4-November 29th, 2013
Plymouth, Wisconsin.
 
This looks to be a strong show
with FOUR of my prints:
My whiteline prints "I live here", and "Mill Creek",
along with...
"the Religionator" and "Some Mice are not Meek"...these two I'll find and post for you...
will be up THERE for the Fall Art Tour.

I might be able to have a second print of the latest one completed by that weekend.

Learning Letterpress

SO, I've been cutting on linoleum blocks lately.
After Cherry wood, it feels like I'm cutting into old chewing gum.
I made a couple prints last night just to see if what I've been cutting will actually print.
The FRAMED Trout is now at CrossRoads CoffeeHouse
and the notebooks and cards will be done by Fall Art Tour time. 
The Bicycle one is a tester, just to see if I could.
A larger block of MORE bicycles which I tried to get done for the DairylandDare
has three other blocks cut for color.
I made a few prints with my woodblock ink.
I like printing wood better, but it will be interesting to see how these print on a letterpress.
Stay tuned.
More later.

Vote for Project 5 for Crafthaus Grant!

HI! 

I and 7 others have applied for this grant.

The voting is public,

but would only want you to vote for what you think is most worthy.

So, take a look.

There is a wide range.

I'm one of the more selfish applicants,

but, definitely think my RocketRings very worthy,

although my writing is probably the most ungrant-like of the bunch.

Thanks...

Linda

(THIS is a link that goes directly to my RocketRings, Project #5)

 

The 2013 crafthaus Project Grant is now open for your vote!

7 diverse projects are in the running. Support your favorite project by voting for it. Everybody has 1 (one) vote.

If your project wins it will get fully funded and the crafthaus member will reciprocate by blogging about the experience on crafthaus for you to follow along.

CLICK HERE for this year's lineup.

Voting is PUBLIC - no membership required - and possible from September 3-18, 2013 (6PM EST)

OK, in answer to a few questions,since a few people couldn't find mine,

 HERE is a link that will go directly to my Project #5, the RocketRings

Whiteline prints after teaching a class of whiteline printmaking

There was something about teaching that whiteline class

that got me working a little differently on my own blocks...

it's good.

 I like to leave the completed print on the block until the next morning,
when I wake up, with a coffee...and take a new look at it.
It's always a nice surprize to see it there....needing nothing more from me.
And then when it's flattened....
OH, my...it's  like some magical transition into something else...
it really stands on it's own...
and this one's really nice.
12.5" x 14" wide...Mill Creek at Coon Rock Road.....where the LongHorns Weren't



8.5" wide x 6' tall ................................A LongHorn

7" wide x 9.5 " tall...........KnotRat

the Peninsula School WhiteLine Woodblock Printmaking Workshop

I got so involved in this Peninsula School of Art workshop...

we really got moving, covering a lot of ground...

I  never thought about documenting the step by step

so I could later say, "here, look...this is what we did."

Well, I got some to show a little bit...

mostly, I was amazed at what we accomplished...

and what all I learned from them...

which was the real surprize.

Here they are" Joan, Anne, Sue, Anne,Donna & Donna.

Peninsula classrooms are simply great.

 

Joan had done more linoleum cutting than wood, so the pine I brought was like cutting through butter.

I wish I had the presence of mind to photograph of ALL the final prints everyone did.
Once they were all flattened, they took on a real presence....
yeh, wish I could have slowed me down...
get me arting, and I fire up, tending to forget some of the non-arting things that I should be doing.

Donna did a great duck besides this landscape:

Sue and Anne cut the same scene into earlier blocks...which of course I didn't take snaps of....

j

 

Donna was fearless.

I wish I got a picture of Anne's last block,
on the large pine I brought....
complex....we ran out of time,
so she would be completing it on her own.
It's going to be a wonderful piece.
Anne has official Japanese woodblock printmaking under her belt, so it was interesting to see how she took to this process.
(I was envious of her working orderlines)



OH...and on the last day, Joan saw to it that we got to have a Cherry Pie.....geez.......

Yes...me.  
This was great.  
I want to do it again.  

Thanks, Anne, Anne, Donna, Donna, Joan, and Susan...you were a great class.
You really got a lot done...I think you learned a lot.
You caught on well,  you kept your knives sharp....your prints were wonderful.
 I hope you print those blocks again...and keep going.  
Cut and print another....you felt that thrill that grows as the print develops...............
it gets better.  
Keep me posted!