Updates from September, 2012

• Linework 4!

  12:42 pm on May 20, 2013 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  I have some new comics and work in the Linework Comics Anthology, Issue 4, that was just released.

  Linework is Columbia College’s comics anthology, started by cartoonist and professor Ivan Brunetti. The anthology is student-run, featuring the work of students, alumni, and faculty of Columbia College Chicago. Each issue is put together with a lot of heart and incredible talent.

  Marieke McClendon, one of the editors of Linework 4, recently made a quick promo video of the new issue:
  
  
  
  
  Linework 4 will be available for purchase soon, at places like Quimby’s, Chicago Comics, Shop Columbia (623 S. Wabash Ave), as well as the upcoming CAKE fest.

  Additionally, there are a number of Linework 4 Special Edition issues (coming soon) for which select artists were invited to contribute small works of art, prints, mini-comics, etc. I made a small edition of prints for the Special Edition issue, which I will be posting soon.

  To learn more, visit the Linework Comics Anthology Official Tumblr. Thanks!!

   

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• CPC's 6th Annual $20 Cash 'N Carry Sale

  11:31 pm on May 12, 2013 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  

  Next Saturday! The 6th Annual $20 Print Sale at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative!

  Great way to get some highly affordable, locally-made prints, posters, tees, and other fun stuff. I will have some things in the show for sale too. There’s always so much good stuff to take in and enjoy, so come as early as you can!

  Opening Reception:

  Saturday, May 18th, 2013
  12-6 pm
  Chicago Printmakers Collaborative
  4642 N. Western Ave, Chicago IL

  Show runs through June 8th
  Gallery hours: Fri & Sat, 12-5 pm (and by appointment)
  
  

   

• Upcoming Class: Fundamentals of Relief Printmaking

  9:53 am on May 10, 2013 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  I’ve got some exciting news!

  Starting next month, Duffy O’Connor and I will be co-teaching the relief printmaking class at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. Duffy is full-time faculty at Harrington College of Design, where he teaches drawing, design fundamentals, and relief printmaking. He has been working with this process a lot longer than I have, so it is a real honor to teach alongside him.

  For this class, we will be covering everything from single to multi-color relief prints on wood and linoleum, printing by both hand and press, transferring images, and much more. Here are the details:

  Fundamentals of Relief Printmaking
  Mondays, June 3 – July 22, 2013
  8 weeks, 6 – 9pm
  For more info, sign up/share, visit: CPC Class Schedule
  
  Here we are working on a woodcut for the poster, which we designed and carved ourselves. We even printed some of the posters using handmade ink!
  
  
  
  
  
  Final woodcut poster, 11″ x 17″ (click for larger):
  
  
  
  
  The ink-mixing process: The pigment is thoroughly mixed with Burnt Plate Oil No. 3 to create rich and smooth printing ink.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

• New illustration for The Chicago Reader

  9:55 pm on April 3, 2013 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  Hi there!

  If you live in Chicago, grab yourself a new copy of The Chicago Reader!

  I just finished an illustration for Ben Joravsky’s column, which deals with the city’s recent plans to close 54 public schools, leading to subsequent overcrowding at others. For example, Dever Elementary on the northwest side. I’m a big fan of Joravsky’s columns, so this was a treat!

  Check out the article here:  Mayor Emanuel’s crowded-classroom approach to fixing schools

  Here is the illustration:
  
  

   

• Karl Blossfeldt's Beautiful Plants

  9:37 am on March 10, 2013 | 2 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  Every summer, I visit the Newberry Library Book Fair, an incredible used and rare books festival which takes places at The Newberry Library in Chicago. I save up money and spend most of it on as many books as I can carry back home.

  I’ve recently been looking at one of the books that I picked up at the fair. I wanted to share it with my students, then found myself completely immersed in it (this happens a lot). It’s a beautiful collection of over 100 full-page photographs of highly magnified plant forms. They are characterful and lively; with a little imagination, one could find faces, bodies, architecture, and plenty of inspiration in the simple, graphic structures.

  The book is “Art Forms in the Plant World” by Karl Blossfeldt. It is not a rare book and can be acquired online quite cheaply.
  
  
  
  Below are a few of my favorite pages scanned from the book. Click to view larger.
  
  
  
  Pumpkin Tendrils
  
  
  
  
  Varied shoots
  
  
  
  
  Bourgati’s Eryngo Leaf
  
  
  
  
  Small-flowered American Horse-Chestnut
  
  
  
  
  Weeping Forsythia, young shoot
  
  
  
  
  Scorpion-weed panicles
  
  
  
  
  Varied shoots
  
  

   

• Snakes and lino prints

  3:44 pm on March 6, 2013 | 2 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  A couple things I’ve been up to recently. I’ll be posting more soon!
  
  
  
  Working on some quick linoleum prints at home
  
  
  
  
  This is a tote bag I designed to use as a demo for my screen printing class. I wanted to show the students how to separate colors by hand, without going anywhere near a computer. I made a drawing of the snake in pencil, then traced out the color separations using Dur-a-lar film and opaque black markers. These were exposed onto screens and printed in yellow and blue inks. The green is created wherever the two inks meet and overlap.
  
  
  
  the snake bag
  
  
  
  
  A small lino print of a ‘ghost tiger’ creature that I made a while back.
  

   

• Chicago Reader's Fiction Issue 2013

  11:20 am on January 8, 2013 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  Over the break, I was asked to illustrate a story featured in this week’s Chicago Reader’s Fiction Issue 2013

  The story is “LOS”, by J.D. Sommers, about a woman’s haunting, surreal descent in neurosis. I’ve included my illustration below. You can read the full story on the Reader’s page, or better yet, pick up a copy of the paper this week!  It’s wonderfully written and very engaging, and I recommend reading it if you have some time.

  Also, just wanted to quickly note, there will be some new changes and updates on this website and blog coming up this year. As I have been teaching more classes, my time on the computer is very limited, however I do hope to also post more student work as well as other art updates. That’s about it, thanks for checking in!
  
  
  

   

• Cover Illustration for "The Book of Destruction"

  5:32 pm on September 12, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  I was excited to receive my comp copies of the recently published “The Book of Destruction” by Anand.

  This is the first cover illustration I’ve done for Penguin Group and I’m very pleased with how it came out! The illustration is based on one of the stories in the book, The Tailor, in which elaborate outfits escape from a tailor’s shop and take over bodies, in a macabre, magical-realism sort of way.
  
  
  
  
  
  The original illustration:
  
  
  
  
  

   

• Art in Print Journal Review

  7:12 pm on July 26, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  The latest issue of Art in Print, a journal focusing history and culture of art and print, featured an article that kindly mentions Struwwelpeter! Written by Courtney R. Thompson, the article covers the recent “Pulled, Pressed, Printed” exhibition at Expo 72 in Chicago. The show included various Chicago printmakers and shops, including Spudnik Press, where I completed Struwwelpeter in 2010 and which had one of the books on display. I’m very honored that Thompson chose to mention the book and feature some of the images as part of her review.
  
  
  
  
  

   

• Thanks + Images

  9:38 pm on July 23, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Reply
  

  Many thanks to everyone who came out to the opening last Saturday! It was lovely to see so many great friends and meet new ones. I am so grateful for the lovely and warm reception.

  The exhibition will run through September 1st, at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC), located at 4642 N Western Ave in Lincoln Square. The gallery hours are NOON – 5 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, or by appointment (see above link for contact info). Hope you can check it out if you have a chance!

  Below are some of the prints on display. More photos from the actual opening coming soon…
  
  
  
  “Strange Mad Song”, 2012, Screenprint and Woodcut, 15 in x 22 in
  
  
  
  “Hollow Feeder”, 2012, Screenprint, 11.5 in x 17.5 in
  
  

  This is the completed narrative woodcut series I’ve been working on. The cover and story are printed on the front and back of the belly band, which runs around the entire print suite.
  
  
  
  “Man Is Not A Bird”, 2012, Print Suite of Ten Woodcut Prints, 11 in x 15 in
  
  
  
  “In The Forest”, from Man Is Not A Bird, Woodcut, 11 in x 15 in
  
  
  
  “The Kill And The Departure”, from Man Is Not A Bird, Woodcut, 11 in x 15 in
  
  
  
  “Man Is Not A Bird”, Front and Back views with band