Shows!

Shame on me for not getting a post up in time for the opening of "RED" at Bar Basic, where I have two prints on display. Fortunately, the show will be up through April and bar has a great happy hour and frequent visits from food trucks, like TaKorea, so stopping by to check out the show should fit easily into your social calendar :)

But now I just found out that I have a piece showing at MKSF Gallery this Saturday, March 5 from 7pm to 10pm! MKSF Gallery operates in the studio of Mike Kimball, so it will not be open to the public outside of the opening. The event also coincides with two photography exhibits at Arc Studios: "FOTO: Pushing Boundaries" and "BAPC: Cultivating Photography"

1246 Folsom St., Studio 202
San Francisco, CA 94103

"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

Ruffled DIY Contest!

While this isn't a printmaking project, I wanted to share that the pinwheel boutonnieres I made for our wedding were accepted into Ruffled's DIY Contest. 

The judges will be voting soon on 50 different projects, so please help raise my projects' profile by commenting on the entry in ruffledblog.com and sharing with your friends! If you're planning a wedding or event and enjoy crafty projects, I highly recommend Amanda's blog as a resource for great DIY ideas.

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!