New Work In Progress: The Jag

So, it's been a while since I had something new to post - partly due to summer break from CCSF and partly due to working on the edition of the Alpha Son print, now available in my Etsy shop (!)

Now that that is wrapped up, I'm on to the next project. This one will add a third plate to the layered linocut technique. An early proof that was created as part of the offset transfer to the third plate is here:

It shows two of the plates, not fully inked and also not fully cut, but it gives the idea. Colors are yet to be tweaked. Here's a close-up:

And here's the source: a beautiful 1955 Jaguar XK. Challenging to do it justice...

In the studio: Alpha Son color plate

After proofing the key black plate for "Alpha Son", I transferred the image to another plat and cut away the second colored plate. I remembered to bring my camera into the studio today to capture the work in process in a studio environment.

Both plate on an inking surface, with colors rolled out

I had visions of using the bold colors of some of the original cars I drew from in my second colored plate. Given the  bold outlines for each car, I had the option of inking individual cars with unique colors, almost like an a la poupee inking in etching.

After printing the colored plat with selective areas printed; inked black plate in place, ready to print

As I proofed in red with transparent blue and orange with transparent green. there were parts that I liked, but wasn't satisfied by the composition as a whole.

After printing the black plate over the multi-colored printed colored plate

Finally, I tried proofing with an opaque cream on the second plate. 

After printing the colored plate inked in opaque cream

I liked bringing the unity of a single color across all the subjects, but keeping the color impact subtle, to enjoy the strong black and white composition of the key black plate.

Cream printed proof on the drying rack

It's always a journey, but I think we are now approaching the edition proof!

Working Title: Alpha Son

So, it's been a while since I last posted - I was working on printing full editions of the Mont Saint Michel print and then went back to do an edition of the much enjoyed Lobster Pot print (will be working to get those on the Etsy store soon!). Then I started a couple new linocuts, one of which is quite large, so that took a while. The dimensions are the same as the Zero Sum Game, but I'm planning to develop it into a two-plate linocut that could be made into a book, but would also look nice as a poster.

As for content, I am continuing to explore automotive muses, thanks to my husband. I took several photos at a vintage car driving event and assembled a collage to use as a reference source:

Here's an early proof of the key plate, working title, Alpha Son:

"Zero Sum Game" Book, final

This book project started a couple years ago now and required me to delve into some new topics, like bookbinding, in order to complete my vision. Of course, other projects came up and I'm only now finishing the first set of books (a prototype was completed in September).


See earlier coverage of printing and assembling the core parts of the book here and here.


For the final stages, I carved and printed a cover with a title (inspired by learning about game theory in my micro-economics class taken in my semester off from print making) and solid black back. Unlike the soft cover on the Belize book, this cover and backing were separate and would leave the binding area exposed. 

First, gluing inside the front cover...

Once the cover (image side) is affixed, gluing the inside flap...

Once the front and back covers were glued on and dried under a heavy book, I bound the books with black thread, much like standard signature binding, or decorative longstitch (minus the soft cover to stitch through).

Treating each inside page fold as a signature, using a template and heavy duty paper awl to create six holes...

Leaving a tail to tie off in the first signature...

One of the reasons I wanted to leave the binding exposed was to show off the rhythmic stitching...

And repeat... and repeat...

Once I finish the set, I'll take some nicer photos and post one for sale on my Etsy shop!

Experimenting with Mont St Michel print

This is why I love printmaking: you can start with a core image, or component of an image, and experiment  in dozens of ways to find the complete look.


In November, I proofed the first plate of another two-plate linocut of Mont St. Michel. In December, I trialed a number of combinations with a second color, using a plexiglass monoprint plate to ink, etc.

Starting with a simple, solid roll-up..

Printing the ghost of the roll-up achieved a subtler color. In some ways, closer to what I envisioned...

While trying to find the right shade, I pulled out the color in the middle-ground...

Also tried printing color in only the sky...

Finally pulled out the carving tools and cut the second plate

New Work in Progress: Mont Saint Michel

I rarely work outside the studio, but for various reasons I took home my latest plate last week to get a bit more work done. Unlike etching or aquatint, linocuts are relatively easy to do from home, particularly a small one. The piece I am working on is a 4" x 6" two-plate lino based on a photo I took in Mont Saint-Michel last summer. The photo offered a unique and challenging composition and I may have been subtly influenced by Frans Masereel after Mike Kimball's comment on my lino book post. Since I was able to take a few photos of the plate in progress, I thought  would share them now that I have an early proof of the first plate.

Mont Saint-Michel source photo

Plate in process

Plate in process detail

Early proof

New edition - "Handyman"

As promised, I have proofs of my new edition print. In fact, I've delayed posting so long that I've completed the entire edition - all that's left to do is sign them. The subject is a 1957 Chevy "Handyman" Wagon, which I snapped on a day trip to Bolinas:

Unlike the "Lobster Pot" print, I began this plate with the two-plate lino method in mind:

After some deliberation, I decided on a cyan blue for the base hue:

I haven't done an edition for some time - not since my multiple place aquatint, in fact. While printing an edition can be tiresome, having a sizable stack of prints in hand was very pleasing. Pending final review, the edition set will be up to 35 prints.

I haven't made any final decisions, but I'll have some available edition prints and proofs of the "Handyman" print for sale at the annual Fort Mason Holiday Print Sale, set for December 3-5!

Who's that creature?

So, it's been quiet around here, but I have my reasons! I took spring semester off printmaking to take that microeconomics class (as well as a couple book binding workshops - woohoo!), and then Anthony proposed in June! So, I've been applying lots of creative energy in that direction, which is not all printing-oriented. Of course, I HAD to create a small lino-cut as the "logo" for the wedding. The big question seems to be what that creature is between our names. Take a guess!

Meanwhile, the printmaking semester started up a couple weeks ago and I am already working on edition prints of a new two-plate lino. I look forward to sharing images of the proofs soon!

Lobster Pot

My mother spent the summer working in Cape Cod, and Anthony and I went out to visit her at the end of the season. We took the ferry from Boston to Provincetown and explored a bit before heading down to Brewster. I found a couple cute, old-fashioned establishments around the town, including The Lobster Pot:

I was anxious to get back to linocut, so I used this picture as a source for a 6"x6" lino plate.

After some deliberation, I decided to add a second black plate. Normally when doing a two-plate lino print, I start with the black "key" plate and use that to add the mid-tone color plate. Working backwards was a little tricky, but I'm pleased with the result:

SF linocut book project, continued

Now that class is underway again at CCSF, I'm moving along on my latest linocut book. I've trimmed, folded, and pasted together seven books and now need to figure out how I want to bind them. In the meantime, one of the folded copies will be put on display in Building B of Fort Mason, along with the Belize book, my mezzotint, and an uncut print of this book.

Linocut book in process

I liked making the Belize book so much, that I decided to do another one using linocut instead of etching.

The squares are 4x4, which makes it much easier for linocut. The source photos were from a shoot that I was in for an SF Zero game in 2007.

The idea behind the shoot was to create a film noir feel on various San Francisco sites.

The images already had a strong graphic quality to them, which is great for linocut.

Unlike the Goodwill book and the Belize book, this one will not have any text and will just rely on the images to imply a story.

I managed to take a couple of good proofs before the semester ended, but I may still tweak some things.

I'm considering creating a second plate in the fall to add color.

I'll keep you posted ;)

"Goodwill" book

After completing the two-plate linocut series, Anita asked me if I would consider binding a set of the prints into a book. I liked the idea, but didn't think that four images was enough, so I decided that I would insert pages of text between each image:

There was no narrative story for the series, but the theme of functional buildings lent itself to economic themes. During the spring of 2008, the storm clouds of the impending financial disaster and economic recession were gathering on the horizon. Oil prices remained high, food shortages threatened political stability in many nations, and the collapse of the housing bubble was beginning to take its toll on financial institutions.

I consume a vast amount of news in my day job as a financial analyst, most of it about specific corners of technology, but I headlines about global issues, social change, and green technology are often too interesting to me to ignore.

I sifted through articles that I had read and bookmarked during the months that I had been working on the print series and found a set of articles that fit with my functional building series. The most obvious was an article on wind turbines to go with the windmill print.

Themes that I found across all the articles were notions of scarcity and hope. As a fundamental tenet of economics, the idea of scarcity reflected the economic role of the functional buildings represented. 

Hope was just what made the articles exciting to me. While all the stories dealt with the challenges of scarcity, they offered a glimpse of progress. 

I considered titling the book Scarcity, but felt that it didn't capture the optimism I wanted to convey. Goodwill (and other Intangible Assets) is of course an accounting pun, and hence loosely tied to economics, but it is also undeniably positive in tone.

The text was added using a monoprint method for transferring printed material, which means that the book is one-of-a-kind, for now. I used proofs of some of the darker tone plates for the inside covers and recycled some wrapping paper for the outside cover. The wanted the natural imagery of the cover to contrast the symbols of development in the series.