Yet More Studio Business

Had two days of teaching this week, and yesterday took care of some automotive tasks, so today I was back to the Studio, briefly. All the weather forecasts are calling for very unpleasant weather the next few days.  Today in the 90's, and humid.  Tomorrow and Sunday, over 100 degrees and extra humid, so heat indexes will be 110 or higher.  Or as one meteorologist put it today, New Jersey will be getting about the same that Death Valley has.   One thing I learned in my Carbondale days is that when it gets very hot and humid (which could happen in Carbondale, not far from the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, plus many rivers you never heard of) about the only practical time to get things done is in the morning.   As my MFA show got near, I got in the habit of getting up by 6:00 am and finishing printing and coloring by around 8:00 am.  At that time of day, the Glove Factory was only about 80 degrees, and a few electric fans could make things tolerable.  After that, the heat would build, and it's hard to work with paper when you can't stop sweating.

I think I'm getting near the point where I'll be ready to start the next print, which will be a supermarket print, but I needed to get some wood first.  The one decent sized piece I had I distributed to my woodcut students last week.  I wasn't up before the sun, but I got on the road in the morning and got a new piece of half inch birch plywood.  Drove that back to the JSAS.

Saw Nichole's tag up on its hook, figured I'd deal with that first.  She had read the e-mail I had sent on
Wednesday after woodcut class, with attached photos from the class.  Gave her an update on how things had gone.  No word yet on any sign ups for August classes, but we are still ahead of where we were before the July classes, and those worked out.  No word from the students who missed week 2, but maybe I'll see them this week and learn more.  One thing I was curious about was all the Victorian crafts classes scheduled in August.  Last I had heard they had no students, but I had learned that there is some kind of big Victorian event in town in about a week, and wondered if we had a connection that would allow us to promote those classes.  Turns out yes, and we even have several students already, a number that is bound to grow as we get closer.  The way I see it, people in those classes will learn about my classes, and that can lead to more students for me.  We also briefly discussed the idea of doing a one night still life class.  A lot of arts organizations do them, often with alcohol as a lure.  I don't mind handling the art part, but someone else will have to be responsible for the refreshments.   One new thing today was she asked me if I could get any photos of student work from my current classes.  For a group that claimed no experience, some of the drawing students are not without skills, but I know from experience that pencil on paper doesn't show up very well.  And I don't know how far my woodcut student will get by the end of class next week. Well, all I can do is document the progress that is made.  If the student examples inspire more people to take the class, that's a good thing.

Sadly I had to leave the office (with its air conditioning) and head downstairs.   I positioned my new piece of plywood on top of my table, where it wouldn't be in the way of any room activity.   I'll cut myself a new block on a less oppressive day.  I also checked on the state of my narwhal block.  The wood filler patches were completely dry, but maybe had shrunk a little in drying, so I may mix up some more and add another layer next week.  I can always sand it down to match the surface of the wood.

That was enough art work for today.  Picked up a few things at the supermarket, then home to relax, have some lunch, and cool off.