Boardwalk Rides part 16

A few days ago I got an email from Jeanne at the JSAC telling me that Bobby Duncan was indeed planning to open up his studio for the upcoming Holiday Market.  (I had asked about this a few weeks ago, so it was nice to finally get this information) So I had replied to her that I would go ahead and open mine.   No idea if Molly will be a part of it, but I will let her know in case she does, or at least wants to clean up her mess and put a few artworks out.  Today I planned to ask Jeanne if she had seen my mail, but decided to wait until later.  I wanted to get to cutting.

Today's plan was to finish the carousel, all the parts visible in the view.  That meant finishing up the tower section, then moving on to the round roof overhead.  And that is what I did, finishing all of that.  Now the carousel is all done, and the fence around it.  I redrew the prizes once again.  Still not sure if this is the final version, so that is one section I haven't cut yet.  Next time I start on the airplane ride.  Documentation of today's work can be seen below:

On my way out I stopped by the office, but Jeanne wasn't there.  I thought I heard her voice upstairs, so I took my block and walked up the central stairway.  Found her working on her computer in the lobby, I guess avoiding the office.  She confirmed that she had read my email, and said my name would be on the card.  All well and good, but I am more concerned with them sending people to the basement that day.  I told her I'd get the word out to Molly and my usual contacts.

For music today I went with two regular size albums burned to discs from discs, both of British origin.  I had started with Volume 4 by the Joe Jackson Band (blogged about back in March of 2020), his first reuniting with his original band from his early albums.  Sounds very much the same as that early work, which was important, as that first album had  a reggae track mixed in with all his rock 'n roll songs, and the newer album had a ska (reggae's cousin, also from Jamaica) track on it, mixed with everything else.  From there I went to Beat This (blogged about back in January of 2023) , a compilation album of songs by the (English) Beat, a band that mixed a lot of ska in all songs with other musical interests.  I finished cutting around the time that the second disc ended, so I guess I figured the timing right.  Being that today is November 5th, I had thought that an album featuring John Lennon's song "Remember" would have been appropriate, but I don't have any of his work on disc.

Boardwalk Rides part 15

 Over the weekend I spent more time looking than drawing.  I wanted to make sure I understood everything that was there before I cut anything more.  Can't put anything back once it's cut.  Students have often asked me about that- what to do if you cut the wrong thing?  What I always tell them is now that is your new design, so just tell everyone that is what you intended all along.  Mostly I was looking at horse's legs, making sure I was accounting for all of them, in what I drew and what I cut.  Went over a few things just to make sure with extra pencil. 

At the Studio, time to cut.  I finished the remaining horses on the carousel, one of which had a rider.  Then I did the lower deck of the carousel, basically cutting around all the fence rails and the horses.  I had a little time left, so I started on the tower of the carousel, cutting out what will be off white in the final version.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

Next time I will likely finish the carousel, which will clear the way for the next ride- probably the spinning airplane thing in the lower left panel.  As with the carousel, I plan to start with things in front of other things, and gradually work my way back.

For today's music, I brought something that has never come to the Studio before, Billy Joel.  I had a number of his albums on vinyl (back then there was no compact discs), and never burned them to disc, so I had none in the Studio.  However, I did have one label made disc in the car (for listening on the long ride down from school each week). and my mother had one from her office listening, so I had a few things around the house to bring in.  I started with the one from my mother, disc 1 of The Essential Billy Joel, which was a greatest hits compilation.  I have not found the other discs (the internet tells me this was a three disc set once), and this is roughly chronological, so these are songs from the first part of his career.  Would have liked a few more tracks from certain albums, but this is what they chose and what I got.  Skipped over a few songs I didn't like, and stuff on another disc I do have.  When this first one ended, I put in that one, Glass Houses, part of his effort to be more rock and roll, and before the era of MTV.  I like one of the hits, but I really bought this discounted disc for the deep cuts, which weren't part of that compilation I heard earlier.  Good enough for background music while I worked.

Boardwalk Rides part 14

Today I decided to continue with the carousel, doing the horses on the outer track, and those people riding them.  Did the two main ones in the front, and the two partial ones on either side of those.  This includes the poles that hold them to the lower deck and the ceiling.  There is one horse on the far side of the carousel that is technically also outer track, but that will wait until next time when I do the other horses.  What I get done after that depends on what mood I am in, and how much time I have left that day.  I figure another 2 to 3 days to finish all the carousel, then move on the the other panel.  Results of today's work can be seen below:

I saw evidence that one of Molly's daughters was there in the Studio since the last time I was there.  A note on the table she uses, some minor dishevelment around the space, and some items leaning up against my table.  I have no idea of these were left for me, or just temporarily moved, so I'll send Molly an email about it later, and left them where they were when I went home.  

For music today I was going to listen to a copied disc of a compilation of English Beat songs, but I noticed that the whole album was just a single record, and thus kind of short, so I went with something else.  From my jazz/blues book I selected a home burned disc (from LP's) with two John Lee Hooker albums on it, Volume I and This Is Hip, something I have blogged about before, such as in October of 2021.  This gave me almost 77 minutes of John Lee Hooker in his prime, and that is never a bad thing.

On the way home I was stopped at the red light at 8th Avenue in Belmar, and decided to grab some photos of the construction work in progress on the new housing complex along route 35.  They have made a lot of progress on these apartments or condos, or whatever they are.  There's a long way to go as well, as can be seen in these photos:

I will take more photos in progress, so you can see what comes to pass.  Whatever gets made, I doubt I can afford to live there.

Boardwalk Rides part 13

 After a bit of looking, I realized why the prize wall of the fishing game was bothering me- the perspective was way off.  I had drawn it in a way that made sense for the front side, but this prize wall is on the back (or around the corner), where this perspective made no sense.  I know where I want that prize wall to be, so it had to change.  I'm not sure if the new version is the final version, but it's better than what I had before.

The other thing I did at home over the weekend was changes to the mother taking a photo at the carousel, and the boy on a horse that she is photographing.  The hair on the mother was very much like the hair on the woman holding up her son to play the fishing game, and I didn't like that.  As it turned out, I had an appointment for a flu shot, but they were running late, with a result me having to wait another half hour past my appointed time.  However, that time wasn't wasted, as I had a lot of time to look at people by the counter, and I saw a woman who dressed similarly to the woman standing by the carousel.  No sketch paper there, so I took mental notes- her hairstyle, and her shoes.  Later back home, I made these changes to my block drawing.  The other thing I decided to change was the boy she was taking a photo of.  I realized that the boy was about the size she is.   I know that some kids reach adult size at a young age; my father was that way and has said that he was the largest freshman on his football team and the smallest senior on the football team.  So it can happen.  But it would be easier for the viewer if the kid was smaller than his mother in my print, so I shrunk his head and lowered it, and raised his leg, which made him much smaller. Still a big kid, but significantly smaller that the woman we assume is his mother.  These changes can be seen below:

All of that came with me to the Studio today, along with cutting tools.  Since I am not sure yet if I am done with the prize wall, I put that off for now and started with the carousel.  First did the standing woman outside the fence, then that whole fence itself, including the areas in the far back (done with my V-gouge- these are smaller fence pieces) and the parts that extend into the right panel (mix of U-gouge and V-gouge).  I had a little time left, so I also cut the facing of the lower deck of the carousel.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

On my way to the Studio this morning I realized that today was October 27th, which makes it the birthday of WNEW 102.7 fm (get it?), the radio station I grew up listening to.  That station ceased to exist by the end of the last century, and the frequency has changed call letters and formats multiple times since then.  But while they existed, I listened often, and taped concerts occasionally, some of which I later burned to disc.  And I had one of those discs with me today, in my jazz/blues book, a live show by Robert Cray, recorded as a birthday concert on October 27, 1990.  Took both sides of a cassette, but only one disc, so I enjoyed that today, on what would be the 59th birthday of the station, should it still exist.   (this disc was best blogged about back in October of 2024, but not yet listened to this year)  Also further proof that my chem major friend, who insisted that plastic that was used to make compact discs would fall apart within ten years, didn't know what he was talking about.

More Photos From Pyramid Atlantic

 Here are a few more photos from the opening reception and other print related activities at the Outlaw Printmakers exhibition at Pyramid Atlantic.  These come from a large selection sent to me by Jeana Foley and taken by Carlo from Stereo Vision Photography. Looks like a good time down there.

First, some photos of just art, woodcuts by Tom Huck and linocuts by Bill Fick, and whatever it is that Sue Coe does.  A lot of detail in these, so click to enlarge.  I know Tom and Bill very well.  I have never met Sue, but we have been in some shows together, and I did have some of her books.

Here are a bunch of photos of people checking out the show and other things.  I'm a bit envious, as I know it would be interesting to see all this work, and for some it was the first time.  

Of course, there was a band playing at the opening.

The weekend also included some panel discussions and workshops, all print related.

The Outlaw Printmakers exhibition remains on display at Pyramid Atlantic through November 15th.  Admission is free, and hours are posted on the gallery website.

Boardwalk Rides part 12

Had to bring my car in early this morning for some maintenance, and found the lot there full.  No problem- just parked on the street next to the repair shop.  They said it was more a problem of people needing to pick up cars than too many dropping them off.  But mine was eventually taken care of, so I got to the Studio a little earlier than usual.  

As planned, I went right to the little boy being held up to play the fishing game, there in the lower corner of the right panel.  Did that, then the outside of the game booth, all the way to the top of the panel.  Then I went ahead and did the game itself, a little trench of water with the fish floating in it and around.  About that time my disc ran out, and I decided to end things there.  Same amount of time I usually put in, just finished earlier than usual.  There's something about those shelves with prizes that bothers me, so I took the block home with me today to give it a more detailed look.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

For music today I brought an old favorite from my rock/pop collection, a home burned disc with albums from two Texas bands, the Hickoids, and Jon Wayne.  I had these two on tape, made for me by a fellow grad from SIU (also from Texas), and this was a priority once I was able to burn discs.  Glad I did.  Eventually I got the Hickoids album on a reissued album disc, but I don't have that right now, so this home burned disc from the LP is a lifesaver.  One advantage is that this disc has two bonus live cuts from the former band, put on by my friend, and not on the official CD that I have.  (of course that CD has bonus tracks not on the disc I have, but none of those are as good as the ones I have now)  By the way, wrote about today's disc in detail on this blog back in December of 2019.

Boardwalk Rides part 11

Over the weekend I fixed a few things at home, mostly just going over lines I already had.  I don't think there is anything left to draw, so I begin the cutting stage.

As always, the first step is to cut out all the borders around the image, and for these boardwalk prints, that means the diptych panels.  Tried doing this with a big chisel, but I found things more efficient to just use my curved gouges for this.  Either way, I was finished with that.  The disc I started was still playing, so I moved on to the image area of the print, doing the standing woman by the fishing game.  Logic said that I should start with things in front of other things, and she qualified.  About the time I finished her, the disc finally ran out, so I decided to call it a day.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

That big pile of wood shavings on the table represents most of what I cut today.  (some ended up on the floor, but I will wait and sweep that when the whole thing is finished)  It's a good start.  Next will be the boy she's holding up, and then the outside of the fishing game.  After that, I'm not sure.  Could be the rest of the fishing game, or maybe start down by the airplanes, or even start on the outside of the carousel.  I'll figure it out when the time comes.

For music today I brought from my rock/pop book a disc I burned of favorites from Morphine, all the first album and most of the last posthumous album, with the whole story blogged about back in December of 2019.  Not particularly boardwalk music, but good to listen to while working.

Photos From Pyramid Atlantic

 Yesterday my friend Jenny sent me some photos she took at the Pyramid Atlantic gallery a few days ago.  I'm still waiting for postcards from the gallery, but I did send email announcements to a few people in that region, and it turned out she was planning to make a trip into Maryland during the time the show is up and stopped by to see it.  It's not a complete view of the whole show, but it does include my work, and a few examples of other prints in the show. (click on all to enlarge)  First, here's mine:

I'm glad that all five prints were included in the show, and that they spelled my name right.  From this photo the pieces look good. That small card underneath includes some information about me, probably from the online form I filled out before I sent everything.  

Of the other works she sent, there is no signature on this one, but the subject and the style can be no one other than Sean Starwars.  I have been in a few group folios with him, and he was an artist at the Print Blitz in Texas a few decades ago.

Also at the Print Blitz was John Hancock, who is a screen printer.  The next one is a print of his, based on the signature.  Below that is one from the Amazing Hancock Bros, so I'm guessing a collaboration with his brother Charles.  Could these be the reason for the content warning?  Say what you will about the Outlaws, but they will say what is on their mind.

The gallery director at Pyramid Atlantic promised photos of the opening reception, which I have not received yet.  When I get them, I will post them on this blog in another post.

Boardwalk Rides part 10

 Up to the Studio this morning to continue work on the current block.  Not much more to do with this one, but there is always something that could be better.  Learned a lesson from my Writing 101 professor, who used to say, "No piece of writing is ever finished; there's just a deadline."  He meant it, too.  Typed papers we turned in were expected to have hand written corrections on them, things meant to improve the paper.  If not, automatic failure.  What he didn't teach me, and this was also important, is that there is a point in art (or writing I suppose) where you have to stop what you are doing and move on.  I'm not to the move on point (cutting) yet, but I am close.

Today's first task was to deal with the head of that standing figure by the carousel.   The block drawing of her looked okay, but the photo of that panel showed that the head was a bit too small, which threw off all the proportions.  Simple solution was to just make the head a little bigger.  With eraser and pencil, that was accomplished.  Another thing I had decided to do was add another horse to my carousel, in the outer track.  I had decided there was just too much space behind the big one in the front, and started putting one just in back of its tail.  Only a little piece of it is visible (the head) before we get to the border, but it is enough to establish that there is another horse there.  Another thing I did today was to start putting in lines representing the boards underfoot that make up the boardwalk.  Some of these lines might disappear as I cut, especially those in the far distance, but for now I have some there.   Results of today's drawing can be seen below:

After documenting today's work, I decided to take it home.  One thing I need to work on is those prizes in the fishing game, only loosely roughed in now.  And I may put a sign on the front of that game, at least the part we can see.  I plan to look at other prints and maybe some reference photos, and see what I have done in the past.

For music today, I brought one from the pile I have with me at home, a label made compilation called, Come Dancing With The Kinks  The Best of 1977-1986, something I used to keep in my car for the long drives back from school.  Probably something created for the era of compact discs- longer than a single LP would be, but maybe a little shorter than a true double album.  Blogged about this one back in January of 2024 if you want to know more.  If you know the band during that time period, you have a pretty good idea what is on that disc.  It would go well with a disc I had collecting all the early singles by the band, but that is still in storage.

Outlaws On The Wall

The latest exhibition of work by the Outlaw Printmakers is planned to open at Pyramid Atlantic in a few days.  I care about this show especially because I am in it.  I am one of 15 artists in the show, and it is my understanding that all the scheduled artists have provided work.  Here is the list, and the official exhibition graphic, provided by gallery director Jeana Foley (click on to enlarge):

I know several of the artists from having worked with them and from group folios, and one I know from curating him into a show.  The others I don't know as well, but I will see photos of the opening, and I believe all the work will be available on the website.  I'm just happy they spelled my name right.

I shipped five framed pieces down to the gallery, and the gallery director wrote that all arrived safely, so for now I am going to assume that all five will be in the show.  What I sent was five prints from the Robert Johnson series, without the accompanying lyrics, a practical decision.  Not only are these some of my most recent works, they are also some of my best.  Below is one of my prints for the show:

The color graphic lists the dates of the show.  I assume that hours of operation can be found on the website.  The website also includes something that I don't normally see- a content advisory.

The advisory states:  "Some of the artwork is edgy and contains adult themes."  Have I ever been in a show that came with a content advisory?  Yes and No.  As far as I know, I have never been in a show that carried an advisory, but I was in a few editions of a Belmar Arts Council show called "Art on the Edge", which sought work that was a little beyond the norm.  I don't recall anything from those shows being too crazy, but my standards may be different from others.  For a few years at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st, I was a member of a gallery called City Without Walls in Newark.  Back then they had a space on the ground floor of the Gateway Building, a very respectable place literally across the street from the train station.  Besides an exhibition space, they were famous for a slide repository, open to anyone who wanted to curate a show, and the rule was any potential curator had to review every slide in the place.  One might think that this would lead to being selected for some shows, but I got the postcards, which showed a different story. It was the same artists in each show, which led me to interpret that all the shows were put together by a group of friends selecting each other for shows.  But then finally I was selected for a show, and it was scheduled.  Then it was unscheduled, by the gallery director, who decided to give our slot to one of those friend groups.  This also lined up with the gallery moving to an "up and coming" neighborhood in Newark (in other words, a neighborhood to avoid, and in this new location a gallery director was attacked with a hammer, which proves my point), so I decided to end my involvement.  However I still have a t-shirt from the gallery which includes the following statements: "Caution Art reflects life.  Warning Those offended by life should avoid art.  Danger !  CWW shows art."   I don't think much of the gallery (which closed about a decade ago), but I do agree with that shirt and I still wear it.  The Outlaws I know all make art about life, as do I.  It is what I know.  By the way, that unscheduled show eventually did happen; that curator found a space in SoHo and we had it there.

Could my work be the cause of that content advisory?  Not knowing where this work would be exhibited (except the religious community that is Ocean Grove), I avoided any nudity or explicit scenes, not easy to do when the images are based on the lyrics of Robert Johnson, who was not known to shy away from such subjects.  However, some encounters are implied in some prints, such as the ones below:

I still don't think anything too crazy was in these.  Like I said, all these have been shown in Ocean Grove (which was founded as a religious community and is still controlled by the Methodist church) and one was shown on public television.  I guess I will find out when the whole show gets posted.

The OUTLAW PRINTMAKERS MMXXVI exhibition will be at Pyramid Atlantic from October 16 through November 15, 2026.   I recommend you go see it.  Some will probably forget it soon, but some may find it a life changing experience.  

Boardwalk Rides part 9

 As expected, over the long weekend I did a little drawing on the current block.  All of this was in the left panel.  I made a few changes to the center of the airplane ride, based on the photo I have.  Of course, my photo is a side view, and the drawing is more a top view, so this is already a compromise, but it will have to do.  I also added three figures in the background- two in the center car (as we see it) of the Ferris wheel, and one child in the giant fish rotating ride.  The couple in the Ferris wheel is partly based on the newspaper photo I have, but significantly changed around, while the other figure is completely made up.  Those changes can be seen in the photo below:

My plans for today all involved the right panel.  After a bit of time looking at the block at home, I decided to add another horse to my carousel, sort of on the inside track.  Only part of it is visible, as most of the horse is hidden behind a larger one on the outside track.  Then I added a standing figure, someone who seems to be taking a photo of a child on a carousel horse, standing outside the fence around the ride.  So far I have her in long pants (probably jeans) and heeled shoes, unlike anyone else in the diptych.  I'm not sure if I am completely satisfied yet- may need to do something with the head.  However, it will serve as a place holder until I come up with something better.   For a while I was also playing around with a cranking system located on the ceiling of the carousel, something that would make the horses go up and down (seen on a recent Twilight Zone episode), but I couldn't figure it out, and so just erased everything and put things back as they were.  A photo of today's work can be seen here:

There was one thing I was considering changing, and that's a small piece of a distant roller coaster in the deep background.  That is because I saw a piece of a new story today that seemed to be about someone who died on a roller coaster.  However, for now I have decided to keep it.  It's a small piece of one, in the distant background, and roller coasters are a feature of every boardwalk amusement park I have ever seen.  (Following Hurricane Sandy, there was a frequently reproduced photo of a roller coaster partly under water, and parts rising from the ocean flood waters.)  It is so small and distant, that I imagine most viewers are not even going to know what it is.

For music today I brought something that I haven't brought to the Studio for a few years, the Nanci Griffith duet cover album, Other Voices, Other Rooms.  The long story of how I came to own this album can be found on this blog back in December of 2021.  I stayed for a few minutes after the disc ended, then packed up and went home.

Boardwalk Rides part 8

 Got up to the building in the late morning and saw the walls on the first floor full of art.  Not a surprise really, as I knew that last night was the opening reception for the Instructor/Student show they got going on right now.  I said hello to Jeanne (who was there) and went to my space.

Today the plan was to continue with adding figures to my latest boardwalk block, and today that meant the airplane ride in the lower corner of the left panel.  I knew I had a reference on an old print, and it must be on my blog, but I couldn't remember the name of the print, which makes a search difficult.  It was a piece that combined various insect poisons from the shed out back (left over from my hardware store owning grandfather, now turned over the county) and some kids from my old Candyland game board, circa 1960.  So I plugged the word "poison" into the search and found the print.  Still didn't have a title for it, and I never seem to have put it in the blog, but I had what I wanted- a sketch of a running girl.  Made a copy in my sketchbook.

Up at the Studio I got out my pencils and started adding figures.  At first I was going to have the girl climbing into the airplane ride, but I didn't like the look of what I had, so I ended up with her putting both hands on the ride (new compared to my original drawing of her) and both legs mostly behind the plane.  Then I put a little boy in the cockpit of the plane in the foreground.  I had some more time, so I threw in a standing adult holding a camera, facing toward the airplane ride.  This also occupied a section of boardwalk where I had nothing anyway, so it's good.  It does mean I am now likely to add the photographing mother to the carousel ride in the right panel, but that will wait for another day.  Results of today's drawing can be seen below:

I don't know if these are final versions or not.  If nothing else, they are placeholders for what I have planned.  I decided to bring the block home with me again, in case I want to do more over the long weekend.  I probably will.  On my way out I saw most of the new show.  I'll check it out more next time, but so far I am not much impressed.  I didn't expect to be by a student show.  

Back home I had a plan to find that print title.   On my computer I have a document of every show I've ever been in- show title in italics, gallery location (city), and exhibited work(s) by title, all underlined and in parentheses.  I already knew the name of the original show and the year, so it was easy to find the print title: "Pest Free and Carefree."  Almost 200 group shows, including the one next week.  It's getting to be a long document.

For music today I had brought an old favorite from my rock/pop book, the Giant Songs album from Giant Sand.  (what's more appropriate for a boardwalk block than a band that is named for sand)  It's a home burned copy of a compilation album, sort of a best of about the band, which was always Howe Gelb and whoever he got to play with him whenever he was ready to put out a new album. You can read some about it back in July of 2019.  Definitely good music to make art to.

Boardwalk Rides part 7

 As expected, over the weekend I looked at my source photos on the computer and did a little sketching on my block.  I borrowed elements from two different photos, but did manage to fill that one undrawn area in the left panel, between the Ferris wheel and the carousel.  In the foreground I put in a rotating ride (appears to be giant fish) and the top of another rotating ride, and behind that part of a roller coaster and the fence that protects and supports it, plus some bits of distant buildings.  The results can be seen below:

With that out of the way, I have now finished the basic drawing of the whole boardwalk block.  No doubt I will have to go back and refine some things, but the layout is done, so it's time to move on to the next phase, and that is starting to put in the people.  Boardwalk ride areas always have a lot of people- kids riding the ride, and adults trying to keep them under some kind of control.  For today that meant roughing in some figures over the already drawn rides and games, and then a mix of erasing old elements and drawing new elements in those spaces.  But that's why I start in pencil for most prints.

The first thing I did on the block today was add the two figures playing the fishing game.  This was a boy playing the game, boosted up so he could reach it, and his mother(?) holding him up.  Drew the child first, then the adult.  So far so good.  I left the one visible foot of the woman alone for now.  Maybe it will be a sneaker, or maybe a heel.  I will check some reference photos and see what is more common on the boardwalk.  Results of this change can be seen below:

I also added some figures riding horses on the carousel- one in the foreground, one with his back to us, and one across the carousel in the distance.  These were all based on gesture sketches I did from that episode of Homicide a few weeks back.  For now it's three boys, like on the show, though I changed the winter clothes to summer clothes for my purposes.  Colors of clothing and hairstyles will help differentiate the riders, as colors will be used to differentiate the horses.  I do plan to add a mother with a camera to this ride, but I haven't decided yet which panel she will be in.   That will wait for another day.  Results of these changes can be seen here:

After documenting today's changes, I put the block away.  I had other business to deal with.  First was checking my supply of paper.  I may do an order of art supplies soon, and it would be nice to know what I have and what I need.  Right now paper is divided over three separate shipment boxes, and I wanted to know what I actually have.  Turns out I have an ample supply of Rives Lightweight (good because I use that a lot), five sheets of the Okawara that I use for boardwalk prints (enough to last me for the immediate future, but I may get a few more) and nothing useable of the Rives Heavyweight (definitely get some of that).  Task #2 was to see which of Mary Lane's blocks I still had.  Sent her an email to the last address I had for her several weeks ago and got no response.  The email wasn't sent back as undeliverable, so the box may still be active, but no response.  I may try calling next.  Meanwhile, I have two of her blocks (and now noted which ones they are) in my Studio, left from when I printed them more than two years ago.  My last task was to look for small works.  I got an email from Steve Borzotta over the weekend, asking me if I want to put anything in the tiny gallery on the second floor.  The problem is that the little box only holds small works, and I have done nothing that small in a long time.  I might be able to edit down pieces of larger prints eventually, but I don't have anything now.

For music today I took one from my rock/pop book, my home burned copy of Tom Waits's Beautiful Maladies, which is a compilation of greatest hits from his Island Records years, and is the music he is best know for.  I wrote about this album back in February of 2020, but haven't listened to it in the Studio for while, so it was a good one to bring today.  When it ended, I was about ready to go.

On my way out of the building, I ran into Steve, so I was able to tell him in person that I don't currently have anything that will fit in the mini-gallery right now.  Saved me the trouble of emailing him later.

A.I.

 I guess it was inevitable that I would have something to say about A.I. at some point.  It's been in the news a lot lately, with meetings happening, inventors and the President speaking out about it, and a subject on numerous television shows.  In my case, I can also throw in a lifetime of reading and watching science fiction (which has also dealt with variations of this many times), plus my current use of woodcut, one of the most primitive art forms there is.  Right now Molly is even making it the subject of new t-shirts.  So how do I feel about artificial intelligence, or A.I. as it is mostly called?

Obviously I am not a fan.  I don't know anyone who is, but then I don't personally know anyone in the field.  I have seen many examples of art made by artificial intelligence- a concept is given to a computer along with a style, and the program can create art to order.  This art can be printed out by a color printer.  But it will look like something that came out of a computer printer.  It won't look like a relief print, or have the texture of a canvas.  So that's something in my favor.  If you want to learn how to carve wood to create a woodcut, you have to come to someone like me, and people have traveled far across the state to take one of my classes.  Or you could go to Evil Prints in St Louis and learn woodcut from Tom Huck (who was my student once).  Or any of the other few who do it, I suppose.  The upcoming Outlaw Printmakers show has a few relief printers who I know personally- myself, Tom, Bill Fick, and Sean Star Wars.  All of us make use of a process that hasn't changed much in the past 500 years, yet none of us make art that looks like that of the others.  

Could A.I. be used to make a relief print?  Perhaps.  A program can design a composition.  A laser cutter could be used by a computer to create a relief.  I don't think there is yet a computer device that can roll ink onto that relief, but perhaps one could be designed, if not now then in the future.  And if an ink rolling device can be created, so could something to print it onto paper.  But that doesn't get you a genuine relief print by one of the above artists.  I have an organic brain, and so do all the previously mentioned artists.  And everything is filtered through the brain.  I may consciously adjust parts of a block drawing (to fix perspective, as an example) but I have no idea where the concepts come from.  I get an idea, and make a print.  I will sometimes consult references to improve my depiction of a particular item, but the idea may be beyond my control.  Probably the same goes for any other artist.

Certainly A.I. is cheaper, and that is one reason so many fear it- trained skilled workers to be replaced by machines that can do things faster and cheaper, and without the messiness of involving a person in the process.  If you want something inexpensive and quick that kind of looks like a relief print, A.I. can get you that right now, and in time, maybe something better.  If you want something created by an actual artist, you'll have to come to one of us.  Pick the one you like.  Art is already a pretty crazy business- expecting people to pay good money for some design I put on paper.  But that is what I do, and right now a machine can't do exactly what I do, so I will keep doing it.

That Outlaw Printmakers show should be pretty cool.