"Poor Richard's Owl" by Rick Allen

I am intrigued by the pairing of this particular phrase from Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac with such a lively caricature of this most impressive bird of prey, the Grey Owl.

Both hunting and worrying compel us to narrow our focus while raising our sense of urgency.

More wood engravings from Kenspeckle LetterPress can be found here.

Studio Play in Five Acts

Last year we went to Home Depot to buy a live tree to decorate for the holidays. After we selected a tree, an employee sliced off the bottom of the trunk and tossed the slice into a pile of tree slices. I asked if I could take some, and he said sure. They've been sitting in a corner of my studio for months.

This is one of those tree slices.

Today I covered it in black watercolor paint.

And printed it on a smooth piece of paper just to see how it looked.



















Next I wanted to see what it would look like printed on more absorbent, handmade paper. The watercolors bled into blobby shapes that somewhat matched the irregular deckle of the paper.

It reminded me of an egg, so I printed it again on a different piece of handmade paper that reminded me of a  nest. I found this mildly amusing.

"Barn Owl" (Hand Colored Version)

Here is the first hand-colored version of my "Barn Owl" linocut. I posted the black and white proof a couple days ago here.

Student Monotypes with Watercolor and Sharpie Drawing

I taught a new monotype lesson for my 2nd-6th grade students in 2D Mixed Media class at the University City Arts League. I had the student make pencil drawings, then slip those drawings under a piece of plexiglass, paint it in with watercolors, the print. After the prints completely dried the kids took Sharpie markers and re-drew over top the monotypes, sometimes choosing to radically change the drawing in response to the colors and textures on the paper. I love how these turned out and I'm definitely doing this project again in the future.

Finished Dino-pots

Anyone remember the dino-pots I started to make back in June? I finished them!

"Barn Owl"

6" x 6" (block) linocut

I've decided to publish an Owl Calendar for 2018. This is partially inspired by the gorgeous Molly Hashimoto bird calendar that has been hanging in my kitchen all year. Earlier this year I created two owl linocuts - Eastern Screech Owl and Black Banded Owl - and I have decided that they were a good start for a calendar. The finished product will feature the hand-colored versions.

Today I printed the first proof of the third print for the calendar - a barn owl. I'm excited to see how it will look with color later this week.

"Madre" by Virginia Maluk Manzano

Today I received prints from Baren Forum Exchange #73. There were several stunning woodcuts, but this portrait particularly struck me. The overall impression seemed both naturalistic and complex in its structure, but the more I examine the details, the more I appreciate both an economy of line and a strangeness of how the planes of the face are put together. There is something exquisitely otherworldly about the twist above the nose and the way the cheeks and mouth are described. This not merely the illustration of an aging face. It is something more cryptic.

More of Virginia Maluk Manzano's artwork can be found at her website here.