Intaglio Print, Black Ink On White Paper.

Intaglio Print, black ink on white paper.

another one I will probably slap on a scanner later on, as unlike a lot of my stuff it's small enough to be scanned.

you know what, no explanations on this one, and no title. I've been talking enough on my other stuff. just look at it for a bit and figure out what you think is going on. that's just as valid as anything I have to say about it.

in my head I call this one something like "carried away by the bluebird of happiness" but that is a bitch and a half to write on an edition of 36. so I titled it Joy.

if you turn your head you will note that it works in every possible orientation of the paper. but this is printmaking, and bitches need titles, edition numbers, and signatures. so Christine picked this orientation and I went with it.

it was created for a print exchange and exhibition put together by a classmate of mine, in conjunction with other students and alums of WWU and UW's printmaking programs. I was asked to not participate by my professor because he was worried that I would slap together something horrible and messy at the last minute and disgrace him and his printmaking program. considering my track record, a not unreasonable concern.

luckily for me, I had already paid my money to Drew, and started work on my print before Ben decided I would be a liability, so I felt I had to do my best to show him I was capable of putting together something that would  show my capabilities and my worth as a printmaker.

of course, I then decided to hand color the whole edition.

I didn't color three that I used with my exclusively black and white works in my BFA show. one of which is shown here. carving printing and coloring this edition took around two weeks in total. which admittedly involved a lot of drying time.

I like hand coloring. it's easier for me to control than multi-block processes and if I use an oil based ink and a water based paint on high quality paper the color stays between the lines with water tension. but, it introduces inconsistencies to an edition. which is a cardinal sin in printmaking. so I painted every one of them in layers, using one batch of paint at a time on all of them one by one, so they would look exactly the same.

it's still considered a lazy and unprintmakerly technique.

of course another friend of mine got flak for doing a no-color black lino cut. and of course, after we got the packet back with everyone's prints in it, UW had done a bunch of sloppy abstract bullshit anyway and the best stuff was done by WWU alumni who I assume didn't even get yelled at a little.

storal of this mory being that you can't win against other people's anxiety problems.

and if you want 25 near-perfect prints, start with 40.

Jack-elope

linoleum block relief print, black ink on white. edition of 12.

did you know that male and female rabbits are called Bucks and Does?

another fun fact: any piece of dream-like visual symbolism you detect in my art that you cannot figure out is most definitely a visual pun, probably a horrible one. this is because my actual dreams also are full of horrible puns. I would say that my interior landscape is not quite as bad as Xanth, but it's pretty close.

less panty jokes anyways. not that that's a plus necessarily.

5"by 7" scratchboard.this is just some practice scribbles from copying off wikipedia.

I want to draw a majestic animal, and I end up with Moon Moon. story of my life.

If you are a monster, stand up. If you are a monster, a trickster, a fiend, If you’ve built a steam-powered wishing machine If you have a secret, a dark past, a scheme, If you kidnap maidens or dabble in dreams Come stand by me. If you have been broken, stand up. If you have been broken, abandoned, alone If you have been starving, a creature of bone If you live in a tower, a dungeon, a throne If you weep for wanting, to be held, to be known, Come stand by me. If you are a savage, stand up. If you are a witch, a dark queen, a black knight, If you are a mummer, a pixie, a sprite, If you are a pirate, a tomcat, a wright, If you swear by the moon and you fight the hard fight, Come stand by me. If you are a devil, stand up. If you are a villain, a madman, a beast, If you are a strowler, a prowler, a priest, If you are a dragon come sit at our feast, For we all have stripes, and we all have horns, We all have scales, tails, manes, claws and thorns And here in the dark is where new worlds are born. Come stand by me.

A Monstrous Manifesto, by Catherynne M. Valente (via justaguywitharrows)

I almost never reblog, or post things that aren't my art.

but when I do, it's always things that make me want to make things.

second patch for today. I used a little bit of this paisley quilting fabric in the middle, otherwise it's felt and embroidery thread..

if I was a sincereist, this is probably the heart I would be wearing on my sleeve. working small has been fun, but I should plan out something nice and complicated tomorrow.