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!

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

Been doing a lot of work on the computer this week, so haven't spent much time for fun on it. Also not a lot of art time going on. I really admire people who work all day and come home to sit down to do 3-4 hours (or even 20 minutes) of whatever art that they do. I am so drained from working that I just need to be a blob most evenings. I wonder what's missing from my constitution/personality that makes me underwhelmed?

Anyway, here are some good reads to share with you all... enjoy!

Art Stuff

I have recently tuned my radar to the artist book. I've never done one. I don't have any ideas to do one. But I'm intrigued, and might eventually venture forth. So Fiji Island Mermaid Press has given us all a little opportunity to try for ourselves: the "ME, An Autobiography" miniature book. Just one sheet turns into eight pages of book.

Sherrie York over at Brush & Baren finished her uber reduction print and celebrated by creating a little artist book using gelatin prints.

Cool, huh? Maybe these'll get me inspired. Maybe not...

Elizabeth Perry at Woolgathering is having some fun plotting linocuts in her moleskine journal (mwah ha ha, another printmaker in the making... we're taking over the world!!). But I love the handling of the piece of ginger on this day's post. Lovely.

Some creative mark making on the reader since my last post:

Justin Miller is having way too much fun with his coffee at Bound Staff Press (congrats on the fast sale! why not with such a great piece).

One of the Watermarks contributors made marks with on site found objects for their sketch session.

Marja-Leena Rathje shared the making of a wonderful animated video, mark making of an imaginary nature.

Jan Allsopp at ...In My Spare Time made a garden hose out of Norfolk Island pine needles. Maybe not mark making per se, but a challenging three-dimensional translation of the concept.

Another illustrator to follow... crackskullbob. If I could illustrate people this way... wow.

Amazingly talented natural history illustrator Debby Cotter Kaspari on Drawing the Motmot shares with us her toolkit for field sketching. Both compact and larger versions. Love the mint tin watercolour tray!

The Magpie Nest captures the onslaught of American Robins as they migrate through on their way to summer nesting grounds.\

Lots of printmaker activity, too!

JenZ picked up her etchings (very classical looking) from the recent etching class she took, and another beautiful landscape reduction woodblock print.

Linocutboy linked to a mind-boggling linoprint artist... you must visit their website for other images.

Further progress on Sonia Romero's work being translated into huge ceramic tiles for an L.A. subway station on She Rides The Lion. Here are some details of the progress of the ceramics.

Katka at The Blue Chisel has finished her print based on the Copenhagen mermaid.

Susan Moore at Art Every Day shares with us a plethora of monotypes from a recent weekend workshop with Bill Park. Very productive and inspiring!

Kate at Nydam Press combined two techniques, relief printing and cyanotype, in a beautiful and nostalgic result.

Marissa Buschow at Woodchips takes charge of a less than perfect print and turns it into something new; don't give up on those prints, maybe they can be reinvigorated!

Check out Annie Bissett's EZ scroll mount on Woodblock Dreams. Very clever, Annie, thanks for sharing!

Finally, have some fun with your art: dumpr.net has created museumr, which you can use to see what your art would look like hanging bold and beautiful at the MoMA, or the Gug! Thanks to Sarah Wimperis at Muddy Foot Prints

Science Stuff

Zoologix shares a marine mystery muncher of coral. Check it out (photo too, yikes!).

You could name a new species. Step up and put your bid in, auction open to March 30. Thanks to The Other 95%.

Plants have feelings? Well... not quite, but they can "react". Check it out on HowPlantsWork.

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

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!!).