Woodcut puzzles

There's an activity I engage in every couple of years or so, and that is to bring printmakers together to make a print. These collaborations baffle those who know me as a loner, but nevertheless, they continue to fascinate me.

The procedure is simple, take a block of wood, draw something, chop it up into pieces and send the pieces to the various participants. Each woodcutter cuts their piece of wood and sends it back to me, I put it together, print it and send the completed prints to everyone.

IN progress is the Cairn, information is here:
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/projects/cairn/index.html

Completed is the first puzzle, a Web:
http://www.1000woodcuts.com/projects/puzzle/finalimage.html

Undoubtedly, there will be more...

Woodcuts in the desert

My temporary gallery at the Valley of Fire Visitor's Center. This is a small Nevada state park that is just beautiful to visit, especially (and almost exclusively) in the winter.

Compared to an art festival, this is an easy setup. I used my festival panels for the back wall and also the browse bins for information on woodcuts, business cards and, of course those portable matted works that hopefully will find their way into the suitcases of tourists.

The park benefits from the artist's sales and for the artist, it is a chance to show works to countless tourists and other desert loving critters.
Woodcuts are again at an advantage because they are so rarely seen in these parts. Of course I have free for the taking my standard "How to Make Woodcuts" handout. Knowing that the State Park gets a percentage is huge for me. As I grow older, I yearn for the days when the desert was a largely uninhabited place. More and more developers are building and building and it feels good to be a part of a preservation movement.

The weather forecast for the rest of February in these parts calls for spring-like 60's and 70's, and, of course... sunny and clear!