Etched copper with Silver frame Necklace

Here is the best photo I have of the newest etched pieces. The "Tolerence" part moves. Soon I will have the time to take better photos, though my photographer is leaving on a business trip :( I'll have to step up to the task. Next week is spring break for me. Maybe I can do it then.

Painting, Etching and Silver

Polka Dot Finch
Watercolor

I have been working on new etchings for jewelry. Below is an image I am particularly fond of. What I am fond of is the idea that I can take a watercolor painting (above) and from it create an stamped image in Silver!!! I am easily amused I realize, but to me this is magic, one of the reasons I love art so much.



This work below, is the cover of an altered book that has it's pages painted and is ready for someone to add their thoughts and expression. The people who buy these are exploring colorful journals but have not yet ventured into putting down the paint themselves, or they like what I have done!!! I'm happy with this cover which includes collage, painting (crow at top) and a Gocco print- sorry the photo is not the greatest, but you get the idea.

Gocco Printing

Because I have nothing else to do (Ha!!), I decided to start a large project using my Gocco printer which I have had for a very,very long time (since Ruth's birth) and have not used much. I have recently discovered how very wonderful this little printer is and have used it to make ATC's and, as you may recall, my family reunion T-shirt.
The other day while procrastinating while working on my Illustrator homework, I fell upon (if that is what one does in cyberspace), an engaging site
web home of Shu-Ju Wang www.fingerstothebone.com who is a prolific painter, print maker/ teacher and all around fantastic artist. She was showing some of her exploits using her Gocco and I just had to do something too!!!
In truth the idea of making a limited edition of a journal has been rolling around in my head for sometime now as I begin to get my coffers full of art stuff to sell for the various shows I will be participating in that are swiftly approaching in 2009. When my class was canceled on Monday, I seized the opportunity to begin the project. I spent most of the day on Tuesday working on it as well and above and below are two mock-ups for printing plates containing some of the imagery I will be printing.
The books I am making are journals so the images appear on the edges and in the corners of the pages. I am making an edition of 20 so it took a few hours just to make the mock-up.
Printing is always fun but does take a bit of forethought which is not always my strength.



These animals sitting around drinking come from a large composition I once did as an idea for a mural that would go onto the wall of a jazz club. I love their expressive nature.

Wouldn't you know that when I went to begin making my master plates I realized I didn't have enough bulbs to "flash" my masters!!! I printed what I could and have since ordered and received the materials I need to complete this task. Now it is just a matter of time!!!
By the way, Gocco, which is manufactured in Japan has recently stopped making the printers and slowly the supplies are dwindling in the US of A. If you want a more detailed disscription of Gocco's and what that is all about just google "Gocco". Basically it is a machine that allows one to make a silk screen type of plate using heat and carbon.
Now I really must start work on my Digital Drawing Mid-term argh!!!

Working with Illustrator

SelfPortrait I: Aspects of me.
Here I moved into the realm of abstraction to represent parts of me- and of course there are much more to me than just three, but the ones that seem to loom largest are here; mother, artist and thinker. ( I'm not sure how well you can see the baby, the paintbrush (no that is not a cigerette holder) and the artist beret.


These two images are my submission for a class project in which we were to create two self-portraits, a project which would seem right up my ally. However, working with a computer, a mouse and thankfully a stylus is a world apart from a pencil, paint and a paint brush. What I lack in experience using the software, I am grateful to have in experience. I have been learning a lot in my classes, but mostly I am learning how much there is to learn!!! I recognize the potential of these graphic programs, in Illustrator I can create perfectly symmetrical imagery which I would be hard pressed to produce on my own ( I was never good a drawing a straight line even with a rule which inevitable always moved as I drew the line): in photoshop the possibilities for creating unique imagery for my collage and bookcover work is endless. So I move forward and truly I enjoy school. I always have, especially when I don't have to write papers!!!

Self protrait II- Frustration
This piece represents the frustration I encounter while trying to do certain things within Illustrator and not knowing how to acheive the desired results. One huge luxury in working on the computer is the increable color palette and the ease in which to try out different color schemes. And on the same note, one can save endless versions until you create what you like!!!