Special Commission Photo Drawing

This is a special commission I did for a client who wanted a hand drawn rendition of her engagement photos for a wedding announcement. See the final version of the announcement in my new Design portfolio section!

Holiday Festival Reminder! Come see me on the Square!

Don't forget! McDonough's Holiday Festival is taking place next Sunday from 12pm to 5pm, with a special visit from the Grinch!

Come out and meet/greet me in my art booth! I'll be set up all day selling my wares. : )

Here are some links for information on McDonough, GA and the McDonough Art Council:

http://www.mcdonougharts.net/

http://www.mcdonoughga.org/

http://www.ilovemcdonough.com/index.html/

Cascade Print Exchange 2012

Hey guys! It's time again for the next Cascade Print Exchange. This is an annual print exchange hosted by Oregon State. : )

There's only 150 spots available, so if you want to get in it, then you need to RSVP now. The exchange is for 5" x 7" prints (any method, no theme) and entries are due January 31, 2012! Entry is FREE, so I definitely encourage participation on this one.

For all of the details and info, go to this link:

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/cascadeprint/cascade-print-vi-galleries

They also have a nice collection of images from last year's exchange too. 

Pumpkins Linocut Print

Here's my new Fall 2011 print, "Pumpkins." I wanted to do a little something festive this year for Halloween, so pumpkins are always a fun starting point!

Here's a link if you are interested in buying one. : )

Save the Date!

In a few weeks I will be participating in a local holiday art festival. There will be tons of booths for the local artists and we will be selling our wares and schmoozing. I will be selling prints, Christmas cards, and some original paintings/illustrations as well!

Here's the event info:

McDonough Arts presents

HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

Sunday, November 13
12 PM – 5 PM
Artist Market & Festival
McDonough Square

Hamilton Wood Type Clothes!

Hey fellow Printmaking and Letterpress enthusiasts! Target has recently released a line of their Mossimo clothes using the stuff at the Hamilton wood type museum. So they have so really fun designs using layered type prints and fun stuff like that, but also some really neat designs based on die-cuts!! I love the attention to design and the nod to printmaking in general. :) Get excited!

^ Here's a terrible picture I took on my cell phone of the labels.

Here's a link to a cute die-cut design and here's a neat dude's shirt:

Las Calacas Print Exchange

I'm super excited about this Dia de los Muertos themed print exchange!!! Check out these pages to see some of the work going into it!

https://www.facebook.com/calacapress
http://calacapress.blogspot.com/

Almost done with a new stencil!

It's for printing on apparel, but I'll probably end up using it for mixed media pieces as well! : D

Oregon Ink Spot Exchange Prints

The 2011 Oregon Ink Spot Print Exchange results are in! w00t! I got some very nice relief prints and some random fun ones. Check them out! These are my top 8 favorites of the 15 I received.

New Studio Set Up and Woodcuts

Hey guys! Just a quick summer update... I finally got my baby press installed and functional so I'm churning out reprints of old blocks and working on some new pieces as well.

I'm currently working on some hand painted versions of old prints like this:

And I'm working on a new pair of woodcuts that are sister prints. It's two rockabilly characters that were actually derived from what I did in the print above. I'm am almost halfway cutting the guy's block, then I'll start on the chick:

Owl Prints are done!

Color layer for owl reduction print!

Here's the first layer for the owl reduction print I'm currently working on.

It's almost a rainbow roll; instead of doing it the normally blended way, I made up three colors and freely rolled them individually on the block in specific areas to achieve a more mixed and splotchy affect. I was hoping it would look a little autumnal. The detailed final layer with the outline and dark areas with be printed in a deep brownish-black. I will probably do some prints of just the detail layer as well, just for kicks!

Leftovers print exchange results are in!

It's about time for print exchange prints to roll in. So far, I've received prints from the Leftovers exchange, and they are fabulous.

The presentation was totally worth the entry. It came neatly put together with a super cute napkin and receipt.

Love it! The prints I got are really awesome too. Here's a sample:

Here's a link to the Leftovers blog if you're interested in learning more:
http://leftoversanyone.blogspot.com/

"Better Brave Than Bored" Block

Here's my large (18" x 24") woodcut I'm working on! It's the starting place for my steampunk narrative series I'm doing for my Senior Thesis.

Not much is cut on it right now other than the borders, but I can't wait to see how this baby prints!

New Owl Linocut

I'm currently working on a 5" x 7" owl linocut. I've been planning on doing a relief print of an owl for ages, but it's been constantly put off for other projects and priorities. Since I'm running short on my project quota for class, it seems like the perfect time to complete it!

Here's the drawn and barely cut block:

Exchange Update

Here's the zombie apocalypse print I submitted to the exchanges, as well as a Dia de los Muertos inspired piece I reprinted and have yet to post. : D

New Coptic Journal Covers

So I was at the library book sale and they had some old hardcover books they were getting rid of on the cheap, so I am upcycling the bookboard and covers to make some fancy schmancy coptic journals to sell online.

I've already gutted the books, so now I just need to get these guys rebound with blank pages. Hopefully the final project will look something like this:

Print Exchanges

Cripes almighty! There are like a billion print exchanges coming up this spring!!! There are three in particular I am going to participate in myself, and if you are into making tiny prints (5"x7" and 4"x6"), then you should too!

Oregon Ink Spot

Leftovers Print Exchange
Apocalypse themed Post Card (You have scroll down the news feed to find that one.)

These look fun so once I get my design printed, I'll post it on here, and then hopefully, eventually get around to posting whatever prints I receive in the exchanges!

J!NX World of Warcraft T-Shirt Contest

Looks like the Murloc Swarm tee I designed made it into the voting round!! Check it out and vote for it!

J!NX has a ton of awesome, nerdy stuff to buy. Definitely check out their merch if you are into video games, nerd culture (ex: zombies, math, science, gaming), or just good digital art.

Maneki Neko Reduction Print

Here's the story behind the Maneki Neko via Wikipedia:

The Temple Cat: This story goes that a wealthy feudal lord was taking shelter under a tree near Gotoku-ji temple (in Western Tokyo) during a thunderstorm. The lord saw the temple priest's cat beckoning to him and followed; a moment later the tree was struck by lightning. The wealthy man became friends with the poor priest and the temple became prosperous. When the cat died, supposedly the first Maneki Neko was made in his honor.
The Courtesan: A courtesan named Usugumo, living in Yoshiwara, in eastern Tokyo, kept a cat, much beloved by her. One night, the cat began tugging at her kimono. No matter what she did, the cat persisted. The owner of the brothel saw this, and believing the cat bewitched, cut its head off. The cat's head then flew to the ceiling where it killed a snake, ready at any moment to strike. Usugumo was devastated by the death of her companion. To cheer her up, one of her customers made her a wooden likeness of her cat as a gift. This cat image then became popular as the Maneki Neko.
The Old Woman: An old woman living in Imado (eastern Tokyo) was forced to sell her cat due to extreme poverty. Soon afterwards the cat appeared to her in a dream. The cat told her to make its image in clay. She did as instructed, and soon afterward sold the statue. She then made more, and people bought them as well. They were so popular she soon became prosperous and wealthy.