Fixing Things part 2

Of the list of 14 things I had to do today, number 10 was to stop by the Studio and continue repairing that boardwalk print.  This time I brought with me my tool roll- not for gouges, but because it has a knife and my tweezers, both of which I would need to clean up the holes I started patching last week.  The repairs that were successful were then touched up with ink.  Some will need more work, but that will have to wait for another day.

Studio Business

Almost halfway through the summer now and I've had relatively little time to get to the Studio.  My colleges don't offer the classes I teach in the summer, so I'm not there.  In the past I had a year round part time job that I typically worked three days a week, but a few years ago they decided to cut a huge chunk of their staff, which included me.   I spent a few weeks at the beginning of the summer trying to get back in, at different locations, but that got blocked.  So I ended up taking a part time job at a local supermarket, which lately has been a lot of hours, more than I work during the school year.  I'm happy to get the work, so I'm not complaining, but it means less time on art than I'd like.

However today I had the opportunity to combine making money and art, going in to meet with someone who wanted to buy a boardwalk print,  This is the one I have been working on a new copy of, which will replace the copy I was selling today.  The boardwalk series has always been well liked (this particular print has been in at least 10 shows that have records of, and has won two prizes) but in the 7 years since I started this series, this is the first one to be sold.  Maybe it starts a trend. I got there about an hour before my meeting and found the scene you see above- a semi-circle of chairs and some sixes of beer.  The signs of a recent critique.  Not a surprise, as I knew that Molly had put one together for this past Tuesday.  I had to miss it, scheduled to work my summer job.  At the end of my shift I was hot and sweaty, and really could have used a cold beer, but the crit was over around the time I got off work.   Molly had called just before it began to let me know people had shown up and she'd try to get some photos.

And then while I was carefully packing the print for my patron, Molly showed up, preparing to meet with someone.  She said there were a few regulars and a few college students that night, and she'll send the pics soon.  When I get them, I'll add then to this post.  While she was busy cranking out a few silkscreen prints I took my meeting person on a quick tour of the building.  It can be a very interesting place.  Originally I had thought that maybe I would continue my repairs of the the latest Wheel Game proof, but I ended up having a list of things to do, so that will have to wait until next week.

Fixing Things

I put in a few hours in the Studio today.  I got there around mid day to meet with someone who wanted to purchase a print.  I had the proof ready to go, with its own carrying case to get it home.  She didn't hang around much past our business deal, so I moved on to the next task.  About a week ago I had pulled a boardwalk proof related to another potential sale, but the ultra thin Japanese paper was damaged in a few spots by moisture.  Luckily I have a good copy ready to go, and this one was just being done to have a master color copy to refer to when printing additional ones.  The ink was dry enough now that I felt it was possible to begin repairing the proof.

The simple solution was to tear little pieces of the same okawara paper and carefully glue them to the back of the proof using some neutral pH glue.  I'll let it dry, and next time I'll carefully trim some of the front remnants and use new ink to reproduce the original design.  This procedure would not be acceptable for an edition proof, but as I wrote last week, I'm going to make the best of this damaged proof by turning it into an example I can show classes, since the one I had been using for that is going to the interested owner.  Above you can see the reverse of the proof, and below a detail that more clearly shows some of the patches I added today.

I added about a dozen such patches to the back of the proof.  Some of these covered full holes in the image where I will need to rebuild the design with hand applied ink.  Some cover areas where the design is still intact, but the paper is clearly damaged and potentially weak, and may not hold up to the watercolor process.   Every bit of the image area will be covered by ink or watercolor, so I'm hoping none of the repairs will be easily noticed by viewers when this is all done.  And if it's not perfect, it can still serve as a color guide for the future.