April 3rd update

Pencil and paper 

and watercolor and crayons 

and aluminum and copper

and ink on wood 

printed on Double-sided Gampi from TALAS.

Early Man

Early Man

This 18.5 x 14.25" print

 is printed by hand onto 20.5" x 17" Kitakata paper. 

It's a tight fit onto the paper, but it does fit well. 

Not a fan of matting, because it many times reminds me of too tight underwear, 

I would float this. 

It is the first of 12 that I've got lined up to keep me out of trouble.

Out of the Woods... Contemporary Woodblock Prints Show

I'm just back from teaching WhiteLine Woodblock Printing 
at the Peninsula School of Art...
I'll post pictures from that later.

Their "Out of the Woods" 

Contemporary Woodblock Prints show is up!

August 22 through October  18, 2014

Kay McKinley, their gallery director did a terrific job of showing the wide range of wood printing 

through work of 

Mary Azarian, 

Betsy Bowen, 

Charles Woodruff Coates, 

Ellen Heck, 

Emily Hoisington, 

Carl Homstad, 

Brian McCormick, 

Andrea Rich, 

Nick Wroblewski, 

me, Linda Kelen , (also my blog of woodprints only)

and Richard Steiner, who will be there in person Sept 5-10, lecturing on the 9th.
I took photos, 

but the Peninsula School of Art link is great and ready right now!

And THEN....

On September 20th

In conjunction with the Guenzel Gallery exhibition, Out of the Woods, 

join us for a free print fair with participating artist Linda Kelen 

and create a small woodblock print. 

All materials provided.

Linda Kelen Teaching at Peninsula School of Art

I've got so much going on,

I forgot to post about the WhiteLine Woodblock Printmaking Class I'm teaching this summer!

These are WhiteLine Woodblock prints:

The one thing I just love about whiteline prints is that no two can be exactly the same.

I'm going to try to be armed with multiple prints from a few select blocks. 

Print #2 of Mill Creek at Coon Rock Road is about done now. 

Paper is too wet for me to continue, 

so I snapped the photo with my cell phone to show you.

Here's Print #2 of Mill Creek at Coon Rock Road, 

fresh off the block.

(I'll do my homework here, and get more of these prints up for you.

Can't believe I've not posted more of them!)

 This is the third print from this block

and there will be two more, one of which is already sold.

 It's done, but I like to remove prints from their blocks 
first thing in the mornings.

Yes. 
I started a blog about this, 
specifically to post the prints,
but somehow got teetered off into printing, painting, or whatever else it is that demands my attention.
(I'll make a point of loading the site with more up to date work)
I've been posting some in one of my FaceBook albums, which you can visit in the mean time.

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

Fall Art Tour, Spring Green, Wisconsin

This year I seemed to have turned into the General Contractor for my new studio.

It will be down the road a bit, and on the other side of the hill...

that's where you'll all be going for the 2012 Fall Art Tour.

This year's Tour will also probably be the last year in this studio, which is really sad.

It has been my home and safe place for so many years...

but, I have outgrown it.

The etching press might stay for a while,

and maybe I'll use the space for something special.

As more and more of my time seems to be eatten by this new studio,

I have simplified my arting goals to simply trying to complete the second print

off the "I live here" white-line wood block.

(The first print sold in my show at the Anaba Tea Room show last November.)

If all goes right, I'll be able to get it photographed and have prints on hand,

as well as prints of the one in the photo above.

I'm also aiming for half-sized prints of the "40 days and 40 nights" woodprints.

"I live here", artist print #2, in progess.

If all goes right.....

If not, prints WILL be available a little later.
Those who ask will be notified first,
and finally I will have something official to sell through my Etsy site.
This Fall Art Tour, I will be demonstrating how I do this White-Line woodblock printing.
I'll be pulling out a lot of arting that I've had packed away on purpose...
the original "40 days and 40 nights" woodprints will be on display,
and whatever else I can manage to pull out will be out.

Framed White-Line Print

I'm back to making my own frames.

This is of Red Oak, which grows here in Southwest Wisconsin

measuring 11.75" wide, 15.75" high, and is .75" thick.

That's the second print off the Patron Saint of Shrews woodblock,

printed on handmade Japanese Gampi paper.

White-Line woodblock prints II

Needing a block of wood to begin cutting the next in the 40 Day and 40 Night series,
I took a break and printed these:(coffee)

(Crooner)

First white-line woodblock prints

Complications prevented me from taking the printing workshop with Paul Yank in Cedarburg,
so now's time to give white-line woodblock printing another go.

6"x11", cut into Shina Plywood, printed on Kizuki Hanga (left), Nishinouchi (right), with watercolors.

4.5"x7" the Patron Saint of Shrews

LEFT: Print #1, on Kizuki Hanga (sold) RIGHT: Print #2, on Gampi (showing at WomanMadeGallery, July 9-August 26, 2010)

This is the one I just completed. I have to photograph the print, scanning just isn't working.

At least you can see where it's going.

Electric Company, print #1....Printed on Kizuki Hanga paper.

SOUP is about the same size as the Patron SaintThis is print #1.

This is MeMe...2.25"x7" image on Gampi small experiment...needed to try something.7.5"x8.5" ..... Bird Dog...print#1

Woodblock proof, work in progress

I am finally doing the last bit of cutting on this block.
I've cut more since this proof..................
I need to print again to see where I'm at.

The idea of having to clean up after proofing was too much for me yesterday...
so I slapped on the snow shoes and took off for the afternoon.

Perserverance and the WoodBlock Print

It was a couple years ago, right after I attended a Japanese Printmaking "bootcamp"
that Gravity finally got the better of the architecture which carries me about....
rudely interrupting an intense arting wave I was riding.

A year later, a tendon traffic jam forced the Right hand to retire....
not expected to be re-activated until this month...

I won't accept NO arting....
so the Left was drafted..

Early this year I started pushing things...
between the exercises for my back...
and those for my wrist...
I opened my notes,
and began "bootcamp" again...
spending the good part of this year
working on that tricky balance between water, paper, rice paste and color....

I'm floored by what I'm looking at...

color quality that can only be achieved by woodblocks printing watercolor on paper.

There's no way to repair a bad print....
I've tried...

there 's no short-cut to a good print,
except by printing...printing...printing...printing...printing...printing...printing....printing....

OK...I can cut wood....
and yeh, I could get a print from that wood....
but, it was a so-what result....
I wanted more....
I wanted thrill and carbonation I know I get from arting....
I know it's there...it has to be...
or this process could not have lasted all these years.
The first time I got it right...
that first time I knew I was printing well enough...consistantly...
to maybe get a head nod from my instructor of 2 years ago....
..HA!....I was carbonated.
Now...I'm hooked....
this whole process is so intensely addictive....for me...

It's probably the most difficult thing I've ever attempted...

it will be years before I can say I'm good at this.....
but, it's the challenge...
...I love the challenge....

Some FallArtTour visitors might think I've changed directions a bit....
it's only me picking up where I left off two years ago....
when LittleEve was next....

well....
LittleEve needs one more color....
one more printing...
and then I move on to the next one.

QuadruPedal...the event

If you are planning on riding the 35, 55, 86, or God forbid, the 100 mile QuadruPedal Century on May 6th, AND
you want to receive this year's special T-shirt designed by artist Linda Kelen (me)

http://www.absolutearts.com/kelen/ ,

we need to have your electronic or paper registration in our hands by next Wednesday (that's when we place our T-shirt order).

I think it's now too late...but you can give it a try....


To register online: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1420256

To register the old fashioned way (print and send) : http://www.ichs.net/quadrupedal2007signup.pdf


Remember that all proceeds go to support the Iowa County Humane Society
Please consider joining us in the cause.

Would you like to help us promote this event? Please consider printing our poster and pinning it up at your work or gym: http://www.dairylanddare.com/dld2007/ICHSposter_ver2.pdf

Ride on,

-Stew