Still More Printing

 Yesterday was the Open Studio event at the JSAC, and as I mentioned, I had good attendance in my basement space.  One of those who came was Ann, who I remembered from when she invited me to be part of a group show at Ocean County College, where I showed several of my Boardwalk prints, a show that was eventually extended a bit, probably because the gallery didn't have anything else to show.  (at the time I think I was still working at the school, so getting there, having a place to park, and familiarity with the exhibition space and routes to it was not a problem)  In fact, I think that invitation started at an earlier open studio event at this same place.  She liked my work enough that she is considering owning some, and mentioned two more prints that she is interested in, prints that I don't keep in stock these days.  If this happens, that will make 6 prints that people have ordered.  Yikes!  I better get to work.  Last week I had printed two and had two remaining, but now it looks like it may be four more.   Today was a sunny day, perfect for the ride to Ocean Grove, and carrying my inking bag back inside from the car.

I arrived in the Studio and it looked like I left it yesterday, so no Molly yet.  Once again I brought the jazz/blues book of discs, but this time it was Miles Davis, probably because I had seen something about him and his album Kind of Blue on the web recently.  I have that album, so an easy one for me to put on today.   (I wrote about it back in June of 2023 if you want to know more)  Last time I printed, it was a copy of the Love In Vain print from my Robert Johnson series, as my friend in Virginia asked for two of them (for her, and for her friend who came to New Jersey).  The print is fine, but the margins are a little dirty, so I planned to try trimming and/or erasing to fix it.  Then yesterday I got another request for that same print.  (in fact, it's the same one Tom had mentioned for part of his Nashville show- I guess it's a pretty good print and people like it) I knew I needed at least one more of them (assuming I could fix the one I had), and now maybe another one.  So that was my focus for today.  

I started by tearing down a second sheet to the size of another one I had prepared, larger than the one I made the other day, but plenty of margin for this print.  I set those aside, and prepared some ink.  Got the block ready, which I had shown yesterday with the framed print to demonstrate how a print is taken from a block.  I put on the blue tape around the edges, to make sure I didn't get ink where I didn't want it.  After the first bit of rubbing I checked the results, which meant re-inking and re-taping a few trouble spots, as in the photo below:

By the way, those small blue spots on the block are small pieces of tape used to cover ink that got unintentionally on the block, to make sure it didn't end up on the paper.  Someone had asked me about that yesterday, having seen some small bits of tape on another block.  In the old days I would have used standard masking tape, but this blue painter's tape is more available these days, and was created for the same purpose- to block unwanted paint from getting where it is not wanted.  Blocking ink, blocking paint- no real difference there.

But eventually I fixed all the problems, and was ready to lift the print off the block and inspect it.  I touched up a few bits, places that there was no wood, and no amount of inking with a brayer would have helped.  I then blotted the print itself, to remove some excess ink from area that had been re-inked, so it would dry faster and look more natural.  Results can be seen below:

To me this looks like a good proof.  I put it in the drying rack to help it dry, and cleaned up.  I don't know who gets what yet, so I may need to print another one from this block, but not today.

The first disc ended around the time I finished the proof, so I put on the beginning of 'Round About Midnight by the same artist, to listen to as I cleaned my tools.  Another disc in my book, and the two certainly go well together.  You can read my thoughts on this album on this blog on August of 2019.

No one in the office today, either before or after my printing session, so the question of a possible exhibition in public space in the building gets put off for another day.  Not a problem for me, as they want this more than me, and I told them I don't mind waiting a bit and letting someone else go first.  I have plenty to keep me busy the next few weeks.