How I am feeling lately...

#mailart 2 project

#mailart 2 is off and running and I am thrilled to be part of it!
Twitter's #mailart project is the brainchild of Mark Philip Venema and you can read more about it on his blog, here:
http://markphilipvenema.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/second-mailart-group/

The theme for this round of #mailart is Time and Being Human and I have been brainstorming for the project. Even though I can't share the images until after they have reached their future owners I can share some of my brainstorming.
I've been trying to focus on different concepts of what time can mean in my day to day life, what time can feel like, how it functions day to day...
These are some of the ideas brewing. Many of them may become #mailart, others will fall by the wayside.
Roaring
Rapid
Growing
Dying
Birth
Full
Empty
Snared
Sucked in
Snared
Caught
Stagnant
Swift
Money
Empty
Elusive
Hard to hold/catch
over booked/overloaded/overextended
Stretched thin
Blocked in
Flies
Creeps
Hindsight
Stands Still
Rich
Progression
Rippling
eroding
wearing
building
wasted
repetitive
productive
cyclical
rut
fading
treasure.........

I am excited to see how these ideas come to fruition and will share them with you when the project runs its course.
Hope you enjoy!

4.23.09

I am getting ready to enter a local art competition, so I've been busy selecting my entries and getting them framed. I'll share my selections later, but one of my options is a photo I took last summer. I took the photo with my digital camera, so now I needed to find the best place to get a high quality print. Twitter provided a wonderful answer to that question!

http://www.iprintfromhome.com/

You can check out their blog, too.
http://iprintfromhome.blogspot.com/

Every Tuesday they tweet a special, so if you are on Twitter you should add them!
I ordered my prints the middle of last week, and received them on Monday. Much quicker than I expected. They were well packaged and the quality is SUPERB! Needless to say I was in the frame shop on Tuesday!
What do you think of my choice of photo?

Two finished prints...

These are short editions, but having been out of printmaking for so long, it's about all I could manage and be happy with. I hope to get some framed and in my booth at Southern Treasures soon.
The top one is the Coffee Pot. It was a cafe many years ago, but is vacant (I think) now.

The second one is what I have only ever called The Smokestack of course. It is an old factory that the city wants to refurbish and revitalize as a transportation hub.
I would love to get up close with a camera before they do!

So here's the corrected - unflipped cut

This is an artist's proof that I made quickly last night. If I am very careful I may get 7 or 8 final prints out of this. I printed all the blue plates last night. Pardon the terrible photo. Oh and if I haven't mentioned it, the size of this is 2 inches wide be 2 5/8 inches tall.
Teeny Tiny!

I've started a second tiny print of the "Coffee pot". You'd have to be from my home town to know what that means. Maybe I can get it finished tonight...

As if I didn't have enough going on...

I whipped out a new, small block yesterday, and printed it quickly to see how it looked in the ink nearest my hands.


The image area is only 2 inches wide.

I'm pleased with how it turned out except for one small detail...

It's backwards.

Silly me, I flipped the image!


Oh Well...
Cutting again.

EtsyforCharity!

I've just joined a really neat shop on Etsy...
http://EtsyForCharity.etsy.com

From their storefront...

Etsy for Charity (EFC) is a group of artists all fueled by the passion of helping the community with their crafts. All items listed at EFC Shop are donated by Etsy sellers and they will be shipped direct from their country to you! Sales proceeds (less shipping and other expenses) for this month will be donated to EFC March Charity of the Month Save The Children http://www.savethechildren.org Search tags for "efc team" for members of Etsy for Charity (EFC). Register at http://etsyforcharity.ning.com to be a member of EFC Team.

Be sure to stop by and look at all the wonderful wares to be had!
Here's what I've donated:

We have a Winner - um make that WINNERS!

So, everything was prepared and I was ready for my daughter to draw a name for the winner of my giveaway, and what happened? Well, my son would not be outdone and snuck his hand in the pot, too.
The TWO winners for my giveaway are.....
(insert drumroll here...)
munecita and Jaime!
Congrats!!!!

So, I got busy last night mixing ink and printing their notecards! (As it turns out they both liked purple! How did I get that lucky?!?!?!)

Your packages will soon be winging their way to you! :D
...with a few other little "Happies" to brighten your days!











I didn't manage to make any progress on the aforementioned WIP.
But there's always tonight, or tomorrow night...

I did manage to start a new WIP! Who wants just one iron in the fire?









These are the first two blocks for a 4 color print. I've got a LOT of cutting to do to cut away everything that isn't black in the image.
If this works, it'll be the most involved linoleum block print I've ever done! Wish me luck. I'm rusty!

Sunset Enriched...

Sunset Enriched is my newest addition to my etsy store! It is a monotype on yupo using waterbased block printing ink. I wanted to recreate (and edit a little) last night's sunset. Hope you enjoy!

And don't forget to comment below for my giveaway!

More printmaking...

I managed to make a good start on a print based on a photo I took of a zebra. I think it'll work nicely for notecards. I am thinking hot pink/turquoise/lime green? Let me know what you think. I plan on pulling a proof tonight (if life cooperates :-D) and I'll try to post what I get tomorrow! Maybe - just maybe - I'll manage to get some listed in my etsy shop!
I spent a good portion of the early morning insisting that my daughter was going to go to school, while she spent an equal amount of time insisting she wasn't. Anyone know any reallllllllyyyyy good (and non-medicinal) remedies for a nervous 8 year old tummy? A chronically nervous 8 year old tummy?

Also I am thrilled and looking forward to receiving some jewelry a very talented, fellow etsy seller has created just for me and my husband! Be sure to check out her store and check out her beauties! http://jewelrybymignon.etsy.com/

New fixation!

Ok. Folks that know me know that I easily get fixated on things! Right now I am obsessed with an article in a Book Arts Publication called Ampersand. (If anybody knows how I can get my hands on one of these feel free to let me know ;-D) The article is about modifying a credit card imprinter so that you can use it as a relief printmaking press of sorts. Of course if there was an easier/cheaper way for me to get my hands on a press I'd be obsessed with that as well. I love printmaking and have been away from it for WAY too long (since college!).
I did manage a few "pulls" of an eraser cut I whipped out last night.
What do you think? I know the colors in the eraser (that's it in the lower left) are distracting, but they were - um - well Dirt Cheap!

NOTE: Whooppeeeeee! I found the last copy available of the Ampersand publication that I wanted!!!!!

Shopping locally!

I am still new to Etsy but I must say - "I love Etsy!" One thing I love about it is the option of finding local sellers (artisans!) you might never have found otherwise! I've joined a group of sellers called TeamEtsyMS that is made up of Mississippi crafters and artists! Who knew that shopping online could also turn into a sort of artist's support group?!?!
I am trying to list some of the members of this group on this blog as a sort of reference point (and a little extra marketing help!!!). They are a great bunch, so please visit their shops and blogs! Happy shopping!