Introduction to Block Printing (linoleum, etc.)

Sat / Sun, July 20-21, Sat 9-4, Sun 10-4.
More info, registration, supply list, photos at Whispering Woodlands – July Workshops.

Clydesdales, Lexington, and Lucky Book
Print: 4x4in, Book: 2x2in.
1-color linocut, hand-carved rubber stamps on dyed/colored masa.

This is an introductory level printmaking class in which we’ll explore how to make block prints using linoleum. Learn how to plan, draw and transfer your design; prep, cut and print a linoleum block without a press. Explore the different ways to add color to your print.

In addition, we’ll experiment with printing on fabric and/or tees (with the press). Learn the tricks to making clear, crisp prints easily and without frustration. Make your print as simple or as complex as you’d like, but keep details to a minimum and/or size of block small so that you can finish cutting and printing before end of workshop. (5″ x 7″ – 4″ x 6″ ideal. No larger than 8″ x 10″) Better understand the different substrates for cutting (different kinds of linoleum, rubber, wood, and synthetic materials), different papers for printing on, and the different tools you’ll need for different techniques/substrates. You can experiment with cutting some of these materials as interest/time allow. Note: More detailed information on supply list.

NOTE: I include the Clydesdales, Lexington print/book above, to show some of the fun things you can do with a simple 1-color linocut (like we will be doing in class), dye and stamps.

This Friday Gallery Night, Madison Craft Beer Week….

4ft long goose! Reduction woodcut adhered to plywood form.

This Friday, May 3 in downtown Madison, it’s Gallery Night! As part of the Taliesin show at Overture Gallery I, I’ve got 2 pieces dealing with Taliesin geese. Reception is from 6-8pm. It should be a grand event, as the whole downtown is alive with gallery-hoppers, receptions, and lots of great art!! Oh, and also this Friday is the start of the 3rd Annual Madison Craft Beer Week in Madison. Get there early for parking. I’m just sayin’….

Also, Paoli’s Artisan Gallery shows are up and I think, pretty terrific. The one in the front end of the gallery is Flora and Fauna. I’ve got the new 48in goose print (reduction print–see it here) showing (over to the left on a bright blue wall that matches the blue sky in the goose painting(!), and a cutout woodcut pig.

Then, back in The Cooler (also at Artisan Gallery), it’s the Habitat ReStore Salvage Art Show and Benefit, April 10-June 2 Check out all the salvage art made by local artists. My favorites: Michael Roberts’ Hammera (a figure made out of piano hammers, from an entire piano that Michael purchased at a thrift shop), and Fish Spoon #2 by Linda Kelen (a cold-forged, chased/repoussed white bronze spoon). I’ve got 3 small wooden cutout figures–woodcut or linocuts. See all the work that’s currently showing at the online ReStore Salvage Art show April 19th – June 2nd

Interview with The Fiddleback

Interview with The Fiddleback, “an independent, online arts & literature magazine edited by a reclusive band of poets, writers, and audiophiles from across the country.”

Collaborations show at Artisan Gallery

Now showing at Artisan Gallery: Collaborations. Here’s some in-progress and final (detail) shots of the piece I did with Kay Myers, below. Collaborative Metamorphosis features hand-colored, cutout linocuts of insects I did, plus (seen in the last photo below) some of Kay’s insects–exquisitely detailed paper sculptures.

The Collaborations show is up through October 28, 2012 at Artisan Gallery in Paoli, WI.

Gallery hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 10a.m. – 5p.m.

Extended Holiday Hours:
Open Seven days a week Thanksgiving through Christmas 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Open Late Thursdays: 10 a.m. – 7p.m.

Insects printed (lino cuts printed on etching press), with some hand-colored…. (size: asian beetles approx 1/4 – 1/2 inches)

Insects printed, hand-colored, and cut out, ready for assembly…. (size: asian beetles approx 1/4 – 1/2 inches)

Detail from “Metamorphic Collaboration” 20in x 16in, mixed media. Those are Kay’s 3-d paper sculptures of insects.

The Tunnel of Mortality

The Tunnel of Mortality, a life-size tunnel-book installation at Artisan Gallery, has been extended to September 9th, 2012! The next reception is Friday, July 27, 2012, 5-9pm at Artisan Gallery.

Here’s some shots (click any image to enlarge):

“Come in.” said the spider to the fly….

Once you step in the door, you are in a floor-to-ceiling, darkly wallpapered, little anteroom, about 8ft x 8ft.

Back wall and right corner of anteroom

Chairs are upholstered in the same, matching, printed fabric as the walls.

The richly detailed wallpaper is actually a 10in x 10in linocut pattern printed black onto burgundy duckcloth. About 480 times. If you look closely at one of the “tiles” you will see the underlying theme of the show:

If you look behind you to your right, the outside light looks blinding compared to the dramatic low lighting surrounding you.

Taxidermy chicken NOT for sale.

As you step through the door, into the anteroom, The Tunnel of Mortality is that big framed piece on the right-hand wall. It looks like any other of the framed woodcuts, except as you walk towards or by it, it changes (since it’s a 3-dimensional space, not a flat piece). If you’re not paying attention though, it doesn’t “read” as an interior space, but rather a mirror…or something. A number of visitors were looking behind and above them to figure out where the projector was. Most think it’s a mirror, but can’t figure out how come they don’t see their reflection.

Matching tablecloth and upholstery! This is really the only time I’ve gotten into “interior decorating” (in our real house, nothing matches. I mean, who has time when it takes this long to make pretend rooms?).

Walk into the center of the room, turn to your right, and there’s the tunnel.

The Tunnel of Mortality, framed.

I’m not going to try to explain how this looks in real life, since you really have to go experience it to get it. Suffice it to say, that it’s confusing at first since you can’t quite tell what you’re looking at. Some have said it feels like a mirror.

And here’s a cropped panorama of the center section:

All woodcut or linocut prints on fabric or Tyvek.

Reception is this Friday, 5-9pm at Artisan Gallery (directions).
And the show is up through September 9th.

So, come check it out!
Experience the tunnel!
Sign the camouflaged guestbook!
Read some of the entries in the guestbook here.

Tunnel of Mortality (and much more) Friday night!

(Day 3 of the install)

Artisan Gallery 25th Anniversary Exhibition
June 8th – July 22nd, 2012
Opening Reception Friday June 8th 5-9p.m.

Group Show: 25th anniversary — We are excited to celebrate our 25th year in Paoli, the anniversary show will feature favorite work from many of our gallery artists.

In the Cooler: S.V. Medaris “The Tunnel of Mortality” — Printmaking from birth to slaughter and everything in-between. One season of life on the farm (in life-size tunnel book form), as told by S.V. Medaris of Market Weight Press.

Nick Wroblewski: Color Reduction Woodcuts — Wroblewski’s woodcuts entice the viewer through the use of vivid colors and hold their attention through his variety of distinct mark making. This exhibit will have many prints which showcase his unique style of reduction woodcuts.

More info at Artisan’s Facebook page and
Artisan Gallery website

Mount Horeb Area Spring Art Tour starts today!

Maps, artist list and more info at:
Mount Horeb Spring Art Tour

More linos…

Listening to rebroadcast of the Cluck: From Jungle Fowl to City Chicks interview on Larry Meiller’s show (archives) that Susan Troller and I did earlier in the year, meanwhile drawing carcass for segment of Tunnel of Mortality that is upcoming solo show in June atArtisan Gallery.

Oh yeah, and my first reduction tees! (hint to you tee printing folks: if the lino is cut out in a shape, you can just line up color #2 by matching the outside contours of the block shape to the outside edges of the print shape) Just did 2 prototypes (pink thermal shown) to see if it would work…. It did!

Plucked lino measures about 30in. high. “Wallpaper” in background is lino on canvas duck cloth about 8ft wide, pigs are reductions on drill cloth, included in panels for ‘Tunnel’ installation

Ivan and the Wily Coyotes

This scene usually happens at dusk or at night. In fact the most breathtaking chase that I witnessed took place on a moonless night in pitch blackness, save for my gazillion candlelight flashlight I used to watch the chase. As always, the coyote seemed to just taunt Ivan. This one night, there was only one (they almost always work in pairs or more) the scrawny thing didn’t even start running till Ivan–a 120 lb puffing and snorting and bellowing freight train–was practically bearing down on him.

When being chased, the coyotes always look back to see how close Ivan is, and they will actually slow down so they don’t get too far away. It really looks as if they are toying with him–teasing him enough to get him to jump the fence and start chasing them, and then they just mess with him. Ivan will chase them off the property–past the barbed wire–then come chugging back up the ridge to the house. Often, the coyotes will reappear on the crest of the hill that Ivan just chased them over, and they’ll bark and bark at him. I swear it sounds like they’re hurling insults at him “Your mama wears combat boots, sucka….” Wily coyotes indeed.

‘Ivan and the Wily Coyotes’ • 3-color reduction linocut on Rives BFK cream • 6in x 24in • (click image to enlarge)

And the print after color #1 (blue, at bottom), carving (linoleum, at top) for color #2, which will be orange:

Class collaborative, end of semester…

Last day of teaching for the Book Arts class at UW this semester. What a great class (there were some really exceptional students in this group) and we all made a lot of stuff. I had no idea how many books I would have to make in order to demo (think cooking class–different stages ready to show), but omg I never dreamed it would have been this many! Holy cow. But, practice makes (closer to) perfect, right?

Here’s some of my students’ books, after the leather binding workshop we did, along with some of their 1st half of semester books (click photo to enlarge):

And some of their gorgeous marbled papers we made after Spring Break (click image to enlarge):

For end of semester, we printed/bound a class collaborative travel/adventure book (students picked the theme), with each of us making a spread (6in x 12in wide).

Some of the pieces–the printed cover papers and book cloth (lower right), little 1/2-size model of book to figure out pagination (upper left), title page, little bellhop guy that will be featured on interior pages of the book… (click image to enlarge)

I haven’t taken pics of the individual spreads yet, but (above) are some of the pieces of the book in progress. Handmade paper on cover, polymer plate printed 17th century world map on various pages, cover paper and book cloth. Also polymer-plate printed bellhop guy for some of inside spreads. I marbled the endpapers onto Rives BFK tan. Here they are drying in foreground with my double-spread foldout of Ivan and the Wily Coyotes in the background:

and the title pages and colophon are letter-press printed with wood type (big letters) and lead type (smaller text). Here’s setting up the type (#1) for the colophon and the students’ names (that they set themselves with the lead type), that will be printed with white ink over a polymer-plate-printed dark brown cover stock (#2). Click either image to actually read the type!:

I will post photos of the finished book and some spreads next time.