And, it gets BIGGER!

Papermaking on the farm

2011-08-26T11:57:00.006-05:00

My last week in Madison was some hard work.

2011-08-23T22:46:00.003-05:00

My sister is getting married and I had a blast printing her Save the Date!/RSVP/invitations at Silver Buckle Press.

I am going to miss working there oh so very much.

Upon packing my studio up for a few months, I organized yet another pile of papers and prints that I have no interest in anymore and don't want to carry them to yet another apartment. So, I beat them up and made paper! = 5lbs of pulp, 40 11 x 17 sheets of paper and STILL enough pulp left to pull more sheets.

I've gathered all of the necessary materials, via the tractor supply down the road, to set up a rudimentary papermaking studio on my parents' driveway- tomorrow is the day!

Photo documentation to come. Duh.

Mac makes paper for the first time, out of her favorite tie dyes.

2011-07-31T21:40:00.005-05:00

My UW

2011-06-13T20:55:00.002-05:00

x o x o x o

a name for this art show is ARBITRARY

2011-05-29T15:02:00.003-05:00

The opening was a blast, see pictures from it HERE.

My week in Minneapolis

2011-05-24T13:02:00.005-05:00

Straight away after semester was over, I ran off to the cities to watch over Lunalux (May 9- 15) while Jenni went to England to visit her brother, I worked and played...so..hard. So many friends to see, drinks/expensive delicious dinners to have, and postcards to print for a commission back home. I loved it.

The bestest friend and little helper EVER!

She put in over 10 hours helping me print!

Jealous. I want a tshirt for working the Paul Simon show!

The finished cards, 80% successful.

The background layers are border material and a cut of the Twin Cities Metro from '76- which was a blast to print.

Before I even got around to printing, I found this bitch in the basement- filthy dirty and begging for some attention. 4 or 5 hours later, clean and organized.

la moda processa: foundation to innovation

2011-05-08T11:38:00.004-05:00

Here are a few crappy phone photos of the work I got into the totally amazing 2011 Design Studies show! The runway was gorgeous too!

My last day of school, again.

2011-05-05T23:28:00.004-05:00

What I did at work yesterday

2011-04-23T07:57:00.004-05:00

It's very much a work in progress but the most fun I've had setting type at Silver Buckle Press thus far! I know a lot of people who will want one of these. I love the affect of flipping a photo of a lock-up like this- totally awesome. That damn "b" got me...

After work I went to the paper lab to try out the corn paper. I pulled 4 and put them in the drier, I'm going to go check on them tonight.

cooking the cornhusk

2011-04-18T14:54:00.003-05:00

Dad collected a garbage bag full over 2 years ago now. I will use ALL of it, this week. For the first time, I will be a "good scientist" and cook the husks down long enough so that I won't need to add any other fiber to it before pulling sheets. Though, after talking with Mary, I may portion some Kozo into it to make the sheets stronger.

The paper lab smells like corn bread!

2011 Madison Edible Book Festival

2011-04-18T10:53:00.003-05:00

A week ago tomorrow, I was 1 of 3 judges of the contest at the Memorial Library- 'twas fun. I ordered "Freakshow" off of Amazon that night.

Photos of the entries:

http://www.library.wisc.edu/edible-book/pictures11.html

An article from the Wisconsin State Journal:

http://host.madison.com/wsj/entertainment/dining/article_20a227d2-ec53-5bff-bb89-f05f07fc688a.html

2011-04-13T14:15:00.002-05:00

Same pulp, different format-

I'm using up the rest of it today...it stinks, bad.

2011-04-13T10:08:00.004-05:00

today was a good day

2011-04-06T18:24:00.004-05:00

I'm putting my collection of library dumpster book covers to use, they're all going to become clamshell boxes- good practice and awesome function.

This one's called "How to be an Assertive (Not Agressive) Woman in Life, in Love, and on the Job" :)

My favorite hand me down jeans, from mom, finally broke through and have been beaten to a pulp. A bag full of dried herbs (lemon thyme, lavender, mint and rosemary), also from mom, have been sifted and broken down also. I added cotton and abaca linters to the jeans and 4 hr beaten abaca was used as a base for the herbs. I'm double couching the sheets, first time doing double sided sheets...the paper mill smells awesome.

Temporary deckle boxes!

2011-03-31T07:53:00.010-05:00

Everybody knows you can do just about anything with duct tape, throw a little foam core in the mix, and call the whole deal waterproof! This is batch #2 of the died "black cherry kool-aid" cotton curtain paper- this time pulling thicker sheets. I used both my 12x12 and 11x17 moulds as deckle boxes and got 16- 21 sheets of each size. Grandpa did a great job building these things for me but they aren't very square and they're warping pretty rapidly (hense the huge clamps).

Here's a nice little step by step progression of me pulling and couching a sheet; enjoy the costume changes.

in addition to my last post-

2011-03-30T09:22:00.006-05:00

A 17th/19th century (I found a variety of dates) quote about papermaking, credited to an anonymous "poet". This one's not quite finished, well it is but I haven't take a photograph. The white balance of my camera was a bit jacked when I took these photos, then the batteries died. Anyway, the paper is approx. 9x12 made with left over pigmented cotton, bleached cotton, cornhusk and some shredded unfit currency- wish there were more of it in the paper though....I was gifted a small bag of it. xo Thanks Laura, I'll be home within the next 2 months- bearing printed gifts!

My proofs were really awesome! The proofing paper was just the right size to print it in turn and be properly spaced! :)

I wish I would have taken a picture of my lock-up in press, regardless it was some serious work but oh so satisfying when it came into realization in print. The space at the bottom is where my "press name" will be printed in transparent white, with just the slightest amount of pigment.

letterpress is best. some new "class work".

2011-03-28T23:26:00.007-05:00

I re-ran this poster. I used a hefty amount of proofing paper this time when printing the halftone, totally helped with the clarity issue. This 2nd run is not necessarily better, but brighter! I've tons to give out- looking forward to it.

And, as a class (Raven Pie Press), we're putting together a collection of 4x6 recipe cards. I printed our envelopes with a polymor image and some lovely 30pt Lilith type.

We all set our named in a face we liked and printed this sweet little colophon (I guess you'd call it?) I love the straight-from-the-can Chrome Yellow on this bright Pop-tone French paper!

The recipes I printed were my mother's award winning bloody mary and my grandma Bev's delicious Bohemian pastries.

The past week or 2

2011-03-03T23:45:00.013-06:00

Experimental Textile Design 3.2.11

As a class, we each made 70 pieces of double couched 5x7 papers impregnated (2 thumbs up) with embellishments (everything from glow sticks to green tea) and indigo dyed! We each tied our own sections together and then tied those together yesterday. It'll hang in the papermaking studio for a couple weeks and then be part of a Design Studies show.

A paper casting exercise, doubling as a lovely decoration for my roommate and I to enjoy on our balcony. She plays the autoharp.

I am learning the spoons.

3.1.11 The first official printing of Morgarie Press-

It'll work for the time being or at least until I am actually part of a shop or make an actual location of myself.

I want to be warm; I made a 9x12 poster about it.

I'm going to run this edition again though-

the halftone looks gross and over inked, those poor cattle.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T19:36:00.003-06:00

A new letterpress creation I cooked up last week.

Maybe I could have taken a picture with an actual camera instead of my phone? Nah.

first year review show

2011-02-14T18:06:00.010-06:00

The first assignment in my papermaking class was to think about paper as textile, and make yardage via found paper. Rather than going out of my studio to find paper, I decided to downsize and use my own things- old prints, handmade papers, off cuts, etc. This is what happened and while criting it with the class, my fellow 1st year grads asked if I would be showing it in our review show.

I hadn't thought of doing so before they commented, and off I went trying to consider how I would successfully do so. I took inspiration from one of my classmate's found paper piece for which she made chain mail out of paper bags. I am jazzed as hell about how well it came together. After all, I made the whole think in a week's time.

I began playing around with wire to shape the dress, a nice single spiral worked really well. I know it's an awful photograph of the gallery- we'll call it a reference photo until I can talk Jim into shooting a few good ones for me.

Grounded (a transition piece)

Miscellaneous handmade and mould made papers, PVA glue

The 43rd Annual National Juried Exhibition Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood

2011-02-14T17:34:00.002-06:00

A photo from my mom's phone,

at the opening in Ames a few weeks ago.

Here are a few photos of 2 of my books,

Jim Escalante does fabulous work.

I can't wait to get more work into his studio!!

Yeah yeah yeah, it's kind of too late to put up a Christmas picture

2011-02-14T10:21:00.004-06:00

Dawncat does such a fabulous job with the decorating- and that's my baby sister, hard at work.

I've got some s'plaining to do

2011-02-14T09:31:00.009-06:00

So here are said photos of finshed works from last semester. I'm totally pleased with how this one turned out. If anything, I wish I'd printed more!!

All wrapped up and ready to travel the world! Again, I wish I'd printed more. It's been my biggest fault for as long as I have been TRYING to edition books/prints- I never prepare enough for proofing and errors, so at the end of the project I get to keep the crappy copy for myself. BOO. You live and you learn- in my case it's the same lesson repeatedly. Here are pictures of the entire MIMB2 crew.

And as far as this second collaboration with Louisa and Nancy- I really loved the experience of working with them. They were extremely open to my ideas and voiced their own very well. I've bound only 4 of the 12 I said I would by now. But I reaaalllly don't like them. The paper wasn't so great for folding. I should have exposed a second run of plates because they didn't expose evenly enough so the resulting printed text is less than perfect. The hard vs soft cover argument has got me down as well, I'll come back to this one.

Home for the Holidays

2010-12-27T10:28:00.003-06:00

I have "wonderful" photos of my finished projects but blogger is being a poop today- this happens from time to time when one really wants to upload some photos to her blog.

The MIMB2 books made it into the mail in a timely fashion, I am looking forward to hearing back from the jurors. The first venue for the books is at SGC in St. Louis- which I will be attending. NICE.

The first poet collabo went well, there are 7 of them. The color/opacity was a bit inconsistent but I appreciated that because they were all unique in a way. I guess that kind of defeats the purpose of an "edition" or kind of denies the definition of an "edition". Whatever. They're great.

And the litho books- 12 of them in all- I've finished one of each poem. They were a bit off-setty right before I left for break so they're hanging out in my studio drying. I made one with a hard and the other with a soft cover. Each has their own charm. I plan to finish them before spring semester starts.

Photos to be uploaded soon.

It's my birthday! and here is some evidence of progress

2010-12-11T18:47:00.006-06:00

So, I've been working through these last 3 book projects, all of my printing is done- now onto cutting, folding and pasting.

So. Much. Polymer.

This is a book called (Pocket) Badger- not like "go badgers" like badger as a synonym for nagging someone. It's a 1.5 x 3 inch snake book/single sheet format book for the MIMB2 exhibition. An edition of 10, letterpress printed at SBP with both wood and lead type. I set 10pt for my name, smallest ever thus far.

This is collabo number 2 with Nancy and Louisa, 2 poets in Jim's books class. I printed a litho stone and letterpress printed their writing using polymer plates. I will have 2 editions of 6 4x3.5 inch books by Tuesday.

Collabo number 1 with Nancy and Louisa, a folded single sheet litho/letterpress book. On the back side is the colophon and Title page, also letterpress printed with polymer. I took only this photo with my phone before I finished the edition of 6- then gave the girls their copies and Jim took my 2 to document. I'll put up those photos soon.

Last litho project of the semester

2010-12-03T08:00:00.004-06:00

This is the stone I etched last night, it is the 2nd collaboration I'm doing with Louisa and Nancy (2 poets in the Book Arts class).

1. My book for the MIMB2 competition is underway, and going well. I will print the last layer next Wednesday.

2. Litho project #3/1st collabo with Louisa and Nancy: I have been waiting on negatives from MPLS so that I can expose polymer plates of the ladies' texts to letter press print over a 2 layer litho. It will be a single sheet format book. This printing MUST happen tonight/this weekend.

3. I plan to print my stone on Tuesday night, and have my polymer plates ready for collabo #2 by then. I will print letterpress on Wednesday night and cut/fold/paste a couple days after.

Conclusion of 1st Fall Semester shall be super successful!

Printing at SBP is the most funnest thing to do there

2010-12-03T07:49:00.004-06:00

Here are a few things I helped design and print at Silver Buckle throughout the last month.

A thank you card made for Wayzgoose goers, or anyone who deserves some written acknowledgement.

A broadside made for display in the Memorial Library, we did a rather large run of these-

We finished this one yesterday, a new bit of ephemera to hand out to visiters, etc- and a reason to use that beautiful border.

A book finished, 2 more have begun

2010-11-15T09:00:00.005-06:00

This book was quite arduous when it came to putting the book block into the closed structure I'd made for the covers. I perfect bound the folios together both because I didn't want to drag thread through the brittle papers by using a sewn binding and also because I want to have the option of wetting this book at some point. The water based glue would lend to this sculptural approach resulting in more unexpected warping, etc. .... I think. Though a very experimental endeavor, I'm pleased with the printing on the cover and the end sheets look beautiful. I am waiting on negatives from MPLS to make polymer plates with, the colophon will be finished before the end of the week.

The book project for the MIMB2 competition is officially underway, I have presented my proposal to Tracy and we've made a schedule for me to print this book at Silver Buckle Press. I am ecstatic to have the privilege of making my own work with their collection. I start setting type at noon on Wednesday and I'll start printing immediately after Thanksgiving break. I am using really lovely Cornflower Blue paper from Twinrocker and 2 separate faces for the printing- 1 wood, and the other lead.

The 2nd book I've begun is a collaboration with 2 poets in the Book Arts class. I am using a lithograph as a single sheet format book and will be letterpress printing their texts. The print we'll be working with is one that was made to satisfy an assignment but I think it's a rather strong image, but about what- I'm unsure, hence the collaboration. They will be supplying the text/content. I gave them copies of my print last week and we'll be having lunch together tomorrow to get this thing underway. I am anxious to see what they're "bringing to the table." ha..haha.

The House on the Rock smells like moldy 60's carpeting, and in some places like my best friend(from high school)'s house. It blew my mind and got to be a bit too much for my parents towards the end. My favorites were the music machines. My dad really captured the experience when he stated, "The gap between what you get for 1 and 2 tokens is huge." To think that 3 more buildings that we could have seen are closed for the season...I'll be going back in the spring. We also went up to Taliesen, well the visitor's center anyway and ended up in Mineral Point for the evening. We saw some fantastic antiques, galleries and a live performance at their newly refurbished theatre downtown.

2nd Annual Hamilton Wayzgoose

2010-11-07T23:58:00.005-06:00

I hit the road on Friday as soon as I got done waiting tables, what a goddamn blast my weekend was! I can't wait to get back to Two Rivers to put in some serious volunteer hours. The weekend was nothing but super positive and beneficial, from multiple angles- like a big family which is totally accepting of young strangers/orphans/whatever. I loved it. And acquired a decent amount of new posters/postcards/paper samples/ephemera in general. YAY! My only regret is not bringing a stack of prints for the swap this morning. It was the result of a famous " keys left in the other bag you usually carry, at apartment you haven't got time to go to, get your ass on the road" scenario.

Check out the facebook album of what my camera managed to see- Blogspot takes a long fuckin' time to upload photos sometimes.

Litho Update

2010-11-07T23:14:00.006-06:00

aluminum plate (19 x 24) lithograph that will be finished before the weekend...

So many grandmas, an edition of sorts to come..

2010-11-07T23:02:00.004-06:00

Lithographs on Mulberry and found papers

Here nor There

2010-11-07T22:08:00.010-06:00

I have started a project incorporating handmade seaweed papers from my semester in Ireland. I'd made multiple batches of paper while there, experimenting with both Kelp and Bladder Wrack seaweeds. Some were made with different portions of Abaca added.

The batch made with the Bladder Wrack and Abaca, at a 4 to 1 ratio, is very fragile and should continue to become more so as time passes. In the paper studio 2 weeks ago I used a half sized mould (9 x 12) and couched a sheet of Abaca in the middle of each seaweed sheet to sort of enforce the stability of the core of each sheet per say- my hopes are that the book will change a lot as its paged through and handled. I'd also thought about getting it a bit wet to see what happens..

The end pages are handmade Flax papers from the summer of 2009, a year into a prized 2 year residency in a specfic apartment in Minneapolis. I call it "apartment paper" because of the embellishments used which are bi-products/trimmings of my house plants. I had a lot, treated 'em like pets, all 7 window boxes (herbs, succulents, flowers, love).

It's going to be a closed binding, letterpress printed book cloth..I'ma finish 'er up this week!

Esther & Dikko

2010-10-29T09:07:00.005-05:00

Esther K. Smith and Dikko Faust of Purgatory Pie Press came to the Memorial Library on Wednesday night to give a talk and show off some of their fabulous book work. They were so much fun to listen to. I bought a adorable miniature book from 1998!

And helped with the poster at SBP, more with the hanging than the printing of it.

Clamshell/ Drop Spine = DONE SON! yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

2010-10-28T23:23:00.008-05:00

I can't exude enough pride, physically/mentally/spiritually cannot- I am so happy with how it turned out. It's approximately 3 inches tall and 7 x 5.5ish inches. I literally have never been able to/forced myself to slow down enough to actually "redo" measurements, cuts, etc. in order to have a result that is precise, per say- actually done RIGHT, as opposed to "good enough". I had to make my outer tray 3 times, I repeatedly made the increase too small so that the 2 were fitting together too tightly. I decided not to put any imagery or a title on the outside of it, same goes with the cover of the book inside. I think the content of the book may speak for itself.

Tracy Honn helped me a ton- we worked out the measurements together. I appreciate this little sticky note. It is a work of art in itself, I may frame it.

As far as other happenings in "my studio" go- I am really enjoying lithography and working on a 3rd and 4th image. We are now moving onto aluminum plates, using mylar drawings and photo based imagery- altered both in and out of the computer. Both projects are self portraits. As soon as I feel that the work represents itself well as a finished product and not solely an awesome learning experience- I'll post evidence of the projects I've done and been doing in class.

I have also been working on a few relief projects, incorporating set type onto one of them. I may do so with the others as well. I am questioning whether or not I'm finished with them, which is why I chose not to post photos of them either.

The next book project I am starting is for the MIMB2 (Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books)<--(the link is to the site for the first competition, which was not juried) international juried book competition. They will select 100 books to be part of the traveling exhibition. I'm definitely looking forward to doing some of my own work at Silver Buckle Press. Tracy and I are still working out those details.

I also was finally able to meet Mary Hark yesterday, I went to her studio on Russell and Winnebago after enjoying some delicious vegan chili at The Green Owl Cafe. I am the opposite of a vegan, but the place is adorable and delicious and I will go back. Mary was an absolute delight and someone I already feel completely comfortable with- I anticipate spending a lot more time with her. She'll be teaching a papermaking class next semester, which I look forward to- the dynamic between the design and art students should be really beneficial.

Bookin' It

2010-10-25T00:19:00.003-05:00

My David Byrne homage is officially finished, I'm super pleased with it. My new friend Heather ( a brilliant "woods" girl) is going to build me a wonderful 4 legged, tripod-ish, pedestal on which the book will rest open. I look forward to feedback on this guy, as well as showing it in a few weeks!

And the clamshell box progress is, in fact, progressive. About 10 minutes after I took these photographs I nicked myself with my X-acto- consequently bleeding all over my blessed first box project. That's all I have to say about that...

Learning to print "in turn"

2010-10-18T08:49:00.004-05:00

Tracy designed this wonderful ephemera to take with her to D.C. last Wednesday, I helped with the delicious purple 2nd layer.

A little bit-O-shit from the MAPC 2010

2010-10-18T08:26:00.003-05:00

I saw lots of awesome work, not really any demos but sat in on good panels, met some great people, saw friends, ate food, and all together ran my ass off trying to see as much of Minneapolis as possible... oh how I do miss thee..

Favorite t-shirt, now extra favorite thanks to the dudes of Drive By Press

Fitting in...

Helping out at the Lunalux table at the MCBA Press Fair

Clippings from the farm

2010-10-18T08:20:00.005-05:00

I've got it all!

oregano, basil, lavender, thyme...

Thanks mom! I shall have some mighty fine smellin' paper soon enough.

Book finished, now on to box building

2010-10-18T08:04:00.004-05:00

I'm happy with the sculptural quality of this book, and prefer it standing open. Though, my choice of separate cover sizes (to cater to the lengths and widths of the papers that happened to be the end papers) is not awesome, nor terrible- seeing it sitting flat is nice also. Does this thing deserve/ imply a title or is it just a closet space for all of these writings?

A second book project

2010-10-05T00:00:00.004-05:00

This time I'm compiling all (well most ) of my acquired written correspondence (pen pals kick ass) from the past 2 years, I've started binding the emptied enveloped and folded letters together in very thin sections, some are single folios.

I'm trying to figure out what it is implying to intentionally bind these pieces together into a book format, unable to be read in their entirety, out of chronological order.

(Naive Melody) A point of departure-

2010-09-19T22:16:00.003-05:00

I've begun a book project with the paper I made from mom's curtains, using poetry written by David Byrne. Trying to find relevance in song, I chose This Must Be The Place- other than it being one of my favorite tunes, it refers to a search for/an urge to be "home" but, upon a further consideration, one may find said comfort in one's current position and/or new location. I'm also experimenting with format, trying some new things with staggered page lengths, presentation, etc.

Some new documentation

2010-09-18T00:47:00.005-05:00

I designed and printed these cards and posters, a majority for resale in the Lunalux shop.

New Job, New shop!

2010-09-16T21:20:00.006-05:00

I started my new job as a Studio Assistant at Silver Buckle Press this morning, working for Tracy Honn. I am TOO excited- she's fantastic and I am already learning so much more than I was aware I was unaware of. HA

Stolen from the Lunalux FB Page

2010-09-14T23:42:00.007-05:00

Lost, but now found, I stumbled upon documentation of a fairly long project I was commited to,

one of joy and pain.

Lessons of persistence and proper spacing were learned.

I had this internship at a letterpress studio in MPLS, right? Well, I worked on the same Izzy's Ice Cream Dot Project for about half of the duration. Needless to say- I was sad when it was through. 100+ flavors....yes.

And (a) Christmas card(s)!

winter 2009

UW Paper Lab: Round 2

2010-09-14T11:26:00.003-05:00

Same pulp, different format. I'm finding that the mould and deckles Grandpa David made me this summer are working, but should have been made with a different type of screening (we used window screening). As long as the pulp isn't too fine, they'll be great. But the shop does have a nice, small collection of moulds to use in the event of that issue.

Intro to Lithography with Jack Damer

2010-09-14T11:12:00.004-05:00

My first experience with a stone- lovin' it.

OH! And some even older news

2010-09-06T14:11:00.006-05:00

Jan. 29. 2010- Both a print of mine from my semester abroad in Ireland and my senior project Open Book were shown in the Select Impressions exhibition at Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis MN.

Woodblock and monoprint on found papers

12 x 12 inches

Thanks for the snapshots mom! This print was displayed under glass, obviously.

(smiley face emoticon)

A fake smile shows my excitement and appreciation for both pieces being placed in the front of the gallery for all of Lake Street to see for 4 months!

2010-09-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

A bit of older news

2010-09-06T13:46:00.005-05:00

My piece for the Foot in the Door 4 exhibition at the MIA in Minneapolis.

Letterpress on handmade seaweed paper

12 x 12 inches

Printed at Lunalux in Minneapolis MN

UW Madison, I have arrived.

2010-09-06T13:29:00.005-05:00

New apartment, not so great.
New studio, fabulous!

The paper studio is wonderful, I've made paper with my mother's old curtains. Completely unaltered, the pulp/paper is a rich purple just as the intact curtains were. Independent from my classes, I have started to carve a woodblock while thinking about the emergence of an alter ego.

Summer Summary

2010-09-06T13:17:00.005-05:00

A sampling of the 8 weeks I spent in the Upper and Northern Lower Peninsulas of Michigan both working at the Interlochen Arts Camp and visiting extended family as often as I were able.

I'm going to visit more, I promise.

2010-04-02T10:55:00.003-05:00

So, I really haven't been around much...for a long time. A lot has happened in the last few months, and the ball is rolling. Everything is in motion, I have to say goodbye to MPLS for a few years.

I'm leaving at the end of May to work at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan as a Crafts Instructor for 8 weeks, and then......, I'm moving to Madison- to go back to school. MA and MFA in Printmaking... here I come!

No "spinning wheels" here.

Oh my,

2009-09-28T00:53:00.003-05:00

Open Book, 2009 Relief prints on handmade paper, abaca, birch, cornhusk, flax, hemp, linen

32.5”x 12” closed, 32.5”x 25” in the round

Can anybody see me?

2009-09-28T00:42:00.005-05:00

My senior project/book was shown at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto CA throughout August, in a show called Figures and Faces.

And I've just started an internship at Lunalux here in Minneapolis, check 'em out.

2009-05-01T11:07:00.001-05:00

2009-05-01T11:06:00.001-05:00

2009-04-19T17:10:00.001-05:00

Because it's a beautiful advertisement, and who doesn't like a 7&7?-

2009-04-19T17:03:00.002-05:00

Because I took this photograph of Jake (and Skip, kind of) in highschool and the sun spots are fantastic-

2009-04-19T17:02:00.005-05:00

Because it's an antique from Michigan that I found here in Minneapolis and it's about me and my fellow Sagittar-

10 to noon, Weds. April 15

2009-04-19T16:43:00.004-05:00

I am impressed with my clean studio space and with the review that Christine Daves set up for us last Wednesday. Although it seemed that our expectations were different than those of the representatives that came to talk to us, the experience was still beneficial.

SGC in Chicago

2009-04-01T19:18:00.009-05:00

I haven't been a part of an open portfolio review since I was in high school, I had a great time and talked to some intriguing, like-minded people. The other photographs are of the demos- Screenprinting with Pulp, Backyard Litho, Flocked and Foiled, Printmaking on Clay (Respectively). There are so many more exhibitions and panels to comment on but, those snapshots aren't as descriptive...

Cover Discovery

2009-03-24T01:41:00.002-05:00

No ink!

Using the Brand Press, I can simply emboss my title into my faux velvet fabric (which is bonded to birch plywood)- no need to make a color decision!

"It's like fucking flocking" - Mary Leikvold

Woodblock Progress

2009-03-19T18:56:00.004-05:00

Shina Plywood

2009-03-16T13:44:00.002-05:00

I've ordered $150 worth of Shina from King City, Oregon. I am currently cutting 3 more blocks, limiting the imagery to my own body parts. I have made a decision on the text that I'd like to incorporate in, via Poster Press, which will be adjectives and verbs referring to myself mentally and physically. I am unsure if I will add short phrases that will refer to the materials in the handmade paper.

As a result of my fantastic critique on Friday, I will be using handmade paper folios solely. I have voted my large "Aquarium" print off the pedestal.

I've emailed my senior paper draft to Natasha and George. I refuse to post it.

RIP Marigold

2009-02-23T14:56:00.007-06:00

Yesterday: Koi fish commits suicide.

Twas found dead, and dry, at approximately 11:30 pm

And, I have most of my paper here at school, while 1/3 of it

is re-wetted and going back into the dryer for another week.

Not enough weight = ugly wrinkled edges

(outline)

2009-02-22T13:35:00.006-06:00

Introduction/ Thesis
Studio Practice-
---Viewpoint of a single person/young woman
---A reflection of self operating in the world
---A response to a personal navigation through daily life

Body
Elaborate on my way of artmaking-
Address concerns-formal and conceptual
---Literal symbolism, relating to prized possessions and daily routine
---Format, accessable as a whole and in parts (public vs private)
---Book as narrative of 1 "day in the life"
Research
---What is my argument?
Influences(technique):
Kathe Kolowitz, Rauschenberg, Anselm Kiefer,
Toulouse Lautrec, Swoon, Priscilla Sage

"Art as journal"
"Consolidation: A way of art making"
"Reduce Reuse Recycle"

Conclusion
Where do I stand in the contemporary?
---the viewer and me
---after thoughts

Friday the 13th, with Miriam Stephan

2009-02-20T16:41:00.002-06:00

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Miriam. She was a very driven, empowering woman- with some reassuring advice. I'm not sure how I feel about the reoccurring imagery she works with. For me, they were reminiscent of nostrils, and support beams. Though, I did find the hard/soft juxtaposition to be very descriptive of the spaces she's creating. I prefer her more sparce compositions where, I felt, the most depth was perceived.

The new Jason flick is fantastic, a true blood bath.

2 fans 1 stack

2009-02-19T19:37:00.004-06:00

Finally, all 36 sheets, doubled up, between blotters,under plastic, and weights, behind fans, until Monday morning.

An outline that was typed for class last Wednesday

2009-02-18T10:20:00.006-06:00

Large Format, Accordion Style Book with added sections (Concertina)

• Size based on Aquarium Print from last semester, bringing my pets into the format makes this my “home”
• 3’ tall by approx. 1.5’ wide when closed, will stretch to at least 10’ when open
• Woodblock prints expressing self-evaluation
• Made MOSTLY of handmade paper- paper made with junk fiber/leftovers, birch bark, corn husk, abaca linters and clean flax
• Paper is metaphor for my priorities, possessions, my home/my heritage and my way of art making (collecting already made and incorporating into new) and the “UNKNOWN” that is my future

Content

• Adjectives used to describe the personality of a Sagittarius- lots of mirroring of myself in the words I’m listing
• Phrases that relay my general reaction or way of dealing with life situations, daily life
• Using Zodiac not because I’m a committed follower but because it is closely relatable to myself on many levels
• Comforts, things that I do daily/ re-occurrences that I go through (ex. Sleeping on my side, crossing legs while sleeping, washing hands constantly)
• Only as a portrayal of ME, not relating visuals or text referring back to my heritage etc., keeping the content very age specific- Paper is the only allusion to my upbringing/family members
• Text will also be used to express internal concerns
• Text will also be used to express my sense of humor/ “one liners”

Concerns

• I really need help with the format!
• Cover paper/ Fabric- (recycle) I have a mass amount of a nice burgundy faux velvet fabric- the deep color implies wealth- not monetary, also reminiscent of “blood red”
• 24 x 36 inch sheets of my personalized “junk paper” have been tested with sizing and are drying, will be ready to print on by next week
• I feel like I can’t move forward without a set blue print of my book- without one, I will run into a wall later on
• How to display it

Woodcuts!

2009-02-09T19:43:00.000-06:00

I was able to take the small sample sheets I'd made last week to do some test prints. Because I prefer the ink quality on the test sheets which weren't gelatin sized, there are 2 steps that I can skip before the final flattening of my large sheets.

After going down to the Cave today, only to find that the largest drier that I need is in use for a couple more days, I will have to wait to flatten my sheets until Thursday.

I am starting to cut the first of many woodcuts that I hope to successfully incorporate into this project.

From the ground up

2009-02-03T13:58:00.000-06:00

Now that it's week 3 of my final semester, I am ready to begin my blog of progress thus far. I am planning, loosely, on making a large scale book for the finale of my experience at MCAD. A synopsis of my personality, and being as a whole. I am most intrigued by handmade paper at this juncture and representing specifics through my fiber choices. Because I want this book to be composed mostly of handmade paper, it is my priority to get the sheets' look and weight right before I can move onto printing, etc.

For the last 2 weeks, I've been preparing fiber and pulling large 24 x 36 inch sheets at Cave Paper with Bridget O'Malley and Amanda Degener. I used a lot of leftover "junk fiber", Abaca linters, some clean flax, Iowan corn husks and added lots of Birch bark from the U.P. Michigan, take from my great grandparents "camp" by my Grandpa Dave.

So, here is a nice photo progression of Bridget and I pulling and couching sheets, and then hanging them on marble racks in stacks of 3 to dry for a week. I'm really looking forward to Thursday. Despite the cold, damp Cave- they should all be dry, only to be re-dampened and put in between blotters to be flattened and re-dried for another week.