I’m still using Caligo Safe-Wash relief inks.  Turns out it was a good idea.  Erica’s blog has some pictures of our cats getting into the inks.  While Rocksteady didn’t appreciate the squeeze he was in to wash the ink of his paws, it was pretty easy to remove with just soap and a little water.  I sent the manufacturers an e-mail a while back asking how safe these inks are around pets and while they wouldn’t tell me it’s perfectly safe around our cats, they assured me it went through the testing to determine it was non-toxic to humans.  The most important part of this is that it was incredibly easy to wash off the cat’s delicate paws.  While I’m talkin about it, i should mention that Erica is has begun this new year with a resolution to be somehow creative or inquisitive each day and write about the experience.  So keep up with her blog!  She’s 11 days in and going strong!  It’s pretty awesome.

I can’t say too much about the imagery really.  I’m still learning woodblock as an artform and getting a hang of what this kind of mark-making can do for my drawing.  I’m really excited about it.

The reference materials I use range from photographs I took/found of my friends and family mixed with images I’ve collected from various sources, mostly from the internet.  I understand that there are few images that seem to incorporate symbols, but to be honest I really haven’t formulated any sort of dictionary to define it.  I’m going with what feels right and with what makes sense to me.  I can’t sit and think too much about images that I invest so much time in.  For example, the seated figure took about a month to draw out and plan and carve and then it sat for a while, I got a little sick of looking at it and then another month, month and a half later I printed it.

Sounds like i hate this process, but to be honest I embrace printmaking because I enjoy the zen of working in a sequential manner.  I like working with a system of steps to create something.  I love cooking.  I love making coffee.

On the turntable: Prizehog and then later, U Roy.

That’s one of patrick casey’s woodcuts back there.  Erica and i finally got it framed. 

It was a quick little project. 

Before this guy, I worked on another Homegrown festival poster.  I’ll have photos of that process up soon!  These two are the first couple silkscreens I’ve done working with photosensitive emulsion.  It ended up being a lot easier than i imagined.  I set up a 300w bulb in a reflector lamp clamped to a tripod.  I had about an hour and fifteen minute exposure using oiled photocopies as stats.  works pretty well.  Getting the emulsion out of the screen has been a problem. 

Designing and printing hese concert flyers have been experiments with the technique which i hope to extend into my fine art work.   Should be fun.

Also, this show should be fun! 

this is a new block i took my time carving.  2×2 portraits of nobodies.

a detail

printed the dog in green.

i got inspired. carved/grinded out some woodblocks.

started printing with a spoon.  it hurt my thumbs, so i moved onto using a doorknob.

i’m making print work that i feel good about.  it’s been a while!

so, i really dragged my feet on writing about this show.  it was a little humbling.  the passion matched the technical know-how of the artists i saw at these two galleries.  in some cases, these artists have a pretty difficult time rounding up supplies specific for printmaking.  i have everything i could ask for to make a great body of work.  i still have somerset and rives paper left over from my time at Massart from 6 years ago.

i have to give myself a little credit though.  i’ve put a good dent in that lately.  i spent the next couple weeks after this show working on some woodblocks

oh yeah, sorry about the quality of these images.  you get the idea, though, right?

the big one ain’t done.

here, i try to resolve compositional and conceptual issues.  some of this drawing is part a plan for another project i haven’t fully developed and has led to less than desirable results.

the text in these particular drawings has kind of an ambiguous role.

they are words that exist both in english and in hungarian.  in some cases their pronunciation is different and in all cases the definitions are different.

hold means moon in hungarian.

most means now in hungarian

bent means inside in hungarian

test means body in hungarian.

and mind means all in hungarian.

i’ve been writing about my work a little.  or at least amassing a list of questions i have to myself about my process.

here’s some sketchbook stuff. more to follow.