Inspiration for October

Autumn and spring are both influential times of the year. Where I live in northern Nevada they are short, perfunctory, a cusp of time between more earnest seasons. In my desert the sun is harsh, no matter when it shines, and the wind is just as tireless. Fall's signature is curvaceous and bright before the dry paleness of winter begins.

Fantastic link on the Inkheads blog lead me to a demonstration of a basic lithography process you can do in your kitchen. They recommend you have an etching press but keep that wooden spoon handy in case you don't find a mint-condition press in the middle of the road on your way home tonight.

Do you draw? Do you hate drawing? Do you like being connected to drawers everywhere? Check out the Sketchbook Project; a moving, growing, digitizing library of art books by creators from all over the United States. You can even sign up to participate!

Marriage. Between people it is a connection that escapes definition because each union is so diverse, so natural and so private. If you think of a white princess cut dress whenever you hear this word get inspired by a true Maharani. From the design, traditions, and flowers to the dancing, lenghas and religions this is celebration in a different light.

Keep in touch to learn about the calligraphy class I'm attending and find out about my next craft fair appearance in the Reno area.

Black Rock Press Book Arts Show

Black Rock Press student work on display

The art of binding books is ancient. Today students are still learning the craft of stitching, folding and cutting books by hand at different universities, museums and conventions all around the world. Reno and the University of Nevada, Reno are undeniably lucky to have Bob Blesse and the Black Rock Press. Bob's studio features many different letterpress machines, driven by foot, pedal and motor, as well as hundreds of pieces of wooden and metal type for student use.

Books created by his students will be on display at the McKinley Arts & Culture Center in downtown Reno until Friday, September 23rd and this is not a show to be missed. Students often produce some of the most interesting books as they are still in the exploratory stage of book creation. There will be a variety of techniques and materials in the exhibit and did I mention that it's free?

Head down to Riverside Drive, just beside the Keystone Bridge, and follow the signs to the Book Arts Exhibits. Find them on Facebook to keep up on future exhibits and more.  You won't be disappointed and you might just get inspired.

Don't forget I am teaching Beginning Book Binding this November at the NMA, you will be able to learn most of the methods featured in the show during my workshop!

Procrastination is NOT your friend!

Plans are always subject to change.  This fact will not change for Hell, high-water or a different definition of Earthly physics.  Even if you thrive on deadlines and early morning trips to the post office it is always a good idea to have a contingency or three for when your plans list lazily, or ferociously, to the left.  Organization can be a struggle for me given that I have an abhorrent memory.  To combat this defect I write down just about everything that comes my way.  Whether it's info about the next show I can participate in or what time my cat needs to take his medicine most of my life is held within the little pages of my daily journal.
On rare occasion I find myself slightly more organized that usually forecasted, as in the case with the La Calacas International Print Exchange.  I had just finished my IPE edition and was itching for another exchange, something with an attractive theme, a small edition size, and a deadline of a month or so.  All I wanted and more was in La Calacas, not only was it a skull/Dia de los Muertos theme but it was scheduled to travel to Nicaragua! I paid my fee, started etching a plate and was able to send my prints off in a timely manner. This afternoon I received an email from Carlos Barberena, the organizer of the exchange and a printmaker from Granada, letting me know that my prints arrived safe, sound, and on time!

Hark! What great news! It almost never happened.
Due to schedule changes and family obligations I had to alter my original plans of when to print. Luckily I had given myself a week of wiggle time to work on my plate, change my mind and more. Because I had begun my plate and printing process almost eight days early I was able to submit to this fantastic exchange. Please go check out the photos and look at the lovely work submitted by other artists from all around the world including Nicaragua, the U.S. and Mexico.

Also look out for the InkHeads - the printmaking group based at my alma mater and trying to make their way to the national printmaking convention, Southern Graphics Conference International. I am lucky to be showing with them this October during their fundraiser show.

Print Exchanges Etc.

Sneak peek at my latest plate

Sometimes it's difficult to find the proper motivation when beginning a project or body of work. For this reason it's great to participate in events involving other artists whether they are openings, social meetings or exchanges. Printmakers enjoy the ability to create multiples and that makes exchanging educational, interesting and helps connections with other artists. It's also a way to watch what other artists are doing and get inspired. This year I got excited and signed up for about eight exchanges so that's just about all I've been working on this summer. I find it helpful to work on things that are unrelated in theme and size to find out if there are certain motifs emerging. 

This plate is for La Calacas

After organizing 2.25 I have even more respect for the dedicated people who initiate and follow through on the print exchanges in which I participate. The most fun part is revealing all the prints! I wouldn't want to spoil that surprise, but I would like to give you a glimpse. Links to print exchange galleries and better photos will arrive soon after the curators post.

My IPE 2011 prints, can't give it away yet!

Workshops at the Nevada Museum of Art

Sneak a peek into my workshops for the Fall/Winter Class Schedule at the E.L. Cord Museum School - check the Happenings tab!

Stay informed about upcoming classes, workshops, shows and events by regularly reading up on my Happenings.

Community

Old books make for great inspiration.

Over a year ago my friend, Katy Govan, was still finishing her Master of the Arts degree in Book Arts and felt that Reno deserved a quality book community. Between the great number of students that Bob Blesse has taught through the Black Rock Press over the years and the new popularity enjoyed by book arts as a craft Katy gathered a nice group of people. Our "Book Club" met about once a month. There was no formality - everyone brought their own supplies, there was a nominal fee to help Katy purchase supplies for the group and reimburse Bob for our use of his beautiful space. It was even collaborative when it came to teaching and learning different techniques! From creating and altering paper to learning new and old book bindings and box structures there was a different concept every time we met. To keep things lively we would choose a theme out of a hat every time we met, then work on our project in the month or so between meetings and bring our item, or another project, for show and tell.

However, as Katy came to the big finish with her Master's she obviously had less time to eat, sleep and do things besides creating books, boxes and a thesis paper much less run our club. Semester end is a busy time for most people in any case and we took a bit of a break.  We soldiered on in our studios, living rooms and second-bedrooms with thoughts of new binding structures dancing in our heads. "Book Club" was missed.

Book Club Member hard at work

our new techniquue

A free and open learning environment is truly priceless, especially when it connects you to other local artists, crafters and creators. Though I had a lot of other projects and demands on my time last year I always made sure I would be able to attend "Book Club." I need the kind of boost that comes from a collaborative and pressure-less working environment as much as I need the inspiration and stress of deadlines for my print exchanges.

Megan instructing us

This month Megan Jewett came to the fore with the initiative and commitment to send out emails, consult with Bob and organize a meeting. What bliss - what joy - what a horrible time! Summer is quickly coming to a close and school is just around the corner for students of every age. Unfortunately only a few of us were able to make our first re-meeting, but we definitely had a nice time! Megan brought a book idea, supplies and information for us to learn from and pretty soon we were all creating beautiful little ornament/bookie/things and in my opinion there is nothing better than something both ornamental and book related. Still hashing out thoughts for the next meeting.

What would you do with an old book?

What kind of group would you start if you had the time/money/venue? Are your goals and ideas realistic? Could you be making things too complicated - all you need to do is call a few friends, gather a few supplies and clean your living room!

Nevada Museum of Art 2D Workshop

Recently I took part in an interesting two day workshop at the Nevada Museum of Art. Igor Burk, a graphic and product designer and owner of Protein Design, taught our workshop about moving from two dimensions into three. The concept, while simple, was also very vague. To be perfectly honest I was a bit disappointed and befuddled the first day of class, especially when the most inspired object was created by a 10 year-old.

What was I to do - despair over time wasted and a lack of inspiration? Could I compare myself to a pre-adolescent who was obviously more talented? Should I re-think my entire aim of being an artist based on such limited skills and knowledge? Of course! Artists are better at "agonizing self-scrutiny" than they are anything else. But after the despondence I surfaced with a warm, cuddly thought that greets me almost any time I am in an artistic quandary - just make a book.

Thus a book I did make, and stand, and "closure" device.

With images of fantastic book structures dancing in my head I took off for class on the next morning totally undecided about what I would do. Luckily time was a major factor. Not only was the class on it's last day, but at the end of the evening we would be displaying our works in the NMA lobby for the next four days! If I know one thing about myself it's that I am excellent on tight deadlines, as long as you aren't expecting magic. While I was expecting magic for myself I realized that I was not, actually, a witch so I decided to do an open-face double accordion structure. Disregarding all of my original ideas I busted out this strange monstrosity which I cannot help but love. It looks wonderful. It's not archival, it's not even really pretty in the traditional sense, but it is a great beginning and a fantastic conceptual starting point.

what do you see?

Thanks to Jill Jensen Mayorga for this photo.