tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86791299021429932652024-03-13T05:23:04.665-07:00LACRIME Di ROSPOAn art and printmaking blog exploring my attempts at color woodblock printmaking using traditional Japanese moku hanga methods. But there are also occasional ramblings about life, art, winemaking and pizza ovens.Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-55218014761189949802024-03-01T17:21:00.003-08:002024-03-01T17:45:26.973-08:00Dragons-A Good Start to 2024 (Maybe it's the battery?....)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr4rmr3sieZBK6hWOfUDsldWGTkeeH4LPIXjLgfc70flhHiHY5BW6ExlzauhChJhfiwuz4XqxPS9ojJMcBA5NWShKfiIDCLE2cBEfybc9IY5iESgnOCJK3D3a1rT1J_LtCg0dFA54EbR7f7MLhASPpq_np498D74TzRT-DMtFa6CO2NZn9uN2iVyOsOSa/s1919/JumperCables68HiR.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1391" data-original-width="1919" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr4rmr3sieZBK6hWOfUDsldWGTkeeH4LPIXjLgfc70flhHiHY5BW6ExlzauhChJhfiwuz4XqxPS9ojJMcBA5NWShKfiIDCLE2cBEfybc9IY5iESgnOCJK3D3a1rT1J_LtCg0dFA54EbR7f7MLhASPpq_np498D74TzRT-DMtFa6CO2NZn9uN2iVyOsOSa/w320-h232/JumperCables68HiR.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year of the Dragon, mokuhanga, 4.5"x6.5"<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>My car battery dies often enough that I keep a pair of jumper cables behind the driver's seat. So, I've been eyeing those cables and thinking how suitable they were for an etegami for some time but hadn't really figured out a suitable text to go with the drawings I contemplated painting. <br /></p><p>But 2024 is the year of the Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac and while I wasn't planning on making a Lunar New Year's card this year, I knew I was going to try and make it to the big Hokusai exhibit in Seattle in January, and when I started thinking about Hokusai, I couldn't help thinking of his big Sumi self-portraits as a dragon......</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXn8MZRRFqS52ZtuTP92WPkWYVRs13qCmR77wHwSk5AOqFJzfkgYuaiyfHzn9GjvrFvCcic1C7DmE02xANS1zFnVQ_MdLkniqNjXd5Yl643jmre9eUj6xYAgIwev3hfwcvVL1KM0cpEbyTI7Pj0f12Y-Iq_uScLh-ZhyphenhyphenbUrAJBXaZ5t4ofYwutWRv1DFU/s864/HokusaiDragon.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="864" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXn8MZRRFqS52ZtuTP92WPkWYVRs13qCmR77wHwSk5AOqFJzfkgYuaiyfHzn9GjvrFvCcic1C7DmE02xANS1zFnVQ_MdLkniqNjXd5Yl643jmre9eUj6xYAgIwev3hfwcvVL1KM0cpEbyTI7Pj0f12Y-Iq_uScLh-ZhyphenhyphenbUrAJBXaZ5t4ofYwutWRv1DFU/s320/HokusaiDragon.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31dohVJr8Gw8UABwHm6I11TxW83FALF5K5961iwS-Um_hh2uaoSArLQylj95WwZmJOIcnaSYpENrvRTxZRQABG_ZQzg_105nHde_1HpW3XcolvV_pO94WeivFK_jmA4dKgYnRiCsPHhaib8P5M1VQ3IqGCBtRuDNUDNK8qE9gcRXpF9heZURrksjl-HWs/s1664/HokusaiDragon2.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="1056" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31dohVJr8Gw8UABwHm6I11TxW83FALF5K5961iwS-Um_hh2uaoSArLQylj95WwZmJOIcnaSYpENrvRTxZRQABG_ZQzg_105nHde_1HpW3XcolvV_pO94WeivFK_jmA4dKgYnRiCsPHhaib8P5M1VQ3IqGCBtRuDNUDNK8qE9gcRXpF9heZURrksjl-HWs/s320/HokusaiDragon2.png" width="203" /></a></div><br /><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And so, I started drawing jumper cables, but thinking about dragons. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1459" data-original-width="2173" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDhrn8Q9YNdEsuZzglgQ_SathgEPtwyQlGyx2kGuruOEJ-O0bgqt5JXYp2mwosCzcAfUbSKTDeaDQfspSPME3pbsLkgoAdACtQwM_iqbYB8CHCLnHJM5q4BJ2395HFfspNi-vb3UO4JS0eRYqlQFDDdTW3YyqAs2cFdpzEG3PY8tO2Y59KpJ7PP9PEFZQ/w320-h215/JumperCables2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A) This was more calligraphic and suggesting a dragon flying.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDhrn8Q9YNdEsuZzglgQ_SathgEPtwyQlGyx2kGuruOEJ-O0bgqt5JXYp2mwosCzcAfUbSKTDeaDQfspSPME3pbsLkgoAdACtQwM_iqbYB8CHCLnHJM5q4BJ2395HFfspNi-vb3UO4JS0eRYqlQFDDdTW3YyqAs2cFdpzEG3PY8tO2Y59KpJ7PP9PEFZQ/s2173/JumperCables2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfflYYKL_mz4D66tHY3eOO3aLhItrBeaRIPaKFyCMy2Fr3hIZa0Q-KBNSdPohAMuaP1nnueiYbvjGIY0BwhRDY8WKdf4EQEvjFHFqGYE0guRYGAKVGzFVJREuQxs0U7v1gu7n1x_BEbfk70atPQ4naOWUfvPcPqyFfWdI1um5tjV0aeH7vOhDuk40HO4Bu/s2038/JumperCables1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="2038" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfflYYKL_mz4D66tHY3eOO3aLhItrBeaRIPaKFyCMy2Fr3hIZa0Q-KBNSdPohAMuaP1nnueiYbvjGIY0BwhRDY8WKdf4EQEvjFHFqGYE0guRYGAKVGzFVJREuQxs0U7v1gu7n1x_BEbfk70atPQ4naOWUfvPcPqyFfWdI1um5tjV0aeH7vOhDuk40HO4Bu/w320-h235/JumperCables1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B) This one has a distinctly R.Crumb vibe that I wasn't sure about....</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But when I showed various family members and acquaintences (and a few strangers) my pages of sketches, "B" was the unanimous choice. While I don't often yield to family taste (pressure) and I'm still not sure I made the right decision but......</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzomwgZ0xPwdlkeeBgIaXZuN9g45qElsqe0Jlrpvuh2hHJqe-9JCNfSSFsu5rPB7JDh3bGwKRk5SWDEmFnTfMuyGXBniZN9ipc0zEvqzC82ZE-4v_8kjQ55EFMG4hGv4YXkvgmHHIKUh04UsjT_eZ9dXAfiJ1Fk-46YU9zXF5oR1Y_M8peq6hsVwZeRU0c" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzomwgZ0xPwdlkeeBgIaXZuN9g45qElsqe0Jlrpvuh2hHJqe-9JCNfSSFsu5rPB7JDh3bGwKRk5SWDEmFnTfMuyGXBniZN9ipc0zEvqzC82ZE-4v_8kjQ55EFMG4hGv4YXkvgmHHIKUh04UsjT_eZ9dXAfiJ1Fk-46YU9zXF5oR1Y_M8peq6hsVwZeRU0c" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgid1ExTSDuF1S60uKOyTW-QSYUrCL_ax9HZWdoVWQD2g0cqT96kF226mBJkHRgBWtIsDQfJoXz5lFXE8BMLhObk0-1ZOtxeeAHf4aYGe2QjHQD9T8m8eUOYvD-0CFEVJAp33bshJmU1Qh_ZAToL8Byrz6CJHmfYSlUa8W8ft5PZwnJpmemuDvLNRyS0hnm/s1024/BD882EB9-48ED-456E-8AED-4CEB37EF23FB_1_105_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgid1ExTSDuF1S60uKOyTW-QSYUrCL_ax9HZWdoVWQD2g0cqT96kF226mBJkHRgBWtIsDQfJoXz5lFXE8BMLhObk0-1ZOtxeeAHf4aYGe2QjHQD9T8m8eUOYvD-0CFEVJAp33bshJmU1Qh_ZAToL8Byrz6CJHmfYSlUa8W8ft5PZwnJpmemuDvLNRyS0hnm/s320/BD882EB9-48ED-456E-8AED-4CEB37EF23FB_1_105_c.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br /><br /><p><br /></p><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-78633866556052172332023-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:002023-10-15T16:34:48.549-07:00Poetry and Putti: Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Florence. Part I.<p> <br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbhZ71pGPX1OSQ6yt-qPbOLmRJfyHejUZzT870HN8UWohq9NAp2DVbvEZEjy8zYtvPfg1RBH9YRCMx2BiySyO0lsilAiCZHeKhgwEcQ-QF1inasABEwdy4RyboZHKtrsoTD9rDgoIxPpvZ6-7Wm4GOgeQHgA-hDb71cbyK1sFPvvs06wHT_nBm8TvVPJk/s1280/9b4d434e-3484-486c-ad59-73169aa3aa6f%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbhZ71pGPX1OSQ6yt-qPbOLmRJfyHejUZzT870HN8UWohq9NAp2DVbvEZEjy8zYtvPfg1RBH9YRCMx2BiySyO0lsilAiCZHeKhgwEcQ-QF1inasABEwdy4RyboZHKtrsoTD9rDgoIxPpvZ6-7Wm4GOgeQHgA-hDb71cbyK1sFPvvs06wHT_nBm8TvVPJk/s320/9b4d434e-3484-486c-ad59-73169aa3aa6f%20(1).jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><br /><p>I recently joined a small group of local artisans and artists in a small cooperative with the aim of looking for ways to bring our work out of our studios and into the public eye. This group was then invited to participate in a Florence initiative dedicated to exploring the work and influence of women artists and creatives in Florence from the past-- pairing contemporary artists with these influential historical figures.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Pti2ki1kCA7IzjMSgBlx3Z0pfgt-L5Sri2wGAQ6IJXfPeuJqSALbs65-i_OtAJY0d0hkU6d4UeMyTIxY62texchL7Txf3bNi3Ma2MHjkpy42Lr6a-0QlrkzcBG38-NzSONYa8AxYnsGeisnORZ9mZQPPlqry8dk4eFUcHd_pUvSjO-V-GfJFjipm1ktC/s1280/IMG_9452.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Pti2ki1kCA7IzjMSgBlx3Z0pfgt-L5Sri2wGAQ6IJXfPeuJqSALbs65-i_OtAJY0d0hkU6d4UeMyTIxY62texchL7Txf3bNi3Ma2MHjkpy42Lr6a-0QlrkzcBG38-NzSONYa8AxYnsGeisnORZ9mZQPPlqry8dk4eFUcHd_pUvSjO-V-GfJFjipm1ktC/s320/IMG_9452.jpeg" width="240" /></a> Our group selected British poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning who lived with her husband Robert Browning in Florence from 1848 until her death in 1861, writing her epic poem of Florence, Casa Guidi Windows, and her semi-autobiographical, feminist, verse-novel Aurora Leigh during these years in Florence. <br />She is buried in the English Cemetery on the other side of the city, and her grave there and the Casa Guidi where she lived and wrote, are pilgramage sites for those who fell in love with her Sonnets from the Portuguese or her remarkable life as an independent writer or who wish to pay homage to one of the most influential poets and early feminists of the 19th Century.</p><p>Casa Guidi is not far from where I live, but somehow, although I've passed it hundreds of times in the 25 years I've lived in Florence, but somehow, I had never gone inside, despite often stopping to read the memorial placque on the facade and say, "I really should go visit". Our project was vague in concept, but was meant to be to create something based on the life or work of the artist we had chosen, in some way related to the Villa and residence where they resided.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RLMy4zUNR_6SKa3EGP-CMUSe_nLueWZ5MQ3TgNIdq9hwUyznpiiR1IJKpAz6c60YksDUnV9GZDvyk6pebu8aFa0cmMcNc_JHuEuW1aTJztsFlM0ONNzocYw4yOkau5y_JnutfngbGfhFqUWbgwdXZQCCdftjOFD5Np6Ob_BCK67qetHHuybB9zdVZMTJ/s4160/IMG_20230828_165550073.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RLMy4zUNR_6SKa3EGP-CMUSe_nLueWZ5MQ3TgNIdq9hwUyznpiiR1IJKpAz6c60YksDUnV9GZDvyk6pebu8aFa0cmMcNc_JHuEuW1aTJztsFlM0ONNzocYw4yOkau5y_JnutfngbGfhFqUWbgwdXZQCCdftjOFD5Np6Ob_BCK67qetHHuybB9zdVZMTJ/s320/IMG_20230828_165550073.jpg" width="240" /></a> </p><p> </p><p>So with that idea in mind, to find something to work with would require that I would finally go past the plaque over the door and see the inside. As it turns out, Casa Guidi is part of the English National Trust, a non-profit that maintains the property, and it is open to visitors M/W/F from 3pm-6pm. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IOMCEXfuhvolpk2t_8ErMJtn9cmVsyY8e8hJq5WhDvhmoE4TVArYGCms1ENlCNyZlPUqfwUKeMaE0AjeZRVpYrsqWhImQcp7sD-CcVxjT0iq1JNJLERcJ4OOUGoL1xTkG13FoOr_D7qupj31ZpgL6R6FdWpgKBn-hKyoayPtgVcKZbLcraqXD9Tgoo4Q/s1280/8b22eea6-8f2b-46d6-a135-a5d281aeff49%20(1).jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IOMCEXfuhvolpk2t_8ErMJtn9cmVsyY8e8hJq5WhDvhmoE4TVArYGCms1ENlCNyZlPUqfwUKeMaE0AjeZRVpYrsqWhImQcp7sD-CcVxjT0iq1JNJLERcJ4OOUGoL1xTkG13FoOr_D7qupj31ZpgL6R6FdWpgKBn-hKyoayPtgVcKZbLcraqXD9Tgoo4Q/w300-h400/8b22eea6-8f2b-46d6-a135-a5d281aeff49%20(1).jpeg" width="300" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCeMtdvcz5uKQkXcSgPKzpwBSQ1omi06FtkVuvlzudLv5yhgrKBIvVdM4eUlQvo4UauYMeG1id092DTGR_sJSZs1tWyztFI3XRAmTXt0IoPyn8AxziHKY-8FNRPYLGaDm1r-QF9GIBcnwkkeO2cSrzL8GT4oTfey8VgjPCiM_1I5VvdXsLZ54FrsPg6-o/s4160/IMG_20230828_175057778.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCeMtdvcz5uKQkXcSgPKzpwBSQ1omi06FtkVuvlzudLv5yhgrKBIvVdM4eUlQvo4UauYMeG1id092DTGR_sJSZs1tWyztFI3XRAmTXt0IoPyn8AxziHKY-8FNRPYLGaDm1r-QF9GIBcnwkkeO2cSrzL8GT4oTfey8VgjPCiM_1I5VvdXsLZ54FrsPg6-o/s320/IMG_20230828_175057778.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p><br /> </p><p> </p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSno8PHRGg0a4p4oHqJaKMfizT4Ng1uzRx5X41EJwwmaTrU0QoFfcUGGI07YpdvlWie3Jksr6tb5cH68iT2avRPXYIv4y8IiCUiiglLRiTXPEeYhSf8CCehTu0e9IrfZH1_wNXkjkulbgwuZHDgV8dfEkk90CgCekPmO_EuSfaaRB-fqvAmeCFsoboD4oE/s1280/fc39f015-e505-460b-abec-9256900e51bb%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSno8PHRGg0a4p4oHqJaKMfizT4Ng1uzRx5X41EJwwmaTrU0QoFfcUGGI07YpdvlWie3Jksr6tb5cH68iT2avRPXYIv4y8IiCUiiglLRiTXPEeYhSf8CCehTu0e9IrfZH1_wNXkjkulbgwuZHDgV8dfEkk90CgCekPmO_EuSfaaRB-fqvAmeCFsoboD4oE/s320/fc39f015-e505-460b-abec-9256900e51bb%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrjE9MMIlfl1Qvs7A5CZ5CugS9evyp5ltYdv4ngdZqOCZdhyhrBDy6pY8VBN4XXZp6LHb0C1ttdHHMUWNzigce-jNKNvtr-SU4wpCMkejaFZm_Iy9O40ohaqPomhhor2fAzv7wMeQBON_z1HZtqIDqfz-0V6MY5dfapfkndXm-8DR1gHXPBYv2FmJ9i33/s1280/3622ea0b-3949-41cc-82c1-562013dd2f2a%20(4).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrjE9MMIlfl1Qvs7A5CZ5CugS9evyp5ltYdv4ngdZqOCZdhyhrBDy6pY8VBN4XXZp6LHb0C1ttdHHMUWNzigce-jNKNvtr-SU4wpCMkejaFZm_Iy9O40ohaqPomhhor2fAzv7wMeQBON_z1HZtqIDqfz-0V6MY5dfapfkndXm-8DR1gHXPBYv2FmJ9i33/s320/3622ea0b-3949-41cc-82c1-562013dd2f2a%20(4).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAu_lPIDVVx7XVLY7G4BvanJSHGTCzCVZ1d-pRGMuyZ_3TP_I6eiOTWHrZER4tv0tOYH_qPlBJN-4zTvnl7FPxPaPi1sfeO_jMcXAL4jelB8ufsdJab_rG4aek-45uSo4swK2OAp2RX1jpoqOmHMrSUZcc1djzgPR5y696LapONf21n6NJ0pV58ZB0gBdb/w300-h400/IMG_20230828_172820659.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfqr2ChJrr-gLAAGk5boqFMByXe3pTtP14QbJ9kgBa6xvb-GP9fPTgmavh2SAyYvLS81i9Sl2CmjbtL2YR4J95KxGq4z4wBKARiVGV4T7uXB-RGaEGOySAQdEq0dQ9ylAKpXTZSX3Fxu-SQ5ayZuPFaaPXcO-2AK-JXqGhL9zeKHKnRmPObAw0sr8CqcH/s4160/IMG_20230828_175223761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfqr2ChJrr-gLAAGk5boqFMByXe3pTtP14QbJ9kgBa6xvb-GP9fPTgmavh2SAyYvLS81i9Sl2CmjbtL2YR4J95KxGq4z4wBKARiVGV4T7uXB-RGaEGOySAQdEq0dQ9ylAKpXTZSX3Fxu-SQ5ayZuPFaaPXcO-2AK-JXqGhL9zeKHKnRmPObAw0sr8CqcH/w300-h400/IMG_20230828_175223761.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-39573412159072492432023-06-28T13:45:00.005-07:002023-06-28T13:45:39.281-07:00Go Figure: Bad Kitty<p>Oooooooh! I LOVE this.....Is it for sale?<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVoA9gNBUhpsju8C905TVKokxRsBY2PDjA-FLPD_PKH1RijML1cey5H2c2_PpuzPakkBb5BU3ugOqNww0LG1K1zETKZjCZgMvZgqlQapGR3uaZ0BqPujAzOD58xGNux9c3VGsONgjICVRkFHY12nGdWcqeNGKYa7x8d5Kh-nSTWxxS0SHbYDYRkK-OhZo/s2127/BadKittyHiR.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2127" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVoA9gNBUhpsju8C905TVKokxRsBY2PDjA-FLPD_PKH1RijML1cey5H2c2_PpuzPakkBb5BU3ugOqNww0LG1K1zETKZjCZgMvZgqlQapGR3uaZ0BqPujAzOD58xGNux9c3VGsONgjICVRkFHY12nGdWcqeNGKYa7x8d5Kh-nSTWxxS0SHbYDYRkK-OhZo/w241-h400/BadKittyHiR.jpeg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"BAD" Kitty</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I was curious about the traditional way of printing white-line prints, using a wooden spoon rather than a baren and printing on dry paper, tacked along one edge to the board. </p><p>So during a short wait between other commitments, I hastily cut a cat doodle I had done earlier onto a small 4 x 7" block of a poor-quality, scrap plywood. </p><p>It's a funny process: flip up the paper, paint a small area of the block (the lines have been excised away) and fold the paper down and burnish it with a wooden spoon. Each area USUALLY needs to be printed at least twice and the ultimate effect is a little like a coloring book, with the drawing in white.<br /></p><p>Being hastily done, everything went as you'd expect. The cheap plywood's grain would suck the paint across the borders, the paper was thick and hard to print on, and my ink drawing bled a bit into the paper during printing. </p><p>BUT, since I didn't really care how it came out, I worked fast and loosely with the colors, ignoring the smudges and pale areas. </p><p>The First visitor to my studio while I was working made a beeline to my workstation. <br />"Oooooh! I love this, Is it for Sale?" and I replied, "Um, well No, it's not finished yet, and its really just an exersize to see if I like this method......", I replied replied rather clumsily.. </p><p>The Second visitor to my studio (and I rarely get visitors). ALSO immediately asked if the little ugly print was for sale? or could they buy the block!!!</p><p> My son stopped by with some friends from the UK....."I LOVE this, can I have it!?!"</p><p>???? Is it a cat person thing?!?!</p><p> Here's the more carefully printed version. This one is a little too dark in the brown areas (which i do like better in the first version). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59Gf5R6bSwBcwSYDoXAZ0RvaI7oNXuHRhAxNJB_qmvfXXJW3NcqEMArXpv7u8mwoNz-wd9aOLsuXwg6Sk4oy7tkQ1LEeYTZ6cvBzm15bMDp5Qke11trQO0lNFtgBKs5V6pYt9VuiLHL2s_WKrCBsnJcKYFnu8zdY1yGXL_6uciQic-6qxLgRFrCNwLque/s2303/GoodKittyHiR.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2303" data-original-width="1345" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59Gf5R6bSwBcwSYDoXAZ0RvaI7oNXuHRhAxNJB_qmvfXXJW3NcqEMArXpv7u8mwoNz-wd9aOLsuXwg6Sk4oy7tkQ1LEeYTZ6cvBzm15bMDp5Qke11trQO0lNFtgBKs5V6pYt9VuiLHL2s_WKrCBsnJcKYFnu8zdY1yGXL_6uciQic-6qxLgRFrCNwLque/w234-h400/GoodKittyHiR.jpeg" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Good" Kitty<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> I THINK I'll try to redraw and recut this and start again. I'm fond of Siamese cats, I've always wanted to do a print of one, and I guess there's a niche to fill. <br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-8019659672880253872023-06-23T11:35:00.002-07:002023-06-23T11:37:12.513-07:00Not on Speaking Terms-Amaryllis<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE15pzMrKkXJy0lyDkSdsjV__FMlAqwPWGXI1z94EIdGL56UorlNMUFtVggi6_6MKHKTJdM6kjAiBF0cQD7iLf0JVICfNMzpw5FJtakTlxdFBQ3U5qhMf52mFmvMTOZw9XuKxzeZVv5nROcr49kHeEd7vGDqVmVJYODlMcydqFkC6aZoMcRfaUE5qmmhjf/s876/AmaryllisLoR1:20.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k3OV77wPCX7Ga1lT_Tgj9E7gn7LZ7qXi0g3eIMO-wsExfUZebjQqcp_FCqKDhW_3301tGO3oQBnsNLF8LKp2-C9wctJKRAUsYmoimduY9ahGljXec6Dwl7E238w5GxsffjEjt4o_0MUHZnZvWvvSg1qszPq1IDx63OZP18nqKKCNa0h1U5EiccXHvmmN/s3505/AmaryllisHiR1:20.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3505" data-original-width="2457" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k3OV77wPCX7Ga1lT_Tgj9E7gn7LZ7qXi0g3eIMO-wsExfUZebjQqcp_FCqKDhW_3301tGO3oQBnsNLF8LKp2-C9wctJKRAUsYmoimduY9ahGljXec6Dwl7E238w5GxsffjEjt4o_0MUHZnZvWvvSg1qszPq1IDx63OZP18nqKKCNa0h1U5EiccXHvmmN/s320/AmaryllisHiR1:20.jpeg" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not on Speaking Terms, White-line Woodblock print, 8 1/4" x 11 3/4"</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I buy an Amaryllis bulb/plant almost every year. I love how dramatic they are, the rising bud is just interesting enough without being threatening or too obscene and I like the fact that the budding and bloom last quite a long time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This particular plant was one of the few that survived from last year to bloom again. I didn't give it the attention it deserved, so it wasn't as vigorous or as energetic as the first year, and it made only 2 buds, instead of the usual 3-4.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And with just two blooms--Siamese-twins joined at the shoulders--they must have had quarrelled, as they grew with their flowers facing in opposite directions. And they kept this haughty posture, neither really accepting nor acknowledging the other's face or presence.<br />Despite being nearer and more alike than perhaps they'd have liked to admit, and despite sharing the single stem and bulb, they budded, bloomed, and then withered away next to each other, but alone. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Who knows what they were mad about, maybe even they don't remember.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This fall, I'll pot them again with some new soil and a bigger pot and the hope that next year they will not simply flower, but wake with enough vigor to shed their grudges and ready to grow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_xJLe0L33MEdNkCgUCSF3QIRo_a8AptVnjE9t020NDJ8vtla5h-UMMsqNgLcgsxsANJHOo0YMEFLrkbxdcYl9UP5j9uOqIVHV3yg0P-iSrdAGuTKKOG8L29QEVsPPKpK2hEcLhn_mWEI1JaEX7ykvRFTZkMekBeGF3rhEgpqM6ilejCRgtgdQxMf7LnA/s1280/Amaryllis1DtlFlwrs.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_xJLe0L33MEdNkCgUCSF3QIRo_a8AptVnjE9t020NDJ8vtla5h-UMMsqNgLcgsxsANJHOo0YMEFLrkbxdcYl9UP5j9uOqIVHV3yg0P-iSrdAGuTKKOG8L29QEVsPPKpK2hEcLhn_mWEI1JaEX7ykvRFTZkMekBeGF3rhEgpqM6ilejCRgtgdQxMf7LnA/s320/Amaryllis1DtlFlwrs.jpeg" width="320" /></a> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_xJLe0L33MEdNkCgUCSF3QIRo_a8AptVnjE9t020NDJ8vtla5h-UMMsqNgLcgsxsANJHOo0YMEFLrkbxdcYl9UP5j9uOqIVHV3yg0P-iSrdAGuTKKOG8L29QEVsPPKpK2hEcLhn_mWEI1JaEX7ykvRFTZkMekBeGF3rhEgpqM6ilejCRgtgdQxMf7LnA/s1280/Amaryllis1DtlFlwrs.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_gJEFWv_j68XLQLj-flb83xgbNu6b4yBowncdUE9Y79krgCky70yOtCv1Oqxy_6QTW1e_jPCmnb41m1QsRZSW--tQ1b_aPPqTT7x4C6FH5avyuoHh2PokOulbti8SfVCAGOcxk6BTN5KgN8iF8f4zKSWl297yFhMpZCWFt-O738sUXZXvQGW38iR_0Zi/s1280/AmaryllisDtlPotBulb.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_gJEFWv_j68XLQLj-flb83xgbNu6b4yBowncdUE9Y79krgCky70yOtCv1Oqxy_6QTW1e_jPCmnb41m1QsRZSW--tQ1b_aPPqTT7x4C6FH5avyuoHh2PokOulbti8SfVCAGOcxk6BTN5KgN8iF8f4zKSWl297yFhMpZCWFt-O738sUXZXvQGW38iR_0Zi/s320/AmaryllisDtlPotBulb.jpeg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /> </div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZtHtLuWQDtU6QM2nGhJEfphBsERfDdjiqQr6MzDJLyrdqg24aqADhaKcZJYjHI7Ojyi1740kFVI9bFYpLY6WX0h3BHuHvMFjcQAy95JIcymUDF_6n6S_H5e05aj0RG-8xiqYLi6jgDnt1hlih1jb_GIU0JhkJxJe-lghV1vDilu81UhU58vmfQqxclzi/s1280/Amaryllis1DtlFlwr.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="1280" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZtHtLuWQDtU6QM2nGhJEfphBsERfDdjiqQr6MzDJLyrdqg24aqADhaKcZJYjHI7Ojyi1740kFVI9bFYpLY6WX0h3BHuHvMFjcQAy95JIcymUDF_6n6S_H5e05aj0RG-8xiqYLi6jgDnt1hlih1jb_GIU0JhkJxJe-lghV1vDilu81UhU58vmfQqxclzi/s320/Amaryllis1DtlFlwr.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6bPO4huuSV5O8ELbz2--zqwyiqkiC-s8fBoJ96_3rfrKLAcqEAyKI070bnM-crcgC6RoSFOE4_p1E8z96fN72xtwIvSv9VxzDFqs33Cl8Y76Zo0bE8vRthaj0GsoUv2F8AuutoRUCrxt2UoNepCfhSfJUvRrmWUu4cFSrHNgW_0gC2GUDeu0wveZDXoS/s1280/Amaryllis1BLOCKcut.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6bPO4huuSV5O8ELbz2--zqwyiqkiC-s8fBoJ96_3rfrKLAcqEAyKI070bnM-crcgC6RoSFOE4_p1E8z96fN72xtwIvSv9VxzDFqs33Cl8Y76Zo0bE8vRthaj0GsoUv2F8AuutoRUCrxt2UoNepCfhSfJUvRrmWUu4cFSrHNgW_0gC2GUDeu0wveZDXoS/s320/Amaryllis1BLOCKcut.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-85445901452669033462023-03-08T14:34:00.001-08:002023-03-09T09:22:54.076-08:00Fast Enough-Year of the (water) rabbit<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghe2Z4diIB0KHfiZa2nKsOsEIAIAXnn8QlwL26KVKgoDMzVhEon0px-5ppYMZCT4Tg44uYoulOhGezU0vUiA6sFF_GN-Ekn6GbkTn7Q_-k9U3nDNkGC120vDfAMwRbd0Bh0PFIJLPX5Utc-g0dCLC4dKZEVSZJfmW53gTppXN9Rn71X2ZFC_09MAo-_A/s2302/RabbitFinished23:60HiR.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1807" data-original-width="2302" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghe2Z4diIB0KHfiZa2nKsOsEIAIAXnn8QlwL26KVKgoDMzVhEon0px-5ppYMZCT4Tg44uYoulOhGezU0vUiA6sFF_GN-Ekn6GbkTn7Q_-k9U3nDNkGC120vDfAMwRbd0Bh0PFIJLPX5Utc-g0dCLC4dKZEVSZJfmW53gTppXN9Rn71X2ZFC_09MAo-_A/w320-h253/RabbitFinished23:60HiR.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fast Enought, 2023, 7" X 8" E.V.-edition size is 60 on sized Japanese machine-made washi.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Are you <i>fast</i> enough?</p><p>I wasn't planning on making a Chinese zodiac card this year. </p><p>But I started drawing rabbits, and hares, and more rabbits, until I filled a few pages of sketchbooks with running, jumping, grazing and flying "Thumpers". I had wanted to create a busy background full of jerky marks of grass or reeds whizzing by-but the rabbits couldn't decide if they wanted to be <i>white</i> rabbits on a dark ground, or <i>brown</i> rabbits on a green field- and each time I tried to go one way, the rabbits would run back in the other direction. So my white rabbits kept getting beige fur and black ear and tail highlights, and the brown rabbit was never really dark or real enough. </p><p>But then I remembered it was the year of the WATER rabbit. And that sort of made the background obvious. </p><p>When almost every other animal you meet wants to eat or hurt you, it's no surprise that running away is the most natural response to almost any stimulus. But the hares of our fields first do their best not to get noticed. They blend in to the tall grass and branches, and hunker down, immobile, and are almost impossible to see. But if you get too close, or startle them with a brusque movement or noise, they will explode from almost underfoot, and rocket away, zig-zagging across the field and will cross a long distance before they will glance back to make sure they're not being followed. I will never walk on water, but trying not to be noticed, or running away at the first sign from real or imagined conflict, are habits I recognize.<br /></p><p>The format was driven by my participation in the BarenForums latest exchange (91). The paper size is 7" X 8" and 20 copies went to that print exchange. </p><p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOT2r3I_4pskfpXLZDS0qdJbqR1MJjggLTKcb7UsUyHaFYyjTf1VY4EMYdAiC4n6gy2l-EkqaX2sx2IIx6DpNu2pxR9kPDJlj2DS6SLyESMjFR-eQKBDt__BgvgKV0PNV1NeavtQBuYpF9ORJMjXFsqpx9bZISM-me7sJIIdhFiAhuySLl9sLZr1WLLQ/s568/RabbitFinishedA:Psize2LoR.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="568" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOT2r3I_4pskfpXLZDS0qdJbqR1MJjggLTKcb7UsUyHaFYyjTf1VY4EMYdAiC4n6gy2l-EkqaX2sx2IIx6DpNu2pxR9kPDJlj2DS6SLyESMjFR-eQKBDt__BgvgKV0PNV1NeavtQBuYpF9ORJMjXFsqpx9bZISM-me7sJIIdhFiAhuySLl9sLZr1WLLQ/s320/RabbitFinishedA:Psize2LoR.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The streaking at the top, is from a little too much size-the glue and alum that I added to the paper.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-78349506961343076692022-06-26T09:42:00.002-07:002022-06-26T09:42:49.416-07:00"Fixing" things? Some of My Favorite Shapes.... <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJLkkjQrd16KR92vz-3KSV9L8-dVnhlruckzYDYBTTw29NzdlnsS_AejM9tTUf-ZEyoqxTsbqsxXfYWB-g9YWqT3ytKFt9EMJwmieMbzkh8uTEaRJbQdtiDDK5ChuU8OVEEDw9hTCAsNnBFcfvf-51cpdgsGKcEzy1-ctUPYjmZjJd-Q3SlG16oMJow/s2100/Shapes5x7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxJLkkjQrd16KR92vz-3KSV9L8-dVnhlruckzYDYBTTw29NzdlnsS_AejM9tTUf-ZEyoqxTsbqsxXfYWB-g9YWqT3ytKFt9EMJwmieMbzkh8uTEaRJbQdtiDDK5ChuU8OVEEDw9hTCAsNnBFcfvf-51cpdgsGKcEzy1-ctUPYjmZjJd-Q3SlG16oMJow/s320/Shapes5x7.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> I did this little 4" x 6" pencil sketch on a long flight back from Japan three years ago. I often fill a sketchbook quickly, filling a page with shapes or doodles, and letting the visual forms trigger ideas or lead to the next drawing.<br /></p><p>I usually draw a rectangle, the imaginary "boundary" of my image and fill it with a couple of lines or shapes. This one was a simple idea of basic shapes and primary colors, so I drew a rough square, a simple triangle, and-cramped as I was on the tray table- a quasi- circle....I added a caption, "Some of my favorite Shapes, Hanging out together" and thus it became another etegami--It was too awkward to color it in on the plane, so I turned the page and filled the sketchbook with many other similar drawings. </p><p> I've gone back often to that notebook and always thought about turning this into a very simple print. I pulled out a few blocks, some tracing paper, and started to figure out how to interpret this. One option would be to simply copy it exactly-there are ways to do that and I could reproduce almost exactly my original drawing. BUT since I have to manually get it onto the wood, there is also an opportunity to adjust or fix the original drawing--maybe moving the text if it looks cramped or awkward, or in this case, maybe tweaking some of those OBVIOUS exaggerations I made in the original drawing (the square is actually a rhomboid, and that circle is NOT a circle)....and I will confess I did get out a compass, and adjust the circle to bring it closer to a geometric shape, straighten out the sides of the square, and tweak the triangle a little bit......<br /></p><p> But, that then makes other things look odd, and I realize that maybe it wasn't a great idea....as a rapid gesture drawing of imagined shapes, it has a quirkiness and spontaneity of something done quickly, just to get an idea on paper, that I really like, and that is very much how I usually do things. Instead, once it gets corrected, it becomes more of a formal exercise of the relationship of geometric shapes and the negative space surrounding them (things explored very well by LOTS of great artists in the last 100 years)...and now suddenlty the hand-scribbled text also looks awkard, and may have to be redrawn or omitted...?</p><p>As I drew various corrected shapes, and played with the text, adding and moving letters to fill the empty spaces, I tried to see if I could find a happy place between the two approaches. But once I realized that my vacillation was killing any hope of working--I just picked one of my attempts: one closer to a "real" circle and "real" square than the original. (Made easier by using a collage....).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d4eOH8WG8AhpErXfaK2NakCwgqFdxECSeCsczPzMeuoIQT71sxyeNfR_b4TZ-0mMGwK00zCXvDZIztRob4rAvSUyafWOAl1wZiGhv1ZfwjLFeGQYQDkb6HQife4AvUg9JMP6M3DvYHMrvVt89rxUMLDVWL2AqAWLop0xb3ZAPy16tJtdj3EGhF4WTw/s468/ShapesCollage5x7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d4eOH8WG8AhpErXfaK2NakCwgqFdxECSeCsczPzMeuoIQT71sxyeNfR_b4TZ-0mMGwK00zCXvDZIztRob4rAvSUyafWOAl1wZiGhv1ZfwjLFeGQYQDkb6HQife4AvUg9JMP6M3DvYHMrvVt89rxUMLDVWL2AqAWLop0xb3ZAPy16tJtdj3EGhF4WTw/s320/ShapesCollage5x7.jpeg" width="246" /></a></div><p>I'm going to go with this one.</p><p>But I still haven't decided whether I'll be carving text, or leaving it out.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-82684836405169657922022-05-17T06:30:00.000-07:002022-05-17T06:30:33.966-07:00Inside and outside the Box (Necker Cube) <br /><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_PhFpA458icv0MX6-tAixfUuify6WsWdGuWhbsgDuEcL30FmxeSkSEXkT6P_JqfVoBSOk1KFx-filxDxy1Y4Rzaq9JF6VXFAeysvGK3Lk8bssgAPElXzATwcS9gPprp8uDYZYcBKX3hksH0L9QJKYVYvRn5CWaqQK9_pjR4BzBSVAtFc03-FEkk2Ag/s4032/CubeEarlyProofs.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_PhFpA458icv0MX6-tAixfUuify6WsWdGuWhbsgDuEcL30FmxeSkSEXkT6P_JqfVoBSOk1KFx-filxDxy1Y4Rzaq9JF6VXFAeysvGK3Lk8bssgAPElXzATwcS9gPprp8uDYZYcBKX3hksH0L9QJKYVYvRn5CWaqQK9_pjR4BzBSVAtFc03-FEkk2Ag/s320/CubeEarlyProofs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p></p><p> I quickly drew this simple cube/3-D illusion (see "Necker cube" if you're curious) as a beginners' exercise for one of my mokuhanga classes from last year. All of the participants carved a keyblock line block of the cube and another of one of the face blocks so they could learn basic and proper carving techniques for lines and solid shapes prior to moving on to their own projects. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzicblZj50s3SnSoNCUmv1pd1fWtXU6bAaTLTEutO7A1mC-Yj_yeKKR5FtlW-P6b_dIUNBqNeBN0CY3yiUkPlczxwNMCt4-EuvhX4lAkCMZQAM2A65OTMstmr68vmK5ZZ4pt70wLjbanyNPCMnvK3Lv52rCvfXx7dScfBwLF-gOyrSZicW3NhOAtbwg/s4032/CubeBlocks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzicblZj50s3SnSoNCUmv1pd1fWtXU6bAaTLTEutO7A1mC-Yj_yeKKR5FtlW-P6b_dIUNBqNeBN0CY3yiUkPlczxwNMCt4-EuvhX4lAkCMZQAM2A65OTMstmr68vmK5ZZ4pt70wLjbanyNPCMnvK3Lv52rCvfXx7dScfBwLF-gOyrSZicW3NhOAtbwg/s320/CubeBlocks.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>I kept their blocks and added a few more to use as demo blocks to show various printing techniques as the class progressed. I found I liked the roughness of their carving, especially when mixing and superimposing the various duplicates on top of each other. So after I finished with this group, I printed a few variants on leftover proofing papers. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHV8YziRt4c5XOTVdQvmtBfHCgYOz2zW8DzZo-pBJ_oxV1R3re9PZgxCJn4S9WHtakokoJdP6DI873hP2kGoPsXp0Xdo5d0FXIU7c6ZWZixyFjOfzQzPmKdAgxfjv0V9efAByMlgFkC8NAnbI73Buyhj740nl7WNInVrHDYwsApN4OfsjPQ0G1ItwFQ/s2966/CubeEarlyTrials.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2966" data-original-width="2860" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHV8YziRt4c5XOTVdQvmtBfHCgYOz2zW8DzZo-pBJ_oxV1R3re9PZgxCJn4S9WHtakokoJdP6DI873hP2kGoPsXp0Xdo5d0FXIU7c6ZWZixyFjOfzQzPmKdAgxfjv0V9efAByMlgFkC8NAnbI73Buyhj740nl7WNInVrHDYwsApN4OfsjPQ0G1ItwFQ/s320/CubeEarlyTrials.jpg" width="309" /></a></p><p> Now after a long hiatus myself from carving and printing, I thought I'd pull these out again. <br />I
will be testing my new barens (the Hon-barens I made during the
pandemic lockdowns) as well as some odds and ends of poorly labeled
paper to warm up again to printing.</p><p>It's a bit like doodling with blocks and paper and ink....as I'm building each of these multiples by grabbing blocks and trying to add layers of color to pull forward and push back some of the planes. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEajMW-BiWfIdEM7RKGJ8ndoS478GzwkGottwfYy8-EFGun73NF_FWwVjlr__y6ZMGEr4PRRWAvmC_lPnTyQmg7nmgR1d7ZPXGa0Im4PR8yO4cEPoXVliFrPXmYfBM676aHAG8WfulScD7d1FyqSdFHyqM4WJ9EP0WeA2MSqwMgRvBktwozTRuavu5A/s3024/CubePrism.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2710" data-original-width="3024" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEajMW-BiWfIdEM7RKGJ8ndoS478GzwkGottwfYy8-EFGun73NF_FWwVjlr__y6ZMGEr4PRRWAvmC_lPnTyQmg7nmgR1d7ZPXGa0Im4PR8yO4cEPoXVliFrPXmYfBM676aHAG8WfulScD7d1FyqSdFHyqM4WJ9EP0WeA2MSqwMgRvBktwozTRuavu5A/w320-h287/CubePrism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Most of these will likely end up
in the recycle bin but I might even end up with a couple of one-of-a-kind prints worth keeping. Most of the photos are from my studio, with poor fluorescent lighting and my phone campera lens. Their any LOTS of grays, and they don't photograph well.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAJtOmTOegb8FJ6wNc7Nw4ZQuSSPn-VHkvlfUE7TsFI1i6mLdst9Kt_CSXtczBWln0ZajAA6OOh37fLfDRyD4OyILE97Im3M3UOJCpaRr79ru3hclkfRXCUJ93EpPInmaQ6Fssgb_BpeQyQUmXhdgCdZW0DsseLa5MykkFMxsbyo3BsIuRWcvAnxX5Q/s2617/cubeINSIDEbox.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1898" data-original-width="2617" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAJtOmTOegb8FJ6wNc7Nw4ZQuSSPn-VHkvlfUE7TsFI1i6mLdst9Kt_CSXtczBWln0ZajAA6OOh37fLfDRyD4OyILE97Im3M3UOJCpaRr79ru3hclkfRXCUJ93EpPInmaQ6Fssgb_BpeQyQUmXhdgCdZW0DsseLa5MykkFMxsbyo3BsIuRWcvAnxX5Q/s320/cubeINSIDEbox.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p>This one with the idea of all of the shadows draining from a tipped over box intrigues me enough to try again with better paper and more pigment layers to build some depth and shadow. <br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DA9T7XHsxSV6Ws7remFoElApNwYuUcw4AZ5UCtwbGIslKkWH-WgCXR_iXsjwenDaGX9MqhDaXWsOoSRQLlvM0uV6hMnjphWwt9p3IspcfB5rPmM6404C3VQ3r2H42J1bLQ9eS7B4z70h7sD_BTB1cxOkkrLiK19CsYsfb_dIswnuBSsC7rx5_z82rQ/s2939/77F0EB36-5D1D-4528-82B4-2EBB1CC1EA10.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2233" data-original-width="2939" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DA9T7XHsxSV6Ws7remFoElApNwYuUcw4AZ5UCtwbGIslKkWH-WgCXR_iXsjwenDaGX9MqhDaXWsOoSRQLlvM0uV6hMnjphWwt9p3IspcfB5rPmM6404C3VQ3r2H42J1bLQ9eS7B4z70h7sD_BTB1cxOkkrLiK19CsYsfb_dIswnuBSsC7rx5_z82rQ/s320/77F0EB36-5D1D-4528-82B4-2EBB1CC1EA10.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-18991020912910128802022-01-15T15:36:00.001-08:002022-01-16T04:16:17.321-08:00The only tool I have is a hammer and ALL of my problems look like nails....<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji8xswa80jdwwDOfLwNIDzyoxZ4M52hpdajV0r8XZTM6e3o6E5e4RifS5_2d9Oj76oF5xgiLrsCo974Y7CmTIYShHyQgqOQzsxrPa5SAfjPHzZW17L5TskgRHwD14pvSj09FW8zvF4BJuRUOaav5LrMk6E8rPIhfaRhnNdz6G8lsP-CV5SEGXWUmphNg=s1000" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji8xswa80jdwwDOfLwNIDzyoxZ4M52hpdajV0r8XZTM6e3o6E5e4RifS5_2d9Oj76oF5xgiLrsCo974Y7CmTIYShHyQgqOQzsxrPa5SAfjPHzZW17L5TskgRHwD14pvSj09FW8zvF4BJuRUOaav5LrMk6E8rPIhfaRhnNdz6G8lsP-CV5SEGXWUmphNg=s400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This was an etegami that never was. I had the idea to do a postcard of an old hammer and the text was already there, the 60's-era quote from the psychologist Abraham Maslow that "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail".
But I never did the sumi postcard, since I had rapidly sketched an imaginary hammer, and liked how it came out, so modified it to use as a sample print for a workshop demo. The simple line drawing was easy to turn into 4 separate plates and to show how to transfer the image and to demonstrate carving.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi89hcBwDt3rOi7g2sxyyXDloSC8TosSrM9LYSG-P6KgrqBC_sVTT5WY6_hglx8LJfaex_Dj9sSBUoC7fCZM3drIxhPkKt8IePFHuHMBY9qirxSAWTca2haicdOQgnUxgYtEvoUDbvKfdzEdz4Hgr3P7jUEjBILrqNfQjnI0lbh-_3TBgP__AEu8VMtYw=s3209" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2339" data-original-width="3209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi89hcBwDt3rOi7g2sxyyXDloSC8TosSrM9LYSG-P6KgrqBC_sVTT5WY6_hglx8LJfaex_Dj9sSBUoC7fCZM3drIxhPkKt8IePFHuHMBY9qirxSAWTca2haicdOQgnUxgYtEvoUDbvKfdzEdz4Hgr3P7jUEjBILrqNfQjnI0lbh-_3TBgP__AEu8VMtYw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZ5e3bkdrQ7E57RSgtQgsTPfLLhltls4_sxUyt-Oog9WqU0nouqj8EZUYvBqK_XQmW_V_53ZCYaS22TU8omZuiF4-UPa_ZDOK8Cu8yV4e-lim21Yx_GrCIiWv1ZZ3T6wo122HoLA1huylioceMWsxbDVOq-CgtavD6i9B2jYtvHrOsmLL27tVJi431dQ=s3161" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2289" data-original-width="3161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZ5e3bkdrQ7E57RSgtQgsTPfLLhltls4_sxUyt-Oog9WqU0nouqj8EZUYvBqK_XQmW_V_53ZCYaS22TU8omZuiF4-UPa_ZDOK8Cu8yV4e-lim21Yx_GrCIiWv1ZZ3T6wo122HoLA1huylioceMWsxbDVOq-CgtavD6i9B2jYtvHrOsmLL27tVJi431dQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div>
But that was in NOVEMBER, and with just 4 blocks, and rather straightforward colors, this print <i>should</i> have been done in just a few days. But times are strange, and between Covid lockdowns, waves of infection that kept me out of the studio, the need to take care of garden/outdoor projects or to assist with family matters meant that the prints got started, then stashed in the freezer multiple times. A small loss of line in a key block I wasn't sure I was going to use needed a repair, and further work was delayed by the Winter and New Year Holidays.
But I finished one set of proofs, shown above.
You can see very pronounced goma-zuri (speckling) that I think was due to me using either too strong a size (too much alum) or mistakenly sizing the same sheet twice....the background block should have printed the shina grain.
But I like how this came out.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDa31n88fef2VZzhiDKhpiDiwxljyEJD0neTzxG-kStd-9YFc5bDAXhKtCXV16WFsF5tuEu9ONJL5mL3vqKPUs31bmqaArak3dNbftTNPaOnY-bbgNsulfUGZYYMNcAzLF3jMo7YbiqKC4vyYq2BErSr7BppbDMj05VCJqqqJnXE_Ft5CTxlvFVYy0Qg=s4032" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDa31n88fef2VZzhiDKhpiDiwxljyEJD0neTzxG-kStd-9YFc5bDAXhKtCXV16WFsF5tuEu9ONJL5mL3vqKPUs31bmqaArak3dNbftTNPaOnY-bbgNsulfUGZYYMNcAzLF3jMo7YbiqKC4vyYq2BErSr7BppbDMj05VCJqqqJnXE_Ft5CTxlvFVYy0Qg=s320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1zAwQ7Z4MI1v_E7Yn_BqXLU-QoLphz4SGqH5CVqKJ9sI6Qdqvxq1eXuqIu86x9OIKpOFDRl2XZ-64SJlS-e4juMgzqtr_38W_yWZPjPcaLvPxwWePeHk1zeIiDqvStnVklTBP0guDNyOk0jHOJ5EnM_9j4qUAZAhOTs6EODE9pIa0o2vt0BA1dtq7Jg=s4032" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1zAwQ7Z4MI1v_E7Yn_BqXLU-QoLphz4SGqH5CVqKJ9sI6Qdqvxq1eXuqIu86x9OIKpOFDRl2XZ-64SJlS-e4juMgzqtr_38W_yWZPjPcaLvPxwWePeHk1zeIiDqvStnVklTBP0guDNyOk0jHOJ5EnM_9j4qUAZAhOTs6EODE9pIa0o2vt0BA1dtq7Jg=s320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD2O5_6dPmIhtycVTHeI3dIMSaNAakhTuKXz9QlLqSl9TGsQW7p_VoxPP4e1snE3-5MlHCic7z5sPovNddTvUjnYlHltUK5TmJnY5X93jjAF5tnFbFr5rd0PHaNVGr8AnvsVdIpSI25TvFHWbmBsMFaD8TsgmjOSAXObG7mrmLGkNjcIzvrxn--hXalw=s4032" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD2O5_6dPmIhtycVTHeI3dIMSaNAakhTuKXz9QlLqSl9TGsQW7p_VoxPP4e1snE3-5MlHCic7z5sPovNddTvUjnYlHltUK5TmJnY5X93jjAF5tnFbFr5rd0PHaNVGr8AnvsVdIpSI25TvFHWbmBsMFaD8TsgmjOSAXObG7mrmLGkNjcIzvrxn--hXalw=s320" /></a></div>
The top photo is a proof I finished today. It was printed on Awagami heavyweight kozo, a machine-made paper to which I've added additional sizing--there is another set, on natural-color kozo that I hope to finish early next week and on which I want to try the original idea--a version without a keyblock, using just the overlapping color plates to create defining borders to separate the shapes and forms.
Either way, and despite starting this in November, this is my First Print of 2022.....
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-78641181345818525662021-05-06T09:19:00.002-07:002021-05-06T09:34:30.530-07:00Brayer Paintings-trace monotypes and drawings<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PTg0rLn0y_g/YJBwkfrzZkI/AAAAAAAAEQM/tDuE5AChyJIRSvr-P90AT7439Evmb0_7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/BrayerJustLikeThat.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="2048" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PTg0rLn0y_g/YJBwkfrzZkI/AAAAAAAAEQM/tDuE5AChyJIRSvr-P90AT7439Evmb0_7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h308/BrayerJustLikeThat.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"And Just Like that It was over. "<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>I have a folder of work that I've been creating, off-and-on, for a half-dozen years. These odd, mostly abstract or vaguely recognizable images I've been calling brayer paintings but they are more correctly referred to as transfer monotypes and/or ink drawings, created by drawing or painting directly onto the paper with a brayer, or indirectly by the transfer of ink off a glass plate by rubbing or marking a sheet of paper from the back, while it is face-down on a inked glass slab. </p><p> While I mostly work with water-based pigments and the Japanese method of woodblock prints, I make traditional western prints too--drypoints and etchings and also occasional works incorporating letterpress text, all of which are printed using oil-based relief inks, usually rolled onto a slab or glass plate, and then transferred to the plate or mobile type. After the day's work is over, clean-up means getting the excess ink off the plate, first by scraping it off with a piece of scrap cardstock or by placing newsprint on the plate and rubbing that to get the ink off before using vegetable oil and soap and water to wash the plate and brayer. </p><p> </p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sarq361vOR8/YJQRhrLkwCI/AAAAAAAAERA/B0_M1n_8qesTuvmN7UrNx3i9fINrCeiFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Untitled%2528FailingMemoryLoR%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1490" data-original-width="2048" height="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sarq361vOR8/YJQRhrLkwCI/AAAAAAAAERA/B0_M1n_8qesTuvmN7UrNx3i9fINrCeiFwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h291/Untitled%2528FailingMemoryLoR%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled, (Failing Memory)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p>But as I noticed that I sort of liked the newsprint or paper towels that I lifted off the glass, the ink transferred to the face down surface, it was an easy thing to start making them on purpose, using clean pieces of bond paper--acid free printing (xerox) paper--and deliberately working to pull off ink in a semi-guided way. I could lay the clean paper face down on the inked slab, and then rub it with my fingers or fingernails, the back handle of a paintbrush or any simple implement.On others, I worked directly with the brayer, using it to draw on the paper directly and layering thin and thick layers of ink.</p><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nIbwKXTeKHU/YJB181MoLNI/AAAAAAAAEQU/2AJDxwqqJdwfa1eBlPppEaQSoGAW9XfsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/SleepAndDeath.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1722" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nIbwKXTeKHU/YJB181MoLNI/AAAAAAAAEQU/2AJDxwqqJdwfa1eBlPppEaQSoGAW9XfsQCLcBGAsYHQ/w269-h320/SleepAndDeath.jpeg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Sleep and Death" (two doors).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>I liked the results, but realized that I should try to use good paper rather than copy paper. However using paper of better quality made it much harder to work freely. With good Japanese paper, there is always a hesitation and fear of "wasting" an expensive piece of handmade paper by making a mistake or ruining a promising start, and that hindered the spontaneity and directness that made these simple works interesting. </p><p>I solved that by (for the most part) by cutting down whole sheets into A4 size and having a folder--at hand--and reserved for just this purpose. With a folder full of paper, it's been a little easier to work without worrying too much about making a mistake. So at the end of my occasional oil-based projects, I usually find time to make 1 or 2 pieces using the leftover ink and the wet brayer. </p><p>I consider these part drawing, part painting, and part printmaking. They start off as abstract markings, but gradually they start to get pushed into a direction guided by the evolving image. Like passing clouds that take on the likeness of animals or figures, my ink-slab drawings start to suggest subjects and titles. </p><p></p><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n4xliFXMprE/YJB223309iI/AAAAAAAAEQc/q1bGCtLakg8ZBquqC2ktEl_-l6XXRhXwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/BrayerPassingStorm.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1603" data-original-width="2048" height="313" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n4xliFXMprE/YJB223309iI/AAAAAAAAEQc/q1bGCtLakg8ZBquqC2ktEl_-l6XXRhXwwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h313/BrayerPassingStorm.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Passing Storm" 2020</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>Well see how far these can go. I'd like to work a little bigger--try with a bigger brayer and a full sheet of paper--or go even bigger but with both bigger and smaller brayers or ink rollers....the key is to keep making them, without thinking too much. <br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-19593504532054282482021-02-28T13:18:00.003-08:002021-02-28T15:06:59.310-08:00Inclined Plane: (What will it take to move me?).<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVpi8FzTs1Q/YDrUWdCwBHI/AAAAAAAAELU/4WoubJERzX8LPaAQ0sHH-h0cyCXg6rymgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/InclinedPlane13%253A30DTL.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1743" data-original-width="2048" height="340" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVpi8FzTs1Q/YDrUWdCwBHI/AAAAAAAAELU/4WoubJERzX8LPaAQ0sHH-h0cyCXg6rymgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h340/InclinedPlane13%253A30DTL.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /><br />The Inclined plane is one of the 6 simple machines, used since ancient times to aid in construction or move masses of stone, or materials up or down. By increasing the distance traveled, the amount of force needed is decreased when compared to hauling the same weight straight up or down. Blocks of stone were hauled up long ramps to build the pyramids and the blocks of Italian marble were slid from the quarries, miles to the sea using sloped ramps and rolling logs and teams of oxen to ship by boat to Rome and the rest of the world. The forces acting are gravity, pulling downwards, inertia, a body's resistence to movement based on it's mass, and friction, the resistence to sliding based on the nature of the materials and their surfaces. Increasing the slope, decreasing the coefficient of friction (by oiling or wetting the surface), or applying an outward force (pushing or pulling) will all aid in moving any object up or down the ramp. </p><p>But this was intended as a metaphor and not a physics problem. I've been stuck for a while, not with creative block, I have a book of ideas of prints and images I want to explore, but with something else. I can't seem to get anything done. I've a desk and studio full of unfinished work and many more never started. And the BIG things, changes I need to make in my life and for my career, sit in a stack, getting taller as it also gets buried, by all the things that I let pile up and take precedence over the important, or distract me, long enough, so it's too late most every day to even think about tackling my problems. <br /></p><p></p><p>So, it's been a long time since I really worked on a new woodblock print. The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantines and lockdowns and the political upheaval in the USA and Italy have had me fairly paralyzed, glued to the computer trying to figure out what's happening next or wondering about the future. So when the Barenforum called for participants in their next print exchange, in a simple format and without a theme, I decided to take the hint, and sign up, hoping that the deadline would help push me to start working again. </p><p>This was meant to be a simple image of a dark block, sitting on a steep slope at the borderline of what would visually feel like it might want to move, or slip, on it's own, or with a little help. One has to imagine the forces preventing any movement--inertia, maybe laziness, fear of failure or habits of self-sabatoge, the frictions of daily life: my duties as parent or husband, taxes, a mortgage, family conflicts very near and far away, ageing parents and troubled children, the quiet and odd newness of an ageing body and the subtle return of hints of illnesses known but never really conquered or new, disquieting symptoms that whisper menace with all the things that any little thing might portend. <br /></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wqxrk5s80Kk/YDrUWunu1uI/AAAAAAAAELY/8GvtNvKgtJAl5_2JKTwPbQIphd20zrtxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_E8199.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1711" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wqxrk5s80Kk/YDrUWunu1uI/AAAAAAAAELY/8GvtNvKgtJAl5_2JKTwPbQIphd20zrtxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_E8199.jpg" width="320" /></a> What to do?</p><p> I can increase the slope. Sooner or later, I'll start to slip and then accelerate downhill. I can try to smooth the rough parts on the path, make the rough and irregular road, smooth and slippery. Or I can wait for some inevitable, eventual, external force--maybe positive: such as an invition to participate in a print exchange or residency, or a commission, or an exciting idea that just begs to be worked on, or negative one--a major life event or disruption--that forces me finally to change or startles me into flight. But either way, like it or not, I have the sense that once it comes, and I start to slip and accelerate downhill, it may not be possible to control how fast or far I go, or stop if I want to. <br /></p><p>"Inclined Plane" "What does it take to move me?" 8" x 10" Mokuhanga watercolor woodblock with handwritten text. Edition Varié, 30 copies on off white or beige Japanese kozo paper. 9 color impressions from six plywood blocks with Sumi ink, watercolor pigments and rice paste. </p><p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RLG-Oj1jNFE/YDwGz8ts_xI/AAAAAAAAELo/Sh6m8StStdY2ktC612FlY9UEhFHxpkTlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s550/InclinedBrownLines2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="550" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RLG-Oj1jNFE/YDwGz8ts_xI/AAAAAAAAELo/Sh6m8StStdY2ktC612FlY9UEhFHxpkTlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/InclinedBrownLines2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An early sketch</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-11997416358334753772020-03-29T14:19:00.002-07:002020-03-29T14:19:54.949-07:00Year of the RATNOTE: I started working on this little print in November 2019 and
finished mailing them out in late February....just as the COVID-19 was just
beginning to migrate out of China and into Italy. I certainly didn't
expect that the epidemic that started in Wuhan would spread so far and
so fast, and my folded-paper, mouse/rat was supposed to be an innocent
and gentle reminder of the fragility and transient nature of all things....<br />
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The Rat is the first of the 12 animals that make up the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac and as this year also marks the beginning a new decade, it was supposed to be a year of good and auspicious beginnings. I began working on this print in November--as I used it as a class project for my beginners' woodblock class in Florence's art and culture center, L'Appartamento. Using the traditional method of working in which the carvers and printers would have worked from a simple sketch--I provided the students with my drawing of an origami rat (mouse) and the students became first the carvers and then the printers of the blocks that were needed to print the color print version. Along the way I got to show them the hanshita method of image transfer that allows a reliable way to ensure that the multiple color blocks will register to the black and white keyblock, much as they would have done in the Ukiyo-e workshops of Japan 150 years ago.<br />
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I was able to combine my student-cut color plates and with my key block (with the addition of another color block to allow some bokashi gradation printing) using the combination of plates to print this year's "YEAR of the RAT" greeting card.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An early proof in B&W and gray</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I also printed them on a mix of papers, although the majority were printed on Western papers--Magnani incisioni, Fabriano Artistico and Arches 180lb cotton etching papers instead of Japanese washi. That let me have cards that had a thick, postcard-like heft but also gave them the slightly grainy, textured look that mokuhanga prints get when they're printed on Western papers.<br />
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Of the 125 copies I printed, about 40 went to the Baren Zodiac exchange, another 40 to colleagues and collectors, and about another 40 to family and friends. <br />
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As I wrote above, my little zodiac print was supposed to represent a good-luck, origami mouse--but this was not the kind of luck or 2020 I was expecting. I hope the current international health and social disaster ends soon and that the toll on human life and suffering of all things in the natural world are not greater than we can bear and that we remember to help each other through the difficult times ahead--the more fortunate assisting those in need. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-77138076581154290522019-06-24T05:22:00.000-07:002019-06-24T05:51:33.962-07:00Of Purple Cows II-The Hard Part is Going Home Again. Williams College Reunion Print-Idea to Completion.<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NUobZN2dDRE/XRC8F48kZuI/AAAAAAAADfs/llmKFJXhKWoX7I3jE9-meX3gHAoC-RQswCLcBGAs/s1600/COWFinished.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NUobZN2dDRE/XRC8F48kZuI/AAAAAAAADfs/llmKFJXhKWoX7I3jE9-meX3gHAoC-RQswCLcBGAs/s400/COWFinished.jpeg" width="298" /></a><br />
Here is the finished print (one of almost 200 copies) and the accompanying essay that enclosed the print inside the gift envelope.<br />
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As I alluded to in my last post, in addition to providing some graphic work for the T-shirts and other goodies for my 35th college reunion, I was really intrigued by the idea of making a small print to include as a reunion gift. Originally I thought that would allow me to skip attending--I'm too far away after all--yet still let me participate in a meaningful way.<br />
I was really interested in the Purple Cow for all the possible ways it could be imagined and it fit so well into my odd collection of animal prints. I spent a fair amount of time thinking and doodling possibilities: I really liked the idea of working with a porcelain cream pitcher and putting together a interior vignette with a limited palette (à la P. Vallaton):<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H3eEYhdrqUY/XRCo8RDN-6I/AAAAAAAADdI/HjN81peDZCEiy8YZKfFz7dxiqHvdJtTxgCLcBGAs/s1600/Creamer4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H3eEYhdrqUY/XRCo8RDN-6I/AAAAAAAADdI/HjN81peDZCEiy8YZKfFz7dxiqHvdJtTxgCLcBGAs/s320/Creamer4.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
or less ambitiously, two cows chatting/gossiping about the returning herd, "Why is everyone here so OLD?" or "Everyone seems to be Vegan Now" or "I think Bob had his horns done..".<br />
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Fortunately, there was a gift committee, and although I realize now they would have been quite happy to give me free rein to come up with a finished thing, I was reluctant to risk giving unsolicited art object to such a large audience without a little feedback (I was afraid my work would be a little too odd or possibly somber or bizarre). So I sent them written ideas and thumbnail sketches and they worked through them and helped choose from among my ideas something that was consistent with the idea of Reunion, still representative of my "style", a little bit funny and pretty enough that it would be a gift people would be happy to receive, yet without (I hoped) becoming trite or banal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An acrobatic cow--getting closer....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family, the Reunion Committee and even strangers liked this idea the best: It would get reworked extensively before I committed it to the block(s).</td></tr>
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I put the original sketch together on my flight back from Tokyo, and although I originally imagined a more athletic, acrobatic bovine (with a hoof that poked through the border) the final design focused more on the purple hills, and included a recognizable Williamstown landmark and the Purple Cow at a size that I could manage to carve both the text I wanted to include, as well as the small "84" on the ear tag (the limiting factor for my carving ability) from my cherry key block. It also allowed me to pick out woods with grain patterns that would enhance the cow hide and vertical "trees" of the hills (mahogany) and the idea of clouds and swirling in the sky (Shina/linden plywood).<br />
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Below are various process shots of the key block and color blocks and some intermediate steps.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The keyblock with the drawing glued down but before carving (cherry wood).</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carving of the key block mostly done.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail: key block.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from the finished keyblock, prints were taken to do the color separations. These get glued down to new blocks that will become the color plates. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back hill and steeple shadows. (the rest got eliminated).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtXeIniVsBg/XRCtbz4dRiI/AAAAAAAADes/TWSXHYwvSPczIBxx1T48Us4Z0OVdfd31gCEwYBhgL/s1600/CowYellow%253ABrass%2BBlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtXeIniVsBg/XRCtbz4dRiI/AAAAAAAADes/TWSXHYwvSPczIBxx1T48Us4Z0OVdfd31gCEwYBhgL/s320/CowYellow%253ABrass%2BBlock.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This plate was printed yellow first: ear tag/chop/steeple brass bits, then it was inked and printed again with the brass color for just the metal parts--so two colors printed from the same plate in separate inkings and impressions.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the block above after 2 color impressions (Yellow and "brass").</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">color plates (udder/hills/hooves/chop)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Color plates: yellow bits, sky, purple hills and cow.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sky block with gradation (bokashi) printing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The print with all the color plates printed waiting for the black final impression.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 9-10 color impressions (from the 7 blocks). </td></tr>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-79662649886579386682019-06-06T09:31:00.001-07:002019-06-06T09:31:26.016-07:00Of Purple Cows--Part 1<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The winning bovine. </td></tr>
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I was contacted by my old college suite-mate a few months ago to ask if I would consider doing some original art work for our 35th college reunion. I went to Williams College, a small, liberal arts college in western Massachusetts where I was a studio art major--getting a degree in 1984 in Fine Art--but I also managed to fulfill all the science and math classes needed to satisfy a pre-med major. Consequently, I was almost always in one of the art studios, the science labs, or the library studying--and I never got to meet, nor know most of my classmates that made up our year. I have mixed feelings about my college years. Much of who I am now is due to my years at Williams, but the choices I made there and the trajectory of my life since has been so unlike what I imagined when I was a student that I had misgivings about being able to attend reunion or to be able to say much that would be appropriate for a Reunion get together. We traded emails back and forth for a bit, I'm not a commercial artist or illustrator and lack that skill set but I am a visual artist and since the school mascot--the Purple Cow--appealed to me, I said yes. <br />For the next few weeks I doodled various interpretations of cows and hills, eventually settling on a couple of ideas that I liked as a logo for the 35th Reunion. The Reunion Gift committee was pretty helpful in helping choose among the drafts and ideas I put together things that seemed to be suited to the purposes of bringing back alumni that would not have normally considered returning and made the process much easier than I had thought it would be. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A purple cow flank OR the Purple Hills? The numbers came from a photo I saw years ago of butterfly wings showing color patterns that resembled arabic numerals and the English alphabet.</td></tr>
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<br />But during our initial discussions I also suggested that while I am not an illustrator I <b>AM</b> a printmaker, and the particular technique I have adopted was particularly suited to making color multiples suitable for a small gifts or momentos and what did he think about the idea of doing an original mokuhanga print as something to include in the gift bag instead of the usual fare.<br />
I'll write more about where those discussions went in my next post.<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-19650087199089809572019-04-03T11:47:00.000-07:002019-04-03T11:47:14.336-07:00Tokyo Diary: Flowering plums<br />
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I have just returned from a one-month artist residency in Tokyo, Japan. Along with fellow mokuhanga artists Mara Cozzolino, Laura Boswell and Paul Furneaux, we were group participants in ArtsChiyoda3331's joint residency, sharing an apartment and a large studio space in the antique books section of Tokyo--- Jimbocho. It was a paradise for mokuhanga artists; there were antique Ukiyo-e prints in the book shops, Ukiyo-e prints in the museums, and we had contacts and lists of artists, material suppliers and shops, and craftsmen making tools, paper, blocks, sharpening stones and more. I wasn't sure what I was going to work on-but I wanted it to have a subject that would tie in with my presence in Japan, but still reflect my artistic interests of etegami and woodblock prints.<br />
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While all Tokyo and much of Japan was eagerly awaiting the Sakura blossoms--the cherry blooms. I was carrying a drawing I did this time LAST year, of an old, stunted plum tree, in bud and starting to flower.<br />
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That drawing was an etegami--a loose sumi ink brush drawing to which watercolors were added and then text.<br />
And since along with the Japanese Quince, the plums are among the first of the blooms to open, they were blooming when I left Florence, and I found them blooming--in lots of places in Japan too.<br />
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On my first morning in Tokyo, I found them on the way to Ueno park in a streetside garden, I found them again, on a scroll in a shop selling calligraphy supplies, and I found them again inside the museum, depicted over and over again.<br />
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So I was happy to throw myself into this long and noble tradition. This is the original drawing/etegami from which I created the resulting print. <br />
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I added the background and there is some variation in color and gradation intensity across the 30 print edition. <br />
"What if I'm not ready?"<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5heuIjx27v4/XKT-myDdklI/AAAAAAAADak/cqKF7oRwp1UrAuzT65zXpOl0v33ztvI1wCLcBGAs/s1600/Ready1%253A30.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5heuIjx27v4/XKT-myDdklI/AAAAAAAADak/cqKF7oRwp1UrAuzT65zXpOl0v33ztvI1wCLcBGAs/s320/Ready1%253A30.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
Japanese woodblock print: Edition Varie of 30. Printed from 8 Shina blocks,<br />
12 layers of color with watercolor, sumi ink and rice paste on mixed Japanese papers. <br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-77459343060776158432019-01-26T15:29:00.004-08:002019-01-26T15:55:03.612-08:00Year(s) of the Boar--an Old boar for a New Year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S's original 2007 drawing/prototype.</td></tr>
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February 5th marks this year's Chinese New Year. <br />
According to the Asian Zodiac, 2019 is the year of the Boar, the last Pig year being 12 years ago in 2007, and <i>THIS</i> year, I've decided to reproduce a drawing done 12 years ago by my younger son, S.<br />
It's a story that many know already.<br />
In 2007, I had just started making woodblock prints and I had intended to join that year's Baren Forum Zodiac Exchange (the sign-up closed before I could join so my print wasn't included).<br />
As is my usual working method, I made thumbnail sketches, redrew and redrew while looking at multiple images from the internet. The prep stages took a couple of weeks before I decided on an image that was then carved and printed for the Year of the Boar, 2007. But S wasn't really interested in signing a family card and said he would make one of his own. So he disappeared for about 25 minutes and came back with the image you see above. We were thrilled with his drawing and photocopied it to include inside the envelope with my card. But he was clearly unhappy and he became more and more disturbed until he finally burst into tears, distraught and inconsolable over the idea that he couldn't draw as well as I did. <br />
I made it worse by laughing at the obvious--and I tried to convince him what I knew to be the truth, that his drawing was original, and funny, and wonderfully creative and perfect and much, much, much better than mine. (He didn't believe me). I promised then that the next year (Year of the Rat) he would design the family card (and he did).<br />
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Now it's 2019 and S. is now 18. He doesn't draw as much as I'd like, and he's into Manga, so much of what he does draw looks a little too much like rather anonymous Japanese or Korean manga. But he's also learning Japanese and hopes to visit Japan next year after he finishes high school. And 12 years later I still think his boar is fantastic and he accepted my proposal to use it for this year's greeting card. He made a couple of adjustments, adding the Kanji symbol for "Boar" and the "new" year-- 2019. And I removed the text at the bottom to make it easier to print and carve.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>new</i> key block, from tracing the old and carving it from a linoleum block.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_SEh4avTysw/XEzrmjE0HbI/AAAAAAAADZM/U4l7zTckVNA82E0pFc3R0oi1WFiO1bagwCLcBGAs/s1600/BoarSamiSnout%253Ahooves.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="798" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_SEh4avTysw/XEzrmjE0HbI/AAAAAAAADZM/U4l7zTckVNA82E0pFc3R0oi1WFiO1bagwCLcBGAs/s320/BoarSamiSnout%253Ahooves.jpeg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the color blocks printed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WgNKgOpm3ho/XEzr0z2FwEI/AAAAAAAADZU/oVlgBPH_yKglSJG0_STy-rPjZYsDLe4jACLcBGAs/s1600/BoarSamiGoodPROOF%2B1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="802" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WgNKgOpm3ho/XEzr0z2FwEI/AAAAAAAADZU/oVlgBPH_yKglSJG0_STy-rPjZYsDLe4jACLcBGAs/s320/BoarSamiGoodPROOF%2B1.jpeg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2019 Year of the Boar (Proof)</td></tr>
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I tried to keep it as close as possible to the original sketch. There is a linoleum key block and 3 additional wood blocks for the color plates. (Yellow(background), Brown (Boar body/head), and a mixed block to print the pink snout, the tan trotters and the bokashi-stained tusks of our spirited boar. All were printed with watercolors, sumi ink, and rice paste using a baren. <br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-79988664093810168492018-12-05T13:14:00.000-08:002018-12-05T15:18:01.726-08:00I may never finish my novel....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IdOMISKq8Ng/XAgsOSiD-8I/AAAAAAAADYg/Bw8cgUcGJbs9XM1erSieEJ4QmpBIjNztACLcBGAs/s1600/NovelProofFabriano.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1235" data-original-width="1600" height="246" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IdOMISKq8Ng/XAgsOSiD-8I/AAAAAAAADYg/Bw8cgUcGJbs9XM1erSieEJ4QmpBIjNztACLcBGAs/s320/NovelProofFabriano.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue-gray of the ferrule isn't showing up in the scan.</td></tr>
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This print began as an etegami--another of the small Japanese mail-art cards I make. It was done during my first Etegami workshop, where I used a small pencil stub to make 3 different simple sumi ink and watercolor drawings, with added text. I knew right away one would become a print.<br />
I also have a novel and probably a few short stories in me--although I doubt any will ever get written.<br />
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This is a simple image, but getting it carved and printed has posed a few hurdles.<br />
I enlarged the size of the work from postcard-size (3"x5") to an easier to carve 8" x 10" to make it less likely that I'd have too much trouble cutting the text but I still had the top half of one of the "e"s pop off; I had to re-glue and re-cut a repair 3 times due to glue failure the first time, wrong glue (too elastic) the second time, and (fingers crossed) the last repair seems to be holding. Mostly I've had a hard time getting into the studio with enough protected time to just get it done.<br />
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The above copy/proof is on Fabriano Artistico--a thick, Italian watercolor paper but there are still a few things to work out:<br />
The original drawing was done on a postcard--so it had a natural boundary (the paper edges) and the drawing "happened" with that scale in mind, but printed on a bigger sheet, it now has a much larger outer border of white paper--and I can either leave it like that or print a very faint rectangle of very pale color (it's called a Beta-ban block)--that would recreate the original horizontal, small format on the bigger sheet. This variant still needs to be finished as well as a few more that have a different block order to see if it changes the final look.<br />
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Here's the original etegami watercolor and sumi ink postcard.<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bojd0IWntgI/XAgsVmwZYEI/AAAAAAAADYo/f1wWn51x8CoPnCBUnY0CHDSWhWw6VUqFACLcBGAs/s1600/PencilNovelLoR.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bojd0IWntgI/XAgsVmwZYEI/AAAAAAAADYo/f1wWn51x8CoPnCBUnY0CHDSWhWw6VUqFACLcBGAs/s320/PencilNovelLoR.jpeg" width="320" /></a> <br />
This print, is pretty close to recreating the original--I did tweak the pencil in a few places, lessening the slightly phallic droop of the point. I also pushed the text over a little bit, and reversed the chop (white letter on red field).<br />
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Tomorrow, I'll finish printing the rest of the proofs. That will allow me to see what they look like with the background block before I cut down the rest of the paper and print the final version or full edition.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UdFjolpSn9g/XAgsQsDVBGI/AAAAAAAADYk/mEd_7qygeOQtv22e5vAIQ5---p3pxDDBQCLcBGAs/s1600/NovelProofColorstages1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="1600" height="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UdFjolpSn9g/XAgsQsDVBGI/AAAAAAAADYk/mEd_7qygeOQtv22e5vAIQ5---p3pxDDBQCLcBGAs/s320/NovelProofColorstages1.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
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This set on Japanese paper is almost done. They lack just the two yellow layers of the pencil wood and the sumi ink "keyblock" and text. I'll post a finished version of these too as soon as they're done.<br />
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You can't see the beautiful gray-blue of the metal ferrule--it won't pick up with the scanner but it really goes well with the orange-y pencil and pink eraser. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-33087659927500913392018-09-30T07:41:00.000-07:002018-09-30T07:44:30.729-07:00October News-Tattoos, Mokuhanga and EtegamiOctober is just around the corner and I'm busy preparing for some new experiences.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z696jR386xs/W7DXByj1ZvI/AAAAAAAADXY/Ug_czj6Kt58bRvruVJTdSGDvKrV8oP_kwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-09-30%2Bat%2B3.35.47%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="772" height="330" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z696jR386xs/W7DXByj1ZvI/AAAAAAAADXY/Ug_czj6Kt58bRvruVJTdSGDvKrV8oP_kwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-09-30%2Bat%2B3.35.47%2BPM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>DEMO</b>: Next weekend, as a guest of the Lacrimanera Tattoo Studio, I will be demonstrating Japanese woodblock printing at the Florence Tattoo Convention. <br />
This year the 11th edition of the Florence Tattoo Convention is partially dedicated to the history of Japanese tattoos (and their inherent relationship to modern tattoo's ever increasing interest in the works of the Ukiyo-e as subject matter. Thanks to Ivan Pengo and Milan's Stamperia 74b and Florence's Lacrimenera Tattoo Studio, there will be an exhibit of the wonderful Adachi Institute woodblocks reproducing well-known masterpieces of the Ukiyo-e by Utamara, Kunioshi, and Hokusai and as part of that show, I've been asked to demonstrate Japanese woodblock printing during the Convention. I'll be present all day Friday (3p-2a) and Sunday (noon-2am) and I'll have a dedicated table where I'll have blocks, prints, paper and other materials and hope to be carving and printing and working on a new print during the convention. If I'm not too exhausted, I'll try to be there also on Saturday, and I'll be working on a new print with both carving and printing demos during the day.<br />
So If you fascinated by tattoos, or fascinated by mokuhanga, there will be both at the Fortezza da Basso in Firenze next weekend. I'll be at Stand 4, just inside the main entrance.<br />
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<b>WORKSHOP</b> Later in the month, if you are tired of just watching, you can learn how to make your own woodblock prints at my next mokuhanga course. For the weekend of October 19-21, I'll be in Ravenna, Italy for my next 3-day, beginner's Mokuhanga Workshop. I'm hosted by Enrico Rambaldi and Ink33 and there are still places in this usually sold-out workshop in a wonderful city famous for it's phenomenal Byzantine mosaics. For information: <span style="color: #b05a24;"><a href="mailto:infoink33@gmail.com" style="color: #b05a24;">infoink33@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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<b>ETEGAMI</b> And on Sunday afternoon, October 28th from 2pm-6pm I'll be giving an Etegami workshop at L'Appartamento, Via dei Geraldi, in downtown Florence. Well use sumi ink, watercolor and Japanese paper postcards to marry art and text with a lighthearted technique perfect for writers who want to illustrate their writings or artists who want to try adding text to spontaneous sketches drawn/painted on absorbent paper postcards. Save the date and I'll post more information soon..... <br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HKDdw2BA2S8/W7DamExgHaI/AAAAAAAADXo/LK7ISYAuqL4FegC3npBFrk3gm--n-Yu_QCLcBGAs/s1600/EtegamiScillaPainting.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HKDdw2BA2S8/W7DamExgHaI/AAAAAAAADXo/LK7ISYAuqL4FegC3npBFrk3gm--n-Yu_QCLcBGAs/s320/EtegamiScillaPainting.jpeg" width="240" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-31077647270135789132018-05-29T12:01:00.001-07:002018-05-29T12:03:38.577-07:00Color Test Strips<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ev8ITsD2DNg/Ww2ikoWCHlI/AAAAAAAADW0/kRQgc7tbbyEBGjk3Wl-qvkufP7q7ETBVQCEwYBhgL/s1600/PrintTestSumi.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1600" height="129" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ev8ITsD2DNg/Ww2ikoWCHlI/AAAAAAAADW0/kRQgc7tbbyEBGjk3Wl-qvkufP7q7ETBVQCEwYBhgL/s320/PrintTestSumi.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been meaning to do this for almost as long as I've been making woodblock prints.<br />
Mokuhanga prints usually are made with transparent colors and the nature of printing from an imperfect surface (wood grain) onto another imperfect surface (paper fibers) with a handheld device (a baren) that allows a great deal of variability in the pressure obtained means that the final result is often not fully predictable.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BexMaIZm3Xc/Ww2iSRLSCVI/AAAAAAAADW4/jq370TK5DSQBOch1TDVY-wW60KBnu_CAwCEwYBhgL/s1600/PrintTestUltraBLoR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="800" height="137" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BexMaIZm3Xc/Ww2iSRLSCVI/AAAAAAAADW4/jq370TK5DSQBOch1TDVY-wW60KBnu_CAwCEwYBhgL/s320/PrintTestUltraBLoR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I do know that whenever to color layers are printed--either the same or different colors, the result is almost always both denser and richer than that you can obtain by just increasing the pigment or mixing the colors in just one pass or impression.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N65THggiWv4/Ww2jWlEO88I/AAAAAAAADXE/xAg6nlqxvpIIsB6-gbQGNrMgJoezqzSWwCLcBGAs/s1600/ColorSwatchWoodblock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N65THggiWv4/Ww2jWlEO88I/AAAAAAAADXE/xAg6nlqxvpIIsB6-gbQGNrMgJoezqzSWwCLcBGAs/s320/ColorSwatchWoodblock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are a few test strips made with a fairly simple model. <br />
There's a single block with 5 squares and the block is printed with a color mixture made up of 50% pigment (from tube watercolors) and 50% rice paste. The entire block is printed once, and then with each following impression one less square is printed. <br />
The end result is 5 separate squares each printed with the same color mixture but with a varying number of impressions. The first block was printed only once, the second twice, the third three times, etc.<br />
The results show the buildup of pigment and overall tonal strength obtained by multiple impressions.<br />
I could have gotten a much lighter 1st square by using even more dilute pigment and I could have gotten a much darker final square by adding additional pigment each time to increase the pigment load above 50%.<br />
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The next step is to do a color grid, showing the effects of overlapping the primary colors to obtain secondary and tertiary colors. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-2668507259391220702018-05-13T06:18:00.000-07:002018-05-13T06:18:54.160-07:00MokuHanga a Firenze--June 9-10: Upcoming workshops.My next small-group beginners' workshop for Japanese woodblock will be next month in Florence.<br />
June 9-10, from 9:30am-6pm. This class is targeted to Italian speakers but I'll be hosting another class later this summer specifically for English speakers if there is enough interest. <br />
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And remember, private classes for 1-2 people in English or Italian are possible and can be tailored to fit students goals and schedules and are suited to beginners who want to get a jump on the technique through one-on-one instruction as well as for advanced students (linoleum or oil-based) who want to to learn the Japanese method of printing but already have a good sense of carving techniques.<br />
I'll post additional dates and venues as they become available.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-12961073175698930042018-05-09T13:32:00.000-07:002018-05-09T13:32:26.807-07:00A White-Line, Pink LilyI wanted to have another go at a white line or Provincetown print. (I've done a couple already--my "Tree Farm at Night" from 2016, last year's Baren exchange print, "Apostrophetic", and my afternoon experiment from last summer, "Sweet Tea". I was very happy with how "Apostrophetic turned out, but wanted to try a simpler print to see if I can work on a version of this method that works for me.<br />
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It's an odd technique--using just one block and allows for lots of freedom for color application but as one print is produced at a time, it's more suitable for unique prints or very short runs.<br />
Here is the one block after I transferred the image but before it was cut. <br />
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This was a simple image, close-cropped to both allow the shapes to be bigger and easier to brush in with pigment and to allow for a little drama.<br />
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While a traditional white line is made by tacking the paper to the block, folding it back, and applying the color with a brush to a small area, flipping back the paper and printing that section and repeating this for each area and multiple times to build up stronger and more uniform color.<br />
<br />I've approached it more as a variant of traditional mokuhanga using dampened Japanese paper and a kento system of registration to set the paper down each time in the right spot.<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbgVZnvmwro/WvNVj-EoTRI/AAAAAAAADVU/90TAO1c_rMEyyoPGfJTgGLV_fndq0EWlgCLcBGAs/s1600/LilyLoR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbgVZnvmwro/WvNVj-EoTRI/AAAAAAAADVU/90TAO1c_rMEyyoPGfJTgGLV_fndq0EWlgCLcBGAs/s320/LilyLoR.jpg" width="280" /></a> <br />
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Here's the first 4 prints I made from this block.<br />
Number 1/8 on Okawara handmade-- a paper that I got originally from Hiromi paper in LA--but I've added additional dosa (sizing) to make it work for water based prints. This is a Thai kozo-blend paper that is a little off white in color. Encouraged I tried 3 more copies on different kinds of paper. These 3 all look different but this is due more to the different papers than changes in colors as these were each printed using the same pigments and similar color applications. The differing weights and fibers made for very different prints.<br />
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These three copies were all built up or printed semi-simultaneously. A few color layers on one, then I'd switch to a new sheet and built up the colors by adding pigment multiple times to each area. There are at least 15 color applications to each of these prints.<br />
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#2/8 is on a very heavy, uneven-surface Fabriano watercolor paper. It was fairly heavily sized and was very difficult to print with a baren and only a little easier with a small doorknob. The "moth eaten" appearance is due to the uneven surface and lack of adequate pressure.<br />
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No. 3/8 is on Gampi Torinoko, a beautiful handmade gampi paper no longer made but once available from McClains. This paper also has added size/dosa. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the copy on Gampi Torinoko, #3/8.</td></tr>
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It's a natural color paper and really lovely. It accentuated the embossing of the white lines and has a softer feel to the colors.<br />
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4/8, above, is on Hosho Professional, another paper from Awagami--(100% cellulose but with added sizing).<br />
This one was done more loosely and with wetter pigment to better approximate a watercolor painting.<br />
Unfortunately, the paper slipped during one color application (See the dark background parts for double printing) and there was a section that got muddied up by too many color layers so this is probably a reject.<br />
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I'll have another try before I retire this block. I want to try printing on DRY paper--using the traditional method--and also on unsized paper. Arches cover is supposed to be good, but I'll use one of my unsized or weakly sized Japanese papers to see how they print with this method.<br />
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. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-90192954945358880302018-04-27T14:15:00.001-07:002018-04-27T14:15:40.513-07:00Sculpturing<br />
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I am again supervising the Open Studio sessions for the Beginning Sculpture Class for LdM (Lorenzo de Medici) Florence Campus. The course is actually led by my friend and colleague, Neal Barab, but once a week during the school semester I watch over the additional laboratory or open studio making sure that the students are following the safety guidelines and to assist with moving stone or helping with the equipment.<br />
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While it's usually well-attended, warm weather might mean that there are just a few students and on those days, it's slow enough that I can also sculpt a bit.<br />
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Today was such a day and I worked a small broken piece of a slab of a kind of reddish travertine I found in the trash pile on the road, left over from someone's bath or kitchen project. It was about 2" thick and roughly triangular in shape--but not for long. After about an hour with a hammer and a chisel and another with the rotary grinder, I'd roughed out this serpentine form.<br />
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Once I can get another day in it should look more like an earthworm and less like dog feces.<br />
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This other one was from earlier in the semester. I think it's Pietra Serena, a local soft, gray stone. I wanted to make something that seemed bigger and monumental and that is a rough study for perhaps a larger sculpture. It's a footed piece but I still need to better define the "feet" and finish smoothing the curves.<br />
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Both of these are small--less than 8" in length but they feel "bigger" and I think they'll look good when they're actually finished. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-18583037634109097402018-03-03T13:46:00.000-08:002018-03-03T15:22:31.912-08:00Chinese Zodiac: 2007-2018-MokuhangaWith my portrait of Bosco as my "Year of the Dog" print for 2018, I have finished one 12-year cycle for the Baren Forum's Chinese New Year exchange. Each year I printed enough copies to share with the other printmakers in the exchange, with extras for relatives and colleagues and a few to give away to collectors or important contacts and usually a few more to sell at occasional print fairs or inquiring visitors to my website. Some years I finished them so late I was too embarrassed to send them out (Tiger) so I have lots. Others are now gone except for a few bad or odd copies.<br />
I should note that the "Year of the Boar" pretty much marks my introduction to woodblock printing as that print and making wine labels were my impetus for starting down this odd path. Here, in chronological order are the prints from this series.<br />
For Baren members thinking, "Hey! I never got one of those!", both Boar and Rat were made with the intention of joining the official exchange, but each time, I procrastinated too much and I missed out on the entry date deadline, and I was a new member and didn't think to ask to still be included so they were not part of the Baren exchange, even though I cut and printed about 60 copies of each.... <br />
Note that with the exception of "RAT" which I produced exactly as drawn by my then 8-year-old son Sami, and "Tiger" which is based on a Tibetan Tiger carpet, are of the prints are original designs drawn, carved and printed by me. All are mokuhanga prints except for "Goat/Sheep", which is a wood engraving.<br />
I'd also like to mention, I am not much into astrology, and was happy to illustrate the Chinese zodiac because 1) it gave me artist's license to draw and print some charming creatures in a small, postcard format and as I've mentioned before, 2) a chance to procrastinate until February (and beyond) as the Chinese New Year is a month later than ours and gave me extra time without seeming too late.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-65444252830619216752018-02-13T15:59:00.000-08:002018-02-13T15:59:39.506-08:00More Dogs--paper trials, part one.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two variants from my first test printings on BOND paper.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I have acquired some very interesting Japanese papers from a variety of sources and I'll be discussing these in the next several posts as I also show my progress on my YOTD (year of the dog) print. After proofing, a did a small test run of about 20 copies on some of these papers, in anticipation of doing more careful test printings on the papers that looked promising. But before I reveal my sources for some of these wonderful kozo, gampi and mixed fiber papers, I wanted to share some real surprises regarding some cheap but really viable alternatives. <br />
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1) Double-weight Bond paper, coated for the inkjet printer. <br />
Those who have taken my workshops already know about this. The double-weight bond paper (160g/m2)that I can get at my local copy shop and stationery store is coated for the inkjet printer--and I discovered that it's perfect for proofing. I use it for checking how the blocks print to see if they need additional clearing and for controlling the registration of multiple blocks or for the first, "waste" printings from the blocks before the brushes and blocks are charged with ink. The paper is pure cellulose, but dampened in my damp pack it is heavy enough to be easy to handle, and is very smooth but not so soft as to dip into the negative spaces. I like to print my keyblock on multiple sheets, and then I can check each color block against the key block to check for alignment. <br />
These copies made it through the whole print sequence and they're a little flat, but at about $8.00 for a ream of paper, who cares. <br />
They are NOT Acid free, they are NOT archival, I don't sell these but I do give them away to those that I know probably throw my prints away after a few weeks...<br />
<br />
2) MASA paper 86g/m2 from the Awagami paper factory. The Japanese paper company Awagami has a large inventory of papers for printmaking and they've been actively seeking to expand in Europe and the USA with paper samples, a print exhibition and competition and by sponsoring workshops and teaching centers. I've had some problems with their papers being inconsistently sized. Some papers that I've carefully tested from their sample packs behaved differently when purchased from paper distributors or when purchased at different times due to the variation from batch to batch of the size (dosa) applied to the papers.<br />
But I keep trying their papers as I keep getting sample packs gifted to
me and I recently began using the very inexpensive MASA --a handmade,
sulfite paper that is both internally and surface sized. I can get it
from Les Papiers de Lucas in France (https://les-papiers-de-lucas.com/papier-japonais-traditionnel/1573-masa-awagami-86g-m2-blanc.html)--along with many other good papers--and it's less than €2.00/sheet. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s_W5bxdwVcI/WoN4YtJB9-I/AAAAAAAADP8/hkWRfAhWdYcfrJcH6-EcNKAbcM4RDCbwQCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDMasaAwagSized.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s_W5bxdwVcI/WoN4YtJB9-I/AAAAAAAADP8/hkWRfAhWdYcfrJcH6-EcNKAbcM4RDCbwQCLcBGAs/s320/YOTDMasaAwagSized.jpeg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awagami MASA-</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's a little soft, and if too wet it can dip into the block recesses and pick up ink blotches, but if I print a little drier, and give the paper time to rest, it prints surprisingly well. This copy was printed from 6 blocks and has 8 layers of color.<br />
<br />
In comparison; here's a proof on their Hosho select. This was a paper that performed really well from the sample packs, but when I ordered the paper from a distributor, the paper that arrived was totally different. Superficially similar but it had laid lines instead of none, and NO sizing added to the paper which I discovered during a workshop when I tried to dampen it for students.<br />
However, once I applied a heavy recipe of dosa(rabbit skin glue and alum), it is now behaving like a mokuhanga paper and here is a print on this home-sized version of Awagami's Hosho select. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0hDHrzgQYhc/WoN4iRt4EMI/AAAAAAAADQA/sBk27eorWGkdax5zAzXkhFQ0Zkh18LTqgCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDHoshoSelectSized.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="836" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0hDHrzgQYhc/WoN4iRt4EMI/AAAAAAAADQA/sBk27eorWGkdax5zAzXkhFQ0Zkh18LTqgCLcBGAs/s320/YOTDHoshoSelectSized.jpeg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awagami Hosho Select with Added Dosa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In my next post, I'll describe some professional grade and student-level papers from some small family-run workshops from Japan and Korea. <br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-43021373152162903812018-02-04T10:23:00.003-08:002018-02-04T10:50:08.323-08:00Year of the Dog-Work in Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1mII0MbwKM/WndULm1OIiI/AAAAAAAADPo/s76oGpojEC0fULmjneS3RaZhloQsSSJrgCLcBGAs/s1600/DogProofKBJan26.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1583" data-original-width="1158" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1mII0MbwKM/WndULm1OIiI/AAAAAAAADPo/s76oGpojEC0fULmjneS3RaZhloQsSSJrgCLcBGAs/s200/DogProofKBJan26.jpeg" width="146" /></a></div><br />
Once I finish this print for the "Year of the Dog" I will have completed the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac for the BarenForum's artist exchange I've been participating in since 2007.<br />
I've been working on this for a bit--and had lots of thumbnails and sketches before settling on a sketch of our rescued Segugio Italiano--an Italian Scenthound--that we adopted about 1 1/2 years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUJPyxUYI7o/WndJVIePb8I/AAAAAAAADNk/d5zxyAt6DGwU8xXR92vFJOKibh23U8MBgCLcBGAs/s1600/BoscoEye.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUJPyxUYI7o/WndJVIePb8I/AAAAAAAADNk/d5zxyAt6DGwU8xXR92vFJOKibh23U8MBgCLcBGAs/s200/BoscoEye.jpg" width="200" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgDai8zeMgs/WndJqsNhUZI/AAAAAAAADNo/FMjytnpJNhsX9RLs6yYE7Wdt7PwYzcE9QCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDcartoon.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="504" height="136" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgDai8zeMgs/WndJqsNhUZI/AAAAAAAADNo/FMjytnpJNhsX9RLs6yYE7Wdt7PwYzcE9QCLcBGAs/s200/YOTDcartoon.jpg" width="200" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IW4LiLUqFeU/WndLJUIeyXI/AAAAAAAADOI/hgLGQuFBr6oyoYtQWekwmR7bVcd-Q_DDgCLcBGAs/s1600/DogCartoon2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="360" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IW4LiLUqFeU/WndLJUIeyXI/AAAAAAAADOI/hgLGQuFBr6oyoYtQWekwmR7bVcd-Q_DDgCLcBGAs/s200/DogCartoon2.jpg" width="156" /></a>He's a handsome and sweet fellow, but he is a dog that was used for hunting, and will disappear for hours if we let him loose, following the lingering scent of the hares and deer and boars that roam our fields at night.<br />
<br />
My sketches started as silly cartoons and gradually became more and more representative as I looked at photo references and repeatedly sketched him in the kitchen. Once I was happy with a final drawing, it was copied using a xerox machine and these copies then glued down onto multiple blocks for carving to serve as guides for cutting.<br />
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There is one cherry plywood block for the key block (black lines).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_o_j0vx2l4/WndQtt96vlI/AAAAAAAADPU/cOKzbTOOjp4M9op0R4Grt1LLVUeeXCytQCLcBGAs/s1600/Dogcutting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1262" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_o_j0vx2l4/WndQtt96vlI/AAAAAAAADPU/cOKzbTOOjp4M9op0R4Grt1LLVUeeXCytQCLcBGAs/s320/Dogcutting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OVmYmgjJ1vY/WndLt2Jj-NI/AAAAAAAADOU/w3NVbFL7_ws76sFJDj52jVgmVdCV1XTQACLcBGAs/s1600/Dog2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1262" data-original-width="947" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OVmYmgjJ1vY/WndLt2Jj-NI/AAAAAAAADOU/w3NVbFL7_ws76sFJDj52jVgmVdCV1XTQACLcBGAs/s320/Dog2018.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf1sniF-ysA/WndKX3dAB5I/AAAAAAAADOA/6R50i5BVL5cEfvM60QRiTcZi8u9IFZpZwCLcBGAs/s1600/Dogproof.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="425" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xf1sniF-ysA/WndKX3dAB5I/AAAAAAAADOA/6R50i5BVL5cEfvM60QRiTcZi8u9IFZpZwCLcBGAs/s320/Dogproof.jpeg" width="257" /></a> <br />
There are two shina plywood blocks and another 2 Okoume' plywood blocks to mimic the dog's fur and textures.<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tNrcpgY8L_c/WndMETuQV5I/AAAAAAAADOc/jc5jEF50qG41BWOcZZKLSauLs94Bn7ZaQCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDYellowBlockOkoume.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tNrcpgY8L_c/WndMETuQV5I/AAAAAAAADOc/jc5jEF50qG41BWOcZZKLSauLs94Bn7ZaQCLcBGAs/s200/YOTDYellowBlockOkoume.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_5aGlXExW8/WndM47BDRZI/AAAAAAAADOo/fjn0TNxyE44286APbXnqehDYgGvHdJu1gCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDYellowblock.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_5aGlXExW8/WndM47BDRZI/AAAAAAAADOo/fjn0TNxyE44286APbXnqehDYgGvHdJu1gCLcBGAs/s320/YOTDYellowblock.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pgzy8Wg7vLA/WndMCZ9GUwI/AAAAAAAADOk/on0RVeLem9cswG95HwwCzVWwqRvObb50wCEwYBhgL/s1600/YOTDLastBlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1262" data-original-width="947" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pgzy8Wg7vLA/WndMCZ9GUwI/AAAAAAAADOk/on0RVeLem9cswG95HwwCzVWwqRvObb50wCEwYBhgL/s320/YOTDLastBlock.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nEOUZ5OQZzM/WndM84VIZnI/AAAAAAAADOs/siwp5DIFA64W-99PQcfQ-7KyWSg1zOW5gCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDBokashi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nEOUZ5OQZzM/WndM84VIZnI/AAAAAAAADOs/siwp5DIFA64W-99PQcfQ-7KyWSg1zOW5gCLcBGAs/s320/YOTDBokashi.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tcrrLw5-bWU/WndTRwDWrbI/AAAAAAAADPg/orrf4iXFXV0tVpCqHAWcFQ2JrxhHgK3zwCLcBGAs/s1600/DogProof2Jan26.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1243" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tcrrLw5-bWU/WndTRwDWrbI/AAAAAAAADPg/orrf4iXFXV0tVpCqHAWcFQ2JrxhHgK3zwCLcBGAs/s200/DogProof2Jan26.jpeg" width="155" /></a></div><br />
All the blocks are carved and each print their own portion of this layered mosaic--and now I hope that I can make the sum of each layer better than the individual blocks.<br />
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Here are some early proofs; I still need to trim a few edges, adjust 1-2 kentos and decide on the colors.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRM-hyh-cos/WndOInyjVLI/AAAAAAAADO8/bBTzWAuC4Xop_XPL6a6QUosfedxaLHUqACLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDgreenProofLoR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRM-hyh-cos/WndOInyjVLI/AAAAAAAADO8/bBTzWAuC4Xop_XPL6a6QUosfedxaLHUqACLcBGAs/s320/YOTDgreenProofLoR.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4p38F_jgrw/WndPZgX7p-I/AAAAAAAADPI/TDyW9-JzsbUtaVzxCQNFBFwYJgN9lmzJwCLcBGAs/s1600/YOTDblueproofLOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4p38F_jgrw/WndPZgX7p-I/AAAAAAAADPI/TDyW9-JzsbUtaVzxCQNFBFwYJgN9lmzJwCLcBGAs/s320/YOTDblueproofLOR.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>He's an orange-brown dog, so I'll try to go for a greenish blue background but getting his color right (these are too orange) is going to be the key to getting the print to work as much as getting a background that isn't too aggressive. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679129902142993265.post-36956688837162014282017-11-08T00:03:00.001-08:002017-11-08T12:56:14.204-08:00 Dutch travelers, Holland Barens, and the Genius Loci<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aafke and Bastiaan</td></tr>
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I'm enjoying the company of two young Dutch artists, Aafke Ytsma and Bastiaan Epker who are traveling from the Netherlands to Cyprus for an artists' residency but they've turned the road trip itself from Holland to the Mediterranean into a separate project and have sponsors and patrons that are supporting their journey. Aafke and Bastiaan are producing Mokuhanga postcards, one for each stop along the way that they're cutting and printing and then sending back to their sponsors. Aafke is a painter and Bastiaan an oil-based woodblock artist but they're now using traditional Mokuhanga techniques on these mail-art pieces.<br />
<br />
They're now in Florence I'm sharing my studio space with them so they can work out their next prints and hopefully will have enough time to imagine, carve, and print a new image based on their visit here. <br />
The works and trip are based on the concept of the Genius Loci--the spirit or spirits of a particular place--and they're interpreting that individually, with each of them working and producing alternate prints.<br />
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I've been communicating with Aafke for a few months after she shared with me some photos of two barens she had made using my blog posts on making twisted-cord barens as a model. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fine and coarse barens made from twisted, wax cords on a cardboard backing</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good tie-job but they're covered with waxed paper that isn't going to last.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished Barens</td></tr>
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She was happy with how well they worked but was having trouble sourcing a material in Holland for covering them. I was so impressed by her work that I sent her a few bamboo leaves from the garden so they could be properly covered and asking that she share with me her comments on how they perform.<br />
And when I heard she'd be passing through Florence on the way to Cyprus we agreed to meet to share some stories and that I'd be able to have them as guests in my studio so they could have a temporary work space. Today we spent the day in the studio looking at materials and I got to see their completed blocks and a few prints and they were able to get to work on the next ones. <br />
I hope I'll be able to post photos of the finished print/s soon. <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4N41vtIuvA/WgJBmvpwfJI/AAAAAAAADM4/3HUiUGuhdtkhg-Ivna5rEb8aa9Dm3IMnACLcBGAs/s1600/AafkeBastiaanBlock.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4N41vtIuvA/WgJBmvpwfJI/AAAAAAAADM4/3HUiUGuhdtkhg-Ivna5rEb8aa9Dm3IMnACLcBGAs/s320/AafkeBastiaanBlock.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Tomorrow, since they're working on the local spirit, I'm going to try to introduce them to the Olive Trees and see if they also like picking Tuscan olives.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.etsy.com/etsy_mini.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>new EtsyNameSpace.Mini(6505747, 'shop','thumbnail',4,3).renderIframe();</script></div>Andrew Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02184272649874888854noreply@blogger.com0