Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., printmaking | Tags: art, Collage, painting, printmaking, Visual Arts
So, I didn’t hear from many on you on my question regarding posting EVERY DAY. Perhaps I should interpret your silence as polite pleading not to innundate you with posts.
Clearly, I’m ignoring this for now. The first image is my 365 creation from yesterday. It’s so much better to photograph with sunlight.
detail:
This was obviously a departure from the printmaking stuff. Well, I take that back…as that isn’t really obvious. This was a collage/painting.
I also took another stab at another print in the series of the cartoonish guy. It turned out so-so…I took away too much red ink.
detail:
I’m not sure that I have much more to say with him. We’ll see. Here is a print using yet ANOTHER type of ink…oil based:
detail:
I wasn’t too thrilled with it. I think that the general technique has some interesting possibilities (if I was Picasso), but I’m going to have to try again.
Here are a couple of experiments:
I photoshopped out two big smudges in the margins of this last one. I know. That’s kind of cheating. If I wasn’t so sloppy, I wouldn’t have to do that!
Thumbs up? Down? No comment? I am so looking forward to my classes, as I feel that I am fumbling around with a lot of these printmaking materials. Also, feedback from my teacher/classmates will be good (or OTHERS…hint..hint).
🙂
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts...
Okay. (do I start every post that way?). I’m trying to decide if I need to publish what I produce in regards to this 365 project. Bascially, I see several “cons” to posting every day:
1. I may end up posting a lot of bad stuff, as I’m not editing my 365 creations. So, I’m concerned that my posts will be bogged down with really ugly stuff (more so than usual…don’t laugh), which would be depressing for me and anyone else looking at this blog.
2. I worry that it’s kind of annoying to post every day.
3. I don’t think that it’s good to post the same day that I make my 365 creation, as this forces me to photograph at night, which I hate.
So, I’m kind of thinking that I’ll still make something every day…but I don’t know that it’s a good idea to share that! Wouldn’t it be better to have fewer, better posts than lots of so-so posts? WHAT DO YOU THINK? Should I post what I make every day, or shall I just post every so often, when I feel that I have something reasonable to show???? Yes, I’m asking you! Tell me!
I took these photos today…I’m not posting my 365 creation, as I haven’t done it yet!!!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., printmaking | Tags: art, Collage, Graduate school, Visual Arts
Okay, here is my print for the day. Again…not so good. (try to be surprised) It took me a couple of hours. I know. Doesn’t look like it. The collage part took a while. I’ve been pretty hesitant to do any type of collage work. I took a collage course in grad school with this pretty well respected painter teaching it. Anyway, he didn’t think much of what I did. Neither did I. As a result, I’ve kept my distance from collage, as I have decided that I’m bad at it. Now, as I’m trying to throw caution to the wind…I’m trying it again. We’ll see how it goes. I’m liking the whole glue stick thingy. It feels so “elementary school” and fun.
[okay…once again, i couldn’t leave well enough alone. i messed with this print…see below. notice the smudgy fingerprints now in the margins…nice!]
okay, so i photoshopped out all of my smudgy prints, as they’re sloppy and distracting:
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts..., printmaking | Tags: boston, New Year, New Year's resolution, Project 365
Happy New Year! We had a LOVELY 50 degree day here in the Boston ‘burbs. Yummy! Why can’t winter be like this all the time? Oh yeah, then there would be no snow, ever. Bummer.
So, I’m wondering if I should jump on this “make-some-kind-of-thing-every-day” bandwagon. Here is a link to a blog about this kind of thing. I know. It’s a good thing to do. Basically, you commit to creating something every day for a year. In fact, I believe that my brother is going to do this…by creating at least one photograph per day. I’m interested in this whole idea, as I hope that it would push me to make something every day, and not be so precious about what I do. Some days, I hardly get any time to myself. I use that as an excuse as to why I haven’t created anything. But, maybe that’s kind of lazy! Maybe I just need to make something…ANYTHING, regardless of how much time I’ve had to make it. In the spirit of this, I made a print, which took less than an hour. I know. It LOOKS like it took less than an hour. Who cares. Here it is:
I know. Not so good. But, considering that I would probably have not bothered with it at all, as I had so little free time today…I think that it’s okay. Not great, but okay. Just THINK how much “stuff” I’ll have if I can keep this up! I may even learn something! Hopefully, some of these creations will be reasonable. I originally thought that I could make several things in one day…and then keep some to use on those days where I don’t actually do anything. BUT, now I see that this is really defeating the purpose. I really do need to push myself to make something every day. Even if it turns out lousy.
Is this my New Year’s Resolution? I guess so. I originally thought that I would try to be “less grouchy”, but perhaps I should work on that anyway.
Okay…signing off here. Here are some photos I took this week when we had heaps of snow and sunshine. Doesn’t it look lovely out?
[okay. I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I messed with that print again. Here it is again:
I think that it looks worse in the photo, but better in reality…okay, I’m cleaning up now…]
Filed under: printmaking
As this is a holiday week, I haven’t been able to do too much new stuff. I’ve read 3,015 Richard Scarry stories, built 247 block castles, and prepared numerous meals and snacks for my son. Did I mention cleaning up at all? Probably not, as I’m not very good at that.
I’ve been working on another linoleum print. Here it is so far. I kind of thought that I would add another layer, but for some reason, I only imagined it with these colors. So, now I am stumped.
I also did some sketchy prints…
These were kind of quick, but fun. I like the second one much better than the first. Live and learn.
Here is also one of the numerous castles that my son and I built this week:
Please excuse the general mess. You’ll notice that he’s munching on an apricot. Every day, he asks if we have any peaches. Peaches??? Nooooooo. So, I managed to get apricots, as a consolation prize. Still tasty. Wish me luck getting anything else done this week!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: Christmas, Christmas cookies, Cookie, Family, Holidays, Home, Sugar cookie
My son, stepdaughter and I were making Christmas cookies with the Trader Joe’s sugar cookie kit. This is actually the third batch that I’ve made with my son. SO GOOD! I truly have to restrain myself from eating ALL of them. Especially with a nice cup of coffee. I highly recommend that you rush out now and buy all of these kits, plus all of the peppermint Jo-Joe’s. Those are also amazing. Don’t get me started on the chocolate covered ones.
This is a fun Christmas for me, as my son is turning three tomorrow! Christmas has taken on a new meaning now that I’m a mom…and it’s his birthday. I’m excited for him. We bought him a couple of nice trucks, and I can’t wait to see his face when he opens the presents. Beyond that, though, I feel lucky to have such a lovely family. My husband has been slaving away in the basement, trying to “finish” it in order to have some more breathing room around here. I think that he should win the “husband of the year” award, for all the work that he’s done on this project. I am very grateful. Actually, he should win “husband of the year” award, as he is the one that suggested I quit my job. Our quality of life and parenting won out over our financial, and my career, needs. It was very hard to do, but it has been very good for all of us.
I am also grateful to have three, very fun kids. Sometimes a little TOO fun, and then I need to hide. Otherwise, they have a great time together, and generally make me laugh. My son regularly comes out with statements that are hilarious. Like when my DH asked him to stay downstairs, instead of following me upstairs to the bathroom…my son barked at him, “DAD! Don’t make things complicated!!!” Seriously. He’s two. At least he hasn’t started rolling his eyes at us yet. I’ll cry the day that he won’t let me hug and smooch him on the cheek.
Sigh. I think that I actually love Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. Is that terrible to say?
Have a lovely holiday!!!
Okay. Today, I’m not liking how anything is turning out. Sigh. I have visions of grandeur, only to be squashed by reality. I’m still working with these new, water-based inks. I only have three colors, so I’m finding the palette to be a bit limited. I know…I should be able to mix ANY color from yellow, red and blue. This is probably true, but I can’t seem to do that. So, if you wonder why the color palette with all of these is similar, this is why. I can’t tell if I should list the images from bad to worse? Perhaps not. Maybe I’ll put the worst one somewhere in the middle, in an attempt to “bury” it. I’m putting this ink away for the time being…until I feel that I can muster the strength to possibly produce more ugly things.
This one is a composite of the previous prints…I just started looking the shapes, and decided to make a “collage” of them.
and a detail:
Now, some of the more recent (icky) prints:
And the “ghost” print:
I know. Blech. Here the WORST one:
I know. Why bother? SERIOUSLY. It’s hard to bounce back from some of these prints. At least the next ones are kind of punchy/fun:
detail:
And the other one:
detail:
Lucky for me, I’m taking some printmaking classes next year. Thank goodness!!! Do I need help, or WHAT? Not that these teachers can be miracle workers, but I have high hopes.
Tomorrow is going to be Christmas Eve craziness around the house. Makes me want to hide somewhere…with a latte. Okay. That sounds rather scrooge-y. I’ll think positively, and hope that I can somehow get a nap in tomorrow…AFTER my latte.
I’m going to check out Keri Smith’s blog now, as her stuff always is funny and inspiring. You should look at it too! Especially those of you who feel that you may be in some kind of rut…she’ll give you lots of ideas to try something different. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE OUT THERE! 😛
Okay, so here is another one in this series. I like this, as I both changed the paper, and I tried to have more ink. These are reductive prints, meaning: I start out with the plate fully covered with ink, and then I wipe away the areas that I don’t want to have color. Messy! So, this last time, I tried to leave more ink on the plate. Better.
So, I’ve got some new ink. I like it! It’s this non-toxic stuff that cleans up pretty easily. Which is good, as I tend to get it all over my hands. I’m pretty good about wearing gloves for awhile…but then I always end up throwing them on the table and just getting my hands inky. So, as I’ve mentioned previously, I have a hard time keeping my hands looking somewhat reasonable.
This is sort of an odd, cartoonish series. Not sure where I’m going here. I was thinking of children’s drawings, but then with an adult mind and the heaviness that it brings. I may try a different paper, as this one is quite bumpy (toothy?) Hmm…I was initially thinking that these were neat, but now I’m not so sure…
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: Christmas, Christmas ornament, Christmas tree, Decorations, Holidays, ornaments, Tree
So, in spite of the fact that I think that we have a very cute tree…not all of my family members will recognize it as a “tree”. Sheesh! Don’t you think that it looks cute? I’ll admit, it doesn’t have the “home-made” look…with ornaments made in kindergarten, etc. I like those kind of trees too. BUT, this tree has a certain exuberance, that I think makes it fun. I mean, it’s like a mini fireworks display in our dining room! Okay, I’m clearly biased. Don’t worry…next year is the other tree’s turn…a real one. Remind me to ask for a mini vac for Christmas.
this is how my son’s decorating went:
slightly wonky 
