Giraffes in the Savannah

On Friday, Christian, Owen, and I spent a lovely evening with Gopal Dorai and his wife Kamala to celebrate the publication of Giraffes in the Savannah, a children's book that Gopal wrote and I illustrated. It was exciting to see it in print, and it is available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Deciding on Colors for Woodblock Print

We've all been sick this week, so we've been laying low and watching too much tv, which makes my head feel really dull.

Here are some proofs with possible colors for my Lake Michigan print. The first two color blocks are luan from McClains. They are printing sort of speckly. I like the softness of it, but so far the texture has not come out really consistently each time, so maybe it's because of the way I'm inking (with Akua Intaglio, LOTS of transparency base, and a brayer).

Proof 1: tiny amount of hansa yellow w/ lots of transparency, pthalo blue with lots of transparency, carbon black

Proof 2: hansa yellow w/ some transparency, pthalo blue w/ some transparency, ultramarine blue
Proof 3: hansa yellow w/ some transparency, pthalo blue w/ some transparency, mixture of ultramarine blue and carbozole violet (which looks pretty close to black)

Proof 4: hansa yellow w/ some transparency, pthalo blue w/ some transparency, mixture of ultramarine blue and carbozole violet (which looks pretty close to black). This is almost identical to proof 3, but the yellow and pthalo blue are a little lighter/more transparent.

Proof 5 (cobbled together in photoshop): This is the top from proof 1 and the bottom from proof 4.

I think I prefer #3 and #5. Once I decide on colors, I'll start printing my largest edition to date!

*I'm fiddling with this post a bit to try to get the Baren list to pick it up. Sorry for any confusion/repetition.

Running Through the Woods at Night

running through the woods at night
Originally uploaded by edamamepress

This piece is woodblock printed on top of a gelatin monotype. The original gelatin monotype felt unfinished to me, so I planned to use it with this block. I've done a few prints that combine woodblock with gelatin printing, usually on whim when I'm printing and looking for new, interesting combinations, and I like the softness of the gelatin printing next to the crisp edges of the woodblock. I'll definitely do more prints that combine the techniques.

Oct 4 & 5 Printmaking Workshop Cancelled

display case
Originally uploaded by edamamepress

Unfortunately, we had to cancel the relief printmaking workshop scheduled for this weekend at HCC due to low enrollment. I'm disappointed but not entirely surprised since this is the first time we've offered a workshop like this.

I'll also be teaching an Intro to Relief Printmaking course at Howard Community College in spring 2009. It's a full semester course. We'll due linocut and woodblock, and I'll introduce monotypes and collographs as well. I'm really trying publicize it since the course hasn't been offered in quite a while and students might not be aware of it. This photo is of a display case I put together to get the word out.