Heart Shaped Box as of October 13 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
I got up early today so I would have time to go to the studio to work on this collage and decoupage project. I am covering this heart-shaped box with tiny pieces of printed metallic ribbon. Progress is slow, but like so many other things in life (learning to dance, getting in shape, building a relationship, changing the world), the only way to create the result you want is one little piece at a time.
Autumn Leaves (Digital Woodcut) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is the third and last of three images of autumn leaves, all created from the same photograph, posted here several days ago. For this image, I used Painter IX to create a digital woodcut from the posterized photo. The posterized image emphasizes the fantastic colors, but I thought a woodcut would emphasize the textures and the patterns of the leaves. I heightened the saturation a bit to compensate for the effect of the black lines of the woodcut. So this is the last look at this little parking lot tree, but I guess I have gotten a lot of mileage from my little excursion around the block to see the fall colors! (And it didn't cost me a nickel in gas money!)
Heart Shaped Box as of October 10
Yesterday I went up to the studio in the morning to work on this project for a while. I am using collage and decoupage to cover this heart-shaped box with designs cut from printed metallic ribbons. I am still working on both the outside (in gold) and the inside (red area). I have decided that I am going to need to mix in some patterns into the red because I am not going to have enough plain red ribbon. I started using some red with a little gold, especially around the inside edge. Progress is certainly slow, but every now an then a fellow artist stops by the studio, and reactions to this project are very encouraging! To be continued. . .
Autumn Leaves (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is a posterized version of a photo that I posted two days ago. I took the photo during a little walk around the block to see the fall colors. Some of the most beautiful trees were on the edge of a parking lot! It's wonderful to go to Aspen or Vermont to see the autumn leaves, but beauty is all around.
Many Apples in Many Bowls (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Last week for Rosh Hoshana, I posted a photo of apples in a glass bowl. (Apples in honey symbolize hopes for a sweet year.) Yesterday I used that photo to create a pattern in Painter. Today was Yom Kippur, and the end of the ten days of reflection that begin the Jewish New Year, and one more chance to wish everyone a Happy New Year. So here are many apples in many bowls, lots of wishes going out to everyone for a good year ahead.
Autumn Leaves (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is a photo from last week's little excursion around the block to see the fall colors. This is the tree that caught my attention and got me headed out the back door with my digital camera. The autumn leaves are bright, beautiful, and temporary, so it is a good idea to look at them while you can! This is the photo as it came out of the camera. But tonight I adjusted the contrast and brightness slightly, because I wanted to see how the photo would look posterized and as a digital woodcut. I will post those versions here soon. To be continued. . .
Heart Shaped Box Closeup as of October 4 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Yesterday I posted a photo of my collage and decoupage project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with pieces of printed metallic ribbon. This is a closeup view of the outside of the box, which I am covering with pieces of gold ribbon cut from a variety of printed patterns. As I combine the pieces, I am thinking about color and pattern, just as I would in a larger collage. What makes this project particularly challenging is that I am trying to fit the pieces together with very little overlap, so the top of the box will fit smoothly. So if you look closely, you might see some tiny gaps, which I plan to fill in later with a little gold acrylic paint.
Heart Shaped Box as of October 4 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Yesterday I went back to the studio to work on this project again, trying to make up for lost time. This heart-shaped box, which once held a gift from my daughter, is going to be a container for keepsakes, and I am covering it with patterns cut from printed metallic ribbons. Yesterday I continued working on the sides (in gold) and the inside (in red). Progress is slow (like watching paint dry I guess), but I am filling in small areas around the side of the box and laying down the basic color for the inside. As I make the miniature collages on the box, I am trying to fit pieces together with little or no overlap, because too much overlap would keep the lid of the box from fitting well. This makes for slow going, and sometimes it is a lot like solving a jigsaw puzzle. While I was working, I looked at the ribbon patterns that are left, and thought about what colors and designs to use for the remaining areas.
Phillips Library Peabody Essex Museum in Salem (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Earlier in the week, I decided to go for a morning walk in Salem, Massachusetts. (I had some errands to run, and it would be on the way.) Salem is just over the bridge from Beverly, normally a ten-minute drive, but during October, it might as well be on the moon! Salem has tourists year-round, but the Halloween activities and grid-lock traffic begin in October, and peak on the 31st. But it was still very early in the month, and very early in the day, so I decided to go for it. I was glad I did, because I had a great walk, and Salem is beautiful in October. As I was walking near the Peabody Essex Museum, I saw this building. (I believe this is the Phillips Library, but in any case, it is part of the Museum.) I really liked the first view I had of the building as I walked along, so I took a picture from the same vantage point, behind the wrought iron fence post. Later, back home at the computer, I cropped the photo, and adjusted the contrast. Then I opened the image in Painter IX, where I used some digital pastel to eliminate a distracting sign, and then posterized it. I think this photo captures what appeals to me about Salem. People flock to Salem for Halloween fun, and witches, of course. But I like the narrow streets and old buildings. That is magic too, just a different kind, a sense of history so strong that you can almost believe in time travel.
Bright Vines on Tree Trunk (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Earlier this week, during a late afternoon walk at the Cummings Center pond, I was admiring the bright leaves of vines on a tree, so I took some pictures. Tonight I cropped the photo to get this composition, which concentrates on three patterns, the leaves, the tree bark, and the ripples on the pond in the background. I also adjusted the contrast and brightness to make sure all three patterns would show up. (If you see vines like this, stop and look! Take pictures if you like! But don't touch, because this looks like poison ivy!)
Heart Shaped Box as of October 2 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This morning I went to the studio to work on this project. The heart-shaped box originally held a gift from my daughter, and now I am covering it with pieces of printed metallic ribbons. I am working on the outside of the bottom of the box, which is going to be gold, and today I began to outline the upper rim, and filled in more of the lower part. I am also working on the bottom of interior, which is going to be predominantly red. I am already worrying about running out of solid red ribbon, and may need to mix in some red pattern as well. I have no preconceived design. I am making this up as I go along, and still haven't decided what colors and patterns to use on the remaining areas, such as the inside of the box top. While I am working on this collage project, I am completely focussed on what I am doing. I usually have only an hour or so to spare, but even if I have more time, I have learned to stop when I feel like I am getting tired (or rushed or impatient). One way I can tell it is time to stop is that I realize that I am no longer making good decisions.
Red and Gold Leaves (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is another of the photos that I took the other day during my little excursion around the block to see the fall colors. This is a little tree on the edge of a parking lot. I cropped the original photo to get this image, but not by much, and I adjusted the contrast a bit, but otherwise this is the image as it came out of my little digital camera. Some people travel quite a distance to see fall colors, but I think beauty can be found everywhere, if we remember to notice.
Apples in Glass Bowl (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday I bought apples and honey for the Jewish New Year. I put some of the apples in a glass bowl, and was admiring them, so I took some photos. I cropped one of the photos to get this composition, and then used Painter IX to posterize it. Just apples in a glass bowl on a vinyl tablecloth, but I think it works. In art as in life, sometimes the simplest things are the best.
Apple Tree in Sunlight and Shadow (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began with a photograph that I took a few weeks ago during a walk at Long Hill Gardens here in Beverly. The main road is lined with fruit trees, mainly apple and crabapple. I saw the bright red apples on this tree, and started taking pictures. I remember thinking at the time that the photos might work for Rosh Hoshana (Jewish New Year), when we dip apples in honey to reaffirm that life is sweet. The composition of this shot captures the sense of being right up under the tree, which I was. I posterized the image in Painter IX to emphasize the play of the dappled light. Getting a good image is complicated by the fact that some of the apples are in full sun and some are in deep shadow. On the other hand, I like the metaphoric possibilities: apples, and the sweetness of life, sunlight and shadows.
Bright Leaves in Late September (Digitally Edited) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Today I realized that I have been periodically staring out the back door at a tree that has gone bright orange, less than a block away. Then I also realized that somehow it has gotten to be fall without my noticing! Maybe it was the events of last week, or too much time spent working, or perhaps the rain we have had for days and days. But in any case, I believe that we are supposed to notice the beauty in this world! So I put on my raincoat, put my digital camera in my pocket, and set out for a short walk around the block. It was still drizzling, but not raining hard. I took pictures of two trees, both on the margins of a parking lot. But never mind, they are beautiful trees, the colors are amazing, and if you look closely, you can see raindrops on the leaves. After my little one block expedition, I went inside, transferred the photos to my computer, and started editing. I cropped this image from one of the best photos. I noticed a few distracting holes or marks on a leaf or two, so I opened the image in Painter IX and did just a tiny bit of repair work with digital pastel.
Heart Shaped Box as of September 26 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Yesterday I finally got back to the studio and had a chance to work on this project for a while. The heart-shaped box once contained a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. Now I am covering it with collage and decoupage patterns cut from printed metallic ribbons. Yesterday, I kept going on the gold areas on the outside of the box, as well as the red patterns on the inside. It felt good to be working on this. About ten days ago, I used the top of this heart shaped box (photo posted here June 4th) as the image for a very early e-mail Valentine to a favorite aunt. Well, mid-September is very early to send a Valentine, but actually I sent it just in time. (She passed away a few days later.) So I'm glad I sent it when I did, and I say, it's always the right time to send a Valentine.
Morning Light in New Hampshire (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Two weeks ago, I tagged along to a weekend conference in Lake Placid, New York. The first stop on this little road trip was the University of New Hampshire in Durham. I had an hour to kill before we got back on the road, so I took a little walk on campus. The university is in a beautiful woodland setting. (When I took this photo, I was standing on a path less than five minutes walk from a classroom building. But it was easy to forget that, looking up at the trees!) The morning light was beautiful so I took some photographs. In this one, I tilted the camera upward a little to try to capture the height of the trees, and got some interesting refracted light as a result. What I was after was the sense of peace that I had when I looked at the morning sun on the trees.
Little Waves in the Cove (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I used my Painter IX program to posterize the photo that I posted here yesterday. I took the original photo last week, during a walk at Lynch Park, here in Beverly, Massachusetts. Lynch Park is our city park, just like any other, except it has ocean on three sides! This is a view of the small cove, off to one side, where the waves are very gentle.
Little Waves in the Cove (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
One of the pleasure of September is walking on the beach, especially for dog lovers. (Here in Beverly, MA, dogs aren't allowed on the beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day.) I took this photo during a recent walk at Lynch Park, a little city park that is surrounded by ocean on three sides! This photo was taken at a small cove in the park where the waves are very gentle. It is great to get close enough to really see the water and watch it move. I cropped this image out of the original photo to focus on the patterns created by the light and the water.
Evening Scene at Woodman's (Essex, MA) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I took this photo last week during an early evening trip to Woodman's. During the summer, long lines of tourists surround the place, lining up for New England seafood. After labor day, Woodman's is easier. It's a great place to go with a dog because there are picnic tables out back, and the view is wonderful. I enjoyed eating the hot corn on the cob in the evening air. The evening light looked beautiful on the salt marsh, so I took a few pictures. Here is one of the photos, cropped just a bit to improve the composition.
Heart Shaped Box as of September 16 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Yesterday I had a chance to work on this project for a little while, up at the studio. The heart-shaped box once held a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. Now I am using printed metallic ribbons to create decoupage and collage patterns on every surface. I am working on two areas at once: the outside of the box (lower part), which I am covering with predominantly gold patterns, and the bottom of the interior of the box, which is going to be predominantly red patterns. I decided to work on both areas at once because I am using some ribbon that has lots of gold and bright red in it.
Trees at Dane Street Beach (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I used Painter IX software to posterized the image that I published here yesterday: a photograph of a line of trees at Dane Street Beach. I took the photo a few weeks ago, in Beverly, Massachusetts. The posterizing has the effect of heightening subtle differences in color and value, and in this case, emphasizes the dappled light under the trees.
Trees at Dane Street Beach (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is a view of the trees in the park at Dane Street Beach here in Beverly, Massachusetts. I took this photograph during an afternoon walk with the dog several weeks ago. It was close to Labor Day (August 25th to be exact), but there were still a few days to go, so we stayed on the sidewalk. (In Beverly, dogs aren't allowed on the beaches between Memorial Day and Labor Day.) It was the row of trees leading toward the water that made me want to take the picture. Tonight I cropped the photo to emphasize the diagonals of the trees, the shadows, and the lines of the shore. I also created a posterized version, to be posted tomorrow.
Girl in a Chair (Watercolor) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I did this watercolor back in 1965, when I was still in high school. (It is signed with my maiden name, Randi Zagon.) I painted my cousin while she was studying. This painting has been hanging on my aunt's wall for years, and I see it whenever I visit Colorado. On my most recent trip to Denver, which was in August, I had my digital camera with me, so I decided to photograph this little watercolor so I would have an image of it.
Pink Rose of Sharon (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Here is a photo that I took several weeks ago (August 21) during a summer walk here in Beverly, Massachusetts. (This is the photo just as it came out of the camera, apart from some gentle cropping.) There were pink rose of Sharon shrubs growing in my yard back in Lawrence, Kansas, and they always brings back happy memories for me. The rose of Sharon is an optimistic flower, blooming just when you think it is too dry, too hot, or too late in the summer for anything to blossom.
Heart Shaped Box as of September 12 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This morning I went to the studio to work on this project. A few years ago, my daughter gave me a present for Mother's Day, and it came in a heart-shaped box. I kept the box, and now I am covering it with decoupage and collage patterns cut from printed metallic ribbons. I have been concentrating on the gold area around the outside of the box, but today I decided to start working on the inside of the box at the same time. I am going to make the bottom of the box (the inside, that is) predominantly red, the most saturated colors that I can find in these ribbons. The ribbon patterns with intense red colors also have a lot of gold in them, so it makes sense to work on both gold and red areas at the same time as I cut into those bright ribbons. Besides, it will be more fun to do it this way, and having fun is important, because this work is time-consuming.
View of Mountains from Lake Placid 2 (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I guess there is still time for one last look at Lake Placid. I used Painter IX software to posterize the image that I posted here yesterday; I also cropped it just a little bit more. I should probably apologize for the repetition. After all, this is the fourth version of this photo! Still I am glad I kept going, because I like this version the best. Well, Gertrude Stein always said that there is no such thing as repetition, only insistence. So I am posting this for anyone who needs a little bit more peace, a little more beauty, a little more joy to get through the day (today or any other day).
View of Mountains from Lake Placid 2 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is a closer crop of the image I posted two days ago, a view of the Adirondack Mountains seen from a hotel terrace in Lake Placid. When photographing a scenic view, my impulse is often to photograph the widest possible view. But I have learned that it is usually more effective to crop out a small part of the scene. The tighter the crop, the better the result, and the paradox is that somehow the cropped version often conveys a better sense of the scene. I am in no hurry to leave the peace of Lake Placid. So in the face of the turbulence of the current election, and the memories of September 11, 2001, tomorrow I will post just one more peaceful view of Lake Placid, the posterized version of this image. Then it will be time to move on.
View of Mountains from Lake Placid (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I used Painter IX to posterize the photo that I published here yesterday, a view of the Adirondack Mountains from the terrace of the hotel in Lake Placid. In addition to posterizing the image, I also adjusted the contrast and brightness. I like this version, but after I thought I was finished working with it, I decided that cropping the image even more might yield a better result. So I tried it. To be continued. . .
View of Mountains from Lake Placid (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
I spent last weekend in Lake Placid, New York. One of the advantages that I had in tagging along to a conference (as opposed to attending it) was time to make art. I did a little painting, I made some jewelry in the local bead shop, but most of all, I took lots of photographs. Tonight I transferred them all into my computer. I haven't edited them yet, but I quickly looked for the the view that inspired the watercolor postcards posted here September 5, 6, and 7. So tonight I am posting an image that I cropped from one of those photos, a view of the Adirondack Mountains seen from the hotel terrace.
Lake Placid 3 (Watercolor Postcard) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is the third of three little watercolors that I did this weekend in Lake Placid, New York. All three are views from the hotel, the Adirondack Mountains and Mirror Lake. I painted at a table on the hotel patio, using my portable watercolor kit and watercolor postcard paper.
Lake Placid 2 (Watercolor Postcard) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is the second of three watercolor paintings that I did this weekend while I was in Lake Placid, New York. The view from the hotel was amazing, and you could watch the light play on the mountains above Mirror Lake. I sat on the hotel terrace to paint, using my tiny travel watercolor kit on watercolor postcard paper. I gave this painting a pink cast because I was remembering the way the mountains had looked that morning.
Lake Placid 1 (Watercolor Postcard) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I spent the weekend in Lake Placid, New York. (I tagged along to a conference, lured by the prospect of a beautiful fall drive on the way and plenty of mountain scenery.) The hotel was up on a hill with a beautiful view of Mirror Lake. I sat on the patio of the hotel and painting three small watercolors. I had packed my travel watercolor set, but the only paper I had left was watercolor postcard paper, hence the title. This is the first of the three paintings.
Evening on Newbury Street (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is a posterized version of the photo I posted here yesterday: a view of the buildings on Newbury Street in Boston. I took the photograph from a French restaurant while sitting at one of the outdoor tables. I liked the way the buildings looked, and the way the windows reflected the evening sky. Last night I used Painter IX softwear to posterize the image. Sometimes, as in this image, posterizing a photograph can bring out textures and patterns that might otherwise be overlooked.
Evening on Newbury Street (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Last week's run into Boston included dinner on Newbury Street, at a little French restaurant with sidewalk seating. For me, it is always a treat to be on Newbury Street, with its beautiful buildings, interesting shops, and lively crowds, strolling along to see and be seen. So this was a "dinner with show". The weather was perfect and the evening light was fantastic, so I took a few quick photos, without even getting up from the table. This image is from one of the best of them, cropped to focus on the shapes and textures of the tree and the building behind it. I also tried posterizing this photo, and I will post the result tomorrow.
Heart Shaped Box as of September 2 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This morning I went to the studio for a bit and worked on this decoupage and collage project. The heart shaped box originally held a Mother's Day gift from my daughter. I saved the box and now I am covering it with patterns cut from printed metallic ribbons. I am currently working on the outside of the box, which I am covering with predominantly gold tones. Finding enough gold pattern is a bit of a challenge, but I think I will get there. This is slow going, but I don't mind. Working on this is almost like a meditation, reminding me that problems can be solved with small steps. Even when the end result is uncertain, what matters is to take the steps you can.
View of Charles River from a Boston Hotel (Posterized) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Yesterday I posted a photo of the Charles River that I took during a trip into Boston last Thursday. (A friend who was visiting Boston had a hotel room with a spectacular view from the thirty-fifth floor.) The post for today is the same photograph, but this time posterized using Painter IX. This photo is proof that is a good thing to have friends in high places.
View of Charles River from a Boston Hotel (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This is from a trip into Boston on Thursday evening. A friend was in town to attend a conference, and had a hotel room on the thirty-fifth floor with a magnificent view, so of course I wanted to check it out. The view was amazing, so I took some pictures with my digital camera. This image is from one of the photos I took. The original photograph actually included much more, but I cropped the image to create a closer view and a more cohesive composition. But I managed to keep the things I liked best. There's the Charles, of course, complete with sailboat. You can see the Salt and Pepper Bridge, and if you look closely, you can even see the T (train on the Red Line) as it crosses the bridge. On the near side are the rooftops of the Back Bay, and across the river, you can see Cambridge. I thought this view of Boston might be a nice one to posterize, so I tried it. I will post the result tomorrow.
Heart Shaped Box as of August 27 (Detail) Originally uploaded by randubnick
On August 27, I posted a photo showing my progress on this project, a heart-shaped box that I am covering with decoupage and collage. Here is a close-up view taken that same day. I am using wide metallic ribbon, printed in several patterns. I cut out the pieces I need, based on color and shape. I am trying to fit the pieces together with minimal overlap, to get as smooth a result as possible.
Riding the Toy Train (Painting) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This is a painting that I did for my cousin some years ago. It is now hanging in her house in Denver, and when I was there recently, I photographed it with my digital camera. (The light was a bit too dim, and there is a little bit of reflection in the image, but basically this photo shows what the painting looks like.) I painted this in the 1990's, not too long after my dad died. It is an interpretation of the black and white photograph posted yesterday, taken by my uncle Ike, and I consider this a collaborative piece. He was a terrific photographer! The painting is done on paper with acrylics used as water media paint. (I did a series of such paintings based on 1940's and 1950's family photos.) I wasn't going for photo-realism here, but wanted to capture the feeling of the image, the happiness of the memory. The colors are evented and I didn't go with realistic colors; I chose the sweet, bright, candy-colors of nostalgia.
Riding the Toy Train (Restored Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
My father was born on August 28, 1918, and would have been 90 today! This is one of my favorite photos of him, taking my cousin and me for a ride on the toy train. (My cousin is the little girl sitting on his lap.) This photo was taken in Pueblo, Colorado, but I am not sure whether this was at City Park or at the State Fair. The picture was probably taken by my uncle Ike, professional photographer and family historian. After my dad died, I did a painting based on this photo, and gave it to my cousin. On my trip to Colorado earlier this month, I took a digital photo of the painting (which is hanging in her house) and plan to post it tomorrow. I had planned to post this photo first, but it needed to be rescued. There were a few marks and small scratches on it, exactly in the wrong place, one on my father's face, and another on the hair. So I opened the image in Painter IX and used digital pastel to restore the photo. It was like doing a bit of portraiture because I had to draw in the parts of the features covered up by the scratch. Anyway, here is the rescued photograph. Tomorrow I will post the painting.
Heart Shaped Box as of August 27 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This morning I finally had a chance to work on this project again. This is a heart-shaped box that once held a Mother's Day present from my daughter. Now I am covering it with decoupage and collage made from printed metallic ribbons. I have been working on the outside of the box, which is going to be predominantly gold. The process resembles doing jigsaw a puzzle, but in this case, I am making the puzzle and solving it simultaneously, so there is no image on the top of the puzzle box to provide clues. I usually work for about an hour, and can go a little longer when I have time. I am making decisions about where to put each little piece, and I want to make good decisions. (In art as in life, small decisions make a big difference when you look at the overall result.) So I try to quit before I get tired, rushed, or frustrated, because that is when I make mistakes. This is how the box looked when I was finished working on it today.
White Hibiscus in Beverly (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
This image began as a photo that I took last night with my digital camera, during an evening walk here in Beverly. Tonight I cropped the image and posterized it using PainterIX. This is another of the many hardy hibiscus plants flowering all over town. (I always thought of hibiscus as tropical, which Massachusetts is definitely not!) I remember having seen a few of these around town in the past, but never in such numbers, and never such big blossoms, so big that you think you are dreaming. Is this because Massachusetts has rarely seen such a rainy summer? I don't know, but these magical flowers seem just right for a season of such big dreams.
Massachusetts Hibiscus (Posterized Photo) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Just a few days away from September, and huge bright flowers are blooming all over the place here north of Boston, as if to compensate for the short growing season and long winters. The blossoms are about six inches across and look like hibiscus plants, which I have always thought of as tropical. But I discovered that these are called hardy hibiscus (also called rose mallow). They are just amazing and look like flowers out of a dream. On a very recent walk, I saw some red hardy hibiscus growing above a stone wall on a hill, putting the blossoms at eye level. I took some pictures with my phonecam. Tonight I cropped this image out of one of the photos, and posterized it using PainterIX.
After School (Brayer Print) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Last week, I taught a printmaking class to teens at Red Brick Studios. The cleanup after using the printing press is pretty intense, so to make it more interesting, I suggested we clean the brayers by rolling them over white paper. The marks left by the brayer create an abstract image. I did a demo for the students which I posted here yesterday. I think the students enjoyed this way of cleaning up. After the class was over and the students were gone, I still had some brayers that weren't quite clean enough, so I decided to use all the brayers to make another print. I call this "After School" because of the primary colors, and because I was having so much fun, staying after class to make this image.
Rosy Red Ink (Brayer Print)
Here is another image that I made this week while teaching printmaking to teens at Red Brick. On Wednesday, we used the printing press, and cleaning up afterward is not easy! The plates are hard to clean, and the brayers are even worse, but printmakers need to learn how to do this, not just to be "good citizens", but because plates and brayers have to be cleaned off when you change colors while printing. To make cleaning up more fun for the students (and for myself), I suggested we make prints (or are they paintings?) by rolling the brayers over pieces of printing paper, using up leftover ink and cleaning off the rollers at the same time. (We used oil paint as ink.) This was my demonstration. This image is very abstract, but I was showing how to suggest a shape by the movements of the brayer. In this case, I was trying to suggest floral shapes, maybe roses. Well, I liked the result more than I expected to, so here it is.
Leaf Print 2 (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
This week I taught a couple of sessions of printmaking for teens at Red Brick. First, we worked on ways to print without a press. Yesterday's image was my demo of how to make a print with a leaf, paper, ink, and a brayer. Today I am posting the little "bonus" print made in the process, a second imprint of the leaf that remains on the piece of paper that holds the leaf while it is being inked with a brayer.
Leaf Print (Originally uploaded by randubnick)
Here is another quick demo that I did while teaching printmaking to teens this week at Red Brick. I did this little print on Tuesday, while showing the students ways to print "by hand". (On Wednesday, we used the printing press.) I brought along some leaves for this project. I put a leaf down on white paper, and applied red ink to it with a small brayer. Then I folded a big piece of yellow paper in half, put the inked leaf inside, and rolled a clean brayer over the outside of the folded paper, applying pressure to get a print. This is the result, photographed and cropped to get a good composition. Sometimes during this process, you can get a second print, created on the paper used as backing for inking the leaf. I did get a second print, and I will post that tomorrow. . . .
Red Mountain, Red Sky (Monotype) Originally uploaded by randubnick
I have been teaching a printmaking class for teenagers at Red Brick Studios. This is part of a week-long art camp, and today was the second of two sessions. Yesterday we worked on printing without a press, using cardboard plates. Today we made simple monotypes on the printing press. Here is the quick little demo I did to show the students, using simple colors and shapes. As you can see, my subject matter was mountains, no doubt because of my recent trip to Colorado.
Red, White, and Blue Mountains (Hand-Printed Monotype) Originally uploaded by randubnick
Today I taught the first of two sessions of a print-making class for teens at Red Brick. This is the print I made to demonstrate the assignment, which was to make a plate out of cardboard, adding materials to create shapes and texture. I used corrogated cardboard for the mountains. We inked the plates, and transferred the images to the paper by hand (instead of with a printing press) by applying pressure with a clean brayer. I often use the mountains for imagery because I grew up in Colorado. Today, the Rocky Mountains were very much on my mind because I just left Denver to return to Massachusetts yesterday. For this image, I used a red, white, and blue color scheme because Denver is getting ready to host the Democratic National Convention next week.
