Of Pen and Press

One of my craziest endeavors

2012-01-29T19:02:00.003-10:00

Years ago, I took a class in Scientific Illustration and I loved it, partly because it was the antithesis of everything I learned from my "abstract is the only art" professors in college. The point is to draw the item exactly as you see it, in actual size, every detail lovingly rendered, with no interpretation. This assignment was to work on scratchboard*, and I chose as my subject a elbow-length silk knitted fingerless glove from the 1900s. As soon as I started I knew it was an insane idea, but I'd seen people do larger and more complicated works in scratchboard, so I carried on. As much as I love scratchboard and scientific illustration, I doubt I will ever do anything this labor-intensive again.

*Scratchboard is a thin board covered in a layer of smooth white clay, then a layer of black ink, and a pointed tool is used to carefully scratch away the black ink and reveal the white underneath.

New Earrings

2011-12-09T18:54:00.001-10:00

For the winter celebration, of which there are many...when I lived in Seattle I learned the importance of celebrating the winter solstice; after months of dreary, short days and cold nights, the winter solstice means the days will be getting longer. The hope of that little slice of light (though, in Seattle, not necessarily sun) is enough to raise the spirits and hope for the spring.

Teeny-tiny trees

Snowflakes (Venus not to scale)

Available at my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tarazara

Cards

2011-12-06T17:55:00.001-10:00

I made some cards out of old prints - sold a few of this series, which were made with a carved eraser stamp, many years ago. I still have the stamp...

More sold prints

2011-12-03T20:24:00.004-10:00

After some digging, I came up with pix of some of the other pieces I sold at the show.

Paper Doll - collagraph with watercolor
6" x 3"

This has always been one of my favorites (I say that about everything) and I'm glad someone finally bought it. I just might have to print a few more, though since it's a collagraph (from the word collage) and it's made of mat board, there's only so many times I can print it.

Blue Nude - monoprint
6" x 8".

I do a lot of nudes, even though they are generally hard to sell.

Printmakers Show

2011-12-02T14:38:00.010-10:00

Every November, the Printmaking Society of Honolulu holds a benefit sale, and each member can display and sell their work. Since I haven't printed in over a year, I had nothing new to show, so I dug down into my old prints. I sold some prints, and most of them were over 20 years old. I guess my work has to take time to ferment. Click on the images to see them larger.

Forgotten Landscape - etching

This is one of the very first etchings I did in my very first etching class, during my very short stay at University of Georgia in 1984. I learned so much in that class, and the teacher was wonderful. At the time I thought this piece was a bit trite, but I liked it anyway. It was a stage in another print, so there are only one or two of this version.

Carp Dream, lithograph

From my first (and only) lithography class at University of Georgia. The teacher hated it and said awful things to me, but everyone else who has seen it likes it.

"...and the wind blew the sky into her hair..." - etching

One of my poetic titles. Sometimes the title can sell the piece; as in this case, the woman who bought it told me she loved it for the title.This work is at least 20 years old.

Fashion sketching

2011-05-12T00:59:00.000-10:00

A little insight into my fashion sketching...

Flowers and squiggles

2011-05-11T01:21:00.000-10:00

More random stuff

2011-05-06T19:46:00.000-10:00

Black and White Kitties

? - no idea what I was doing here

Three Pears (pencil)

Three Pears with color added digitally

Randomness

2011-05-05T01:15:00.000-10:00

I decided to try and post more stuff...so here's a few drawings.

swirl motif for textile design

design sketch

Easter Bonnets

2011-04-15T01:58:00.001-10:00

More crocheted miniatures - little hats that I made into pins. I think it would be really cute to wear one on a hat.

If you find them irresistible, go to my etsy page (tarazara).

Pinky Browne, Art Critic

2011-04-14T00:35:00.001-10:00

Miniature meaning

2011-03-15T02:17:00.000-10:00

I did this for a miniature show. It wasn't my entry, it was in the program for the show. This was before I had access to computers (and fonts) so it is all hand-drawn. I must have been in an obsessive mood...I learned calligraphy and then had to do something with it.

I think I'd like to do some more of this.

Sketches

2011-03-15T02:15:00.000-10:00

In my effort to reduce my level of stuff, I decided to go through my sketchbooks and photograph all the sketches I liked or felt had potential. I was surprised at how few pages of each sketchbook I kept. The pictures aren't perfect, but I really just wanted to have a record of them without all the paper.
Here's a few - I still love my old fashion sketch style...I should do more of that.

I've always had a fascination with geisha culture.

This is the sort of drawings I did in high school when I designed and made all my own clothes...I was way ahead of my time.

Faces in Places

2010-10-22T23:23:00.000-10:00

This book, Faces in Places, was just published and I have 5 photographs in it.

Here are my pix in the book:

Rings and Rings

2010-08-24T03:30:00.001-10:00

Rings and Things

2010-08-20T23:24:00.001-10:00

Rings and earrings...more beads...more rings coming soon.

Blue and white seed beads, blue glass cube

Silver seed beads and a glass stone

Silver and Aurora Borealis seed beads

A little lavender flower on a band of purple seed beads.

Vintage Aluminum flowers and beads

Silver and two shades of blue seed beads

Star of David in silver and blue seed beads

Aprons

2010-08-15T15:01:00.000-10:00

Yesterday's production. I think the black one is the nicest one so far. So tasteful...

very sophisticated...

I think I want a jacket out of this fabric.

Not my kind of color/print, but I think people will like it.

I didn't like the ink used to print the white on red - too plastic.

Bead fun

2010-08-13T15:19:00.000-10:00

I've been trying to make a skull - a bit tricky with the grid - but I think I succeeded here. I sewed them to colored safety pins for that extra-punk look.

Two more

2010-08-10T23:38:00.003-10:00

I was working merrily along on these, first the blue then the pumpkin, and I ran out of both colors of thread. I could have gone to WalMart in the middle of the night (open 24 hours!) but I decided to just finish them the next day. The pumpkin print is adorable, even though it is orange. I'm not a fan of orange...


Pumpkins! SOLD

Blue Flowers

They will be for sale on Etsy, but first I'm offering them to anyone who is a reader of this blog for a discount - $32, free shipping. Leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Bats!

2010-08-08T20:23:00.003-10:00

Halloween is not all that far away...found this great fabric with bats and just had to make an apron from it. [SOLD!]

Love those green eyes!

Aprons Every Day

2010-08-07T04:43:00.002-10:00

I've managed to make one apron every day, and sometimes two. I find if I cut out a bunch at once, then when I'm in the mood to sew, I can zip right through.
Here's two of the same fabric, with different color trim. I think it makes a big difference what color the trim is, but I like them both.

Birdies with pale blue trim

Birdies with black trim

Strawberries and blueberries

Hibiscus and monstera leaves

Aprons Again

2010-08-01T21:27:00.002-10:00

I've been feeling very productive lately, and I'm making more aprons. I like these a lot, especially the one with the black trim. I changed the way I finish the neckline, and I like it much better. The one with the yellow trim and the blue/black/gold ones have the old neckline.

SOLD

The old style with curved top

New style with skinny ties at neck

More Bead Jewelry

2010-07-28T23:57:00.000-10:00

I've been making these tiny earrings with seed beads and other beads; they are about a half inch or slightly more. I have a huge collection of beads; I buy them because they don't take up much space, unlike most art and craft supplies. Available at my Etsy shop [tarazara].

Beads and more beads...

2010-07-27T16:01:00.001-10:00

My latest obsession, a recurring one throughout my life, is beading. Now I'm making rings and earrings with seed beads and other beads. It's exacting work, which is what I like to do. I'm constantly thinking up new styles and variations, from simple bands to miniature crowns. These and lots more available on my Etsy shop [tarazara].


Blue/Silver Wide Band

Flowers in the Sea

Crown Ring - Silver and Fuschia

Crown Ring - Fuschia and Blue

Black and Turquoise Cube Ring

More doll-ish figures

2010-07-11T23:41:00.002-10:00

These are some copper figures I made ages ago. I only have the one with the bead skirt. The others (there were a couple more) I gave to someone to photograph for an art site, and when I asked for them back, she insisted she didn't have them. The site was supposed to sell various kinds of art and crafts, but I don't think it ever got off the ground. I learned my lesson; never hand over your stuff - use your own pictures. I think I didn't have a camera at the time and just scanned these so they are not the best pix.

Dolls, or something like that.

2010-07-04T23:06:00.006-10:00

I hesitate to call these dolls, but what else can I call them? I made these from torn strips of old cotton sheets. I hate to toss out old sheets - after the years of use and washing, they are so soft and seem still useful to me. I got this idea to tear them up and make some dolls by braiding and wrapping. There's almost no sewing except a few hand stitches here and there.
I love them as they are, but I think they need embellishment; beads and ribbon and bits of old jewelry.

Craft Hope for Haiti

2010-01-22T22:12:00.004-10:00

I'm participating in a fund-raising event, organized by an online friend. Here's the website for the group:Craft Hope for Haiti

My sister contributed her brilliantly clever drawstring bag - it has a teddy bear shaped potholder for the bottom.

My contribution is my "Good Juju Doll".

There's lots of other great stuff on the site and new items being added every day.

New Project

2010-01-05T00:49:00.005-10:00

For Christmas, I decided to make some aprons for my nieces. I used this 40s style flared petal shape with seam binding around each section. It looks difficult, but if you get the knack for seam binding, it's not so hard. They loved the aprons, and Chris said she could sell them at work, and might be willing to do a craft fair for me. I'm planning to list them on Etsy, too.
Here's the progress so far:
Chris' apron
Rachel's apron
Red checks
Pink Hearts SOLD
Chili Peppers
Blue Hearts
Hearts on Black

2009-10-29T19:05:00.003-10:00

At least I have an excuse for not posting for a month...we moved. I hate moving, especially twice in a year. But the new house is big(ish) and airy and very private. It has lovely tropical plants all the way around and a hot tub on the back lanai. My room is much bigger, so I have room for my computer and a drawing table. Now I have no excuse not to get something done. I'm not finished sorting and arranging, much less finding everything I need. A lot of stuff is in plastic bins in the garage, so it's going to take a while.
The house is painted in several colors...the slate blue is lovely and soothing, but the egg-yolk yellow and acid green have got to go! We were hoping to have it done before we moved in, but there's so much delay and complications in buying a house that we weren't even sure about it until about a week before our move date. Nearly every room in the house has one wall painted green or yellow, and the colors are so gaudy and (as my friend Trish said) "contentious."
Here's my room before I moved in. The yellow and green don't look nearly as bad in the picture as they do in real life. That ceiling fan is great, though; keeps the room nice and cool without air conditioning. Outside the huge window is the back lanai with palms and heliconias.

The Year of Doing Nothing

2009-09-23T23:54:00.002-10:00

I've been in Hawai'i over a year, and I feel like I've done nothing all year. I made a few little items here and there, sewed some clothes for my sister, but I haven't done any drawing (not much, anyway). I'm hoping this will be followed by the Year of Doing Much...I'd like to design and sew some clothes, do a lot of drawing, some printmaking, maybe some painting and papermaking, make jewelry and beadwork, and a lot of other things.
After working at a job for 3 years before I moved back to Hawai'i, where I had to do a lot of stuff all day, I felt like my creative juices were being depleted. At home I didn't have the time or energy to do much. Now I have no excuse, since my main job is to stay at home with my mother, do the grocery shopping and some cooking, take my mom out for her errands, and generally be a housewife (bizarre!).
There will be some big changes soon (stay tuned) and I'm hoping to find inspiration in the changes and my surroundings. Plus I have got to get really serious about making money from my art - online or wherever. If any of my readers has suggestions about how to promote my art online, I'd love to hear it. If anyone would like to be my agent, I'd like that too.

Same Subject, Different Media

2009-07-12T01:36:00.003-10:00

After posting the drawing of the pot with the draped cloth, I realized that a watercolor version has been sitting in the living room for nearly a year. So here it is. This one is 6" x 4".

Little Drawing

2009-06-27T21:32:00.002-10:00

This little colored pencil drawing is about 4 x 5.5 inches, done on a scrap of mat board. I think it's about 20 years old, but I did several versions. Sometimes I like to do the same drawing over and over just to see what variations will occur.

Poppy Shadow

2009-06-19T22:58:00.002-10:00

This is from a series of flowers I did in pastel. They were about 24"x30", and I discovered working on these that I did not like to work big. I prefer doing small works. But I do love this image.

My Favorite Etchings

2009-06-17T23:50:00.006-10:00

Miss Otis Regrets
Pears In Snow
After all these years, these are still my favorites. I think they must be at least 20 years old; I've printed them in different colors, sold a fair amount of them, and "Miss Otis" won a few printmaking and small works awards. They are about the size of playing cards, the results of some experimenting I was doing with open-bite etching.

Autumn

2009-06-17T01:43:00.002-10:00

Woman in a Veil

2009-06-16T00:46:00.000-10:00

Scribble

2009-06-15T23:33:00.003-10:00

These remind me of the handwriting exercises I had to do in Catholic School when we were learning to write in script.

Girl in a Hat Redux

2009-06-15T00:31:00.001-10:00

A fashion drawing done in Illustrator, inspired by the sketch below.

Girl in a Hat

2009-06-13T22:40:00.003-10:00

Fashion Drawings

2009-06-13T00:37:00.006-10:00

A sampling of various styles of fashion drawings, from my old portfolios.

Day of the week confusion

2009-06-11T23:20:00.005-10:00

Since my sister has days off from teaching, we've been hanging out and doing stuff, and now I'm thoroughly confused about the day of the week. I'm days behind in posting; last post was Monday, and today is Thursday, I believe, so I need to post at least 3 images.
1. Sunglass girls - a theme I've been doing for years. I have zillions of doodles and sketches of people with sunglasses.
2. Reclining nude - I guess I've mentioned before that this is a favorite theme of mine, and also my favorite way to be: nude and reclining.
3. This is an African mask I saw in a museum or perhaps in a book. It must have been during my scientific illustration period, with the attention to detail and even the texture of the wood. I love doing scientific illustration and replicating something with the accuracy of a photograph. Actually, one of the advantages of illustration over photography is that details can often be shown more accurately in a drawing.

Kiss Kiss, Blush Blush

2009-06-08T02:59:00.003-10:00

I did this digital illustration about 10 years ago for a client - I don't remember the client or whether it was ever published, but it did get me some jobs designing labels for makeup and perfume.

2009-06-07T19:41:00.002-10:00

A simple motif to be used in an allover pattern. We generally call this paisley, but the motif comes from India, where it is considered a stylized mango. When fabrics were first imported from India to the UK, large woven scarves with this motif became very popular. A weaving company in Paisley, Scotland began to produce them in wool, and soon the scarves were known as Paisleys. Eventually, the Indian mango motif came to be known as paisley.

Pears Again

2009-06-06T01:01:00.000-10:00

Pears, pears and more pears...

Paper Doll

2009-06-05T02:00:00.003-10:00

An idea for a Hawaiian-style paper doll...when I was very little, 6 or 7 years old, I had stacks and stacks of paper dolls, and I loved designing new clothes for them. I would trace the doll on paper, then draw an outfit, and color it with crayons or paint. By the time I was in 6th grade, everyone thought I would be a clothing designer. I did a lot of custom design and dressmaking (beginning at age 14), but I never worked for a clothing company, or put out my own line. I took detours into other creative areas, and now that I'm back in Hawai'i I would like to start designing clothes again.

Musicians

2009-06-04T00:03:00.002-10:00

These silhouettes were the basis of several designs - I used them on a painted gourd series, and a miniature etching series. There's also a drummer and a piano player sketch somewhere...

Where to find my art for sale

2009-06-03T03:39:00.010-10:00

I have added links on the sidebar to my shop on Etsy. Fine Art For the Fridge magnets: each thin flexible magnet frame holds an individual work of art, an original etching, printed by the artist (me). Most are 2"x2.5", some are 2"x2". I hope to be adding more soon, and some of my bigger prints (not as magnets).
I also have some of my couched gold embroidered pins. Each one takes about ten hours to complete; they are embroidered on velveteen, then stretched over a form to keep its shape. The back is covered with a small piece of leather holding the pin in place. These are all I have, and I don't know if I will do any more, unless someone has a specific request.
And there are fabric dolls - they are made entirely of worn, torn, faded cotton. There is no sewing, they are made completely braided, tied and/or wrapped. They are happy in your pocket, on a shelf, or sitting in a window.
If anything else on my blog interests you, just ask in comments if it's available. Most of the prints I post are still available for reasonable prices.

Swim Shorts

2009-06-03T00:30:00.003-10:00

Another fashion drawing - I like the idea of wearing longer shorts for swimming. Many of us would rather not show our thighs and butts just because we are going in the water. Personally, I'd like a long sleeve/long pants combo so I wouldn't have to worry about the sun either!

Pencrazy

2009-06-02T22:03:00.006-10:00

I don't usually fill an entire page of a sketchbook, but I'm pretty sure this was the result of buying a new pen...apparently a brushpen. I was fiddling with it, trying to find the various ways to use it, and in the top left corner it says "pencrazy" (upside down).
Maybe I should buy some new pens, or drag out some I haven't used in a while. It always inspires me to draw, or at least doodle. I have a glass pen with a nib like a swirly ice cream cone. You dip it in ink and it draws for a very long time. I guess it would help if I had a table just for drawing.

More than one...

2009-06-01T22:44:00.006-10:00

While trying to organize my files, I discovered that I posted a couple of works that I had already posted in earlier entries. So today, I'm posting a few to catch up. This swirl was a sketch for a repeat textile pattern. One of these days I might finish it.

Below, another sleeping girl, along with my life motto: "when in doubt, get horizontal."

Another little ink on mat board - color added digitally.

3 Pears X 2

2009-06-01T03:00:00.004-10:00

Pears - a classic theme; two versions of a similar motif. I'm posting 2 today because it's technically Monday and I missed posting anything on Sunday. The one above is just pencil on bristol board, and the one below is colored pencil on frosted acetate. I love drawing on frosted acetate...it has almost the same feeling as drawing on a lithography stone.

Four views

2009-05-30T22:31:00.004-10:00

These may have been planning drawings for scratchboard, but I don't think I ever did them in scratchboard. I love painting with ink on mat board, the way it soaks in and gives such a satisfying black.

Better Late Than Never

2009-05-29T23:20:00.005-10:00

I neglected my posting last night after partying with old friends, but it's still technically Friday, so I'll post something...something...an old favorite, my Planet Dancers print.

Fashion

2009-05-28T00:16:00.005-10:00

I can't help but fall back on my beginnings in fashion design, especially since lately I've been thinking of outfits to make for myself. Not necessarily mu'umu'u, but what we call Aloha wear.

Slippers and Fruit

2009-05-26T23:53:00.002-10:00

I love slippers. I love to draw slippers. I don't know why the fruits are there.

Negative/Positive

2009-05-26T01:56:00.002-10:00

My sweet Marie in her natural black and how she would look in white. She was the most beautiful cat, though few people saw her - she would hide under the bed and only come out if everyone sat very still.

Awakening

2009-05-24T23:02:00.003-10:00

A reclining girl...one of my favorite themes. This was done sometime in 2005.

Praying Girl

2009-05-24T00:16:00.002-10:00

I have no idea when or why I did this sketch. The only date I could find in the sketchbook was 1994, so I'm pretty sure this is at least 10 years old.

Spiral Planets

2009-05-23T02:11:00.002-10:00

This is scratchboard - I used to do a lot of it because I could work very small and in great detail. While organizing my art supplies, I found a nice big piece of scratchboard, so I plan to start doing them again.

Check in hand?

2009-05-21T23:20:00.004-10:00

I found this in an old notebook...maybe it was a sketch for an icon or something? There were other variations on the page, but I liked this one best. I often sketch in pencil, and then, years later, go through the sketchbooks and go over the ones I like in pen. Not usually red pen; I must have been in a mood.

Sketch-a-day?

2009-05-21T02:10:00.003-10:00

I am going to make a serious effort to post a sketch every day, even if it's just a doodle. If I don't draw anything that day, I will post scans of some of my old stuff.
Today I started to draw some poppy pods, but I got interrupted, and this is where I stopped. I thought they looked like they were dancing.
This is more for my own amusement and discipline than anything else, but I appreciate all comments so I don't feel like I'm sending this out blindly into the blogosphere.

2009-05-05T00:16:00.003-10:00

My sister asked me to make a little cup and saucer for her friend Jim. This one will also fit on a dime...I made a little origami box for it, the box is 1 inch square.

2009-04-17T00:21:00.006-10:00

While looking for something else entirely, I found a stash of crochet thread probably 30+ years old. Some of it is size 70...you can't even get size 70 anymore. The larger the number, the finer the thread, and most of my miniatures are size 20. So I was able to make this incredibly tiny cup and saucer - fits on a dime.

Made some baskets for Easter presents, also tiny as a dime but made from size 20 thread, so not quite as delicate. The hardest part is tying the bow on the ribbon and getting it to be proportional to the basket. I presented them inside plastic eggs - inverting the paradigm (I always wanted to say that).

Neglecting my blog

2009-03-29T01:02:00.007-10:00

If I was horrendously busy, I would have an excuse, but I haven't been. My neglect is more based on ennui. I'm bored with my life at the moment, and though I have done some more crochet, I haven't done any printmaking. The annual meeting is next week, so I'm planning to get back to the studio.

In the meantime, just some miniature crochet pieces...

Slippers - 1¼"

Little basket - 1½"

Little basket - 1½"

Little pink hat

Fuzzy Vest for a doll

That's all for now...I've got to do more and find more to do.

Nearly the end of the year

2008-12-27T11:52:00.016-10:00

Wow, didn't post for over a month! The sale went pretty well, and I had fun meeting the other members. I sold a bunch of the magnets, but nothing else.
Since then I haven't gone to the studio, partly because I was sick. I've been concentrating on doing online stuff, like putting the magnets on my etsy site. My etsy name is tarazara.
I'm not sure how to drive traffic to it, so feel free to send the link to anyone you like!
I caught the very end of a documentary on the Independent Film Channel about a woman who does miniature knitting - 1/12 scale, for dollhouse dolls, and is now doing dollhouse scale for dollhouses - 1/144 scale! The finished sweaters fit on a dime! See them here: Bugknits
I was so impressed, I decided to start working again on my miniature crochet. I used to do these about 20 years ago, and I like them because they are so quick to make. My sister asked me to make a miniature piece of pie for a friend...I didn't have the right size thread, so it isn't as refined as some of the older pieces, but I hope to do a whole food series. I don't know what I'll do with them, as usual. Here are pix of the older pieces - mostly cups and saucers.

This one is about the size of a nickel:

The art sale begins

2008-11-29T15:28:00.003-10:00

Yesterday was the first day of the art sale, and I was there all afternoon helping. For some reason I was assigned the task of calling in credit cards for approval, which wasn't too bad. I didn't have to deal directly with the public, and I had considerable time to cruise around and look at other people's work. It was great to see all the various styles and techniques, and it did give me inspiration.
The prints that seemed to sell the best had a local flavor - local subjects like plants and flowers, people or places. Also, a lot of color...I guess we in Hawai'i are used to seeing color everywhere, so we want it in our art. As much as I love black and white, especially black ink, I also love to work in color. In other cities I lived, serious printmakers tended to work only in black and white, but now I think my color sense can take off!
Interesting side note: Neil Abercrombie, Hawai'i Representative to the U.S. Senate, showed up near closing time and pored over the art very carefully. We stayed open a little longer to let him see everything. I knew him back in the hippie days, so I went to talk to him, and he said he remembered me (he may have just been being diplomatic). I remembered him living in a house with no front door, just a curtain. He said, "those were innocent times..." He always was a really sweet guy, and politics has not made him hard. He bought 6 or 7 pieces (some rather expensive - alas, none of mine) and he wrote a little note on his business card for each of the artists. That would be a nice thing to have in your portfolio!

More prints for the sale

2008-11-15T21:14:00.006-10:00

I figure this is as good a time as any to scan all my prints, though there are some monoprints I forgot to scan before I took them to the studio...I guess I'll go take pictures of them so I'll have some documentations. Here's some more of the prints I put in the sale.

Mona Redux

(2.75" x 3.5")

This print has line etching, aquatint, white ground etching and some open bite. I wasn't trying to make her look like the Mona Lisa, but once it was done, I thought that's what she looked like.

Pohaku

(1.75" x 3.75")

Pohaku can mean either rock or thunder in Hawaiian, but either works for this print.

Salt and Pepper
(7.5" x 2.75")

This is all open-bite etching...a technique which takes careful timing when putting the plate in the acid.

Strata

(2" x 4")

I just love this print...I like making lots of fine lines.

Carp Dream

(10" x 6")

One of only two lithographs I ever did. Besides the fact that litho is a tedious process, and the only part that is fun is actually drawing on the stone, I had a horrible experience with the teacher in my litho class, and he made me never want to do litho again. He hated this print, and the other one I did. His actual words at the class critique were, "I don't know why you even bother." He was such an asshole, and I only found out later that he didn't like me because the head of the printmaking department thought I was a genius and I guess he saw me as competition. Everyone else who has seen this print loved it, but I still get a sick feeling thinking about that critique.

Preparation

2008-11-14T22:36:00.013-10:00

When you think of an artist, you think they are creating art or thinking about art...you don't imagine what goes into getting ready for a show or sale. I used a P-touch printer to print out what seemed like a zillion labels. I needed inventory tags for each item, prices, and titles. For the Fine Art for the Fridge magnets I printed out labels for fineartforthefridge.com, now I have to set up a web site in the next two weeks just in case anyone wants to order more...which entails scanning all the available prints and working out some kind of order system.
But I delivered all the prints to the studio today - whew! There were 44 magnets and 40 other prints of various sizes. The hardest part was pricing them - I probably priced them too low, but I'd like to sell a lot, to get my name out there and to get a lot of inventory off my hands. Here's a few of the prints I have in the show...Nancy helped me with some of the titles. Sometimes I do a print with no clear plan in mind, usually somewhat abstract, then I can't even decide which side is up. I always like to have other people, especially non-artists, tell me what they think and suggest a title.

Cloud
(4" x 2.75")

This has always been one of my favorites; I had a lot of fun making the plate...various techniques of aquatint and open bite.

"...and the wind blew the sky into her hair..."
(6" x 4.75")

This one has the longest title ever, and I'm not sure why...someone in a printmaking workshop may have suggested it.

Planet Dancing
(9" x 4")

A collagraph - the plate is made from two layers of mat board covered in layers of acrylic gloss medium. It's quick and easy to make a plate this way (if you don't count the drying time between layers of medium), plus it's non-toxic.

Punx
(6" x 4")

Ah, my lovely punks...the girl on the right is another portrait of my old printmaking buddy Mo Lea, whom I wish I could get in touch with again. [Note: I just googled and found her! She teaches art at a college in Bedfordshire, UK! I emailed her and I hope she writes back.] I hope she is still doing etchings, because she was a genius. I have to find the print she gave me and post it here.

The Piano Lesson
(5" x 8")

Nancy suggested the title for this, after turning it vertical...I had always looked it horizontally and it never really made a whole lot of sense.

They look like they are all the same size on the screen, so I added the dimensions to give an idea of their actual sizes.

The Printmaking Studio

2008-11-06T23:08:00.013-10:00

I recently joined a printmaking group, and the studio is open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. As a night person, that's the best time for me. I went last week and this week, and besides getting a lot of printing done, I met a bunch of nice people. The group is having a sale at the end of the month, so everyone's getting ready. Some are working on a special project; images of I'olani Palace, the only royal palace in the U.S.
I joined a little too late for this project, but I'm printing some of my old plates, especially the miniatures. I used to market them in little magnet frames as "Fine Art for the Fridge" but this was pre-internet, and I couldn't find any premade frames I liked. I had to make the frames myself, and that took forever, so it wasn't as profitable as it could have been. Now with the help of the web, I found the perfect lightweight magnet frames, so I'm going to start selling them again. Everyone oohed and aahed over my little prints, which made me feel great - they especially liked the nudes - and said I would do well at the sale.
I printed some slightly larger prints, partly to test them out. Riverbend is one of my all-time favorites, partly because of the beautiful black areas. This was when I was new to printmaking, and testing out my aquatint skills (aquatint is an etching method to produce tonal results; has nothing to do with water color as some people assume). I was very pleased with the result.The Geckos also feature aquatint, but this time I was going for a speckled effect. I love geckos, and they are considered a symbol of good luck in Hawai'i, partly because they eat bugs, so you want one or two living in your house. They are usually shades of beige and tan, about 2 inches long, and they have gold eyes, so I usually gold-leaf the eyes in this etching.
I love printmaking, and watching the others at the studio working on other methods makes me want to do some monoprints and even delve into methods I haven't done before, like woodcut. One of the women in the studio was doing these large (24" x 30") woodcuts of beautiful Polynesian women...I don't think I would work that large, but I liked her method for printing multiple colors.
It's very tiring working at the studio, my back and feet always hurt when I come home. I'm hoping that doing it on a regular basis, I will get used to it. If I can make some money selling my miniatures (watch for an announcement when I put them up on my etsy site), I'll be at the studio every week.

Tiny etchings

2008-10-31T22:06:00.009-10:00

I've always loved tiny things, but my tiny etchings were inspired by two things: laziness and thrift. I was in a weekly printmaking workshop where we had no lockers or anywhere to leave our tools and plates during the week, so we had to schlep everything each time. Zinc plates can be heavy, and I didn't like carrying around a heavy bag. There was a large metal cutter called a guillotine in the studio, where you could cut a plate down to the size you needed. One day I noticed that there were long narrow strips of zinc on the floor beneath the cutter, so I picked them up and cut them into pieces about 1x1 inch or a little bigger. Not only were they free, they were lightweight! So my long series of miniature works began.
This one one of my first minis - it's loosely a portrait of my friend Mo Lea, who was in the workshop with me. She had an outrageous blond mohawk and a penchant for skulls and bones, both in her work and her jewelry.
I always liked doing sketches of girls wearing sunglasses, and this girl has miniature sunglass pin on her lapel...mini within mini.

When I was in high school, there was a phone on a small shelf in the upstairs hallway of my house; we used the wall above the shelf for notes and phone numbers, but sometimes I would draw these silly-looking birds. My mother finally painted over the notes and numbers, but she left the birds. When I did this etching, I thought my birds were not really serious enough for an etching, but my papermaking mentor Harriet Germain loved this etching best of all of mine - she called it "the chickens." It has a special place in my heart because Harriet is long gone and she meant so much to me.

Drawings that pop out of my pen

2008-10-31T21:35:00.008-10:00

Sometimes, when I'm doing nothing in particular, like waiting on hold on the phone (or, in the old days of the internet, waiting for a file to download) these little drawings pop out of my pen. I use whatever pen is handy, whatever little scraps of paper are on hand. I usually don't have a subject idea or a reason, they just appear. This bunch are done on small pieces of mat board, leftovers from framing; the pen was probably a very fine Sharpie or something similar. I haven't done many of these lately - I hope some more pop out of my pen soon.

I did these in Seattle on a rainy day, although real Seattlites rarely use umbrellas.

Nostalgia for Hawaiian nights...Cherries on a cloth...I've done various versions of this.

Repeat repeat repeat

2008-10-28T19:21:00.012-10:00

Here's some more repeat patterns - I did a series for stationery and gift wrap, and some for my own amusement.

Simple Roses

Ribbons

Geometry

Bubbles

Mod Flowers
Squiggles

This last one was once the background of my web site, back in the day when I had the time and energy to change my site every couple of months. Now I'm lucky if I get to it every five years! It's good, though, because that means I have lots of other work to do, so I guess all that time I spent fiddling with my portfolio site paid off...

Art and such

2008-10-27T17:52:00.014-10:00

This blog is to show and sell my art, particularly small pieces. Pen refers to my scribbles, doodles and little drawings, the sort I like to say "just popped out of my pen." Press refers to my printmaking; etchings, collagraphs, and monoprints, which I print on an etching press.
I recently moved, and in the packing and unpacking process, discovered I had lots of small etchings on hand - most are less
than 2 inches square - that I used to sell in magnet frames as "Fine Art for the Fridge." I might make some into cards, or magnets, or other items, or sell them just as tiny frameable art.
My pen drawings have been scanned and sometimes digitally colored, and I plan to sell them in various forms. I might even take requests, if someone wants them on a card, button, pocket mirror, etc.
I know things will change as I go along, so let's get started! I haven't decided exactly what to do with each piece, so I'm going to post the images and think about it later...

This little drawing was originally done in ink and colored pencil on frosted mylar. Drawing on mylar is fun because you can view it from either side and see different effects. It might make a good greeting card, or a magnet.
Dogwood - a repeat pattern I did for a gift wrap company (I don't know if they ever used it).

This repeat of garden tools came from a series of mini etchings from my "Fine Art for the Fridge" series.

I guess that's all for today!