Unique, Handmade Art- for YOU!

My Work in a Gallery!

2009-06-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

I will be having two series of hand-bound books displayed for purchase in the Waterloo7 Gallery on Waterloo Rd, in Cleveland, OH.

My books will be part of an all Eco-Friendly show that opens to the public the day of the Waterloo Arts Fest and stays through the end of July.

The Waterloo Arts Fest is this Saturday, June 27 from 12-7pm.

I highly recommend the Arts Fest- it's a free, family-friendly event with lots of music, art- what's not to like?! You can find out more about schedules, directions, etc. at their site.

Waterloo's a great little area, kind of like a mix between Coventry and Ohio City. They have 2 music shops, and other interesting stores, several galleries, and a restaurant or two all on the same street! Definitely go check out the Festival, and you'll want to come back to see the new exhibits, etc!

My Books:
I was so fortunate to have gotten the suggestion to talk to Jerry Schmidt about having my books in his gallery from Pete at Blue Arrow Records!

When I mentioned to Pete how I make books and am looking for a graphic design job, he said, "Oh! Talk to Jerry across the street, he has a gallery, that sounds like something he'd be interested in!" So, I did, and he was! I was approved for the show after I showed him some of my books, and in a matter of a week and a half I made 16 "green" books for the Eco-show at the Waterloo7 Gallery.

Here are some pictures of the books that will be in the show, accompanied with descriptions of the series. I also have 4 books that are "miscellaneous", i.e., not part of either series.

All of the books (with the exception of the butterfly book that uses an old, half-used notepad) were made with either Strathmore Windpower Paper-- the whole line is produced using 100% Windpowered electricity and includes 30% post-consumer fibers! The covers are packaging and packing materials I've repurposed, and the imagery comes from magazines and recycled printouts.

Letter Series:
This series came about after a trip to Austin, Texas where I found these intriguing sign letters. They called out to me to be made into books! I wanted to play with the idea of the clear parts of the letters revealing part of the first page, while the painted letter obscured it. The contrast of a relatively industrial item such as the plastic letter contrasts quite beautifully with the ancient binding technique.

Drawing Series:
These little books are made using proof copies of my original illustrations. I needed larger versions but kept these little ones, knowing that I could incorporate them into a project or two. Here they are! The original drawings were made using very basic materials like acrylic paint and graphite pencils. They were scanned and printed and used as covers for this charming book series.

^ Large, 8" Coptic Bound Journal

^ Large Journal with 2 Medium 6.5" Square Journals, Coptic Bound

^ 2 Small 5" Journals, Stab Bound (Each small book has different stitching inside... I still need to photograph this! I'll hopefully get some pics at the gallery to add!)

^ 2 Small 5" Sketchbooks, Stab Bound

^ My favorite Illustration and book! It's a beautiful shape, fits in your hands nicely. 6.5" Square.

Miscellaneous Books:

^ Large Sketchbooks, Coptic bound. Recycled covers

^ Small Butterfly Notebook. Made from broken car horn part, recycled brochure, old notepad.

^ Small, Coaster Book. Pull green ribbon out to write in own title.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to mark your calendars for this Saturday 12-7 pm Waterloo Arts Fest. Please spread the word to anyone who'd be interested!

MONOPRINTS

2009-01-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Here are the histories of my monoprints.

Well, as you may have read from my Etsy site, Monoprints (you can probably tell from the name) are prints that are only printed once. They intrigue me because generally the idea of using printmaking as a means of production is to yield a large quantity of the same item- Monoprints are completely contrary to their printmaking peers :) Each of these prints (Untitled, Cosmos, and Fireworks!) were created using my zinc printing plate before it was etched with a(nother) design. I made these prints as part of my intaglio print class. (Intaglio --pronounced in-tal-ee-o-- printing is done with an etched plate. Usually the plate is etched with acid. The assignment of monoprints was to create experimental and spontaneous designs with the printing ink on your flat plates.

Untitled resulted as a curiosity in exploring negative color relation and... a fondness for the itty-bitty brayer (ink roller) :) I used the back end of a paint brush to scratch into the thick ink before printing.

Cosmos came about from experimentation with the mineral spirits (ink solvent). I really liked how the melting ink looked cloudy, marbled-- it reminds me of pictures of the Universe, so I titled it Cosmos.

And finally, Fireworks! was the result of my professor accusing me of being unemotional with my work. I interpreted my frustration at his assertation of my indifference with pattern and texture (thick, rough dark black lines contrasting with fine swirls and dotted lines) to create a relatively unthreatening but still emotional and visually engaging piece.

I have a hard time parting with things that I can't ever get back, especially if they're something that are as much a part of me as my art is. That's partly why I think I love printmaking! You can pick a technique to make your work and ensure that you'll be able to make it (identically) again. I really appreciate the fact though, that art-prints are not generally mass-produced. (At least, I can't mass-produce my prints myself.) This gives me the opportunity to re-work a printed image into another project, allowing for mistakes and several versions of one project without sacrificing the handmade aspect (because it's still just one person printing a plate with an original drawing by hand).

Monoprints do obviously have their charm of being spontaneous, one-of-a-kind creations though! And I am ready and willing to give these beauties a good home- especially now that you know a bit more about them!

My Blog is up and running!

2008-11-27T22:01:00.000-08:00

Hello, Everyone!

As I've mentioned over to the right (in the box about this blog) this is a companion to my Etsy.com store (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6107282).

In my store, I'm currently listing several prints. I have linoleum block prints, drypoint and intaglio etchings, and monoprints. Each print for sale is an original, part of an editioned series.

Thank you for checking out my blog and/or Etsy store. Please consider a purchase- my work is unique and created very thoughtfully with passion. You will be supporting an artist who strives to live with a positive impact on her surroundings and one who is trying to get started in the professional world.

Thank you for your support!!

Coming Soon!

The stories of my Monoprints: Untitled, Fireworks, and Cosmos.

Untitled. Monoprint http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16429168

Fireworks. Monoprint http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16428458

Cosmos. Monoprint http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16427055

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