I have been carving away wood blocks at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, getting ready for a show in July… Here are some sneak peeks, take a look!
block carving
ink station
test/proof print on newsprint
Here’s a look at one of the finished prints from a narrative series I’ve been working on:
Updates from July, 2012
-
More Relief Printing
-
Struwwelpeter on Flavorwire Books
Struwwelpeter, the Artist Book I created during the printmaking residency in 2010 at Spudnik Press, has been featured on Flavorwire as part of their “10 of the Most Terrifying Children’s Books From Around the World”
-
Newcity Lit50 Issue Cover
If you’re in Chicago, make sure to pick up a copy of Newcity, out this week! I completed the cover illustration for their Lit50 Issue. Check out the Newcity Lit50 page for more information.
here’s the actual paper:
-
New York update
I got back to Chicago last week but haven’t found time to post anything until now. Although it was a short trip, I got to explore a little bit and see old friends, which is always lovely.
OK, serious dork-alert ahead, be advised…
One of my favorite places was the American Folk Art Museum (told you!) I was trying to find something similar to Intuit in Chicago (which is a total treasure). Turns out the Folk Art Museum has free admission. It also turns out not many people have heard of the place. It’s too bad because it’s got some really incredible gems! The exhibit, “Jubilation/Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined”, featured selections from the collection, everything from traditional crafts to more well-known figures like Darger and Wolfli.
I took photos of stuff I hadn’t encountered before:
This painting particularly struck me for some strange reason. It is by Jamaican artist Sidney McLaren, who didn’t begin painting until much later in life. It reads: “Sidney McLaren – Artist at 84 yrs. old. Life is What One Makes it. No Two Men Alike.” (1979)
This one is titled “Roaring Lion, Guardian of the Temples” by Augustin Lesage (1938):
Lesage, a miner in France, started hearing voices while working underground, and began to paint under their direction. “My guides have told me: ‘Do not try to understand what you are doing.’ I draw the figures they make me draw. I pick the colors they make me pick and mix colors without knowing what I will end up with.” Yep, just do what you’re compelled to do and you’ll be okay. Lesage did, and eventually even made it out of the mines.
Last one:
‘Strange Fruits’, by Ulysses Davis, made in the 1970’s in Savannah, Georgia. It doesn’t translate well in the photo, the actual sculpture is very beautiful and fantastical in real life. It was made at the height of the civil rights movement. The title comes from a 1937 poem by Abel Meeropol – later transformed into a protest song and sung by Billie Holiday:
The next day I ended up at the Rubin Museum and walked around. There was a really great exhibit of Illuminated Books, such as this beautiful Gospels Book from 16th century Armenia, with earrings and metalwork tacked onto it:
There was so much more and I wish I could devote a whole day to writing about it all. I also visited Printed Matter, which was a real treat.