Hydrangeas at My House

Transferring Fish Design to Other Color Blocks

I finished carving the first fish block and transferred the design to the other blocks earlier this week. Here is the first block:


I inked it with black Speedball ink to transfer to the other blocks. I normally print with Akua Intaglio, but Speedball dries much faster so it will be easier to work with on the blocks themselves. This block will eventually print orange, but it's black for now.

Then, I put a piece of Yupo (synthetic paper, basically plastic) on top of the block and ran it through the press. Once I'm done transferring, I'll be able to rinse the Yupo and use it again.

Next, I put the Yupo ink-side down on a clean block and ran it through the press. Now I have a good guide for carving the next colors. I completely forgot that I normally stain the block with watercolor so my carving shows up more clearly and it's too late now. Also, I didn't have as many blocks as I thought I did, so I ordered more from McClains.

Back Home

We've been home from the hospital just over a week and it's hard to believe that Afton Grace, our new little bundle of joy, is almost two weeks old already. Afton was born on June 9 and measured 8 lbs 13 ounces.
We have been keeping busy with a toddler and a newborn. Of course, I am up several times with the baby each night, so we joined Netflix and have been watching movies in bits and pieces. I definitely did not expect to have time to work on artwork during our first days home from the hospital, but I've actually gotten a bit of carving done. It's the perfect project because I can pick it up for 5 minutes and put it down quickly without too much mess to clean up. I'd probably be smarter to sleep during whatever spare time I have, but it does make me feel good to finally make progress on this block. Plus, I know that once the doctor says I can resume normal activity (like lifting and stairs--I had a c-section), my free moments will go toward laundry and other fun chores.

So, I'm almost done clearing the background from this block. Next steps will be to proof it and transfer the design to the other color blocks.

DIY Art Storage

A big part of moving my art space has been trying to downsize what I don't need and organize what I do need. I've been looking for some kind of vertical art storage to keep framed art safely out of the way, but the art storage racks I found online start around $200 and go to over $300, which I'm not willing spend, especially when I consider how easy vertical shelving would be to make if I wasn't so huge and clumsy right now.

This desk, which my mom got at a garage sale when I was a kid, was slated for trash or donation, and when I was pulling the drawers out of it, I noticed that it's pretty sturdy and actually made of real wood, which so many things are not these days. So I had the idea to cut off the right hand side (the desk part) and turn the drawer section on it's side--and voilà, vertical dividers for storing art--for free! My dad did the cutting (as much as I love power tools, now is not the time), and it was just one simple straight cut with the circular saw across the desktop.

Very simple and a great use for an old desk! There are two built-in dividers from the drawers, and I put pieces of cardboard between all the frames for extra protection.

New Woodblock--Watching Fish at the Zoo

I've been very interested in images of water and underwater creatures lately. In fact, I'm planning a big series of woodblock prints (and possibly an artist's book) based on Haroun and the Sea of Stories, one of my all time favorite books. I've done many sketches for this project, but still have a long way to go before I'm ready to start into the blocks, so I decided to work on another set of blocks in the meantime.

This based on some photos I took of Owen at the zoo last year. I still have some work to do on the drawing, but I'm itching to start carving, so I may just jump in. I will do it with a different block for each color, and I think if I start with orange that will give me the most information to transfer to the other blocks.

In case anyone wonders, the Speedball Press is no longer available and will be going to a good home this week.

Spring Break

Well, I'm behind on blogging, along with everything else! This year, Christian and I had the same spring break for the first time since college. We took advantage of it with a lovely trip to Florida, where we went swimming almost everyday, even in the ocean, and I had no Internet access whatsoever, making it a true vacation. Here are a few pictures.

We returned two weeks ago feeling rested and refreshed. Since then, my energy level has plummeted and I really miss the water, which is just about the best place to be in the last trimester. The pictures make me feel better though. I can't wait to go back!

The Wonderful Beast

I printed this weekend for the first time since the fall (my break was due to morning sickness first, then the need to move all my art stuff from upstairs to the basement laundry room). So, that means that I finally got to try out my new Conrad etching press. It has been almost ten years since I worked on a press this nice, and it was amazing.

I decided to pull out some blocks I had abandoned in the fall:

1. Ready to go!



2. Proofing on newsprint. Loving it.


3. Now on good paper...so far, so good.


4. Lifting up the print (the magical moment).

So, the printing session wasn't perfect. I was printing on top of a color I had printed previously and had trouble getting the registration right in a new location. I'm sure others have to set up and move their registration all the time, but I find it pretty tricky. I also think the registration wasn't very tight on the first color anyway...I will just blame pregnancy brain. I normally find registration problems very frustrating, but this weekend, I was so glad to be printing again that I didn't care. I just chalked it up to getting-to-know-you time with the new press and figured if I get any salvageable prints, that's a bonus. Truthfully, I'm considering starting the whole edition over anyway because the prints are coming out so much better now.

The new space is working out much better than I expected. In a way, I prefer it because I'm somewhat separated from the rest of the house and can really focus. There are still some things to work out, like I need better lighting and more tabletop surfaces. Kneeling on the floor to get my paper is no easy task these days, and getting back up is even harder!