Studio Business

Spent yesterday recovering from the class teaching (it's a performance really) and catching up on the lawn mowing, but still had some art related things to take care of.  For example, back when we were doing the official scheduling of the Ocean Grove classes, I was also asked to firm up an event for October, which we decided would involve linocut printing, but that's all I remembered now.  Good thing I had the time and date down on my calendar.  But on Wednesday Nichole had mentioned that whoever was organizing this wanted her to send more details and so I promised her information to come on Thursday.  Still didn't know much.  I just had a date in October and a time and a memory that it would involve linocut printing.  One thing I could do was check my supplies.  I have in stock 11 small linoleum plates, a good size for a one day event.  Have 6 linoleum tool handles, and a large assortment of assorted blades that fit those handles.  Have an assortment of relief ink (used in the narwhal project recently).  Paper can be picked up locally once I know what I need.  So yesterday afternoon I inventoried all that stuff and sent an e-mail to Nichole, but with questions since I didn't know if this was a demonstration thing or a participation thing.  In case it's the latter, I attached photos of the linocut prints done last year by students at Brick Library, who were able to accomplish some nice prints with the same materials and in the same time we will have.

On my way into the Studio today, I stopped in her office to learn more.  I showed her the catalog I get stuff from, talked about likely costs, she looked at the e-mail I had sent.  She mentioned that the organizing body had something to do with teaching, and this is probably a participation thing for teachers to learn a process that they can take back to their students.  She planned to send information from my mail to her contact later today. We have about 3 months until this will take place, so plenty of time to work out the details. Also exchanged some information on the current and August classes, and then downstairs to my Studio.

I can always exchange information with Nichole by phone or e-mail, but my real reason for going in today was to check on my class tools.  With my woodcut class, I hand out wood blocks and show them the tools the first week, but we don't start cutting lessons until week 2.  But that's coming this week.  Neither of my students had the materials fee this past week, and I don't need that the first week  (I have plenty of stuff to get them started), but it's good to know what I have and the conditions so I'll be ready when the budget arrives.  I have a good assortment of basic woodcut tools- student grade,  a variety of sizes and shapes.  I have 3 or 4 each of the most common ones that everyone will need and at least one of all the others.  Two of the 3.0 mm round gouges did not cut as smoothly when I tested the in a scrap of birch, so I used my water stone (the green thing above) to get them up to speed.  I do seem to have just one 1.5 mm gouge, so I may look to get another, but not until they give me some money.  Everything else seems good.

Perhaps it was because the task was to inventory and sharpen my imported Japanese tools, my musical choice was a disc I had burned collecting favorite songs from the early 1980's albums of Shonen Knife.  Three female office co-workers who got instruments, learned to play them just well enough to form a band, created matching costumes, and started doing shows and making records.  Power-pop with a hint of punk, and sensibilities and subjects very influenced by their culture. Mostly sung in Japanese, but some English here and there.  American musicians liked them enough to get their songs released on small labels in this country (that's how I have them), but that's the recording industry.  The first year of Beatles records in America were all released on tiny labels when the big ones declined, and got no radio airplay...until the band suddenly became huge and those tiny labels were able to sell massive numbers of records of "new" Beatles songs that had the only rights to in this country.  Shone Knife never became the Beatles,  but did produce a lot of happy songs about choco-bars, ice cream, public baths, and a variety of commercial products unknown in this land.