To get over a major case of the blues than to pull out an old partially finished block and get to carving. Everything is already drawn I'm just clearing wood at this point before adding details here and there. It is a little boring, but just what I need right now. And yes, I am wearing a nightgown under my printmaking apron. That way I can hop right into bed as soon as I am ready.
I'm also getting back in the drawing groove. But what I am not going to do is to stress myself out about creating a finished product. After all, art is about more than making and pushing a product isn't it?
The weather here is gorgeous. I sit here typing this with the window open right next to me and a nice breeze coming in. The days are just beautiful and blee and I get in plenty of walks. But we need to find a new place to walk as I am getting a little bored with our scenery. Time to mix things up a bit just like with my art.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
Hope everybody has a wonderful day filled with joy and beautiful weather.
Showing posts with label carving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carving. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Friday, October 12, 2007
Killing Time
Guess I lied when I said that I would be taking a break. What can I say other than that my moods can change on a dime.
Last weekend I finished carving the large block I have been working on for what seems like forever but I was unable to do any printing. Knowing that I need a decent chunk of time to print I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything with it until this weekend. So with my free time I have kept busy by carving small blocks. The more I have to work with the better and these are fun to play with. If they work great, if not no skin off my back. The 4"x4" size is what first got my shop noticed after all. What allowed me to get all these done? A combination of blee sleeping away most of the day and having people over to clean all of the house except for the nursery and my studio. I brought blee in with me and we hung out only venturing out to change her and for food and water while they worked their magic.
Of course at the same time as making these pieces I have also managed to make the mess in my studio that I will need to clean (hopefully today) before I am able to print. Suddenly what a few months ago was the cleanest and most organized room in the place is the biggest mess. But it has been so much worse! Things are still organized outside my desk area.
It is 12:30am and I should be sleeping but after taking a two hour nap after Jon got home I have a bit of energy to burn. But am burned out on carving for the time being. It is funny how even when she is good blee is still quite exhausting.
Last weekend I finished carving the large block I have been working on for what seems like forever but I was unable to do any printing. Knowing that I need a decent chunk of time to print I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything with it until this weekend. So with my free time I have kept busy by carving small blocks. The more I have to work with the better and these are fun to play with. If they work great, if not no skin off my back. The 4"x4" size is what first got my shop noticed after all. What allowed me to get all these done? A combination of blee sleeping away most of the day and having people over to clean all of the house except for the nursery and my studio. I brought blee in with me and we hung out only venturing out to change her and for food and water while they worked their magic.
Of course at the same time as making these pieces I have also managed to make the mess in my studio that I will need to clean (hopefully today) before I am able to print. Suddenly what a few months ago was the cleanest and most organized room in the place is the biggest mess. But it has been so much worse! Things are still organized outside my desk area.
It is 12:30am and I should be sleeping but after taking a two hour nap after Jon got home I have a bit of energy to burn. But am burned out on carving for the time being. It is funny how even when she is good blee is still quite exhausting.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
My Gosh!
Everybody is so baby obsessed! Not that I am at all hahah but I put up this picture on Flickr and within a couple of minutes am receiving comments not about it but about the blee. And I find out that my pregnancy buddy, the one with so much of the same pains and nearly the same due date (a few days behind) is getting induced today just after a midwife tells us that we should keep waiting. Gah!
While I know induction can be not fun I am feeling a little envious right now because I am so tired of this. Once again last night I had horrible pain that turned into contractions for hours. At times these contractions would be spaced out about every five minutes. Then they would just go away. My back hurt like crazy until around 2am when suddenly it stopped and I was finally able to get some sleep. This happens to some degree or another every night and it is driving both Jon and I crazy.
I was so pleased with myself for being able to as much done on the block as I have this past week by working in spurts on and off. All the linework around the edges of the images has been carved and the clearing of negative space has been started. It is going a lot faster than I ever expected it would in my condition. My blood may not be in this piece but certainly my sweat and tears are in it. I grit my teeth and carve until I am physically unable to anymore. I am doing a big local art fair at the end of September (hopefully) and I can't help but think how wonderful it would be if I actually had prints from this block to show then. But getting it carved and printed with this baby looming is not something I should be pressuring myself to do. It is so hard as I continue to wait for her to quit teasing me and show up. Then I can finally know just how much my life is going to change.
I'm going to try and go back to sleep. I feel awful. I was really hoping to wake up to labor pains instead of going to sleep with them. The thought of having a baby when we are both freaking exhausted is really scary. Last night during the contractions I was finding myself so tired I just wanted to have them let me sleep while doing a C section because I couldn't imagine pushing.
I love you all! xoxoxo
While I know induction can be not fun I am feeling a little envious right now because I am so tired of this. Once again last night I had horrible pain that turned into contractions for hours. At times these contractions would be spaced out about every five minutes. Then they would just go away. My back hurt like crazy until around 2am when suddenly it stopped and I was finally able to get some sleep. This happens to some degree or another every night and it is driving both Jon and I crazy.
I was so pleased with myself for being able to as much done on the block as I have this past week by working in spurts on and off. All the linework around the edges of the images has been carved and the clearing of negative space has been started. It is going a lot faster than I ever expected it would in my condition. My blood may not be in this piece but certainly my sweat and tears are in it. I grit my teeth and carve until I am physically unable to anymore. I am doing a big local art fair at the end of September (hopefully) and I can't help but think how wonderful it would be if I actually had prints from this block to show then. But getting it carved and printed with this baby looming is not something I should be pressuring myself to do. It is so hard as I continue to wait for her to quit teasing me and show up. Then I can finally know just how much my life is going to change.
I'm going to try and go back to sleep. I feel awful. I was really hoping to wake up to labor pains instead of going to sleep with them. The thought of having a baby when we are both freaking exhausted is really scary. Last night during the contractions I was finding myself so tired I just wanted to have them let me sleep while doing a C section because I couldn't imagine pushing.
I love you all! xoxoxo
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Needs a Baby!
Good late morning to all. I just woke up not too long ago! Haven't even made myself a pot of tea yet. That certainly sounds like a good idea. I am loving having good light blocking curtains in the bedroom and I hope baby appreciates them while napping.
The waiting game continues.
Art is still happening after some time off and that makes waiting a little bit better. I carved quite a bit yesterday and I will probably carve today. Right now I am getting my studio nice and cool so I can be comfortable. I'm making some serious progress on the block and that is very encouraging. Granted it is just the outlines that I am carving, even when I am done with that I have a heck of a lot of clearing work to do. But this block has me excited and motivated to work on it and get it done as soon as possible without pushing myself too much.
We saw a midwife yesterday since I have to go in twice a week now. This one was a lot more relaxed than my typical midwife and didn't seem concerned at all. It helped that my blood pressure has dropped significantly and was out of the danger zone for the first time in about a month. Both numbers fell at least ten points! If is stays low the pressure to have this baby ASAP might not be strong enough to induce before my delivery date.
Mostly I am ready to have her out so we can meet her, but she's behaving herself so keeping her in has some advantages as well. And Jon does have some work to finish up.
Last night we were out late at our neighbor's house. First we took Maeby over to be social with other greyhounds and she was our sweet but socially awkward girl. Then we went over to our friend's house for a BBQ. All I ate was fruit, not really wanting BBQ meat at this time. We were getting bitten so we took it inside and ended up chatting for hours long after the kids went to bed and the other guests had left. It was nice but we crashed when we got home.
----------------
Now playing: The Pogues - The Ghost Of A Smile
via FoxyTunes
The waiting game continues.
Art is still happening after some time off and that makes waiting a little bit better. I carved quite a bit yesterday and I will probably carve today. Right now I am getting my studio nice and cool so I can be comfortable. I'm making some serious progress on the block and that is very encouraging. Granted it is just the outlines that I am carving, even when I am done with that I have a heck of a lot of clearing work to do. But this block has me excited and motivated to work on it and get it done as soon as possible without pushing myself too much.
We saw a midwife yesterday since I have to go in twice a week now. This one was a lot more relaxed than my typical midwife and didn't seem concerned at all. It helped that my blood pressure has dropped significantly and was out of the danger zone for the first time in about a month. Both numbers fell at least ten points! If is stays low the pressure to have this baby ASAP might not be strong enough to induce before my delivery date.
Mostly I am ready to have her out so we can meet her, but she's behaving herself so keeping her in has some advantages as well. And Jon does have some work to finish up.
Last night we were out late at our neighbor's house. First we took Maeby over to be social with other greyhounds and she was our sweet but socially awkward girl. Then we went over to our friend's house for a BBQ. All I ate was fruit, not really wanting BBQ meat at this time. We were getting bitten so we took it inside and ended up chatting for hours long after the kids went to bed and the other guests had left. It was nice but we crashed when we got home.
----------------
Now playing: The Pogues - The Ghost Of A Smile
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
I can still work! (a little)
Morning to all! Another Tuesday and no baby. Last night we were convinced she was on her way and were even using the computer to time contractions. Then the power went out and we both fell asleep. I guess they must not have been true contractions after all. I'm sure we are not the only impatient one at this point.
After having a few slug days in a row I had a small burst of energy last night a couple hours before bedtime. It wasn't super hot out and I had the air on and the door closed and Jon was in the bedroom hanging curtains. (now our bedroom can finally be nice and dark when we sleep). At first I thought maybe I would do some printing, but I realized that is insane and way too much commitment once I have my inks out so I decided to start carving this puppy instead! I know there is no way it will get finished anytime soon but I might as well get it started. Normally I carve standing up because I feel I get a better angle that way but pregnant I try to sit as much as possible. But at times it just wasn't possible and as I bent over to carve my belly would press up against my lower body. Seriously not comfortable and i tried not to do that often! Don't worry I didn't overdue it and stopped after about an hour and then took a lovely cool shower.
I've been feeling like such a useless slug with nothing but wanting this baby out on my mind for days now. It felt good to let out some creativity even if it wasn't much.
And now i have a bedroom with dark curtains so me and the baby can sleep better. I then vacated my studio and he hung curtains in there too. We got curtains for the whole place but the ones in the bedroom and my studio are the most important because that is where she will be sleeping. And the studio corner with her pack and play bassinet has a window right there that didn't even have blinds. I think we need to get even more to block light in there.
For a couple of days we were thinking that we want to have this baby on the 18th, that way she can share the date with both of us! That and see Superbad in the theaters on Friday the 17th! But I have since changed my mind and want her out ASAP. The more time passes the bigger she gets and from her squirms I am thinking she is very big and cramped in there!
Making art, listing on Etsy and putting stuff on Flickr is becoming less important in my mind. Blogging is becoming more difficult as well. I'm so tired so much of the time. But I have discovered that people tend to jump to the conclusion that I am having the baby if I don't at least poke my head out once a day! I was thinking if the power wasn't back on by morning I would have to call somebody to post that I am not having the baby I just don't have power! I swear that other than my mother in law my friends and the people I know through Etsy are the most excited about her arrival. Or maybe it is just that my family tends to be very reserved.
We have plans for a BBQ at a friend's house and a play date for local greyhounds to run around in a fenced in area tonight. Jon is working on finishing up some major projects at work before he takes his leave. So probably she'll come sometime today! That is fine with me because I really would like to avoid getting induced or having a C section. Recovery for a C can be really difficult and I have a big art fair that I would really like to do at the end of September. It is very important to me.
P.S. feeling better after my emotional moodiness from the last post! Thanks for being understanding.
After having a few slug days in a row I had a small burst of energy last night a couple hours before bedtime. It wasn't super hot out and I had the air on and the door closed and Jon was in the bedroom hanging curtains. (now our bedroom can finally be nice and dark when we sleep). At first I thought maybe I would do some printing, but I realized that is insane and way too much commitment once I have my inks out so I decided to start carving this puppy instead! I know there is no way it will get finished anytime soon but I might as well get it started. Normally I carve standing up because I feel I get a better angle that way but pregnant I try to sit as much as possible. But at times it just wasn't possible and as I bent over to carve my belly would press up against my lower body. Seriously not comfortable and i tried not to do that often! Don't worry I didn't overdue it and stopped after about an hour and then took a lovely cool shower.
I've been feeling like such a useless slug with nothing but wanting this baby out on my mind for days now. It felt good to let out some creativity even if it wasn't much.
And now i have a bedroom with dark curtains so me and the baby can sleep better. I then vacated my studio and he hung curtains in there too. We got curtains for the whole place but the ones in the bedroom and my studio are the most important because that is where she will be sleeping. And the studio corner with her pack and play bassinet has a window right there that didn't even have blinds. I think we need to get even more to block light in there.
For a couple of days we were thinking that we want to have this baby on the 18th, that way she can share the date with both of us! That and see Superbad in the theaters on Friday the 17th! But I have since changed my mind and want her out ASAP. The more time passes the bigger she gets and from her squirms I am thinking she is very big and cramped in there!
Making art, listing on Etsy and putting stuff on Flickr is becoming less important in my mind. Blogging is becoming more difficult as well. I'm so tired so much of the time. But I have discovered that people tend to jump to the conclusion that I am having the baby if I don't at least poke my head out once a day! I was thinking if the power wasn't back on by morning I would have to call somebody to post that I am not having the baby I just don't have power! I swear that other than my mother in law my friends and the people I know through Etsy are the most excited about her arrival. Or maybe it is just that my family tends to be very reserved.
We have plans for a BBQ at a friend's house and a play date for local greyhounds to run around in a fenced in area tonight. Jon is working on finishing up some major projects at work before he takes his leave. So probably she'll come sometime today! That is fine with me because I really would like to avoid getting induced or having a C section. Recovery for a C can be really difficult and I have a big art fair that I would really like to do at the end of September. It is very important to me.
P.S. feeling better after my emotional moodiness from the last post! Thanks for being understanding.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Last Hurrah!
Of one very pregnant lady.
I hope everybody is having a good week so far. I can't believe that it
is nearly over. I also can't believe that we now have an infant car
seat strapped in our back seat! I'm all grown up now! *tick tick tick*
my belly has a time bomb in it and I can't read the clock.
Carving the pine cone block was beginning to wear on me. That 8"x10" was feeling rather large and daunting and my mind had moved on to other ideas. I've made good progress on it but find myself slowing down and neglecting it. Odd finding such a small block feeling so large when I have carved 20"x30" many times in the past. So I pulled out one of my many 6" square blocks and pasted two images onto them. They are a mixture of images I found in the dictionary combined with drawn embellishments. I attached the paper Tuesday night and then let it dry to the block overnight before carving. Dragonfly on one side, butterfly on the other. Then I carved them both in a day before washing off the paper guide. The process can be seen documented here in this set. I am really liking the paper transfer except for the part where I get the block wet. I wanted to go back into the butterfly after I removed the image but I felt that carving it wet would not be wise. It was the detail in the butterfly that really killed me and gave me some serious shoulder pain. I needed to use my magnifying goggles to carve those little dots and they still need to have the edges cleaned up before I can print.
In the end I am proud of myself for pushing myself to get this done. I am planning on printing the two separate and together seeing how the forms overlap. Depending on if I am able to complete the pine cone block or not these may be the last blocks I finish for awhile. And possibly my last big printing session until after we have adjusted to the baby.
Last night I was feeling good, really good, and I made the mistake of telling somebody that both my swollen ankles and my acid seem to be under control. Well around 3am I was puking up acid and today I will probably end up with swollen ankles even if I never get out of bed! What does a girl have to do?
I hope everybody is having a good week so far. I can't believe that it
is nearly over. I also can't believe that we now have an infant car
seat strapped in our back seat! I'm all grown up now! *tick tick tick*
my belly has a time bomb in it and I can't read the clock.
Carving the pine cone block was beginning to wear on me. That 8"x10" was feeling rather large and daunting and my mind had moved on to other ideas. I've made good progress on it but find myself slowing down and neglecting it. Odd finding such a small block feeling so large when I have carved 20"x30" many times in the past. So I pulled out one of my many 6" square blocks and pasted two images onto them. They are a mixture of images I found in the dictionary combined with drawn embellishments. I attached the paper Tuesday night and then let it dry to the block overnight before carving. Dragonfly on one side, butterfly on the other. Then I carved them both in a day before washing off the paper guide. The process can be seen documented here in this set. I am really liking the paper transfer except for the part where I get the block wet. I wanted to go back into the butterfly after I removed the image but I felt that carving it wet would not be wise. It was the detail in the butterfly that really killed me and gave me some serious shoulder pain. I needed to use my magnifying goggles to carve those little dots and they still need to have the edges cleaned up before I can print.
In the end I am proud of myself for pushing myself to get this done. I am planning on printing the two separate and together seeing how the forms overlap. Depending on if I am able to complete the pine cone block or not these may be the last blocks I finish for awhile. And possibly my last big printing session until after we have adjusted to the baby.
Last night I was feeling good, really good, and I made the mistake of telling somebody that both my swollen ankles and my acid seem to be under control. Well around 3am I was puking up acid and today I will probably end up with swollen ankles even if I never get out of bed! What does a girl have to do?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
My final block?
Along with hopefully the other side. And maybe a few small art card and 4"x4" pieces. But carving this piece I realize that there is a good chance that it may be the last block that I carve in awhile. I just can't see myself actually finishing anything of size after this and hopefully the other side. This is an exciting piece for me because I have plans to play around with moku hanga finally! And while some people have told me my old blocks that have been used with oil based inks may work, I think it would be best to have something fresh to try. I finally bit the bullet and did it while ordering a presentation case for my smaller work on the Dick Blick website. I've heard that using Methyl Cellulose in hanga instead of rice paste may not be traditional, but it works well and is a lot easier to deal with since it isn't perishable. They had some and I got it. I also got some hanga appropriate papers that didn't break the bank. I won't start with the $20 a sheet hanga papers! Messing those up would hurt!
Of all the wonderful hanga artists I have come into contact with online through blogs and the Baren forum, Annie Bisset has inspired me to try it more than anybody else. I've really watched he grow with the process. Go from making very attractive work to amazing pieces in such a short time. There are others but she was the first hanga artist I discovered. What is it about me and Annies?
Yesterday was a great day for purging. My husband found a great home for the drafting table and chair that I wanted to get rid of. A guy he knows with three boys that all like to draw took it off our hands last night. Now I have a studio that feels so roomy, but like little relaxing by the window corner won't be mine for long once the Pack n Play comes. Baby goes there! But still, the Pack n Play is about half the size as the desk and hopefully it won't end up covered with clutter like the desk was most days! The shelves can stay but they are a bit of a mess and I need to go through them and clean them up, tossing stuff when necessary.
I'm really feeling lucky and happy to have this space right now. And to be able to have room to share it with the baby soon is very exciting. I give up that corner for her quite willingly.
Another purge was finding a new home for my old digital camera. It is kinda buggy that is why I replaced it, but it works plus this person's boyfriend may be able to work out its bugs. So it is on its way to NYC right now. I am all about getting rid of things! And I am typically such a pack rat!
Happy Wednesday to all! Hope you enjoy it. The weekend will be here before you know it. We have an all day class on the "childbirth experience" on Saturday so that should be interesting!
Of all the wonderful hanga artists I have come into contact with online through blogs and the Baren forum, Annie Bisset has inspired me to try it more than anybody else. I've really watched he grow with the process. Go from making very attractive work to amazing pieces in such a short time. There are others but she was the first hanga artist I discovered. What is it about me and Annies?
Yesterday was a great day for purging. My husband found a great home for the drafting table and chair that I wanted to get rid of. A guy he knows with three boys that all like to draw took it off our hands last night. Now I have a studio that feels so roomy, but like little relaxing by the window corner won't be mine for long once the Pack n Play comes. Baby goes there! But still, the Pack n Play is about half the size as the desk and hopefully it won't end up covered with clutter like the desk was most days! The shelves can stay but they are a bit of a mess and I need to go through them and clean them up, tossing stuff when necessary.
I'm really feeling lucky and happy to have this space right now. And to be able to have room to share it with the baby soon is very exciting. I give up that corner for her quite willingly.
Another purge was finding a new home for my old digital camera. It is kinda buggy that is why I replaced it, but it works plus this person's boyfriend may be able to work out its bugs. So it is on its way to NYC right now. I am all about getting rid of things! And I am typically such a pack rat!
Happy Wednesday to all! Hope you enjoy it. The weekend will be here before you know it. We have an all day class on the "childbirth experience" on Saturday so that should be interesting!
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