Art Continues in 2026

 A new year has come, and with it, new projects.  For the first time in a few years, I won't be working on any Robert Johnson prints- did the last one on my original list of possible prints last month, and there's no particular reason to keep doing them now.  Last time I was in the Studio I cut boards for two boardwalk prints and a hospital print.  With no deadlines coming up, those appear to be the likely possibilities for the next print.

Also with a new year comes renewal on the Studio.  That's up to Molly, who is the leaseholder.  My hope is that the annual increase is not too large and she decided to renew, and to keep me on as a contributor to the rent.  If I haven't heard from her by the next time I am there, I will pay the January rent based on last year's rate, and make up any difference to her later.

Whatever happens, I do plan to keep making art is the coming year.  I don't see any other possibility right now. As far as exhibitions, I have no idea of any right now, but these things tend to pop up without warning, and I would not be surprised if some opportunities come my way.  Nothing has happened at JSAC so far this season, but we typically have one, so maybe that will happen.  I would probably like to make some new proofs first, but the blocks are ready.

The Year That Was 2025

Today was an unusual day in that I went to my storage space and brought a few things home, including some art stuff and a little of my music collection.  So tonight, as I type this, I am listening to something I haven't heard in years.  It's not New Year's Eve oriented (that was not in this box) but it's enjoyable.  I also had my usual Chinese food, with something saved for my midnight hors-doerves.  As for the Twilight Zone marathon, my parents are home and in control of the television, and are not predisposed to enjoying that, so I won't be watching any of those until they go to bed.   Meanwhile, here is what you came here for:

Prints- This year I finished my first boardwalk woodcut in years, and completed three more Robert Johnson prints, probably the last ones in that series, as the last one I did was the last from my original list of ideas.  That brings the total in that series to 9 finished prints, which is not bad for an output in general, especially when one considers that the show that was supposed to result isn't going to happen.  Besides these prints,  I also completed a Christmas card and got the ones that go in the mail out before Christmas.   I don't know if they got there before Christmas, but that's not my problem.

Exhibitions- Not so many this year.  I had one at the JSAC that started last year and continued into this year.  And I was told that two of my prints were included in a print fair in Brooklyn, courtesy of Tom Huck, who was the original organizer of the Robert Johnson show, kind of a make-up for that show not happening.  

Firsts- The television show finally aired that I was shot for last year.  It was a big deal at the JSAC, who catered and had a watch party for the occasion. I was not interviewed for the show, but scenes of my carving a block (Boardwalk Days) and a close-up of one of my Robert Johnson prints (in an earlier gallery show at JSAC) were included in the broadcast, which aired on NJ public television.  

Teaching- Another year without any.

The Studio- Still a great place to be and get work done in.  Had a visit from some people who came to an open studio last year, and expressed some interest.  This time it was to pick up a work and pay me for it.

Tomorrow I'll write something about my plans for 2026.  This was a weird year in that I contained a lengthy hospital stay (and a near death experience I guess) in addition to all my usual doctor visits.  Hope next year is better.

Studio Business

 I went up to the Studio today with a mission- to cut up some wood for future prints.  Doing my last Robert Johnson block used the last of the the birch plywood I had in stock, but I knew I had an old piece of lauan stashed behind the tall cabinet and brooms.  A little bit warped, but so was the last boardwalk woodcut I had done, and I got through that all right.  More importantly, it dated to the last time the lauan was made without all staples that started showing up in newer pieces.   If nothing else, I might be able to use it to make more boardwalk blocks.  Maybe something else as well.

The piece of lauan I had was partly behind a tall cabinet, a mirror, my tripod easel, some brooms and dustpans, and other junk.  I moved the mirror, and the wood slid out easily after that.  I could see some curvature in it, but I hope it's not so much to be a problem.  I assembled my saw, used the previously finished boardwalk block as a measuring device, and marked to size two blocks.  Borrowing Molly's extension cord, I sawed the two boardwalk blocks from the large piece of lauan I had.  What was left was almost as large as a boardwalk block, so I cut off that as well.  Perhaps it can be the next hospital print I have plans for.  I used a broom and dustpan from that corner to clean up all the sawdust this generated.

One thing I realized even before I left the Studio was that back when I used to use lauan, I used to coat it first (and then sand it down) with some wood filler, advice from one of my college professors who also used to use the stuff for large woodcuts.  I don't know if I have any wood filler these days.  I think the last time I bought any was at a store that no longer exists.  Before I cut off the blocks I may need, I cut off a piece of scrap wood.  I brought that scrap home, figuring I can test my pencils and tools on that, and see if I can cut this stuff without the filler.  It does make for a smoother surface, good for drawing for sure, and perhaps printing as well.  If I can get by without it, perhaps I will.  If I find that I need it, I may have to get another tub of the stuff, and maybe a new putty knife as well.

Merry Christmas from Studio Arrabbiata

 

Here is the latest card, from me and this year's studio assistant, Marcel Duchamp.  He called his version "Nude Descending a Staircase no. 2".  I call my version "St Nick Descending a Staircase".  You get the idea.  I'm taking the day off for the holiday, but I'll be back in the Studio soon and working on something new.

Me And The Devil Blues- Finished

 Tomorrow may be a bad weather day, so I decided to go out today and get some things done.  Made five stops, the third of which was the Studio.  The plan was to pull a better proof of the most recent Robert Johnson print, which meant that first I had to clean the block of various unwanted ink from the first proofing.  Luckily I had my tools with me.  That done, I inked the block and pulled a proof it.  While I was able to remove some of the unwanted ink from that first proof, some new ones formed, and I hadn't done the text at all, so I found some new errors there.  Plus, the piece of paper was slightly small, so this one isn't really suitable for framing.  But it is good enough to show here, so here it is:

As I wrote, this one isn't suitable for framing, so I will have to print it again eventually.  But it is suitable to look at and determine if it is finished, and to me it seems finished.  As mentioned before, there currently is no plan for exhibition, so I have some time to get this done.  Since a holiday is coming soon, this may wait until next year.  

Christmas 2025 is Coming part 2

 We had a bit of a snow storm this past weekend.  Not a huge amount, maybe 7 inches, but it quickly turned to ice and there was no getting out for a few days.   Weather has been warmer the past few days, so I finally got my car uncovered and was able to get it out of the driveway, so this is the first time since last week that I was able to get to the Studio.  

My goal for today was to print some more Christmas cards, which I was able to do.  Brought 4 pre-cut pieces of the bristol board with me, and got 3 usable prints for cards, which should be enough for the ones I plan to send.  Packed them for the trip home and eventually headed there.  Work on the latest Robert Johnson print can wait until next week.  

On my way home I had 3 stops to make, all involving buying things for other people- that Christmas season again.  First stop was in Belmar, and I decided to park at the Belmar Arts Council, which I know has lots of free spaces, mostly occupied by vans and buses belonging to outside companies.  Not my problem any more.  But the first thing I noticed upon pulling into their lot was that the side of the building where our mural was has been painted a bright yellow.

For years there had been a mural here, the first one done by the Belmar Arts Council back in 2007 to help decorate the town.  Unfortunately, most of them are now gone.  This one that I had devoted much time to is now a horrible yellow color.  Another one I worked on, next to the gas station on the corner of Main and 16th, was painted over by the new occupant of the building it was on.  The one on the back of Freedman's Bakery was destroyed when that building was torn down.  And the one on the side of the Acropolis Diner was replaced by the new owners who took over that building. A result is that there are few murals left in town.  I didn't check to see is the other mural was still on the other side of the Boatworks.  

I don't know the reasons why our undersea adventure was replaced by this bright yellow color.  It's possible that the paint had started to flake off (only latex after all) and this was necessary to preserve the building.  (I don't think that any of the original muralists are still active in the BAC)  I hope that's the case.  Because if this was done for aesthetic reasons, they really did a horrible thing.  

Me And The Devil Blues part 6

 It's unusual for me to go to the Studio three times in one week, but I will likely miss a day next week with a doctor's appointment, and besides, I want to see what this print looks like.  Plus, on the news yesterday we were reminded that Christmas is only two weeks away, and I've got to get going on this year's cards.  So up there I went this morning.

I started with the new Robert Johnson block, doing a textless one.  First time printings are always the most difficult, and it didn't help that there is a lot of black in this one.  Nevertheless, I started with that today.  Results were not great.  I saw evidence of a slight shift of the print on the block, and knew that continuing was pointless.  I did get the whole thing printed, if not fully black in all the areas, and the good news is that I think the image is fine.  I'll clean up a few spots that took unwanted ink, but essentially, the image area is done.  Below is a look at what I started doing:

After that, I decided to go right to the Christmas card.  I had brought some pre-sized bristol board with me, the paper I use for my cards.  I inked up the block, taping the side where I knew the back started.  The first paper shifted on the block, but I realized this was due to the awkward way I was trying to hold it.  I changed the position of the block for the next proof and it worked out fine.  When I was done, I had 5 good proofs I can use.  Carefully packed them for transport and took them home, where I will play with color until I get it right.  If all goes well, I'll still have 5 good ones to work with, but I'll need at least 7 to distribute, so it looks like I need to print a few more next week.  However, it looks like I will be on time to have one to post here on Christmas Day, and to give out locally.  If I get more done next week, I'll have enough for everyone who is expecting one, ideally before Christmas.

Me And The Devil Blues part 5

 I was excited to get up to the Studio this morning and finish this block.  I knew all I had left was the last line of text, and that was shorter than the line I did last time.  And as expected, it didn't take very long to do that, and the accreditation at the other end.  The remainder of the block, below the text, also went quicker than expected.   Results can be seen below:

Next time I print it and see what I have.  If all goes well, the image and lyrics are fine and all I need to do is work on getting a good proof to hang in a show.

Since the above didn't take much time, I decided to continue working on my Christmas card block.  Cutting out all the shapes took a little longer than I expected for such a small block, but I managed to finish it today.  Now all that needs is to be printed and colored.  Near as I can tell, it looks about right, but it is a somewhat abstract image, so it is hard to tell until I try coloring it.  Got my first card in the mail the other day, so I guess I better get going on this.

Me And The Devil Blues part 4

 Having finished (for now) the image area of the print, I knew that today I would begin with the text at the bottom of the print.  I had previously redone the lettering, so it was just a matter of cutting them out.  As I always tell people who are shocked at my ability to do this, cutting out a backwards letter is no more difficult than cutting out a forwards letter- it's just a shape to go around.   I finished the top line fairly quickly, and decided that doing the second line would take more time than I wanted to be there today, so I moved on to work some more on this year's holiday card.  I had started drawing it at home, but I fixed a few parts of the drawing that needed it, and cut out the margin around the piece.  So far my glued on piece of wood is holding on as desired.  Of course I have no pictures of the card to show you yet, but there is an image of my other block below:

One thing I did notice today was that I seemed to cut a lot of "Y" shapes out, so I went back and looked at that first line.  All but one word had a "Y" in it- "you may bury my body down by".  This doesn't affect the print at all, but it's just something I noticed.  Only one "Y" in the whole second line of text.

Me And The Devil Blues part 3

 I didn't need to look at anything on the internet this time- everything was either already on the block, or would be found in the Studio.  I cleared off my table and got to work.

First thing I did was pull out some older prints and blocks.  Some of what I wanted to fix today was based on previous work, and I knew all this was there in the room.  The two figures I have about to get on the bus are based on the two figures from the earlier Love in Vain print.  Are they the same people?  I don't know.  I leave it up to the viewers to decide.  

The background borrows a bit from the most recent boardwalk print, and those bushes that are behind the seated figures.  For these I pulled out the block itself, rather than look at the finished print.  Those earlier bushes were colored, but these in the new print will be black and white.  However, I think this same idea will work here.  I'll find out when I print it.

For the rest I just went with the block drawings, correcting a few things as I went, fixing them with pencil before cutting them.  What I got done today was the two figures, the exit sign, the curbs and sewer grate, and all that background.   If I need to make any more changes to the image area, I'll figure it out after I try printing it.  Results can be seen below:

One more thing I did before leaving was to redo the lettering on the song lyrics below the image.  This involved adding a word (verified by listening to the song a few more times online) and cutting a little between the two lines of text.  My plan is to start working on that text the next time I am there.  Experience tells me it will take two more visits to finish cutting the block.  

Me And The Devil Blues part 2

Not my usual day to go in the Studio, but I had nothing else to do today, so I decided to take the ride up there and advance my latest block a little bit.  Much of the drawing had already happened, but I did take the time to fix a few things in pencil first before cutting them out.  What I have done so far is the bus, a white stripe on the pavement (representing a white line on the road), some of the plants on the ground and in the background, the homemade crucifix on the grave, and the pole that the exit sign is attached to.  

The bus is based on two Greyhound buses of the 1950's, found on the internet.  I put aspects of both into the bus that I made.  I grew up in a place where buses are quite common, part of NJ Transit, and these buses travel all over.  I used to take some to and from high school, before a van was set up to transport the kids from Bloomfield.  However, out in the midwest (where this print seems to take place). there were no local buses, just Greyhound and other distant bus lines that took you far away.  (that Johnson mentions Greyhound in the song itself makes using one even more imperative)  And the only passenger train line we had out there was Amtrak, which stopped in town overnight, during a break in all the long freight trains that occupied those tracks of the Illinois Central and Gulf the rest of the time.  (meanwhile, we have lots of trains around here as well, including one that stopped near one of the colleges I worked at and another that stopped near a college I graduated from) As a result, those in the Carbondale area didn't go anywhere until they were old enough to drive and/or own a car.  As I discovered working with some Girl Scouts, going to the mall was considered a special treat. unlike here in Jersey where a bus could get you there if you couldn't take a car.

The plants are all borrowed from previous prints.  I've cut all these shapes before, so I figure I can do it again.  Some are now cut, and some aren't done yet, but I know what will go there, and have done it before.  Below is the image of where it stands so far:

To take the photograph, I moved a whole bunch of Molly's recently printed towels off my portable tack board.   We had some possible plans to get together this weekend for more beer and art talk, but the never happened.  I was in there process of putting the towels back when she came in.  Mostly it was to pick up all those towels, destined for a possible sale event, so I didn't need to put them all back.  She also brought up the beer thing, saying it didn't happen, but she came in and did more work on her towels, which I had noticed as I moved them.  (her water based ink was all dry, so I wasn't worried about any mess when moving them)  She took off, I wished her luck, and locked the place up.  

Christmas 2025 is Coming part 1

 We are at the end of November right now, so that means time to start thinking about this year's Christmas card.  It takes a while to draw, cut, print, and color the cards, so if I want to get them out even close to the holiday, I have to start now.  Towards that end, I have been looking at potential art historical works, both on the internet and in books, and have narrowed it down to a few options, and I will have to decide soon.  Meanwhile, today I worked on preparing a piece of wood.   Last time I was in the Studio, I noticed a piece of wood that might work, so today I cut it in half, and then glued to two halves together.  The goal was to create a wider piece, something that would hold the entire piece of paper on it, which makes it easier to print them when the time comes for that. (a single piece of wood is large enough to have to card image itself)  Results can be seen below:

My plan in the coming days is to pick a subject, draw it on the longer half of the block, and when I am satisfied, cut the whole thing out, which can be done in a single session at that size.  Throughout the day I added more glue to each side, so now I have a stable block.  Whether or not it will hold together during to cutting and printing processes is another story, but I'll deal with that as it happens.

The other thing I had to take care of today was find out what is going on tomorrow.  Last night my mother saw something online about an open studio event at my building.  Problem was that I had heard of no such thing, and I had been in the office a few days ago.   An open studio is the kind of thing I should know about, especially if I am going to participate.  So today I made sure to ask.  What I found out was that there will be a holiday art market going on in the building tomorrow, and from how these have gone in the past, this will be heavily attended, but few people will go down the basement, and the building will make no effort to get people down there (holiday vendors will be on floors 1 to 3) so there is no point to me hanging around in my space waiting for visitors.  As a result, I won't be going there tomorrow, and will wait for the next official open studio event to open up my space to visitors.

Me And The Devil Blues part 1

Time for the last Robert Johnson print in this series.  This is the last because I have no more ideas, and because the planned show is not happening now.  I continued the series beyond learning that the Nashville show wasn't happening, because I still had some ideas, and it was still a series to work on, but it will end with this one.  When they will be exhibited I have no idea, but I don't see that as a problem right now.

This last one is Me and the Devil Blues, which is a fairly evil song (as one might expect), but I had one more idea from my original list, so I decided to do it.  The lyric I chose is "you may bury my body, down by the highway side" (the line that follows is "so my evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride")  As such, this is one of the most literal interpretations in this series of prints, showing an area next to the highway where a body has been buried, and a little piece of a 50's era Greyhound bus (actually combined bits of two buses of that era) stopped by the highway side to pick up few passengers.  No sign of Johnson rising from his grave to board that bus, so maybe he did it already, or maybe it has yet to happen.  I put an exit sign near the point in the highway that the bus has stopped, with a sign that combines aspects of a local road sign (see the above photo) and actual signs from the Garden State Parkway and I-57 in Illinois, since Johnson is known to have passed that way in his travels. (found those other signs on the internet, which has everything if you know where to look for  it)  The background plants make use of plants I have used in previous prints, and images from those internet photos. 

As I was busy working on my block I got a surprise visit- Molly.  She doesn't often come in at this time to work, but today she did, so naturally we had some conversation around bits of silence as we were working.  My goal was to complete my usual starting point- the outside margins of the image area.   I got all that done, and Molly worked on some towels, adding more silkscreened bits to each of some already started.  The music I put on (the Gun Club, first album and some from a live album, appropriate for today's print it seemed) ended, so I decided to leave the Studio to Molly and get to my next stop.

I'm A Steady Rollin' Man part 11

I had another piece of the right paper torn to the right size, so I figured why not get up to the Studio and pull another, hopefully better, copy of the latest print, with the text.  So this morning I did just that.  I got up there, cleared off my work table, and set up to print.  No cutting this time, just inking, taping, and printing.  Below you can see the block and today's print, side by side.  

This is definitely the cleanest copy I have ever made, thanks to extra taping, planned at home.  The only significant flaw is that it's a little low on the paper, not leaving me a lot of room to sign it and mat it.  However, I am happy with the results, and I will declare that I am finished with this particular print.  Next time I work on something else.