little black journal

My encaustic workshop wrapped up on Monday, and I’m just getting around to taking photos of my work and processing my thoughts on the whole experience.  I had some anxiety about being able to make it through four straight eight-hour days of art-making, but once I got into the swing of things, I caught myself checking the clock regularly in hopes of actually slowing down time.   I was totally bummed when Monday evening rolled around, and my short-lived experience as a full-time artist was over.  But my bummed-ness was offset by the fact that I was walking away with a pretty cool collection of work and a renewed passion for art-making.  Below are a few of the highlights…

This is one of my favorite pieces, made with wax, thread, and tissue paper printed with one of my images of Paris:

This pattern was woven with thread, then cast in a mixture of clear and white wax.  As the class progressed, I became known as the girl with all the white wax – a lot of my work was fairly muted, and I was one of the few that allowed the color of the wood panel underneath to really show through.  I loved the color and grain of the birch veneer, and so I figured, why hide it?

More white and clear, set over a tissue transfer of one of my sketches:

I brought a couple of the ‘seed pod’ sketches that I used for my food art back out for these two pieces:

One of the things I liked most about the class was the opportunity to experiment with different media.  My instructors brought all kinds of new ideas on how to achieve unusual effects with every-day materials.  This is what happens when wax is coated with shellac, then heated with a torch – lovely:

And this is shellac sprayed with India ink.  This charred effect comes from some kind of chemical reaction between the two elements – no fire necessary.  I love it – I never knew painting could feel so much like a chemistry class!:

I am vowing not to let this new-found interest fizzle like so many of my other artistic intrigues, so hopefully I’ll be posting more encaustic work in the future.  Aaaaagh!  So many possibilities, so little time…

I am now in the midst of a four-day intensive encaustic workshop at a local art school.  Eight hours a day of slopping wax on pieces of plywood, melting it with my new blow torch, layering on sheets of tissue paper, coatings of shellac, or whatever other random materials my experimental instructors have on hand, and generally just making a lovely mess of things.  It’s all a bit overwhelming, and my inability to really control this new medium can be frustrating, but I love it.  It’s been awhile since I’ve really been immersed in an art project, and it feels good.  Here’s a small sneak peak of things…

These were the final few prints that I cranked out last month – I held off on sharing them because two of these were a late birthday gift for my mom, but she received them last week, so I’m no longer in danger of ruining any surprises.  These are all monoprints, done with hand-cut stencils loaded with ink and run through the press.  I’m pretty happy with how several of them turned out – none of these are perfect, but I’m coming to learn that these imperfections are the beauty of printmaking.

These are two of my favorites, which will soon hang on the wall of my parents’ newly remodeled bathroom (my first piece of art to ‘grace’ someone else’s walls!):

These are all part of the same series…

And so my intro into printmaking has ended.  But due to the generosity and thoughtfulness of my ever-supportive husband, I’ll be able to occasionally rent space in the print studio next year with my Pratt school gift certificate!  I have some thinking/organizing/prepping to do before I’m ready to get back in there, but there are lots of ideas swirling around in this busy ol’ brain of mine.  Can’t wait to see what comes of it…

My printmaking class ended a couple of weeks ago, but I made the most of my final days of studio access and cranked out some good stuff.

The two images below are collographs, made by carving into a shellacked piece of cardboard, rubbing ink into the carved areas, then running it through the press.

My next focus was on paper lithography, using some of my photos of Paris to make prints.  I spent a few hours wrestling with this process one night in the studio, and still don’t feel like I got it right, but are some nuggets of quality in here…

I also put together several graphic monoprints that I was pretty happy with – a couple of them are being given as gifts, so for the sake of not ruining any surprises, I’ll post pics of those once they’ve been unwrapped.

In short, this class was amazing – I now see printmaking potential in all kinds of random things, from tangled netting to old photos to sketches I did 4 years ago.  I’m in the midst of figuring out how I’ll get back into the studio sometime soon – can’t let all that potential go to waste!

Good stuff happening in the print studio!  The last two weeks have been focused on relief printing and lithography.  So many possibilities!  Here’s what I came up with:

block print (a block of linoleum or rubber is carved, then used as a stamp):

paper lithographs (a fancy kind of xerox transfer process):

Still loving my printmaking class – these are the latest monotypes, made with bits of lace, hand-cut stencils, and baking powder.

buds:

ghost tree:

checkers:

hexagons:

lace:

Next up: relief prints.

I had my first printmaking class at a local art school on Thursday and loooooved it.  We will be learning several different printmaking methods over the next 8 weeks, and we started this week with monotype printing.  Paint is rolled onto a plate of plexiglass and overlaid with any stencils, and the image is then rolled onto a sheet of paper using the printing press.  I love the little imperfections that result from the process – it’s good for me to have to relinquish some control with my art.  And the fact that I showed up to class without the faintest idea of what we’d be doing and walked out of there with several prints four hours later made me quite happy – below are my faves.

faux bois:

branches and lace:

drippy silhouette:

I’m on the lookout now for fabrics/objects/textures that I can bring to class with me next week.  Feels good to be back in the creative saddle!

I’m taking a class on abstract drawing and painting at a local art school on Thursday nights and have recently been introduced to some really fun, new ways of making art.  Case in point:  My assignment for the next 4 weeks is to make at least 10 drawings out of edible materials.  I am using patterns found in nature as my source of inspiration, and these two pieces are the start of my tasty little collection.

The first drawing is a blow-up of the shell of a foxglove seed (I found a fantastic book that has beautiful microscopic photos of plant matter).  I used a paintbrush dipped in Diet Coke to fill in the solid areas, then sprinkled the drawing with salt.  This has faded a lot as it has dried, but I kind of like the mix of subtle color and gritty texture.

The second is a cross-section of a pomegranate.  For this one, I painted the core with tea, then sprinkled with paper with cinnamon, which stuck to any of the wet areas.  The texture and color remind me of rust.  Cool.

I never knew there were so many art supplies to be found in our kitchen cupboards!  Olive oil, molasses, corn meal, the possibilities are endless…  Stay tuned for more savory drawings.