Merry Christmas!

The long awaited photos are here! Some of the books I made, students from my etching workshop, and Christmas photos.  I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who gave me gifts this year - not just the material kind. The support of my artistic community has been overwhelming since I began at Oxbow Press seven months ago and my family has been really stellar. Thanks also to my partner for allowing me to pursue my dreams, however strange to him they may seem.

yay for accordion folds

these books went to live with my new friends at the RCO

The Christmas Cards I made this year!

Alphonse and Ahab are watching it snow

Miles and Carol look at a print

John and Barbara pull a print off our press Harold

Mark's first etching - doesn't it look swell!

Look what I got in my stocking- Sparkly Santa Hat!

embroidered ornament for my mom

 Thanks to everyone who attended my workshops this fall! Etching students: I promise to make Member Etching Wednesdays a fact of life in 2011 and to never have more than 5 of you in one class at a time ever again! Thanks for your patience, support and confidence. Have a wonderful New Year!

Christmas Cheer

Having a nice December, everyone? You should be! In times of turmoil such as this the spirit of Christmas (aka: the brotherhood of man and charity) is essential to being forthright, virtuous and conscientious human beings. 2010 has been a blockbuster year for me for many reasons. I was among the lucky (or at least well-planning) folks this year; I volunteered with an ecological and humanitarian organization in New Zealand, went from being un-employed to being over-committed, became dedicated to two prominent non-profit organizations in Reno, taught my first class, bought a car (for which I did the negotiating, yay!), rescued a stray, started my Etsy store in earnest, and began a blog.

Many of these things were only possible because of the many great people who came into my life. Some of these things I achieved with the support of my family and close friends. None of this year would have happened if I weren't a spendthrift. As much as I hate money (and love barter) it's an unfortunate necessity. Every decision counts - get fast food or eat ramen noodles at home (save $17.25), get your nails done or buy polish at the drug store (save $35.00 including tip), buy a big screen TV for your sweety on Black Friday or have a conversation about Christmas before November hits and decide to save for something big - like a trip to Japan or a wedding ring (save dignity, relationship, $480.52)

This may come out of the blue compared to the rest of my posts, but I can only print if I have paper and ink and I only get ink and paper with money. Printmaking is an expensive art form (compared to drawing anyways) but I am not happy or complete without printmaking in my life. Since I was a child it has been my ambition to become an artist, but I never thought about how to finance such a life. The solution was messily pushed into my face this year as I started at Oxbow Press - do something I love and find a way. Much of my success was networking, luck and devotion of time and muscle (especially a lot of time) but I did need a few dollar signs to back it up. The theme of this post is finding a way to live happy - money isn't the answer but it helps. If you save as much as you can whenever you can you'll soon find yourself able to do the things you love with greater frequency and professionalism. Use your funds to pay for workshops, supplies or studio space, or be a miser like Rachel and hoard until something REALLY amazing asks you to become involved.

Don't let money get you down. People understand, especially when they've been in your shoes themselves. So even though Christmas was a holiday invented by capitalist pigs in Britain during the mid nineteenth century, don't think you have to celebrate that. Spend wisely, not frantically, and your reward will be sweet. Remember, a gift you make by hand can't be bought in stores - it's special and you can personalize it for those you love. Happy Holidays everybody :)

Busy Busy Busy!

Coming into Thanksgiving weekend I thought "I have a plan and am well prepared." The one thing for which I forgot to account was that plans must, and do, change. So! Thanksgiving was a nice holiday for me after the nail-biting weeks leading up to the Indie Reno Craft Fair. Encouraged by my success with the Fair I made many custom orders which were printed beautifully and are being picked up by their respective owners in the last few days before Christmas.

My work with the Reno Chamber Orchestra is stimulating, I've learned more about classical music in the last several weeks than I ever expected to know, and I've only just begun! The big event for the RCO is the Nevada Chamber Music Festival which is held every year in the last week of December. This year there will be several soloists in the Festival who will also perform later in the regular RCO season - Orion Weiss and Joan Kwuon - as well as many other great musicians.

Teaching has taken up quite a bit of my time - Intro to Intaglio:Copper Plate Etching and Aquatint was December 4th and 5th, and I just finished co-teaching a basic relief class focused on T-shirt printing this weekend. Intaglio was a lot of fun, though a bit more difficult to explain that I'd anticipated the students absorbed the information well and seem quite excited to continue developing their technique. T-shirt printing was also fun, though we only had a few people in class everyone printed very different designs. I now have seven Xmas gifts in the bag (thank you  - printmaking!) now I just have to remember how many more I have left....

My mind is like a sieve these days - but my trusty journal has been more than adequate to make up for my lack of memory. How do you keep up with the challenge of daily life? I find myself grappling with reality daily, but for people who aren't constant daydreamers that may be less of a challenge. I explained to my friend awhile back that I have relatively regular cycles of attachment to the "real" world. Lately I've been far to absorbed with the details of my life, it's time to step back and work from square one again.

Stay in touch! More thoughts on keeping track of my stray brain cells and pictures from my last two classes are coming soon.

Black Friday Attack

A video I enjoyed from etsy. Watch it here.

Well the dinner has been eaten, the kitchen (hopefully) cleaned and today is the famous Black Friday! This is a day when capitalism reigns supreme - people are lured, urged and incentivized to spend their hard earned monies on those fleeting and material things we call Christmas Presents. Why the jaded tone? A lesser known fact about Rachel is that she loves Christmas... a LOT. As a child I had the idealistic expectations I imagine most children have about receiving everything I'd ever asked for as rewards for my good behavior. My family was thrifty, as am I, but Christmas was the one day a year when every wish was fulfilled. No matter what the quality or quantity of presents I always felt I was being dropped into a cornucopia of opulence on December 25th. However, more important that the gifts under the tree has always been the ritual and the love behind this holiday. I would rather eat my mom's favorite cinnamon rolls or watch It's A Wonderful Life with my dad (for the 23rd time)than open a single present. But while we are fortunate enough to have some extra funds it is nice to get a gift for someone we love.
I dislike Black Friday only because I believe the best presents we give or receive are those that do not come wrapped up in special paper and ribbons. Friendship, loyalty, love and support are the true gifts man-kind should share on Christmas Day.

But there's nothing wrong with pumping a little extra juice into the economy if you can afford it. Personally I do not have the extra funds this year to go crazy with Christmas. I do have a lot more time and many skills which allow me to make hand-made gifts for my friends and family. However you show it, just remember that everybody loves and iPod but the gifts that matter are the ones you give each day.

Happy Thanks Giving

Today I'd like to thank some of the people who have helped me get to where I am today. This list should be longer (if you didn't know I'm quite skilled at forgetting things) but I hope I haven't left out anyone.

My family - My parents are Susan and Phillip Kaiser, both teachers with the Washoe County School District. Ever since I was small they've believed in me. Supporting me as an artist, as an independent woman, and as their daughter my parents take the cake. Thank you for being there for me. My grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family have also been supportive of my work for many years. I wouldn't have the resolve and determination I do today if not for my family.

My teachers - Robert Blesse taught me book arts and Eunkang Koh taught me printmaking while I was a student at UNR. Both of these teachers expected more of me that I thought I could give and I am a better artist for it. Candace Nicol has been my teacher and press director at Oxbow Press and has inspired me to do better both as a person and in my art.  Thank you for making me do the things I didn't want to  - you were right, it was very constructive.

My friends - I have friends who are thoughtful, supportive, and experienced in Rachel wrangling. If not for my friends I would have committed myself to an office job years ago and now be a listless shell. Thank you for listening to me rant, helping me feel better about my work, and reminding me to get out and have a little fun sometimes.

My cats - Thank you for inspiring me by being stupid and intelligent, wasteful and thrifty, lethargic and energetic all the time. I hope you guys live forever.

And now for a treat! Pictures of Rachel in the workshop! Printing!

inking a plate for Christmas Cards

using the Wheeland Press - se llama Jesus

super wheel turning action!

Ta da! Shop tech uniform!

Thanks for watching everyone! Now go home and love your families!

Shopping Begins!

Lots of things going on for me lately, but my shop is still up and running. Check out Velesia's Hand Printed Gifts to find the perfect present for your loved one this holiday season. Did you miss out on the Indie Reno Craft Fair? Just about everything I had on display at the craft fair is posted on Etsy. Looking for Christmas Cards this late? I'm taking custom card orders every day.

But you don't tune in to hear me sell you stuff, the other reason to check out my etsy store is that each book and print gets a few extra pictures. It's a great way to view my art and get a little extra info about individual pieces! I myself use etsy quite a bit to get my own holiday shopping done. Suprising deals can be found there this time of year.

So this is the big week - Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. There will be a 10% discount on everything in my shop this week to lure unsuspecting customers to my store. Just type in the coupon code Black Friday Etsy when you purchase and item to get your discount.

Otherwise I will be at Oxbow Press this afternoon, printing Christmas cards for my custom order clients. Come on by between 1 and 5pm to watch me work and get a tour of the shop! There will be lots of updates this week as I have a little time off thanks to the holiday weekend.

Success!

A million thanks to everyone who supported local artisans by coming out this weekend at the Indie Reno Craft Fair and the Oxbow Mini Xmas Sale. If you didn't get a chance to visit either event, check out some of my photos below. Also, visit my etsy store to buy books, prints, t-shirts, cards and more.

my stall at the Indie Reno Craft Fair - thanks Handmade Hustlers!

visit sometime!

Christmas card sets - I already have four custom orders!

A screen printed note card or book mark comes with each purchse

Mini Books - made from my leftover printmaking supplies

These books are for sale at the Oxbow Press Gallery and at Velesia's