Printmaker's Art Featured in Pacific Rim Whale Festival

Allison Tremain and her Spyhopping reduction cut linocut were selected as the featured art & artist for the 2012 Pacific Rim Whale Festival, March 17-25, 2012.  Her work is featured at Uclulet's Mark Penney Gallery.  Gotta get me one of those posters!

Little Print Book Project Flies Home

Last year, my printmaker buddy Sherrie York sent to me a little book in the mail: Jill Bergman's Little Print Book Project. Well, I was right in the throes of new mommy-hood, and was completely hopeless with pretty much anything at that point. I eventually managed to coordinate with other printmakers around here (Cowichan Valley, Victoria, and Richmond, BC, and Bellevue, WA) to contribute, then finally I managed to send the book off to AnniePod in Philadelphia, PA, who also sent it to Tuckamore Design in Buffalo, NY. You can see the final book at Jill's blog Art on the Page.

Thanks to everyone who contributed; it was a treat to see all your pieces, and what a fun way to connect with other printmakers.  Thanks, Sherrie for thinking to include me, and thanks Jill for getting the ball rolling in the first place!  I hope your other books come back full of lovely prints and more contacts.
.
PS - Jill is still looking for contributors - if you're interested, visit her blog for contact info.

Printmaking around the Web

Thought I'd share some neat printmaking stuff that I've run across recently on the internet:

One of my all-time favourite internet printmaking buddies, Sherrie York, has a wonderful little film about her work:

PPLD Off the Wall: February 2011 from PPLD TV on Vimeo.

Congrats, Sherrie, it's a great film, you do a wonderful job of explaining your work, and I love the pieces chosen.

Another favourite printmaker that I've met online is Annie Bissett, and she's just announced that one of her pieces has been accepted into the 1st International Moku Hanga Conference in Japan in June. Congrats, Annie! Your work is brilliant, and deserves the international attention that it gets.

Finally, a funky little print project from a couple of years ago titled "Just in Time" by Xavier Antin. My husband found this on his blog reading, and I thought I'd share with my printmaking buddies. Enjoy!

That's it from me; still not been in the studio, still hoping to get there sometime soon... eventually!

Artistic Community

I have been pretty isolated artistically for the last few months, save for whom I connect with over the internet (and a huge thank you to all my artistic friends and community members online - you're all so inspiring!). This week, I connected in real life with two fantastic artists.

Jill Elhert, whom we met through the Bamfield retreat last year (see Day 1, Day 2, and Days 3 & 4, plus our exhibition). Jill's work is very expressive and beautiful, very abstracted. She's currently working on some personal discovery projects, as well as looking forward to an intensive workshop this May with Steven Amoine. We had a lovely visit (with tea and fab home-made chocolate chip cookies, yum!!) and studio tour, thanks Jill.

Nikkie Wilson, a printmaker in Victoria, contacted me via email (through discovering my work on the Federation of Canadian Artist's website, as she's a recent member to the Victoria chapter thereof). She's very keen to connect with printmakers, especially locally. We happened to be down at her neck of the woods today, so she graciously invited us for a studio visit. It was very inspiring to see her colourful, vivacious work, lately woodcuts, utilizing great tool marks in her printmaking. It was wonderful to meet with such an enthusiastic printmaker, I look forward to continuing our creative dialogue in future, thanks Nikkie.

So, my isolation broken for the meantime, I'm feeling somewhat energized again, and reminded that I am part of a greater whole, which is always a good thing to be reminded of.

Jeanette Jobson - Illustrated Life

Jeanette Jobson is a talented and prolific artist living on the exact opposite coast from me, in Newfoundland. Earlier in November, Jeanette posted a request for input on her blog, Illustrated Life. She was wanting to create some cards reproduced from her beautiful original artwork, and was interested in her readership's response. In return, Jeanette offered a gift package of some of her cards to one of the readers who responded.

What is somewhat ironic is that I've fallen way behind in my reading of other artists' blogs lately, and had only that day caught up on a bunch of them after months of neglect, one of which was Jeanette's blog. I decided to throw my two cents worth in, and posted my vote for my favourites. The result? Jeanette just informed me that my comment was the randomly chosen winner! I will receive three beautiful cards from her choices, plus a card from her recent "Merry Christmas Hares". I'm very excited, and honoured at Jeanette's generosity. Thanks, Jeanette - and as a token of my appreciation, there's a little thank you on its way to Newfoundland!

Briony Goddard - Metis Beadwork Magic

Since I'm discussing crafty stuff lately, I thought I'd introduce you to my friend, Briony Goddard (aka "Mouse"), who creates the most exquisite beadwork using traditional and contemporary patterns drawn from historic Metis artifacts.

Check out Briony's video on her work:



And Briony's website is Mousetrap Clothiers. One of these days, I'll splurge and buy a vest or something from her (when she has the time! Not surprisingly, she's much in demand).

What's on Amie's Reader

Art Stuff

Tracey's branching out into the abstract and getting ready for her solo show at Place des Arts in Coquitlam over at A State of Art Portraits.

Heather gets a boost with a suggestion to work in series at Art and Life.

etsasketch is back to school shopping and looking for the perfect pencil case, while Marcy at There is Only Make is getting over her 8th-grade induced sewing-machine inhibitions and creating her first pencil case! Maybe you two should get together...

Spider Ink Studio's Elana has added another post to her Etching Techniques series. I have found it fascinating so far, and this post is no disappointment - yet another use for litho crayons that doesn't involve lithography!

Meanwhile, Katka has taken the leap and set up her Etsy shop - check out Blue Chisel Prints on Etsy.

Jeanette has an incredible series of mixed media works based on gyotaku (fish printing) a rainbow trout on her Illustrated Life. Scroll through to find her other entries starting with a capelin print last week (also featured on Watermarks).

Pica's added some beautiful sketches of a not especially beautiful bird, but how lovely her interpretations on The Magpie Nest. While having the face only a mother could love, I'm especially partial to these graceful scavengers, and have a version from my Bestiary.

Science Stuff

Dr A on The Phytophactor gives us an excellent reason to concern ourselves with global warming: chocolate (not just melting, but changing ecology altering habitat for the plant from which it comes).

Further on global warming on the EEB and Flow, another one of my favourite critters is even more at risk possibly than frogs: check out why salamanders might be global warming canaries in a coal mine.

And how clever is this! Enrichment for octopus! OK, just too darned cute (yes, another favourite critter - my Bestiary is well represented this week!!). Thanks to The Other 95% and Zoologix for the link, but definitely go to the whole series of photos at the New England Aquarium's site.

Another cephalopod feature from The Other 95% - what great footage of a hunting cuttlefish. The colours! And the stealthy behaviour.

The Echinoblog could have pulled this picture directly from the Whale Lab's touch pool at Bamfield to illustrate the fact that this species of urchin (largest on the west coast of North America) can live to a ripe old age of a century or more.

Finally, are you one of the 50% of the population that has the chemical receptor to detect the scent of asparagus pee? And take the time to read all about lichens and mosses on Watching the World Wake Up (go on, he went to a lot of effort and has some very nifty graphics, as per usual. Not only that, you might learn something; I certainly did!!).

What's on Amie's Reader

I keep finding more wonderful artists and interesting blogs to follow. I'm going to have to watch out, otherwise all I'll have time for is reading my Reader.

Art Stuff

Pikaland introduced me to the creative & incredible wire sculptures of cwroelle on Flickr.

Sarah Wimperis' Muddy Foot Prints shows the construction of her clever and whimsical wool felt sculptures and the challenging art of the person print.

Thanks to michaelnobbs on Twitter, I've been introduced to many, many illustrators, too many to keep track of entirely. However, Elizabeth Perry over at woolgathering has just recently passed her 1,500 illustrations a day mark. I love the layouts of her illustrations in her notebook, her choice of what to illustrate and with what manner of tools. I'm a huge fan of this one, especially.

A community blog featuring art from water, Watermarks' Tina Mammoser struggles with the balance of spontaneity and planning in composition and execution.

I love printmaker/photographer Marja-Leena Rathje's blog, and totally forgot to include her definition of February post in a timely fashion (duh! and happy belated birthday Marja-Leena); I love February's Finnish name "pearl month". Marja-Leena usually has beautiful images of the textures and patterns of nature and the world around us. Join Marja-Leena for a second look...

I like both versions, but I think I prefer option #1 to option #2. Nice exchange print, Amy.

A couple of beautiful, fluid intaglios by Sarah Waite.

Gorgeously carved, richly inked, and beautifully balanced negative and positive linocut by Robyn Sinclair over at Have Dogs, Will Travel.

Edible printmaking via Printeresting. Really.

Science Stuff

Have a look at some rare South African starfish and learn that taxonomists often get it wrong over at The Echinoblog. (I love how he liberally sprinkles enthusiastic exclamation points everywhere!! He teaches natural history as public education outreach... I think it comes with the territory).

The Other 95% has a great video of the "pom pom" crab, so called because of the anemones glued to his pincers (ok, chelipeds to be specific). Aww! "I'm big & scary! I'm big & scary! Watch out for me!!"

And a fish with a see-through head (I'm not kidding - nature is inevitably stranger than fiction), magnetic crocodiles, and beetles with, er, shall we say, battle-ready organs of reproduction. Check 'em out on Zoologix (such a great fix of the nifty and not-so-normal critters in the world).

Thanks to Phytofactor, I've had a quick flip through the "top 100 botanical blogs" (although how they could possibly exclude Watching the World Wake Up and How Plants Work from the list is totally beyond me; obviously they've not been introduced to them), I'm now reading The Fruit Blog. Plus there are some lovely classical botanical illustrations there, how can I resist?

Speaking of WTWWU, find out about buds on deciduous trees and some cool lava-related geology. And, definitely, soap operas make a much better analogy of Darwinian evolution than the Aeneid (why that and not the Odyssey, the original one? Just wondering...).

What's on Amie's Reader

Quick one this week.

Some printmakers reflect: Vermont Printmaker's Michelle Turbide on what really matters, and Boundstaffpress' Justin Miller on connections and regrets, inspirations for a new work.

There Is Only Make's Marcy shares with us her creative process.

New blogger (but definitely not new online) Brian Holden's My Printmaking Journey follows the development of a linocut study.

More gorgeous sketches by Derek Jones.

Always full of valuable art business information, Making a Mark's Katherine Tyrrell wants us to think about what we're saying about ourselves as artists, not just about our art.

Check out these flamingo-like katydids on Zooillogix, and learn more about global weirding on HowPlantsWork.

Not on the Reader but via Wet Canvas Printmaking Forum - Huff Post on the fair use argument for Shepard Fairey's work.

And via Clint Watson on Twitter, check out the firestorm (it's all over the place!) that Facebook stirred up this week with their changes to the Terms of Service (which they've now rescinded). As one of my FB friends quipped, "maybe they forgot how their network works" - did they not think this would meet with some resistance and stir up a lot of traffic? Maybe they did...

What's on Amie's Reader

When I first started blogging, and learning about other people's blogs, I had no great way to keep track of what I wanted to read. I started my Squidoo lens on printmaking artists, with the intention of showcasing printmaking bloggers. Well, that sort of went off course a bit, and now there are all sorts of cool printmakers on there. I have kind of run low on steam for keeping that one up to date, because I keep discovering more and more amazing printmaking artists with websites. I will still keep working on it, but I have other projects that seem to be taking precedence lately.

As I was working on the lens, I was trying to add Etsy shops to those artists who are printmakers with Etsy stores. Then Prinsy was forged first as a Flickr group, then as a full-fledged Etsy Team. Our blog got started, and I seemed to be luckily in on the ground floor with that one. I've been blogging two (mostly) regular posts: Printsy member interviews, should be self-explanitory, and "Who's Printsy This Week", a selection of ten items listed by our Printsy members who have used the tag "Printsy" on the item listed. So I've been busy trying to bring people to the Printsy fold, and then trying to get them to give us a little information about themselves on the blog interviews, which have so far showcased some absolutely incredible art by a range of skilled, creative, and talented printmakers. Keep an eye on the Printsy blog for more great stuff.

So back to trying to keep track of those printmaking artists who blog. I like reading people's thoughts on their process and development of their images, on their marketing efforts, on their inspirations, and often on their daily lives. Cue stage right: Google Reader. If you are keen on keeping track of news feeds and blogs, Google Reader lets you do so all in one spot. For those of us with Blogger accounts, it's a no-brainer. For anyone who doesn't yet have a Google account, it's a pretty easy step to set one up. Yes, Google is taking over the world, and I am doing my fair share to see that it happens. Sigh. Well, if they stop having so many great applications to use (I'm also a Google Docs addict), maybe I wouldn't be so enabling .

Another Printsy member recently posted to her blog about her Google Reads, and I thought what a great idea! So I'll try to do a fairly regular feature about what's on my reader, to share some of the wonderful stuff that I already get to read about, but that you might be interested in, too. It's almost entirely art and natural-history dominated, which probably won't surprise anyone here, but I am open to other topics.

So, here's the first installment of What's on Amie's Reader. This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination. I might do some kind of theme, or just pick a few that pop out as particularly interesting.

Printmaking

My longest-read printmaking blog would have to be Annie Bissett's Woodblock Dreams. Follow Annie's development of her intricately detailed woodcuts and symbologically deep imagery in her moku hanga work. Her recently completed "Honey, I'm Worried About the Kids" links past with present, tradition with innovation, and the connecting thread of doing what's right for our children with the Pilgrim's migration to the New World.

I think my two favourite printmaking bloggers would have to be Sherrie York on Brush and Baren and Jen Z on Jen and the Greyhounds. Both artists share enthusiasm for their subject matter and frustrations with interruptions to creativity, which really strike a spark of recognition in this reader's heart, and their sense of humour at the world sure helps keep the posts entertaining.

Sherrie's luciously executed linocuts are exquisite to behold, and I'm delighted, always, to follow their progress. She's just started up a new work in progress based on her recent "underfoot" theme.

Jen's blog focuses a lot on her greyhound mates, and her lovely photography of these animals bounding about really captures their spirit. Jen's been taking advantage of her beautiful surroundings lately, taking the dogs off cross-country skiing through upstate New York.

Natural History

One of my favourite aspects of natural history is the "gee whiz" factor: there is just so much out there that escapes our attention almost 100% of the time, that I really appreciate having my attention focused on things that are, truly, remarkable. From behaviour to biochemistry, life and death of the organisms that surround us is source of incredible wonder, and these bloggers share that with us.

Probably the nature-related blog I've longest held on my Reader is A Snail's Eye View, thanks to Sherrie's Brush and Baren link list. Right now, Snail is in the middle of the record-breaking searing Australian weather that is making the bushfires raging across south eastern Australia's state of Victoria so incredibly deadly. I've enjoyed Snail's intimate portrayal of the critters that find their way to Snail's back yard, and the knowledge imparted about these organisms is interesting in a very approachable manner.

Snail then introduced me to The Other 95%. While some of his posts are quite technical, there's just some great stuff that blogger Kevin Zelnio shares with his readers. Check out his recent post on cepahlopod camoflauge behaviour. Kevin also recently hosted the latest Circus of the Spineless, a showcase of bloggers who have posts about invertebrates.

Finally, Watching the World Wake Up is an entertaining combination of mountain biking, hiking and botany through the deserts of the western US. Learn what the three types of photosynthesis are, how photosynthesis is like mountain bikes, and why Mormons are like singlespeeders.

Enjoy the reads, and feel free to share anything of interest that you bump across. You never know, maybe it'll end up on my Reader!

Tribute to Engraving

Mila Radišić, a copper engraving printmaker from Croatia, composed this lovely article as her Tribute to Engraving.

Being a self-taught engraver and working alone on copper plates I used to think I had developed my own technique. Later, I found out that Jacopo de Barbari (1440?-1516?) worked in the same manner – copper engraving which, by its character, resembles drypoint.

Recently I find out that tradition of metal engraving is dying. This inspires me to write this article. Working alone was not easy. This article, I hope, will be inspiring to others who are struggling out there in order to find their own way of expression, their own way of life.

It takes a few years until I learn how to properly use tools, how to sharpen them, how to prepare copper plate, how to prepare paper...Most important lesson I learned was that character of engraved line depend on character of engraving burins, and engraver's own character. Only perfectly sharpened burins can produce line which characterize engraving, thin on the beginning and at the end. That line is perfect for drawing human face, human body, animals, clothes, different items, telling stories, making atmosphere giving hope...

I use to make engraving directly on the plate with pencil. Then I use to engrave main lines and start to cut my picture. Few years before I «discover» engraving I use to draw pictures with ink using small circles. This is one unfinished «circle» picture!

This way of drawing was very slow but it was some kind of training for demanding engraving. After few hundred of such drawings I start to use engraving. Finding it was some kind of revelation for me. At once I made few engravings. Here is one from that period, also unfinished so that you can see how it is connected to the «circle» drawing above.
As you can see further engraving is in fact a relief in copper. Working it is like carving in stone. While you do it you must have a deep respect and acceptance for noble metal copper.

First engravings I did not print since at that time I know very little about printing process and I just put them on the wall of my studio.

Engraver should be sure in his drawing and should have a sense of humour.


On these engravings you can see how I develop my manner in order to present my vision. It is vision actually which came out of me in this wonderful technique of copper-engraving.


Engraving means thinking straight, overcoming the superficial, external life we so easily fall into. I have a small web site and a great desire to learn more, to share more.

Thank you Mila for the insight into your work and your process. If anyone reading this is knowledgeable about copper engraving, please contact Mila as she is very keen to reach out to the printmaking community and to learn more about her chosen craft.

Oceans of Art - Days 3 & 4

The weather was absolutely spectacular on the morning of our third day in Bamfield. I spent the first part of the morning working on more sketches in the Whale Lab:

Then our group headed out on one of the Marine Station's research vessels to do a little sight-seeing, and to do a bottom drag. We used a small basket that was pulled along the bottom for a short distance, then pulled up and washed the contents into a viewing tray. The Station uses the same, disturbed location for their drags, and it seems to be constantly re-colonizing, because there is amazing variety of critters each time they come out.

The weather turned decidedly less congenial: the wind picked up, the sun went into hiding, and we even got a few flakes of snow. The group braved the elements to have a wee wander along Pachena Bay, sketching and photographing, and a bonfire and schmooze with some local Bamfield artists.


There was time for a little more sketching before dinner:

Then off to an evening of entertainment! Many of the artists collected in the fireplace lounge and Mark Hobson brought out his guitar, and we all had a wonderful time singing and laughing, and sampling some beautiful blackberry wine. We also had a final lab where we all trouped over to the Rix Centre to look at plankton under the microscope. We all found that absolutely fascinating, and many stayed longer than we were meant to.

Our final night was just delightful, and we were all reluctant to depart on our final day. We woke up to a dusting of snow, and we trudged through the slush to breakfast, then back again to load up our gear for transfer to the docks. Some took the time waiting for the return of the MV Frances Barkley with art, some with networking, and some of us with just being lazy. We loaded up onto the ship when she arrived, and had a lovely, friendship-filled trip back to Port Alberni.

We all await with great anticipation the Oceans of Art exhibition to be held at the Nanaimo Art Gallery, 150 Commercial Street, from June 11 - 29, 2009, opening reception on Thursday, June 11 (time to be announced, but likely in the evening). Work will be for sale during that exhibition, and proceeds will go towards the Public Education Program at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.

Printmakers from the Web

I was contacted this week by two printmakers via email, and I'd like to share their work with you.


Mila Radišić is a self-taught copper engraver from Croatia. Her work is imaginative, dynamic, iconic and, to my North American eyes, has a distinct European flavour. Many of her images are devleoped using a circular mark-making technique, much like pointillism. The result is rich in values yet subtle in contrasts. Mila's imagery reminds me somewhat of Mike Yazzolino's "A Collection of Thoughts and Pictures Based on the Alphabet" (a very esoteric Canadian publication that's now pretty hard to come by, and probably was when my family got it!).

Mila contacted me because she was interested in connecting with other printmakers. As she's self-taught, she'd like to learn more about her technique from others who practice it. Unfortunately, I do not use any method of intaglio printmaking, but I have forwarded some information to her in the hopes that she will be successful in connecting with someone who can help. Her online gallery is very cleverly set up with thumbnails of her works; the viewer's curiosity is immediately piqued by these intriguing windows to her incredible, detailed and creative works. Click on to discover more!


Wallace Koopmans is a painter, printmaker and photographer from Abbotsford, BC. One of Wallace's recent series is images of local historic landmarks. Wallace's use of his carving tools in mark-making is very distinctive and extremely effective at evoking a sense of place in his work. His interpretation of his subject matter is very graphic (check out "Detour") and deceptively simple; these are all monochromatic works, yet he achieves great depth and perspective using wonderfully dynamic textures and line work (see "Fraser Valley Buddhist Temple").

Two of my favourites are from his recent collection: have a look for "Lunch" and "Cricket" for a couple of very strong pieces. Wallace's work represents a consistent, distinctive style which demonstrates great skill and passion for his chosen printmaking medium (check out his photography, too - you'll see that his great sense of composition isn't just applied to printmaking).

Connections

I always love meeting artists that I've met online in person. Last week was the Federation Christmas party, and I met a fellow Wet Canvas artist, Tracey Costescu, who is also a Federation member. She had recently contacted me about painting a watercolour from one of my images that I'd posted onto the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library. The RIL is a great resource for artists; members post photos that they don't mind other people using as reference material for whatever art purposes, for sale or not. The restrictions are that the owner of the photograph retains copyright and ownership to that photograph, and no-one can else claim that the photograph is theirs. What a great place to look for ideas! One of the drawbacks, however, is that a lot of people use the RIL and recognize the photos thereon, and that can sometimes prejudice a jury against the resultant work, but usually only with the really popular images.

Anyway, she's finished her painting and will soon post to her blog the process to arrive the finished product. I've seen it, but you'll just have to check back on Tracey's blog to get the full scoop! Nice job, Tracey, and thanks for sharing.

Connections

Field & Flowers by Katka

This world of the internet is quite amazing. I had a wonderful "play date" with another printmaker that I met through Wet Canvas on Friday; we got together and chatted for at least 3 hours about all sorts of stuff, including art, inspirations, techniques & motivations. Kate's work has a very illustrative quality to it, with Eastern European influences that give it an almost folk-tale feel. She protests that she's really just getting started and doesn't have the same experience as I do; well, she doesn't have the luxury of time that I do (even though I don't use it as I should!). I think her work stands her in good stead, and I'm very excited to see what she continues to produce when time permits.

Through my musings on "slow art", I met another artist and creative person, with whom I had a delightful and fascinating conversation, again about our art and thoughts about creativity. Luckily for me, she fell in love with my "Crossroads" print, which resulted in my very first Etsy sale! The print was shipped off this morning all packaged up to keep it safe during its travels. I hope that it is enjoyed in its new home.

Triad by Heather Assaf

An artist that I met through my response to Genn's "Print vs Reproduction" is an Ottawa-based printmaker who also showed in the inaugural Ottawa School of Art impression:Miniature international print exhibition in 2006. Her work is very dynamic and colourful, predominantly using collagraph and intaglio, in an abstracted and loose manner. She's planning a trip out to Vancouver this spring, so I'm hoping we can connect to do a gallery crawl on Granville Island while she's in town.

In the Shadows (Ptarmigan) by Sherrie York

Finally, a comment on a recent post lead me to artist Sherrie York in Colorado, who is a brilliant illustrator, watercolourist and printmaker, also in relief. While her watercolours are lovely, her linocuts, to me, really sing. The fluid gestural quality of her lines, the extremely sophisticated and subtle use of colours and shapes, together with her incredible sense of composition create absolute masterpieces of natural history in print art form. She also has a blog, which I'll certainly be keeping a watch on; her field sketches are delightful gems capturing life in its essence, and she posts those, along with her photographs, paintings and prints, regularly. She's giving a field sketch workshop this July in Colorado, that, if I had unlimited funds to travel, I'd be signed up for in a shot. Thanks for contacting me, Sherrie!