Print Mosaic Project - Work in Progress #2

A couple more sketches (6"x6", ink on paper) for the print mosaic project:

Tortoise Shell pattern #1

Pussy Willow pattern

Tortoise Shell pattern #2

Go with the Flow

I am pretty sure that my Exposed print is of sufficient value to cover the "cost of entry" to the Oceans of Art exhibition at the Nanaimo Art Gallery, opening reception on Thursday June 11, 7-9 pm; however, I also thought that a few smaller pieces may be appreciated, as it can sometimes be difficult to sell large pieces.

I had done a sketch of a piece of kelp (Macrocystis) that I'd photographed on Brady's Beach that I've had sitting in the back of my mind since I did it, with the intention of a reduction cut.

I started off with a yellow ochre layer (didn't photo it), then later did a separate set of prints with a blend (rainbow) roll using yellow ochre, carbazole violet, and phthalo green:

Flow II
MDF block print, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on green kitakata paper
© Amie Roman

and then for some reason, printed the remaining ink on the block (not reinking the block) over the ochre layer and got this:

Flow I
MDF block print, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on green kitakata paper
© Amie Roman

After I finished enough prints for editions for those two, I decided to mess around a little and ended up with these two monoprints:

Flow VI
MDF block monoprint, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on white Rising Stonehenge paper
© Amie Roman

Flow VII
MDF block monoprint, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on white Rising Stonehenge paper
© Amie Roman

Then I got to the part that I'd really intended all along! I carved another layer for the reduction (only one; I wanted to keep it very simple). I printed over some of the Flow I prints (but kept some set aside for their own small edition):

Flow III
MDF block reduction print, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on green kitakata paper
© Amie Roman

And then, of course, had to print over some of Flow II, too (also setting aside some of them with only the first blend roll for their own small edition):

Flow IV
MDF block reduction print, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on green kitakata paper
© Amie Roman

This second, carved layer was also a blend roll, but subtle to see, except for in the edition I did on its own:

Flow VII
MDF block print, Dremel carved
Daniel Smith water soluble inks on white Rising Stonehenge paper
© Amie Roman

There are so many things about this series that I'm absolutely tickled by:

1. The simplicity of the carving is exactly what I had wanted to achieve, and very effectively reflects the gorgeous lines and shapes of the Macrocystis frond that I'd sketched.
2. The success of the rainbow roll in capturing the oil-slick colours of a slightly decaying, washed up piece of kelp on the beach.
3. The subtleties in value contrasts between II and III which again, really captures the ever-changing colour shifts of a washed up piece of kelp on the beach.
4. I got to do a series!! And I played a lot, both with the colour and the printing.

Plus, my baby press is an utter jewel. Love it!

Oh, yeah, and I'd just invested in a set of Foredom ceramic rotary tips for my Dremel tool, and they are absolutely fabulous for carving the MDF in the way I want to.

As you can see, I had a very productive couple of days last week. I won't be donating each of these, but I'll pick a couple to frame up and add to the show.

Now I'm going to be away from the studio for at least another week or so, but hope to get back to it when I return, as I've got lots of ideas that I'd really like to work on.

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...).