Carving Goldwell blocks these days

While I was at my residency last October at the Goldwell Open Air Museum, I fell back to my old habit of taking a bunch of "sketch blocks" with me on daily walks.

Here are some of them. I favor Sharpie markers as my sketching weapon. No room for mistakes that way which makes me capture things in a very spontaneous and direct manner.

I made quite a few of these and plan to print them as sketches and bind them as a coloring book.

Here are some progress pictures of the smaller of the two East blocks. This one is the Red Barn as seen from the East.

One down, seven to go! Oh yeah, and all the little ones...

Keeping in touch with collectors!

My two cents on marketing...

When I first started this crazy "business" I sent everyone that collected my artwork a thank you card, a Christmas card, and a quarterly printed newsletter. Marketing is a full-time job; making art is a full-time job; selling art is a full-time job. Who can keep up! (Besides Annie Bisset and David Bull, that is, my heroes!).

Anyhow, here we are a few years later...my little customer list grew and grew! Where I began with about 100 faithful followers, I now have around 2100 in my database. What to do?
First thing I did was start to "clean it up" so every year I drop a few that have gone silent. I drop bounces and returned cards as I don't want to waste precious marketing pennies and I'm sure my customers don't want to be bothered again and again after they are no longer in touch.

Still keeping up with the thank you cards for every purchase at festivals. NOT even close keeping up with Christmas cards or printed newsletters; the Christmas "card" and the neatly printed newsletter have metamorphosed into:

- An email Christmas greeting.

- An email newsletter, I call it 1000 Woodcuts Updates and am pretty faithful about sending about 2-6 a year depending on how busy I am and how much I have that is really "news". Here is a sample: http://1000woodcuts.com/1000woodcuts/updates/updateindex.html

- This blog, which is a Blogger blog but kept archived in my own website just in case. Every artist should have one (did I just say that?).

- My own website, of course. Actually, two websites, one for me and one for my Art Festival Guide http://artfestivalguide.info
They take a bit of work to keep updated, but the "building" is the hard part. I would like to have more Studio Notes for all the artist friends out there, but they will come in due time.

- Pages in Facebook, Inkteraction, eBay ME page, Etsy Shop, AbsoluteArts, and every once in a while I find one that I had forgotten and is in horrible need of an update. Now that I can update Facebook from my iPhone I might keep up a little better there.

- I also belong but rarely log on to WetCanvas, various online printmaking groups, various online art festival groups, the National Association for Independent Artists, the Nevada Arts Council...I'm getting a headache...

Every little bit helps and the world wide web has really changed the way us lowly artists can market themselves to a global audience. Keeping up with it all is the problem!

This year I'm going to surprise my collectors by sending them all a printed newsletter again. The printed physical piece has become so rare in these days that I always welcome post-cards and letters from people I want to follow in their art adventures.

What a wacky career we have chosen...

Workshop at Goldwell Encore!

Once more I'm dragging a few unsuspecting souls out into the quiet of the desert for another workshop with all proceeds to benefit the Goldwell Open Air Museum http://www.goldwellmuseum.org/

In addition to joining their Board of Directors I have been ordained their Workshop Director? Organizer? Anyway, I will be recruiting instructors and attempting to put together a program of workshops and demonstrations.

The Red Barn Art Center is ideal for workshops because of its remote location. Participants can work in a great setting without distractions and the desert has a way of making us focus on what's important: ART!

For starters, here is the information on mine:

Intermediate Woodcut Printmaking Workshopwith Maria Arango
February 20-22, 2009, Red Barn Art Center Instructor: Maria Arango (2008 Artist-in-Residence)Members: $140 for both days Non-Members: $175 for both days Beatty Residents: $50 per dayAdditional studio time: $25 per day

Woodcut printmaking is a very simple and rewarding process. An image is drawn on a block of wood (or linoleum). The areas that are not part of the image are cut out, leaving the image in relief. Ink is rolled onto the block, paper is placed on the inked block, and pressure is applied to the back of the paper. When the paper is lifted the image is transferred, transformed by the cutting, fresh and beautiful.

This workshop will cover the essentials of relief printmaking and introduce more advanced techniques. Instructor will demonstrate various techniques to achieve multi-color woodcuts, including puzzle woodcuts, reduction woodcuts and multi-block woodcuts. Participants will be encouraged to complete a multi-color project during the workshop. Participants of every level can be accommodated. In the spirit of printmaking tradition, participants will create a minimum of one small edition in order to exchange prints with every other participant and walk away with a beautiful collection.

Two full days of dedicated instruction from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, on Saturday and Sunday.To reserve your space, send an email to goldwell@goldwellmuseum.org with the word WORKSHOP in the subject line.Lodging is available in nearby Beatty, lunch, a Friday night arrival dinner and all basic supplies will be provided. For more information call 702- 870-9946.

Goldwell Blocks Get Going

I can't believe it's been four months since my residency last October!

Anyhow, I managed some trench digging projects (ongoing) and other home things and now I'm beginning to carve the 8 Goldwell Blocks.

First cuts are always pretty cool; I'm using cherry plywood which shows the marks very well and allows me to see exactly what's going to happen in the print. Almost exactly.

Notice to the right of my block is my new favorite device for keeping tools handy: a magnetic tool organizer from either Rockler.com or Woodcraft.com, I forget which. Keeps all my carving tools handy, at eye level and off my working desk-- not that my working desk is clean at any time, but the tool holder helps.

The second picture is of my favorite helper. She makes me stand up by taking over my chair because she knows I carve so much better when standing (hmmm...)

Me in a tree...

Here is my latest attempt at moku-hanga, the traditional Japanese technique.

I actually had fun this time! I enjoyed working with transparent colors even though some need to be printed twice for my preferred saturation.

I used the Baren Mall's hanshita paper to transfer the key block to the color blocks, kento and all. Then a mixture of tube watercolors, raw pigment also from the Baren Mall and Akua suspension pigments for tinting.

All in all, a fun image to work with. I tried for "goma" on the tree blocks, but the truth is that I can't control it quite yet. No problems with registration, actually got 46+ good prints out of 48 pieces of New Hosho paper.

When I was a child I used to clim trees, mostly as an escape from the "cliques" and "groupies" that children form around each other. I was a bit of a loner...and a great tree climber! While I was printing with my Murasaki Baren (in dire need of a new skin) I got swept by the rhythm of the printing action and a poem came to me. My husband says it's sad but I didn't really see it that way.

Me in a tree
No one looks up
No one can find me
Or laugh at me

The gory details:

Holiday Greetings from Las Vegas?

How's this for a strange Las Vegas almost-Christmas??

Last time I saw snow like this was 1979. I used to ride a bike in those days, not for pleasure but as transportation. I believe that was the year I abandoned my road bike in favor of a mountain bike, more grip on them fat tires.

And now, a carol...

• 12 broken branches
• 11 flattenned oleanders
• 10 hours of snow
• 9 frozen palm trees
• 8 years a'coming
• 7 broken cacti
  
• 6 snowball fights
  
• 5 freaked out kitties
• 4 inches of sno-ow
• 3 snow angels
  
• 2 howling wolf-dogs
• 1 gorgeous sunset
• and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee

thank you, thank you very much...

Goldwell pages updated with photo albums

Updated my photo albums section in the Goldwell Open Air Museum Residency pages.

Next on the project is to continue to carve the blocks, make some prints and publish a book with photos, journal entries, woodcuts and even some poetry. I'm well into revising my first few pages and the template so I can begin the painful process of getting it all together.

Here are the recently updated links:

Projects Index page:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/projectsindex.html

Goldwell Index page:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/goldwell_residency/index.html

Photo Album:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/goldwell_residency/photos/index.html

And don't miss the Panoramas page:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/goldwell_residency/photos/panoramas.html

Enjoy!

Updated Latest Works

My latest creation: "Moonshadow" is done on black Arches paper, a cork color block and cherry line block.

Printing on black paper with opaque inks can be tricky because the opacity is different for each color. Obviously white prints best, but it also "eats" other colors and makes everything milky.

This time I chose to use pearl pigment in the inks to make the image glow and give opacity to the subtle colors wihout milk. Not that I'm against milk, but with breakfast, not on my prints. The pearl pigment makes the inks shimmer.

When the prints were drying in the studio, the image could be seen in the dark. I thought it was pretty cool to have a fluorescent moon lady (or a bunch of them) hanging in the studio. The cork once again traps some of the ink and spits it back out in darker lines and clumps, but this time I used lighter ink on the moon to let the black paper add some irregular shadows on the moon.

So there she is, "Moonshadow" in all her glory.

Goldwell Adventures Update and the Red Barn Art Center

The Goldwell Adventure has been partially uploaded. I uploaded pictures from the workshop which show off the interior of the Red Barn Art Center and me working away. Well, if you can call making art in eden "working".

I also uploaded pictures of the workshop, some of my faithful and fearless students, and their work. It was fun leading them into the world of the woodcut in such a great place.

Photo albums of the place itself are coming but there are about 1200 photos to go through and I get tired of sitting, click, click, click...so they will get there but in due time. Meanwhile, the view to the South is prominent in the Goldwell Project page, it's almost enchanting even in a small web size. Imagine the silence and the wind brushing gently against the creosote ocean...

A personal effort to stimulate the US economy (wink wink)?

Warning: shameless self-promotion follows...

Who says you can't find affordable great quality art to give for the Season?!
I just re-opened my ebay shop, in view of their new friendlier seller terms and lower selling fees. I haven't been doing festivals and hate to see thousands of prints in my drawers collecting dust.

I also tried my hand at an Etsy Shop and even made some sales. Different "animals" the Etsy Shop seems to attract mostly other Etsy users and perhaps some die-hard craft and/or hand-made by the artist lovers. The ebay store attracts anyone from scammer to print dealers to serious collectors, but mostly nice folk looking for bargains.

I figure by the time the art festival circuit recovers from these turbulent times I will have plenty of new works. What to do with all these darned prints is always a big dilemma, but I am just not willing to sit on them forever. I have an idea to put in my will that any of my works that didn't sell while I was alive must be burned upon my death so that art vultures don't make a penny from my art after I'm gone. Really, society should support live artists above all.

So there it goes, ink on paper at bargain prices.
Etsy Shop 1000 Woodcuts at http://1000woodcuts.etsy.com
Ebay Store 1000 Woodcuts at http://stores.ebay.com/1000woodcuts

Cairn on the wall

I got this far with the Cairn... The plan is to cover it with plexi mounted with mirror clips when I get permission to climb the heights again.
It looks like Lynita and I had similar ideas, but she is obviously (from the looks of her studio) much better organized than I!

Sharri LaPierre

Cairn 2008

What did you do with YOUR Cairn?

I'm taking my Cairn on the road to show off all my Baren friends to my workshop attendees this next weekend at the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

Should be a nice way to expose new initiates into the woodcut art to a variety of carving styles and, at the same time, smaller image suggestions.

Here is what Lynita Shimizu did with her Cairn! I cracked up...

Check it out at the project page and send me your images of the Cairn, framed, shown, exposed...???

I got my plexiglass and will be sticking mine on the ceiling also; then I can see everyone while I work.

Is everyone ready for the next Great Puzzle Print?

Nature and fish prints!

Thanks to an artist development grant from the Nevada Arts Council this fall I was able to attend the Nature Printing Society's 2008 workshop in Santa Barbara, California.

The place for the workshop is a 26 acre retreat and conference center appropriately named La Casa de Maria. Wonderful trees and hiking trails, quaint little dorm rooms and plenty of space and inspiration for a nature printing workshop.

Among the workshops I took was a fish printing class in the tradition of Japanese fish printing and a Foilography class with Charles Morgan of Moss Street Studios.

These are some of the great fish I got to play with. The process is both like and unlike relief printing. There is really no pressure involved to print, more like hugging the object with the fingers until the ink is released onto the paper.

Of course the "inking" is alike, only with a brush instead of brayers. The layer of ink (water based inks) is much like the layer of ink that successfully prints a woodcut.

Quite fun and something I will integrate with my works planned for the upcoming residency at the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

Quirky cork prints and a new Studionote

I started printing with cork plates way back when and for now I'm hooked on the "look" that cork plates give my new series of prints.

Here is the latest, fresh off the press. The image is one of two I'm printing for the Earth Exchange offered by Four Oceans Press website and print organization, check them out: http://www.fouroceanspress.com/

The cork plates are fun but hard to work with and I'm starting to control the process. I caught up some stuff on my website and wrote a new Studio Note on it. If you haven't read all my silly Studionotes, feel free. I love sharing the info on printmaking as I learn it.

Have fun! http://1000woodcuts.com/studio/method.html

And direct to the quirky cork: http://1000woodcuts.com/Studionotes/cork_prints.html

Cairn grows again! Middle block is done, Days 4-6

Well here we go, another three days and another block is printed.



The whole is looking awesome and my studio really stinks now with all these prints hanging, not even the cats want to be in there. My husband opens windows and turns on the fan as soon as he gets home; there is really no appreciation for the delightful perfume of oil based inks...ahhhhhh...



Looking forward to block number 3 and finishing.



Today I ordered the free domestic mailing tubes from the Post Office and bought some for my international friends. Should be able to mail next week if I work through the weekend!

Cairn Update Pictures Day 1 and 2

Oh, here they are! Blogger is alive now...

First picture is the beginning of the bottom block. Something about those prints hanging together that always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Second picture is the resulting bottom block, all printed up and proud of itself. The amazing contrast of styles and cutting comes together as if planned. Maybe these collaborations are magic?

For more, see my previous post and visit the website puzzle diary.
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/cairn/index.html

Tomorrow, more printing...

Baren Rock Pile Grows! Day 1-2

(Well, I tried to add pictures today but Blogger isn't cooperating. Go to the webpage for the illustrated version!)
First block is proofed, printed, hanging, drying...oh joy!
The Great Baren Cairn is now well on its way to being completed.
For those of you who need a refresher, here is the page on my website, soon to be updated with all the gory details:
http://1000woodcuts.com/projects/cairn/index.html

Every good rock pile must start with a solid foundation, so I printed the bottom block first. The "makeready" part of printing these puzzles is a bit complex. Summarized, the process goes something like this:
-level blocks "dry" (without inking) and glue to the backing board to hold steady
-proof and tweak any obvious low blocks or low spots
-proof again
-carve away inked spots not on images, usually backgrounds or edge of blocks
-proof again
-ink the darned thing and get in the "production mode" mood
-repeat to taste until done

Well, one major adjustment I had to make and need to report. The initial plan was to provide every participant with 2 complete sets. Unfortunately these cherry plywood blocks didn't hold up to that. After having to repair several areas several times and watching the edges of some blocks go "soft" on me, I decided there was no possible way to get more prints out of the bottom block. With 79 participants and 96 good prints, this means only one set per participant. Live and learn!

Anyhow, the bottom block is done and I'm progressing to the middle block.

A new print finally!

First, a new image! Amazing, I know, it's been a while. I actually have two blocks carved and ready to go but life keeps getting in the way.

On the other hand, my home projects are coming right along this year and I'm getting buffed and tanned driving the wheelbarrow around.

But back to art...

There it is, an exchange print in full color. I kept the image simple. The key (black) block is standard cherry, the color block is a puzzle cork block. Cork is tough to work with, hard to print and generally a big pain in the booty. But I really like the irregular surface to fill with color but leave the paper showing.

Is this a sign of more color to come? Hmmm...mixed feelings here. I actually have two more blocks of the Grand Canyon series ready to print, and they are black on my favorite Beech Grove Paperworks hand-crafted paper.

The color was fun too, but there is something about the traditional honest one-color woodcut. We'll see!

Launch of the Simple Year and the New Updates

To celebrate 2008, the Simple Year, I combined the Diary and Updates into a compact and hopefully more frequent format.
What's the Simple Year all about? Well, for starters I'm taking 2008 off the festival circuit to get back on track on some art creation projects and home stuff. I'm no Thoreau, but hope to rekindle my love affair with wood, art, family, and all the important simple things in life.
For now, I'm on full rest and planning mode.

More later...