"Forests of Rallion" by Allie Morris

Image posted with the permission of the artist. Find more of Allie Morris's work at Paracosm Prints.

This is a time of day when the columns cast long shadows. Shadows that wriggle and shiver and dance in the golden light. We were there remembering a moment from long ago in the untamed far away. Or was I alone with my imagination? Did I simply read about it? No, I distinctly remember the nudge of your shiny, blue-black beak. Why were we there? Had we stepped outside to breath in the fresh air or were we locked in our rooms (in our heads) like Max who made mischief? We thought of the trees as architecture. Or do I have that backwards? Anything could have emerged from that wall of opaque sunshine; a gallant knight or fine lady (rings on her fingers and bells on her toes) riding horseback. Maybe a hungry wolf dressed as grandmother (or a hungry boy, dressed as a wolf). Or perhaps this will all remain quiet and after I close my eyes, disintegrate into a cool blue wash. 

Groundhog Day 2017

This is my 2017 Groundhog Day card. It's a linocut and I did a first edition of 33. I skipped making one last year (I had just moved and hadn't set up my studio yet.) I did make Groundhog Day cards in 2015 and 2014, and plan to continue this as an annual tradition.

This is my first woodcut to include a pop-up element. So the messages are written on the cover of the card and the decorative image is on the inside. I leave it up to the viewers to decide what he's reacting to and its meaning.

"Hay Ride"

This is my print for Baren Forum's Exchange #71. It's a 4 layer reduction woodcut. The paper is 7.5" x 10" and the block/image is 6" x 8". 

The image is from a photograph I took of my younger daughter on a hay ride this past October. I snapped it intending to eventually make a print because I'd been wanting to do a portrait from the back for a while. Long-time readers of this blog know that I've been captivated by similar portraits by other artists: Boteh by Andrew Stone, Hibiscus by Viza Arlington, and Tracy by Alex Katz.

Sketchbook Sunday: Sequencing at Six Senses

This isn't really sketchbook work, but it serves a similar purpose with respect to my studio practice. Tonight I learned sequencing with fellow members/associates of the North West Clay Guild at the Six Senses Collaborative Clay Studio. Sequencing is an approach to painting for everyone that was developed by Ric Campman at the River Gallery School of Art in Vermont. Two of our members had learned this approach at the River Gallery School and shared it with some of us tonight. There's more information about sequencing and information about sequencing workshops at the River Gallery School found here. I myself had a productive evening using my non-dominant hand and tapping more into my intuitive brain. These are the three sets of sequences I created. My mind is humming with how I might modify this approach for working with children in the after school and summer programs I teach.

"Refugee Child" by William H. Johnson

   The New Colossus
    by Emma Lazarus 

 Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” 

"Eastern Screech Owl" and "Black-Banded Owl" (color versions)

Yesterday I posted the black and white versions of these printed on kinwashi paper. These color versions that I hand painted with watercolors last night were printed on Stonehenge paper and then mounted, full-bleed, on 6" x 6" birch panels. (They must be formatted that way for a show I'm entering. Although it also looks rather nice.)

I won't have time for a week or two to color any more for my Etsy store, but when I do I'll have them for sale. Those will likely be printed on Stonehenge paper with a thick white border, maybe around 10" x 10" in size. I'll add the link to this blog post when that happens.

In the meantime, if you like owls and enjoy this style of printmaking, you have until February 13th to support the creation of "A Wise Old Owl" handmade book project by pre-ordering it at a discounted rate. Check out the Kickstarter campaign here.

"Eastern Screech Owl" and "Black-Banded Owl" (black and white versions)

Two linocuts
Oil-based ink on Kinwashi paper
6" x 6" (block) 7.5" x 9.5" (paper) each

Yesterday I mentioned sketching, photographing, and going out to listen to real owls last week in preparation for making A Wise Old Owl handmade book.

This weekend I took it a step farther and made these two linoleum cuts of owls. This is the style that I want to use for A Wise Old Owl Click here to check out the Kickstarter campaign that runs through February 13. I'm going to hand-color a couple that I printed on Stonehenge paper today and will post them on my blog tomorrow.

These are for sale on my Etsy store. Eastern Screech Owl found here, and Black-banded Owl found here.