The Amazing Dancing Dog!

Dexter does it again. Isn’t he just AMAZING!?!!?? More so with all caps, right?

Dexter did it again. Pose that is.

Another folio exchange, this one with the theme “Circus, Circus” so of course I had to do this little circus dog, and then modeled it after old circus posters somewhat. Circus World in Baraboo (and those fantastic old posters) remains an inspiration to me, since childhood. I got over my fear of clowns doing this one–looking at just tons of old clown photos till they didn’t look scary anymore–yeah! Happy day!! I think this clown still looks somewhat ominous, but it had to be dark and simply-rendered to show off my little star in the foreground.

The photo shoot was pretty funny–Dexter did a lot of “dancing” for cheese…. I bet he thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

The Amazing Dancing Dog
– Reduction woodcut on Arches cover
– 23in x 8 1/2in

This was for sale at Artisan Gallery, but it (along with other ones I took for the Small Works show earlier this month) sold rather quickly. I will frame up another at some point soon, and get it to Artisan, but have to get that cow finished first!

NOTE: No animals were harmed in the posing/making of this print. Spoiled, yes; hurt, no.

New woodcut

Based on the story from when Gracie adopted P-Biddy and brought her into the flock…

Peahen On Guard
37in x 26in
Woodcut on Rives Heavyweight

Happy New Year with 1st leather journal

Leather bound, woodcut-printed handmade papered cover. Measures about 9 x 11 x 1 in

First leather binding since the NYC class in November. Soooo glad I remembered all the details, except this one is not without errors. Good news is I learned some new things not to do. Like do NOT pare down the whole piece of leather for spine! I pared it so thin that all the sewn signatures can be seen through the leather. Oh well. Anyway, leather is buckskin, darkened with a bit of linseed oil, and it’s full of cast off prints on handmade paper, grid paper, and pretty awesome for writing/drawing in. Looking forward to making more.

The carcasses are going to NYC!!

The email said:
IPCNY is thrilled to notify you that Carcasses from “The Meat Locker” has been selected for New Prints 2011/Autumn, our 40th New Prints show. Congratulations! I am attaching an image to confirm the selection….

8ft long carcasses from 'The Meat Locker' an installation featured in May, 2011 MFA show: 'Pattern to Processing.' Woodcuts on masa, adhered to painted styrofoam insulation panels.

I can’t believe it. I never thought I would make the cut…. The message on their website earlier apologized for the delay in notifications because they’d received over 2,500 submissions(!)–the deadline for sending submissions was August 1, and we still hadn’t heard any results by the end of the month. Total bummer with those odds–I figured there was no way, since typically less than 50 artists are accepted for the show.

Just about went crazy when I found out. Of course the timing was perfect. Rules were that the work submitted had to have been created within 1 year of submission date. Just so happens, my MFA show (and the 8ft carcasses) were finished in May, 2011, so they fit easily within the time limits. And typically, I wouldn’t have been carving/printing 8ft carcasses for a non-MFA gallery show at (Artisan Gallery), since they’re not really commercially viable.** But for New York, for IPCNY’s “new prints” they were perfect. Here’s their mission statement for the New Prints Program:

NEW PRINTS PROGRAM
International Print Center New York’s New Prints Program was created to bring artists’ prints of the highest quality from the widest possible range of sources to the attention of the viewing public. By establishing this unique and ongoing forum for exhibiting prints by artists at all stages of their careers, IPCNY continues its work to enlarge audiences for the visual arts.

Now, I need to figure out how to crate up these four 8ft carcasses. Getting advice thankfully from some curators and carpenters….

**Ironically though, I just might be showing something related at Artisan next June, 2012, in the form of a life-size tunnel book. Stay tuned!

Happy birthday to me (a day of printing)….

Awesome day yesterday–got to print all day uninterrupted (thank you J!!!). Just in from studio now at 3am the next day…

1 more color to go in “Your Days Are Numbered” folio. The edition for the folio will be trimmed down to 10″ x 22″, but I printed a bunch more to be at 16″ x 22″ for a more standard size for a separate edition. Here’s some pics (one more color–black–to go). Features one of the “Fat Bastards” (Broiler or Cornish-Cross chickens raised for meat).

First off, the paper! Handmade at the paper lab at the Art Lofts this summer. I call it “Avocado Gold.” Check out the sparklies!!!:

And here’s the edition (some of the 50 total prints) with one more color to go (black):

And a closeup of the Fat Bastards (minus black):

Each print is 22" x 16" woodcut print on handmade, 100% cotton rag paper. 3 of 4 colors printed here.

 

Last color, black, tomorrow. Will post when finished and get a moment.

This little piggy…

…is going to the Wisconsin Biennial.

"Market Weight Pull-Toy" • 8ft x 4ft • woodcut prints on feedsacks, wood, cardboard, acrylic, training wheels....

As is this tom:

"Turkey Promenade" • 30in x 22in • 5-color reduction woodcut

Wisconsin Biennial at The Anderson Art Center, Kenosha, WI. June 26 – August 7. Reception: June 26, 1:30 – 4pm

8ft chicken is finished and on display…

…at the Overture Center for the Arts.

The show is up! Now on view through June 25th, 2011. Meet the artists at the reception Gallery Night, Friday, May 6, 6pm.

More info: Overture Center, Gallery 1

Hand- colored woodcut, printed on masa, then mounted on plywood cutout form and varnished. By the way, that's a Golden-Laced Wyandotte, cock. Maximus was one of my first roosters (bros with Big Tiny).

It’s a huge relief to be done with this and have it up on display. I mean it was fun to do, but printing by hand with a wooden spoon (my press is “only” 30in wide….the chicken block is a 4ft x 8ft plywood block) is not easy, especially with so much solid black. An exercise in patience most definitely.

Cutting up meat

8ft x 4ft piece of birch plywood. Carving mostly with reciprocating carver plus some hand gouges.

Starting to cut:

Pig carcass drawn in red acrylic wash and black ink before carving begins. Dexter and Zuzu to scale.

 

And

After a few days worth of cutting, almost done:

Uncooperative Zuzu refuses to pose calmly. Does not share artist's enthusiasm for carving fake meat

 

Reciprocating carver or gouge, is a wrist/hand/arm saver.

Artisan Gallery Opening Friday!

Contemporary Animal Imagery

Also showing New Artists, New Work
Opening reception 5-9pm this Fri, Mar. 4.

More info, directions to gallery, etc at Artisan Gallery website.

Prints for sale at Cannonball Press!

2 blocks I carved for Cannonball Press this past fall are now for sale. Check ’em out (only $20!): Bacon Brothers:

'Bacon Brothers' • woodcut • 18in x 24in

and Meleagris gallopavo:

'Meleagris gallopavo' • woodcut • 18in x 24in

Buy them online at Cannonball Press. They’ll also be available at the March 2011 SGC (Southern Graphics Council) Conference in St. Louis (Cannonball Press will be at the Publisher’s Fair at SGC).