Remember me?  It has been a while, hasn’t it!??  I was able to take a day away from architecture to play today and after being treated to breakfast by a dear friend, I dusted off that tiny press and practiced my printmaking.  The best I’ve done (I think) so far…

Hope to write again soon!!! 

I bought some plastic etching plates and an engraving tool today after trying unsuccessfully  to use acetate and the pointy end of an old compass leftover from my hand drafting days.   The plate was rather easy to etch into .  Or engrave.  (I saw one comment on a site that said etching needs chemicals and he/she was not very nice in how they corrected the site’s author.  Please, be nice if you leave a comment.  My feelings hurt easily.)    I etched/engraved Mark Twain and was very pleased when my son said “it’s Mark Twain.”  But etching/engraving is easy, printing is hard.

Here is the first attempt…

I think the paper was too dry.

Here is the second print…

the ghost of Mark Twain, I wiped off too much ink.

Third try…

I left too much ink and was not careful with my handling of the paper, but I did like some of the line work.

I thought this next try would be perfect, but…

I realize I have a long way to go to perfection.

This one was done after I watched an artist online use his hand to wipe off the plate.

I liked the background but I was not very adept at controlling how much ink was left behind.  And my hand got really black with ink.  But this one gave me enough confidence to think I would be able to pull a good print after my next try.

And here is where I stopped.   For today.

With another 100 tries, I may have something I am proud of.

What have I learned?  That printmaking is hard.  That washing ink off your hands about 30 times really dries out your skin.  That a sink in my studio would be really nice.  And that I need a more knowledgeable instructor than myself!

My mother talked a lot of memories during her last months.  She didn’t share memories (she shared plenty over the years), rather she talked of  what memories were, of how our perspective of an event so totally affects a memory.   My memory of an event from childhood may be very different than my sister’s memory of the same event.  But both of them are true, who is to say your memory is wrong?

The other writing I do is note taking while listening to sermons in church.  Those notes include lots of doodling.  Sometimes a sermon inspires very visual notes, other times not so much.  I am not sure what inspired this fish!  Can’t remember from the notes!

Here is another watercolor portrait I worked on last weekend.  Added some finishing touches tonight, mainly to keep me up past 9 pm!

This is on aquabord, 8″x8″.

I haven’t had the time to carve any new linoleum blocks but I so wanted to play with my new Utrecht Baby Press, so I used very old blocks and tried printing.  Theses were the best of the bunch.  I like the bird printed on watercolor testing scraps, a leftover from architectural rendering and trying to find an ideal paint color for siding on a house.  See, there is a reason I save scrap paper!  Who can tell me who the gentleman is?  Anyone?  (I hope so, means my portraiture skills need improving if you cannot tell that is Wm. Shakespeare!)I think the press does a pretty good job of making contact with the paper.  I also played with “engraving.”  I drew on aluminum foil in preparation for my children’s Bible study class and then rubbed ink on the engraved side and ran it through the press.  It actually made an image!  I am going to buy some heavy duty foil and try it again!

For 2013, those same Bible study kids made a block printed calendar from drawing on styrofoam plates.  Here are three randomly selected months.  They are all wonderful and I love seeing the calendar hanging in my kitchen!

Wondering why 27 is not showing up in July???  Hope I fixed that on the final printing!

Woman #14  8″x8″

I hope your day has been as fun as mine.

I was pleased enough with this to share with you.

You may not know much about Ludwig Hohlwein, I didn’t until I saw and bought the poster with the roses that inspired these. (Really, I’ve copied  the stylized roses, just not the arrangement.  I can’t find a good picture on the internet to link you to the originals)  Hohlwein lived in Germany in the early 20th century and was an established graphic artist by the time the Nazi party took control of Germany.  He joined the Nazi party at some point and even did some art work for them.  (I read he was offered the opportunity to leave Germany in the early 30′s but chose to stay.) This knowledge created conflict in me, should I enjoy the art of someone who had such poor judgement (hopefully that rather than just being an evil man)?  I still have the poster hanging and I still like the episode of Bugs Bunny that plays Richard Wagner’s opera despite the controversy of Wagner’s racism.  The past is flawed as is the present and I am sure the future will be, also.  I recently read In the Garden of Beasts about the American Ambassador and his family at the beginning of Hitler’s regime.  It was a fascinating book.  Hitler’s control crept up on the German people at that time.  If just a few had had the courage to speak up… I feel another book about this time in Germany is a must-read book,  Stones from the River.  Most excellent book.  I think the world would be a better place if everyone read this book.

Goodness, I’ve expounded a bit tonight, haven’ t I?

That corner is now clean.  I have retired from nest building.

Last night was spent sketching on scrap paper.

I am trying to get in the habit of creating daily.  Bunny and eggs, I think I am also ready for spring.