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I've been packing art lately rather than making it, since I had two shows this past weekend, and my Open Studio Sale is Dec. 1-2. I'm looking forward to getting back to making art again after this mad rush, but I'm also deeply grateful to the folks who show up to buy local art for holiday presents instead of choosing large manufacturers and mail order. Y'all make it possible for a bunch of us to do what we love and create a little beauty for the world, and I'm so grateful.
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Here's the second new holiday card this season. See the last post for my owl one. I figured the world could use a little more kindness, affection, and, if we're all very lucky, kissing. A small push for greater happiness.
This is a handcarved linoleum block paired with wood type. I can put them on the press locked into a single chase. I build wood pieces around them, called furniture, that are a little bit shorter than the block or letters (so the ink won't hit them and print them as well). I tighten it all down with "quoins", metal bars along the sides that expand as you use a small wrench in the holes to open them out a bit. Then the whole thing can be vertical in the press without dropping pieces everywhere. See the last post (again) for a video of the press in action.
This is a handcarved linoleum block paired with wood type. I can put them on the press locked into a single chase. I build wood pieces around them, called furniture, that are a little bit shorter than the block or letters (so the ink won't hit them and print them as well). I tighten it all down with "quoins", metal bars along the sides that expand as you use a small wrench in the holes to open them out a bit. Then the whole thing can be vertical in the press without dropping pieces everywhere. See the last post (again) for a video of the press in action.
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I had a big printing day yesterday. I hit a personal best with about 1000 cards printed on a heavy, turn-of-the-last-century, treadle operated press. It’s good exercise for me, and I ended up with 600 postcard invitations for my upcoming Open Studio Sale (December 1st and 2nd), plus a bunch of new note cards for the sales. I based this owl on a baby rescued barred owl I got to meet a few years ago on his way to a wildlife rescue group. He was adorable.
Here’s a video of the press running. I love the majestic way it orbits and works so quietly. It’s such a pleasure to use.
Here’s a video of the press running. I love the majestic way it orbits and works so quietly. It’s such a pleasure to use.
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After the SCBWI (kidlit group) conference in Nashville back in September, I got seriously back to work on the Mr. Darcy picture book. I've changed it a lot. It's no longer his Odyssey across the country but the story of his getting a home as a rescue dog. I also got excited about board books and created a counting book based on a walk we had this past summer where we saw one deer, two snails, etc.
The protocol for submitting a children's book is to make dummy books (handsewn with many rough sketches and a few color pieces to show what finished art would look like) and send them off in the mail. Art editors don't want a fully finished book because they'd like to collaborate a little and feel as though there is space to make changes. I took a moonshot today and submitted both dummies to Candlewick, my dream press. They were at the conference, so I was allowed to do that (as an attendee) without first finding an agent.
Above is an out take, one of the rough sketches in pencil and water soluble graphite. Below are the two dummy books about to get packed up to go. Fingers crossed. This is a whole new, highly competitive world, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The protocol for submitting a children's book is to make dummy books (handsewn with many rough sketches and a few color pieces to show what finished art would look like) and send them off in the mail. Art editors don't want a fully finished book because they'd like to collaborate a little and feel as though there is space to make changes. I took a moonshot today and submitted both dummies to Candlewick, my dream press. They were at the conference, so I was allowed to do that (as an attendee) without first finding an agent.
Above is an out take, one of the rough sketches in pencil and water soluble graphite. Below are the two dummy books about to get packed up to go. Fingers crossed. This is a whole new, highly competitive world, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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I went to see Macbeth last night in the Tennessee Shakespeare Company's new, permanent home. It was powerful. I'd been once before, and it was so visually alluring that I went back a second time to sketch. I sat on the front row and just went to town. They're a great, really professional company, and Memphis is so lucky to have them. I can't wait for As You Like It next month.
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I'm pleased to announce my holiday shows this coming season. I always have my own Open Studio, which will be with Melissa Bridgman again. I love spending the weekend with her and her gorgeous pottery. (Something always stays with me when she leaves. I'll be back at Tsunami again for their nicely curated, one day, manageable sized sale that I love. And this year, for the first time, I'll be joining MAC for five weeks at Crosstown Concourse. I've never done such a long show before, and I'll be curious to see how it goes with my stock. I'm excited to do a show at Crosstown, though, and it's a neat group, so here's to new things!
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Even though I'm primarily a painter/printmaker, I listen to a lot of writing podcasts. They translate well into a verbal medium, deal with creativity, and teach me some the publishing industry as I'm working on my Mr. Darcy picture book. There's a bit of talk about "morning pages," the early morning writing you do for yourself, not part of your regular work, just to loosen up in the mornings. This week I've been doing the sketcher version of that, drawing my morning tea.
It's been a week of some drawing, but mostly fiddly computer work, as I scan in drawings and text and assemble them in photoshop as pages for my book. I've wanted to have some bit of actual creative, painterly fun in the midst of it, so this has been a good way to start my mornings lately. I'm always trying to balance the journal/blog/social media/printing and packaging time I spend against painting or carving time, so this may not be a good fit for me daily. Often I wake up with a painting just dying to push its way out, and all I want to do is dive in. Doing a daily anything can be constrictive for me creatively. But I do enjoy these meditative sketches, so I'm leaving a paint box out on the counter at my breakfast spot for now (one of many advantages to living by myself), and I'll see if I can be more mindful about sketching instead of just looking at a screen when I am having some down time at meals.
It's been a week of some drawing, but mostly fiddly computer work, as I scan in drawings and text and assemble them in photoshop as pages for my book. I've wanted to have some bit of actual creative, painterly fun in the midst of it, so this has been a good way to start my mornings lately. I'm always trying to balance the journal/blog/social media/printing and packaging time I spend against painting or carving time, so this may not be a good fit for me daily. Often I wake up with a painting just dying to push its way out, and all I want to do is dive in. Doing a daily anything can be constrictive for me creatively. But I do enjoy these meditative sketches, so I'm leaving a paint box out on the counter at my breakfast spot for now (one of many advantages to living by myself), and I'll see if I can be more mindful about sketching instead of just looking at a screen when I am having some down time at meals.
