Groundhog Day 2026

 

For this year's card, given all the immigrants in my country being rounded up, separated from families, caged, abused and tortured, and even killed before often being deported to places where they aren't safe, I felt inspired by a song by Gogol Bordello - a band made up of immigrants who write and perform many songs about immigrants. 

When there's a trap set up for you
In every corner of this town 
And so you learn the only way to go is
Underground 

When there's a trap set up for you
In every corner of your room 
And so you learn the only way to go is
Through the roof 

Full lyrics found HERE

Hear the song HERE 

This is my 12th annual Groundhog Day card. Here are links to all the previous cards: 

Groundhog Day 2014 
Groundhog Day 2015 (I skipped 2016)
Groundhog Day 2017
Groundhog Day 2018 
Groundhog Day 2019
Groundhog Day 2020 
Groundhog Day 2021
Groundhog Day 2022 
Groundhog Day 2023 
Groundhog Day 2024 
Groundhog Day 2025

"Fox and Mouse" (There But For the Grace of God)

 

Fox and Mouse (There But For the Grace of God) 
Watercolors and water-based ink on snow white Canford paper 
Hashira-e (28 x 4.5 inches) 
Edition of 34 

This is my print for the 100th Exchange for the Baren Forum for Woodblock printmaking. It was supposed to be a Mokuhanga print. This is a traditional Japanese technique for woodblock printmaking which involves water-based pigments which are brushed on, printing with a traditional baren, multiple colors with careful registration, and using Washi paper. This print is more inspired by traditional Japanese printmaking as I do not have any formal training in Mokuhanga and don't have all the traditional tools and supplies. That said, I'm very happy with these results!

The background colors for this print are the most in line with Mokuhanga - they were brushed on watercolors, hand printed with my trusty wooden spoon. I tried a couple with my glass Iron Frog baren, but it didn't work as well as my spoon. The fox, mouse, and coneflowers were printed in 2 layers, both with water-based block printing ink which I did roll on with a brayer and then print with the spoon again. I thought about trying to do it all as brushed on watercolors, but that wasn't going to work out as well with the drawing I have come up with, so I went with the method that I thought would serve the image better. 

Sadly, the only reason the paper is Canford and not a type of Washi is because I'm broke. I'm a teacher who gets paid much less for 2 months in the summer and I got 2 teens who eat like adults. I had this lovely Canford paper in my studio and it is soft yet strong and didn't distort after being wetted, so it seemed a suitable alternative. 

Regarding the paper dimensions and imagery, what I enjoyed the most about this exchange was the challenge of coming up with a drawing that would fit into the tall, skinny rectangle. Even though I live in the city, we have a lot of foxes that I've seen stalking around at night on occasion. And of course mice are always a problem in big cities. I deliberately drew the pouncing fox smaller so it would seem that he is farther away and thus focused on some other prey outside of our view. The subtitle refers to the little mouse hiding behind the flower - she is safe at least for the moment. 

"Pigling Bland and Pig-Wig"

 

"Pigling Bland and Pig-Wig" 
12" x 12" 
4 color reduction woodcut 

This was going to be the first woodcut for my "Some Pigs" project, an AiRM - a project that will culminate in a solo exhibition at 1040 Creative in November of this year. 

However, while I like this print, I decided to go in another direction for the series of 12 pig prints for the project and calendar, and this is thus a one-off. 

This print illustrates the final scene in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Pigling Bland, where the title character and his soulmate Pig-Wig manage to escape from their wretched circumstances into freedom in the wilderness, where Pigling has plans to settle down and become a potato farmer. The text in the print is from a traditional British song, excerpts of which are included in Potter's story.  

Groundhog Day 2022

 

woodcut printed in oil-based ink on Kraft cardstock

This year the good ol' groundhog can't even be bothered to come out. Shadow or not, he's staying in his hole. 

While hopefully viewers find some humor here, it is a dark humor. I wish this year's Groundhog Day card design could have been more positive. We're now into the third year of a global pandemic that is gradually shifting to endemic. Still scary, but we're also all just so damned fatigued. It's hard to get excited about anything anymore because so many plans have been cancelled. Most of us who have survived this thing are now a couple years older, poorer, and more melancholy than we were before it began. Work is far more constant than joy.

Who could blame the fuzzy little guy for his reluctance to emerge? 

This is my 8th annual Groundhog Day card. If you'd like to see the previous years' designs, here are the links.

Groundhog Day 2014 
Groundhog Day 2015 (I skipped 2016)
Groundhog Day 2017
Groundhog Day 2018 
Groundhog Day 2019
Groundhog Day 2020 
Groundhog Day 2021 

"Colette"

 

"Colette" Woodcut Gamblin ink on white Stonehenge 8" x 12" (block), 10" x 15" (paper) This is yet another print of a friend's dog. In this case a miniature poodle. I got a little obsessed with competing patterns in this one. The metal dog sculpture in the foreground is easier to see and has more personality than the living dog sitting on the chair. Even though I made this for a friend, I think how I feel about life right now seeped into how I put this image together. Chaos and competing interests reign supreme.

101 Artists Video Contribution

 I have a woodcut in the exhibition 101 Artists, selections from the Fred Danziger Collection. This was recently exhibited at Gallery222 in Malvern and now from July 9-October 9 it will also be shown at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Altoona, PA. Incidentally, Fred Danziger's work can be seen on his website.

Participating artists were invited to make short video contributions about our work for the show, and this is mine: 

"Musk Ox" (2021 Year of the Ox)

 

My Year of the Ox print for a card exchange with Baren Forum. This is a 2 layer reduction on Kraft card stock. It depicts an arctic musk ox.

Given that these are hard times (pandemic, global warming, worsening economic and other disparities) the musk ox seemed a good species to celebrate 2021. They are wild animals that live in the harshest conditions. They live in herds and the strongest among them protect the weakest. We could take some inspiration from these noble beasts. 

This is my 4th year participating in  New Year's Exchanges with the Baren Forum for Woodblock Printmaking. Here are my prints from previous years' trades: 

Year of the Rat, 2020
Year of the Pig, 2019 
Year of the Dog. 2018 

"Faolan"

 

"Faolan" 
8" x 10" 
Woodcut with chine-collé
Unique print 

This a commemorative wood block print of a friend's dog that passed away within the last year. I only met this sweet dog once, but really enjoyed his company. He lived with Lucy, who also passed away a few months ago. I managed to snap a good photo of Faolan and used it as a reference for this print. I decided on chine-collé to capture the mottled colors in his fur. 

all his sweet and shaggy life,
always near me, never troubling me,
and asking nothing.

-Pablo Neruda 

Groundhog Day 2021

It's Groundhog Day, and that means my annual Groundhog Day card. This one is a woodcut pop-up card, the background printed on kraft brown cardstock and the groundhog printed on cream colored Stonehenge paper. 

This year's protagonist stands in an open field on a cloudy day, looking off into the distance. Rather than making a clear decision in this moment, they ponder the unknown. Indeed at this start of 2021, it feels very much as if the world is in a transitional phase, and it is less clear than usual what comes next. 

This is my 7th annual Groundhog Day card. If you'd like to see the previous years' designs, here are the links.

Groundhog Day 2014 
Groundhog Day 2015 (I skipped 2016)
Groundhog Day 2017
Groundhog Day 2018 
Groundhog Day 2019
Groundhog Day 2020 

"Paco"

 

"Paco" 
8" x 8"
2 layer reduction woodcut with hand coloring 
Unique print 

This a commemorative wood block print of my parents dog Paco. As a puppy, Paco was dumped on a farm. He had Parvovirus and would have died had it not been for the kindness of the couple at Artcroft Creative Center who found him. They gave him to me to give to my parents. Paco passed away last month after a long happy life with doting humans, many walks, runs, swims, road trips and cozy naps. He was sweet and stubborn and oh so shaggy. Paco will be missed by many who loved him.

Untitled (Created for the 2020 Emerald Print Exchange at Whiteaker Printmakers)

 

Untitled 
5" x 7" 
Woodcut 
Oil based ink on grey Stonehenge paper 
Open edition of 12 plus 6 artist proofs 

I created this print for this year's Emerald Print Exchange at Whiteaker Printmakers. All works from that exchange can be viewed online here. 

"The Wedding" Re-created

 

I re-created "The Wedding" print from my book "Owl and Cat In Love" recently. Click here to see the original. This new version is a 5 layer reduction and only an edition of 2. It was special made for a collector. It's also the mirror image of the original because I drew the image directly on the block.

It was definitely an interesting experience to re-create a print I first made 7 years ago. When I started, I really didn't want to do it. It felt like forcing myself to do something that I'd long moved on from. But about halfway through I kind of got into it. It felt a bit like visiting a place from my past that I don't go to anymore and that has changed, but of which I had very fond memories. 

Not that I want to do this again. It took a long time, and I am generally way more interested in finding time for my current projects, especially since my studio time is so limited. But yeah, glad I did this once just for the experience. 

"California's Convict Firefighters" (Wages U.S.A.)

 

California's Convict Firefighters 
Woodcut 
8" x 6" 
Artist Proof  

This is the start of a new book project: Wages U.S.A. It's partially inspired by Helen West Heller's Woodcuts U.S.A., which I wrote about 5 years ago on this blog. Mine is going to be a series of 36 prints depicting Americans engaged in various occupations.

The prints will be separated into 3 sections, 1. No Wage, 2. Low Wage, 3. Living Wage. This print would go in the second section as it illustrates prison inmates doing paid work, but they are paid considerably less than minimum wage for their labor. Convicts have worked as firefighters in California for decades, often part of emergency response teams. 

"Submission Fee No. 153"

"Submission Fee No. 153" 6.5" x 6.5" Woodcut on handmade paper Edition of 4 Pay what you want by August 12

This print is part of a time-based conceptual art project. Read more about it here.

INFO PARTICULAR FOR THIS PRINT: 

Institution:   Art League of Hilton Head

Venue Location: Hilton Head Island, SC

Opportunity:  CraftHiltonHead2020, 7th National Juried Fine Art Craft Guild Exhibition

Eligibility: Nationality 

Potential Benefits for Artists:
Notes:  
Fee:   $35

"Submission Fee No. 151"

"Submission Fee No. 151" 6" x 6" Woodcut Edition of 5 Pay what you want by August 8

This print is part of a time-based conceptual art project. Read more about it here.

INFO PARTICULAR FOR THIS PRINT: 

Institution:   Vancouver Art Space
Venue Location: Vancouver, Washington 

Opportunity:  “Things That Go Bump In The Night”

Eligibility: 11 x 14” or larger 

Potential Benefits for Artists:
Notes:  
Fee:   $30

"Submission Fee No. 116"

"Submission Fee No. 116" 3.5" x 5" Linocut Edition of 5 Pay what you want by May 10

This print is part of a time-based conceptual art project. Read more about it here.

INFO PARTICULAR FOR THIS PRINT: 

Institution:   Camelback Gallery
Venue Location: Online
Opportunity:   Black and White juried show 

Eligibility:    18 and up
Potential Benefits for Artists:  Unspecified cash awards based on number of entrants
Notes:  
Fee:  $18  

"Submission Fee No. 113"

"Submission Fee No. 113" 5" x 7" Woodcut Edition of 4 Pay what you want by May 5

This print is part of a time-based conceptual art project. Read more about it here.

INFO PARTICULAR FOR THIS PRINT: 

Institution:   Manifest Creative Research Gallery
Venue Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Opportunity:   Mini/Micro juried show 

Eligibility:    Anyone
Potential Benefits for Artists:  There’s a grand prize (cash) award at the end of year for one work chosen from many of these group shows
Notes:   Juried by committee
Fee:    $40 for up to 4 entries, $5 each additional entry

"Submission Fee No. 111"

"Submission Fee No. 111" 5.5" x 7.5" Woodcut Edition of 5 Pay what you want by May 3

This print is part of a time-based conceptual art project. Read more about it here.

INFO PARTICULAR FOR THIS PRINT: 

Institution:  Labyrinth Arts Collective Inc.
Venue Location:  Staten Island, New York, NY
Opportunity:   Gender X: Regional Juried Art Show 

Eligibility:   18 and up Artists from the Northeast (NY, NJ, PA, CT, MA, RI, ME, VT, NH, DE, and MD)
Potential Benefits for Artists:   $1000 in cash awards 
Notes:  Juror is Gena Mimoza
Fee:   $45 for up to 3 entries, $5 per additional entry

My puzzle piece for "100 Acts of Kindness" Monumental Collaborative Woodcut

I finished carving and proofing my piece of the puzzle in 100 Acts of Kindness, a monumental collaborative woodcut organized by Maria Arango-Diener. 

When I participated in Maria's last monumental collaboration the Peace Puzzle, I drew and carved a picture of a peaceful routine from my personal life - reading to my daughters. It was a personal little slice from my life. Click here to see that print. 

This time I went in a completely different direction. At first I contemplated make an image to represent some kindness I'd either shown others or that others have shown me, but nothing jumped out as particularly satisfying.

I've also been doing mostly text-based art for the SUBMIT project, and began to consider how I might do something text-based. This led me to considering the verbal exchange people engage in after an act of kindness has been committed. Typically the person on the receiving end says "Thank you." So that phrase was a possibility. By itself it seemed  too blasé. 

What is more interesting to me is how people respond to a "Thank you." This is often a point of mild contention. Sometimes people feel uncomfortable about being thanked, particularly if they feel it wasn't a big deal and they don't want the receiver of kindness to feel indebted to them. Other times people very much want to be recognized for their efforts with a thank you. There's also contention over the most common phrase in English offered in response to gratitude, which is "You're welcome." In Why Don't We Say 'Your Welcome' Anymore, Caroline Bologna says, "Over the years, American etiquette experts, baby boomers and writers have lamented the apparent decline in the use of the phrase “you’re welcome” in everyday conversation." This rang true to me since I've heard one of my friends who is a retired librarian in her 90's complain about how people now say "No problem" instead of "You're welcome." To my friend, the sentiment reduces the weight of the act of kindness, and therefore also negates the gratitude expressed by the recipient. But in her article, Bologna notes that for many younger people the phrase "You're welcome" has come to be associated with bragging or sarcasm, and that alternatives such as "No problem" are a solution to that linguistic shift. Indeed, the idea of making a print that featured simply the phrase "You're Welcome!" outside of any context did make the sentiment seem comical and insincere to me. 

After considering all the alternatives to "You're Welcome", I landed on "Happy To Help!" It struck me as sounding sincere, acknowledging the weight of the kindness or "help", while also noting one of the most important aspects of genuine kindness, which is that being kind, while involving effort and maybe sacrifice, can also bring us joy. And the best way to encourage kindness from everyone is to celebrate the joyful aspects of being kind. 

"Chessie"

"Chessie"
4" x 4" (block)
Woodcut

A long, metal Goliath sliced through the flat stillness of the horizon. The zooming barrier suddenly separated the cloudless blue sky and the dull green field. The children watched with ears perked to the growing, rumbling hum. He thought of waking her up to see the train speed by, but noticing how she slept with a gentle smile on her face, decided against it. Being irretrievable, good dreams are too precious to waste. 

Chessie the Railroad Kitten was a highly popular corporate mascot for the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad. Art depicting Chessie debuted in 1933 and was most popular throughout the 30's, eventually expanding to include a whole family of cute cats. The original image of Chessie came from an etching by Guido Grunewald. It was in an ad for a passenger train and showed Chessie sleeping peacefully juxtaposed with the slogan "Sleep like a kitten and arrive fresh as a daisy!" While Chessie hasn't appeared in advertising in recent decades, she is technically still the mascot of what is now the CSX Corporation.

This print of Chessie with her mate "Peake" and their two kittens is a sort of addendum to the series of woodcuts I made for Cats A-Z back in 2013, and published as part of the launch of Words On Woodcuts Press in 2015. This print was a request from a collector who is fond of my cat prints. Reading about and looking art artwork of Chessie was a delight, and I was happy to learn about the character and create this image.