Kind Hearted Woman Blues part 2

 Today work continued on the latest block.  Brought the smaller book of Jazz/Blues discs, and from this book decided to go with some John Coltrane today.  Started with the legendary A Love Supreme album, at least my home burned copy of it.  I had finished most of the two main figures last time, so today I started with what remained of the bed.  When the disc I had was finished (and it is a short album) I went on to the other Coltrane that I have access to- My Favorite Things, and you can read my write up of both classic albums back on March of 2023, surprisingly, my only other time of listening to both albums in the Studio.  This was probably about the time I worked on more of the wall, big shadows there and cracks, some of which was copied from another print in this series.  Not so much laziness, as trying to be consistent with a similar room, and probably the kind of room Johnson knew well.  The state of my block at the end of the session can be seen below:

Of course all of this line work I left there today, kind of a cross contour thing, is dependent on how it looks inked up.  If I don't like how the first proof looks, I will do some more cutting to make it work better.  But for now what is there looks fine.  I think that's all for the first state of the image area. Next time I'll tackle the rest of those lyrics.  It's coming along quickly, and so I don't expect more than two more cutting sessions.  

Kind Hearted Woman Blues part 1

 Two days ago we had an Open Studio event at the Jersey Shore Art Center, and despite the gray weather, we had a decent turnout.  Although a lot of people have said that it was lighter than usual, I had 48 visitors in 4.5 hours, which is as good as I have ever had.  Says something about the power of promotion.  Tell visitors that there are artists in the basement and they actually go down there.  Hope they remember this next time.  Of course, that meant I had to have something to work on, both to keep myself busy during the hours I was there in my space, and to demonstrate what I do to whoever makes it down there.  I had brought the last project to a level of completion, so that meant starting something new.

The easiest thing to do in a case like this is to continue an established series.  I didn't have another boardwalk piece idea ready to go, so I decided to do another Robert Johnson print.  The show in Nashville may be off, but I've now shown work from this series in four shows, and response has been positive, with a few sales.  At the time I started these, I wrote down lyrics to several songs.  I had firm ideas for the first three, and did those.  I had more ideas, including one that developed after I had done the first three, and did three more. I went through my list of potential lyrics again, and decided I at least had ideas for three more.  I don't know if all will work out, so I went with one I was closest on, Kind Hearted Woman Blues.

The line I chose was from the song's bridge- "You break my heart when you call me mister so and so's name."  When I first started this series a few years ago, I didn't have an immediate visual, so I set it aside for a while, but now I needed something and gave it some more thought.  No man wants a woman to confuse him with some other guy, and arguably the worst time for this is during or immediately after sex.  I have no doubt this is what Johnson was thinking of when he wrote it. Still not knowing where these things may be exhibited, I decided the safest thing would be to go with the latter.  Looking back through past charcoal and pencil drawing I have done, I came up with a female laying down in bed, with a man walking past, dressed and covering anything possibly objectionable on her.  For the woman I found something I had done before that I could reuse for this, a charcoal drawing done in the figure group I used to participate in at JSAC.  The model was reclining on the floor, head maybe slightly tilted back- exactly what I needed.  For her partner I figured I would just make up something, as I have done for some other figures in this series.  I set the idea aside for a little while to work on some other things.

Then a few weeks before I would be cutting it, I saw something on tv that might just do.  There's a Bugs Bunny short from 1947 called "Slick Hare", which is about a fictitious Los Angeles expensive restaurant and night club (The Mocrumbo, with dinner $600.00, but only a slight down payment, a no co-signer necessary)  Set in L.A. naturally a lot of the clientele were Hollywood stars, the sort of cartoon Warner Brothers had produced in the past.  Considering the size and cost of the restaurant, it is a surprise that they only had a single staff member, Elmer Fudd, who was both the only cook in the kitchen and the only waiter for all the tables.  A customer calls him over, and it's Humphrey Bogart, who played a lot of criminals and detectives in Warner Bros movies and I guess had a reputation as a tough guy, which he backs up by pulling out a large Tommy gun and dropping it on top of his table.  He wants an order of fried rabbit, and he wants it quick, or else...

Poor Elmer searches the kitchen in vain for a rabbit, but luckily, the restaurant has recently gotten a crate of carrots, and once again Bugs's love for such things has put him in an unfortunate place, and Elmer is determined to satisfy his customer.  (by the way, I have had fried rabbit a few times, and it isn't bad, but if I was going to such an expensive and fancy restaurant, I'd order something better) Bugs has no desire to be eaten, and uses interaction with other celebrities (I recognize Ray Milland, Frank Sinatra, Carmen Miranda. the Marx Brothers, among others) to avoid butchering for a while, but eventually Bogey comes into the kitchen looking for the fried rabbit. Elmer can't help him and fears the worst, but it turns out his customer had a reason for his demand (I won't spoil it here) and is willing to settle for something else.  

One thing I like about the cartoon, was that Bogart often had his head down, which seemed a good pose for my depressed guy (and kind of necessary when talking to Fudd, who is maybe 4 foot tall at best) plus was drawn as a naturalistic adult male, and I did a few sketches.  However, he is dressed in a black suit and wears a bowtie, which might make sense for this fancy restaurant, but not for this character I imagined for my print.

But then I remembered something else I had on my DVR, a classic Bogart movie ("The Big Sleep") where he plays a private detective who goes to visit a potential client, an old man who lives in a green house and tends his orchids, an excuse to sit in hot and moist conditions he needs now.  He enjoys watching the detective drink whiskey and smoke (more things his frail health won't allow him to do) as he hires him to get rid of someone demanding money for one of his daughter's indiscretions.  What worked for me was that old man gave Bogart permission to take off his jacket and tie in the heat (and he rolled up his sleeves) perfect for what I wanted.  And the old man was in a wheelchair, so Bogart had to look down at him.  I froze frame a few good poses, and did some sketches.  

I had brought the block home after sawing it loose, and a few days before the event I started the drawing.  That included a frame the right size for the image, and lines for the lyrics.  These were roughed in first, then later redrawn and properly lettered for the final version.  I cut out the margins and the first line of lyrics at the Open Studio. then brought the block home to make some adjustments to the drawings, including studying them in a mirror.  I learned as a painter that faces and bodies that look fine often aren't when looked at in a mirror, and these figures will be seen in reverse, after cutting and printing.  That means now is the time to check, before I cut anything.  As it turned out, the figures were mostly fine, except I wasn't happy with the one hand I had for the male (the one facing toward us, with the other I guess hidden behind him) so I redrew those from my sketches. They aren't great now, but much better than they were.

Back to the Studio today, and no Molly (in an email she said she was still feeling ill and wouldn't be in today) so I was listening to music.  I started with a home burned disc, a copy of an early album by Southern Culture on the Skids, coupled with some favorites from the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies to fill up the disc (and written about back on November of 2019).  When that ended I continued the country theme with another home burned disc, favorites from an anthology album from Townes Van Zandt, previously written about back on October of 2019 if you want to know more.  By this point I had done most of the two figures, and decided to save the rest of the bed and wall for future visits.  Results of two days' cutting can be seen below:

Cleaned up and went home.  I'll continue the cutting in a few days.  By the way, both figures combine pieces of two drawings to make each.  I think it worked out.

Open Studio 2025

 Got a call from Molly a few days ago, telling me she had done a little cleaning of our space and set up a display on one of the yellow tables, but she didn't think she could come in for the Open Studio on Saturday.  No problem I said, because the Open Studio is actually on Sunday, which is what all the postcards said, as did everyone else. On that day she would be a maybe

So today I got up there around an hour before the opening, to get my space all ready and see what Molly did.  I saw her display, but not much cleaning, but the place wasn't that bad last time I was there.  I did move around a few of my things, and put the colored proof of my latest boardwalk print on the big tack board behind my table, and framed Robert Johnson prints leaning against the shelving unit there.  There was room on my small tack board, but not knowing if Molly was coming in and planning to use it, I decided not to put any prints there.  I did clear a small piece of her small table to put out my cookies and postcards (similar to what I had last year), and cleared off my table so I would have room to work, and put our my recent boardwalk block in case anyone wanted to see how that worked.  Then I opened up my Studio doors and got ready to receive visitors.

I didn't know how many I would get, but I had high hopes.  For one thing, this time the programs they had on a table near the front door listed the basement artists, including my space. (Molly too, even though we weren't sure if she would show up).  Inside the elevator, there were signs listing all the studios, including mine.  And while there were no big signs upstairs, there were some in the basement, as long as people made it down there in the first place.  

No rain while I was awake today, but the weather was overcast in general.  That meant I could safely move art and materials into the building, but I had no idea how turnout would be.  No problem for visitors in cars, but not really walking around weather, and Ocean Grove likes such things.  We would see.

Once the event began, I never left my space in the basement, so I have no real idea how many people came.  Jeanne stopped by in the three o'clock hour and said that attendance was a little lighter than usual, but I had people stop by, so I was planning to stick around a while.  And a block to work on.  At these events I use tally marks to keep track of visitors to the space, and people were coming.  The most frequent comment was on the quality of light in there, but that may be in comparison to the dark hallways of the basement.  As far as artwork, interest was probably evenly divided between my work and Molly's.  

A lot of people seemed surprised that anyone is still doing woodcuts.  Not a surprise for me, because I still do them, and I know a lot of other people who are also doing them.  I would not be surprised if I made a few converts today.  And in between visitors, I had a new block to work on, but I'll save details of that for a post of its own.  In the end, I decided to leave around 4:30 pm, partly because Jeanne had said earlier that she thought things were winding down.  Don't know about that, but at the time I left I had 48 visitors make there way into my Studio, and a few that I saw at the doors but didn't come in, so as good a crowd as any I have ever had. I took the block home with me to work on over the next few days (maybe fix drawing stuff a little) and otherwise put everything back where I found it. 

Boardwalk Days part 50

 Today's goal was to finish my prototype of the color proof for my new boardwalk print.  I had printed a decent copy of the image on the proper paper last fall, put off working on it until I got past my holiday card and first practice proof, and then got materials I needed, and pulled a better proof on the right paper.  Then I had to deal with proofs for the Brooklyn show and making a way to ship them.  All that done, I could start on the first practice proof, and began that process at the beginning of the month.  My goal in finishing it was to have it ready for this weekend's Open Studio event, to show to both new visitors and old.

Brought my paints with me, as well as my rock/pop book of discs, and since Molly wasn't around, played some music.  For no particular reason I chose the band X and their earliest work, a single disc that contained their first two albums- Los Angeles and Wild Gift, copied as I bought it on a single disc, and written about back in June of 2020 if you want to know more.  Besides the planned coloring, I also planned to take photos today of postcards to put up on this blog, and do some research regarding potential visitors this weekend.  But after those, I cleared my table and set up to work on my boardwalk print. 

Once again I used both old and new colors today, mostly blues and greens.  I saved the sky for last and it was even bigger than I realized- had to make three batches of sky blue to get something done.  But I did get the proof done.  Because I don't consider the printed version to be the final print, and it has been printed better now, I don't consider this to be a finished print, but it's good enough to show on Sunday as an example of what it will look like when done. Results are below:

When the first disc ended, I went for another one by X, their live double album from the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, from near the end of their original run, with one replacement member taking the place of the original guitarist, but still sounding like the original band.  Wrote about that one back in June of 2022 if you want to know more. By the time it ended, I had finished my proof, and cleaned the place up from today's work.  Molly had been there since my last visit, but I am saving the final clean up for Sunday morning, just before the event.  

And speaking of that, here's some information.  Last I heard, the Open Studio will take place this coming Sunday, April 13th (that's Palm Sunday for those who think of it that way) from noon to 5 pm.  There will be things to see on all 4 floors, with presentations from visual artists, music, theater, and probably some refreshments.  They have promised to promote it, including the card you see below.  (one front and two backs, one promoting the building, one for the artists)

My studio name is there, and Molly is listed on a sign I saw on the first floor, so I guess I better show up and  be working myself.  I always have something to work on, but I'll talk about that another day. And admission is free.

Boardwalk Days part 49

 Time to continue my efforts to color this practice copy of my latest boardwalk print.  I decided it would be good to have it done before the Open Studio this coming weekend, though I don't expect to have a copy to exhibit just yet, which is fine as I have no exhibitions scheduled right now.  So this morning I got up on time, got my stuff together, and left for the Studio around 10 am. I knew I had to detour on the way there.  When I arrived, I found the front lot almost completely full, except for one handicapped space. Luckily I qualify for those these days and have the appropriate tag to use it.  Inside, the new show was hung, art from the Guild in Shrewsbury.  I wasn't particularly impressed, but it's better than the blank walls we've had the past week or so.  Some signs Molly had been there (changes to my radio, some mess cleaned up, some new mess created), but she wasn't there now, so that meant I could play some music.  I had brought the rock/pop book with me, and from that selected a Joe Jackson album, Big World, which I had written about back in October of 2019 if you want to know more.

The plan for today was grays and browns, or what I think of has neutral colors.  This was a good part of the image, including parts of buildings, the light posts, the pavers plaza, parts of the figures, the boardwalk itself, and other stuff.  I may layer more color over what I have, but at least I have something down in those spaces. When the first disc ended, I put on more Jackson, this time his reunion album (with his old band) Volume 4, which can be read about back in March of 2020.  Meanwhile, work continued on the print.  Results at the end of the session can be seen below:

Eventually the second disc ended, but by then I had cleaned up my stuff and was ready to go.   I think that all that's left is color, blues, greens, and reds.  I think I'm on pace to get everything done by this weekend.  

2025 Tournament of Art part 3

 Last night was the finals of the tournament.  I had picked Houston back when I did my brackets back in March, and I came close there, with that school taking a lead into the last minute, then losing.  It was a tight game, both teams evenly matched, both making some great plays, and both making a few stupid plays.  (these are college students after all)  But in the end, Florida won the game, and while Houston had a chance to tie it with their last possession, they never got a shot off, and it was over.  My last art school was gone the first weekend, so these past few weeks I've just been enjoying good games between successful teams.  Now I have to get used to not having college basketball to watch.  

Boardwalk Days part 48

 Today I did a little more to look at what I had before I left home, to make sure I had everything with me that I needed. As a result, I did have the new brushes and paints with me today.  Everything else was already there.  I had no plans for music, but just brought the smaller jazz/blues book, and decided to figure it out there.  Only a few cars in the parking lot, so I had my choice of spaces.  All the boardwalk prints are printed on okawara, a Japanese paper, and very thin.  Good for printing, but tricky for coloring.  One has to be careful that the watercolor doesn't soak back around the ink into another part of the paper, and part of this is having the right thing underneath it.  A few days ago when I started it, I had a piece of foam core, but one with a glossy finish, and as a result, the watercolor didn't absorb into the backing, but a little popped up in another place I didn't want it.  I didn't worry about it too much, as this is just a practice copy, and the unwanted color may be obscured enough when another color is put in that space.  For today's session I used the large corrugated cardboard box used for recently delivered paper, which seemed to have the right exterior texture for my needs.

Molly had been in since my last visit, but that didn't affect me.  She wasn't there now, so I put on some music.  No plan really, I just selected my home burned copy of Glen Miller live radio cuts, written about in the past in February of 2020.  I got my table ready, pulled out the current color proof and my supplies, and got to work.  

I picked up from last time, using my new tube of Buff Titanium to put in the light warm areas of Convention Hall, sand, light warm parts of the former Howard Johnson's, and a few other places it belonged.  I repainted skin on a few figures, both large in the foreground and distant ones on the boards and beach, and some reds and oranges in some planned places.  Even threw down some colors on beach figures, as long as I had them out, and some birds on the ground and in the air. That was enough for today.  Results can be seen below:

So far it seems to be coming along.  I think that's all the light and warm stuff.  Next will be the neutrals (grays and light browns), then I will start on the cools and darks, including the largest piece, the sky.  

Boardwalk Days part 47

 Last week I ordered some art supplies and was expecting them early this week, but I was surprised to return home on Saturday and see two packages on the porch. The big one I figured was the paper, and the small one the tubes of watercolor and brushes.  Brought them inside and was half right.  The big box was indeed the paper, but the small box held charcoal and pastels, items I did not order. And did not need. I certainly wasn't going to pay for them.  So I called the company, and explained the situation.  I was told to do what I wanted with the charcoal and pastels (probably not worth it to pay me to ship them back), and that the paint and brushes would be sent to me, probably going out on Monday.  I could wait that long, since I have no deadlines and two projects to work on.  I planned to start of the next Robert Johnson print when I went back to the Studio.

But then I got another small box  on Monday, same size as the one I had, from the art supply company, and it was the items I expected.  Well, maybe I'll work on the boardwalk print next, get it finished, then move on to the other one.  That was the new plan.  Still, I packed the wood block for the Johnson print, in case I wanted to start that one, especially as I didn't seem to have my practice color piece for the boardwalk print, with the colors mostly worked out.  Not at home, and not in my car.  There was a good chance it was already in the Studio, but I brought the other wood just in case.  For music I brought my Shonen Knife disc, mostly because over the weekend I got an email from Dave where he sent me a video of the band and had questions regarding a show they are scheduled to do later this year in his hometown of Seattle.  I had no answer for his question, so it will be up to him to do more research, or take his chances with the show.  You can read more about the band back in July of 2019 if you want.

So grabbing  all my stuff, I headed up to the Studio.  I found my practice color copy, and the proof I would use first, to test my color choices.  Opened up my small box to find it was the one with the charcoal, not the stuff I wanted and needed to color my boardwalk print.  Okay.  Well, I did have that piece of wood, so I copied the information from an older block in the series, drawing the box and lyric lines.  Would need to do it anyway.  Then I looked at the color test piece, the brushes and colors I had with me, and my practice proof on Japanese paper, the first one printed last fall.  Although I was lacking some of the things I expected to have today, I decided I could get started at least, and not waste the day. It was always my custom with this series to do warm and light colors first, then cools and darks later, which is how I learned to do watercolors in general.  So I did some of that.  Results are below:

This was just a start, and not even close to finished, but I wouldn't have anyway, even if I had brought my small box of paints and brushes.  For instance, I put down a first layer of color in lots of places, but plan to go over these with a second layer before I am done.  It is my goal to try to finish this first proof before the Open Studio in about two weeks, and get some drawing done on the Robert Johnson block, even if I don't quite finish it or start the cutting by then.   

More Studio Activity

 I wasn't satisfied with the proof I pulled yesterday of Love in Vain, so I decided to go back again today and try again.  I knew I was out of paper at the Studio, and the new paper won't arrive until next week, but I also knew I had 5 sheets of that paper down in the basement where I live, so before leaving home, I got myself a sheet of that paper.  Also brought two home burned discs, and started today with a collection of singles by the Zombies (all A and B sides of their history), something written about back in January of 2020

Removed yesterday's masking tape, and cut just a few bits of stray ink that I certainly didn't need.  I blotted the block yesterday, so there was just a hint of old ink on it, but it had dried enough that I could easily see the difference between yesterday's ink and today's new ink.  Didn't take long to put ink on the block and tape up the mistakes.  Then I put on my new sheet of print paper and started the process of hand rubbing.  I made sure to do the whole thing before lifting the sides to see what I had.  Of course, it needed more in spots, but nothing shifted.  This block has always had issues in the broad areas of solid black (low spots maybe). so I had to re-ink those areas a few times. But then I was done.  Results can be seen below:

This one is better than yesterday's proof, and suitable for the edition.  I will have to tear away some smudges later, but these don't affect the print.  Just a tiny bit of touch up, then I put it in the rack to dry.  Should be fine for the Open Studio, the next Print Fair, or wherever it may be needed.  Signing can wait a week or so for it to completely dry.  

I was done with the printing while the first disc was still playing, but it ended shortly after I began cleaning up, so I switched to a second disc, the self titled debut album from David Poe, written about back in July of 2020.  Cleaning went as usual, taking about half an hour. Then it was time to head for home. 

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that the print fair in Brooklyn began. It's too long a round trip, so I am not going, but I did look things up.  The website shows the scheduled exhibitors, with sample works.  I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but nothing on the website looks like my work.  Basic tickets are $15 per day, with special VIP and Collector tickets for considerably more, but I don't know what you get for that, except there was a welcome party last night.  The next three days are the main display, and all the programs.  If these are anything like other conventions I have been to, the programs will be demonstrations and/or lectures on various print related topics.  Tom is doing one on creating an Evil Print on Saturday, which is probably either a demonstration of cutting or printing (or maybe both), if it's anything like the events I have been hired for.  If it brings more people to see his display, that can't hurt me, but it may be a while before I hear anything. 

Studio Activity

 Yesterday I finally did something I have been meaning to do for a while- ordered some needed art supplies.  Of course I would prefer going to an actual store and looking through things, picking out what I need, but those days are gone, more a money problem for those in the art supply business and less about Covid, though it may have played a part.  But I had gone over what I had, and what I would need in the near and far future, looked up item numbers online, and selected what I needed.  I got Japanese paper for current and future boardwalk prints, western paper for the black and white prints, a few new watercolor brushes, and several tubes of specific watercolor paints that I will need.  Used up a whole gift card  in the process, so if I need anything else in 2025, it will have to come out of my pocket.  If I don't sell anything, than I don't need to buy anything, so it all works out.

I gathered some things I needed today and drove up to my Studio in Ocean Grove.  One thing I wanted to do was pull another proof of my Love in Vain print. Part of this is because we are having another Open Studio event in about two and a half weeks, and it would be good to have a clean copy of this print.  The last one I made is now in Brooklyn, others have been sold, leaving me with just the one I took out of a frame.  And this has been the most popular one in the Robert Johnson series.  It has been in three exhibitions now, sold a few copies, and singled out.  I don't know if I will sell any more of them at that event, but it couldn't hurt to have one to show.

However I was a little concerned when I got to the building.  There was a big sign by the driveway saying that the front lot was not available, and parking should be in the back. Yet, there were few cars in the front, and I had seen none in the back, which I pass on the way in.  So I pulled into a space in the front, and figured I'd ask inside what was up.  As it turned out, the sign was left from last night, a rehearsal that resulted in parking problems.  I was warned that tonight would be worse, with the actual production going on, but that wouldn't affect me- I planned to take care of my business and go home to lunch there.  I got the block in question, the one sheet of the right paper I had there, and pulled a proof.  Results are below:

The image is fine, and the lyrics are printed fine.   The light smudges at the edges of the paper are also not a problem, as I can tear those edges off.  On the other hand, that big smudge of dark ink by the upper left corner of the border is very noticeable, and not something I can just tear off.  After it dries, I can try to minimize that, but I may have to print another one.  Luckily I ordered extra paper, and that should arrive by early next week. 

I had also hoped to leave next month's rent check.  I had a blank check, a new envelope to put it in, but I couldn't remember the new amount for a month's rent, and this would be the first time I'd be writing a check for that amount.  And no one in the office knew what it was either.  Well, Molly rarely picks them up on time, so she may not even know if it's a few days late.  In Molly's absence, I could at least listen to music, today my Doug burned disc of albums by Hans Rotenberry & Brad Jones, and Alejandro Escovedo, written about on this blog back in June of 2022.

2025 Tournament of Art part 2

 I only had one school in this year's NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, and it didn't take long for them to be eliminated. That was University of Illinois, and this afternoon they lost to the University of Kentucky.  Not really a surprise, as Kentucky was a higher seed to begin with. U of I did not get blown out, only down by 5 at the half, but in the time I watched the game, they never took the lead.  

As a result of having no teams left active in this, and not even any in the NIT, I may not do an update next week. Maybe I'll report my whole results here when everything is over, but that won't be until we are a week into April. 

Brooklyn Update

 My cell phone rang late last night.  At that time I figured it wasn't likely a doctor's office or someone trying to sell me something, the people who usually call me that way.  Had to be Tom.  Sure enough, call from Missouri.  I can take that.  

As expected, it was Tom.  Good news though.  My prints arrived there safely, the box looked fine, and he liked the works.  His reason for calling was asking about biographical information.  I sent that to him last week attached to an email, and I wasn't sure what (if anything) was on my website, but whatever is there, it's probably out of date.  We went over the price of the prints as well- what he was seeking, and what I would settle for.  New information was that he was probably going to another print fair in Baltimore later this year, and he would like to have these prints there as well, if they don't sell. I told him I can print both if I need to, to replace those.  He also talked about what he wants for next year's show in Brooklyn.  I have it, but it's bigger, so shipping may be trickier.  I'll deal with that next year.  He also plans to talk me up at the print fair, and promises only good things.  

Just to make it easier, after I got off the phone with him, I sent all the attachments in all the formats again. But at this point it's all in his hands. I'm glad he got the work and he thinks it's worth showing, so I've done my part.  And some more prints may be started soon, if I like my ideas.

Studio Business

 Not ready to draw, or cut, or print right now, but I do need to make a block or two, so that was part of my mission today.  Wood is already there, but I keep my saw in my car, so I had to bring that in with me.  I had drawn a few lines on the piece of wood I had on my table on a previous visit, and used a cut block to draw one more.  I have vague ideas for a few more Robert Johnson prints, but the furthest along is a vertical, so I started by cutting out two of those.  Won't need the second piece right away, but the pieces are side by side on the large piece of wood, so in making one I made two.  Looked at both sides, to see where the knots were (can't cut any shapes there) and picked one for the next block.  Still not ready to actually draw it yet, but I might start working on things in my sketchbook.  My plan is to have something to begin drawing, or maybe even to cut, by the occasion of the Open Studio in about 3 weeks. 

And speaking of that, my other main mission was to find out when that will be.  The emailed minutes from the organizer gave one set of hours, the emailed newsletter from the office gave different hours, and the cards I saw a few days ago gave a third set.  And since Molly sent me an email saying that she might be interested in participating and wanting more details, I figured we should settle this.  So this morning I went to the office and spoke to Jeanne about it.  She gave me a 4th set of hours, but insisted they were the correct ones.  Made a note.  Also noticed that the cards left in our Studio were not the same as the ones I got upstairs.  The ones put under our door did not list the building events, but did have the names of the participating artists/studios, and was laid out for mailing, I was told at the request of one of the participants.  (back when I was doing postcards for shows, back layout was very important, as if other things occupied certain spaces, the post office will not deliver it) While I was still cleaning up sawdust in my space, Jeanne came to see me.  They decided to go with the hours on the cards. though participants are welcome to come earlier if they want.  I'll pass that all on the Molly later and she can decide what she wants to do.  (she's not listed among the artists, but that may be because she hasn't participated in one of these of late) 

Well, that was enough for me.  I finished sweeping up my sawdust, packed up my saw, took my new block and a few postcards with me, and headed for home.

St Joseph's Day 2025

 Whenever I hear a mention of March 19th, I always think about St Joseph's Day.  Of course, most people don't- the calendar I got from my insurance agent, most local bakeries, they only know about the other holiday on Monday, which makes no sense for a number of reasons.  But here at Studio Arrabbiata, we know and celebrate St Joseph's Day.  And why not?  Besides being the patron saint of Italy, St Joseph is also the patron saint of all wood workers (I qualify) and of bakers of desserts.  A strange combination, but it means we celebrate the holiday by eating a large zeppoli filled with cannoli cream.  No drunkenness or eating English meat for us. All the student printmakers from St Louis who were at Rutgers for the Southern Graphics convention didn't know it at first, but later they did because they were lucky enough to be there on a March 19th when I brought a box of the proper zeppole for the occasion, and the faculty who were expected to eat them all up in the city for the day. 

I wasn't sure if I was going to get one today, but then my speech therapist retrieved some boxes from Del Ponte's, an Italian bakery where they know all about St. Joseph, and I was given one to enjoy later.  See it below:

Looks and smells good, and I look forward to eating it tonight, or maybe just half and save half for breakfast tomorrow, as it is pretty big.  Then on the way home I stopped at a local supermarket I pass, and got a few more.  Probably not as good as the one I was given, but they will do for my parents.  Hope you enjoy this day as much as I do.

Art In Missouri

 Last week I sent my package of woodcuts to Park Hills, Missouri, which has a post office box that is in that way the home of Evil Prints, the outfit that is responsible for the art I will have displayed in Brooklyn next week.  The receipt I got from the post office around here said that delivery would be by Monday at 9 pm. I didn't necessarily believe this, and sure enough, when I tracked my package, it had not been delivered by that time.  Nor when I went to bed that night.  This morning after shower and dressing I checked again.  All they would say is that they had missed that deadline, but the package was in transit and would be delivered soon.  I checked again in the afternoon and found that it had finally reached its destination.  And they gave a new plan of having it delivered by Wednesday, so I guess they beat the new delivery date.  I called Tom and told him it was there at the post office, and he had 5 days to pick it up, before he planned to take a ride to the east coast.  

And that should end my part of this deal.  I have shipped the prints, sent e-mails with all the information he had requested, and now the rest is up to him.  I hope it all works out, but there is nothing more I can do at this point.  If all goes well, I will eventually hear how it went.  However, this is done, so it's time to work on something else.

Boardwalk Days part 46

 The next thing I have to finish is my latest boardwalk print, and I can't really color it until I order some new watercolors, but I can print a new proof now, . I have 3 sheets of the okawara left (need to order more of that as well) and I only need one for today.  

On my way into the building I noticed a large stack of postcards on the 1st floor table, which turned out to be for the upcoming Open Studio event.  A few days ago we got a weekly reminder of upcoming building events, and it listed that open studio, but then we got another email from a participant pointing out that the hours weren't correct. I went back and looked at the email from the organizer with his report on that meeting, and sure enough, these hours were not the same as the ones he put in his minutes.  And now we had this postcard, and sure enough, the hours mentioned there didn't match either of the two things I had before.  I think we have to get this worked out and soon.   Coming up with a project to work on there is easy, but I do have to know when to show up.  There's almost a month to go, so I'm not worried yet.  No names on the card, and nothing about the basement.  As long as they take care of things that day, I don't worry.

Meanwhile, I saw a whole pile of postcards that must have been shoved under the door of our space.  For now I put them up on one of the tables that Molly uses, since I guess they are for her.  She has missed the last bunch of events, so I have my doubts.  

Now printing time.  I saw various evidence that Molly has been there, but she wasn't there now, so that meant I could put on some music.  I started with a home burned disc, my collection of Morphine, from the first and last albums, written about on this blog back in December of 2019.  I had fixed a few issues on the block last time I was in, but pulled out a sheet of the right paper and my printing tools.  Inked up the block, which was a little tricky, because this is my old wood, and that thin stuff does tend to curl a little, and then some more when cut.  But I got it done, hand rubbed the proof, re-inked what needed it, and finally got my proof. Results are below:

Overall it seems to be a good one.  I'll let this dry a week or so before I try coloring it.  Won't be a problem, as I don't have all my water colors yet, and once I do get them, I want to practice first on the other proof I took on okawara, back last fall.  That older one is slightly different, so I will call that an artist proof. 

First disc done, I put on the one album I have from Pearl Jam, Vitalogy,  which I wrote about back in September of 2023 if you want to know more.  Cleaning up after inking always takes longer than when cleaning up after drawing or cutting, but that is the nature of cleaning up ink.  Anyway, I was happy with the results, so on my next visit I will do something about coming up with a new project.