Woodcuts in Ocean County

Tonight was my lecture and demonstration at the Ocean County Artists Guild in Island Heights. A year in the making, since it was last June that I was asked to do this. I spent last night putting together my slide presentation, a history of my art, mixed with some lessons on the history of relief printing. This afternoon I was busy getting everything else together. Forecasts were calling for major thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening, so even though it was bright sunshine when I left, everything was weatherproofed. The website directions were fine and I got there about 10 minutes earlier than planned, but luckily someone was there to let me in. The Guild is in a restored Victorian, much larger inside than I expected. There are gallery spaces in two front rooms, and more work hung in a large room where I was to set up. A few trips got all my stuff inside, and I had more than enough time to set up. I started with the slides, projected against a blank wall. Next was the demo, on the table shown above. It has a mirror set up overhead, to allow the audience to get a view of what artists are doing on the table. In my case, everyone moved their chairs up really close to the table, so they could probably see it directly. I did a little more work on the current block, showing how I use all my tools. Then I printed an older block, so they can see inking and hand printing in action. I also showed some actual prints, including one of my large pieces and the block it came from. I answered many questions, but that's expected. The audience was small (about a dozen), but they seemed to be into what I was doing. A few even mentioned a desire to try it themselves, which always makes me happy. The demo took us right up to 9 pm. I packed up my stuff and got it out to the car in a few trips. (lots of distant lightning, but the rain never came) I left them the still wet proof I pulled during the printing demo (they'll likely use it at a fundraiser), collected my speaking fee, and got on the road home.