Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Leftovers III Exchange @WingtipPress

Time for this year's edition of Leftovers at Wingtip Press in Boise, ID.

LEFTOVERS III 

Prints: 14 (you'll get 12 in return, we keep one for exhibitions and one to raise funds for those who need our leftovers)
Size: Up to 5" x 7" - can be smaller, but NO larger please!
Cost: $12.00
Due Date: March 15, 2012
Ship to: Wingtip Press 6940 Butte Court Boise, ID 83704 USA

Contact Wingtip Press if you want to participate.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Little Print Book Project Flies Home


Last year, my printmaker buddy Sherrie York sent to me a little book in the mail: Jill Bergman's Little Print Book Project. Well, I was right in the throes of new mommy-hood, and was completely hopeless with pretty much anything at that point. I eventually managed to coordinate with other printmakers around here (Cowichan Valley, Victoria, and Richmond, BC, and Bellevue, WA) to contribute, then finally I managed to send the book off to AnniePod in Philadelphia, PA, who also sent it to Tuckamore Design in Buffalo, NY. You can see the final book at Jill's blog Art on the Page.

Thanks to everyone who contributed; it was a treat to see all your pieces, and what a fun way to connect with other printmakers.  Thanks, Sherrie for thinking to include me, and thanks Jill for getting the ball rolling in the first place!  I hope your other books come back full of lovely prints and more contacts.
.
PS - Jill is still looking for contributors - if you're interested, visit her blog for contact info.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Kitchen Lithography - Viral Printmaking

I've seen this now through Printsy, Facebook, Twitter, Printeresting, and a few other sources, so I just had to share.


Lithographie maison — Kitchen Lithographie — Lithography
Uploaded by emilivideo on 8 September 2011

How exciting!  Now, I just have to be able to find time & energy to get back into the studio!  

OK, so that leads to Mommy Update: we're all doing well, thank you.  Kate is now 15 months (yikes!) and not quite walking everywhere but just about, with lots of proto-words and a lot of smiles & giggles.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

International Print Day

Press


Get out your squeegees and spitstickers, resin boxes and liquid tusche, presses and barens, ladies and gentlemen it's International Print Day!! Whatever your printmaking passion, press on, boys and girls, and get some ink on paper today! Share what you've done - make a comment (although be patient; I've had to moderate comments because of all the spam) and send a link to your work from today. Share it with MPC Fine Art Club's printmakers on the Print Day in May blog (they're the group who got the brayer rolling back in 2007), and mark the first Saturday in May in your calendars for next year so that we can be a little more coordinated about it!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show 2011


Fairest Of Them All
acrylic on canvas
(c) 2011 Amie Roman

I've put the above piece in this year's CVAC Fine Arts Show.

All are invited to Cowichan Valley Arts Council's 41st annual arts show. It is the largest non-juried art show in the Cowichan Valley, featuring recent artworks by artists living and working in the Cowichan Valley.

Gala Opening! Wednesday, April 6 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Everyone welcome. Meet the artists and share in the fun.

Thursday, April 7 Open 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday, April 8 Open 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 9 Open 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 10 Open 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Quw'utsun' Conference & Cultural Centre, 200 Cowichan Way in Duncan.

Admission is $5 for adults and free admission for children.

Your support of the arts and artists is greatly appreciated.

Each day different CVAC members, artists and representatives of arts groups will host the show, giving demonstrations and talking about the art work.

Daily Program
Thursday, April 7, 10 am – 12 noon : Handbuilding in clay, Jane Wolters
1 - 4 pm : Rug hooking, Colleen Wike

Friday, April 8, 1- 4pm : Artists Trading Cards with Beverlee McLeod

Saturday, April 9, 1 – 4 pm : Silk painting, Clare Carver
10 - 12 and 1 - 3 pm : Face Painting

Sunday, April 10, 1 – 4 pm - Weaving of all sorts by Alison Irwin
11 - 3pm : Face Painting

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Printmaking Treasuries

Here are a few more:







Enjoy!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Digital Work - Bullrider

While I've not been in the printmaking studio (other than to plant up our seedlings for the summer...), I've done a little bit more preparation for some printmaking in the future.

We used to attend the Williams Lake Stampede, but haven't been for a few years. I took lots of photos at the last two with the intention of turning them into something artistic at some point. I had done a few mixed media images from some of the photos: semi-blind contour sketches followed by watercolour monotype and coloured pencil crayons (if I manage to dig up one of those pieces, I'll take a photo and post at some point), but nothing much since. I hadn't decided how else to use the images, then the other day I thought maybe I'd try playing around with GIMP and my Wacom graphics tablet like I did with Murri, and see what came out of it.

So I started with a photo that I'd scanned a while ago, and cropped a little:

Bullrider - original image

I tweaked the image so that it was then just greyscale:

Bullrider B&W

Using a new layer and the Ink tool in GIMP, this is the first sketch:

Bullrider - sketch 1

While I was pretty happy with it, Dave & my cousin, Len, commented that they couldn't figure out where the bull ended and the rider started. I've highlighted the problem area here:

Bullrider - problem area

It seemed to them that the chaps of the rider were actually the back of the bull, and thus the leg disappeared and didn't "read" properly: it seemed like the rider was positioned side-saddle. We chatted about what I could do to improve the image, and we decided that as long as there was some kind of distinction between the back of the bull and the chaps of the rider, that it should probably work. Here is the second attempt:

Bullrider - sketch 2

While the leg still disappears to a certain extent, I'm thinking this will probably be it. I do like the composition better, and with a black & white simplification, you definitely can lose detail, but that's something that appeals to me, personally. Any comments or suggestions?

There will likely be more of these as I can take the time to do them; there's already another under way.

Mad Scientists of Etsy

I recently joined the Mad Scientists of Etsy team; a group of Etsy sellers who are both crafty and geeky/nerdy, just my kind of crowd! Check out their blog, Facebook page, and Etsy Team page. I just cobbled together a treasury featuring some of their members' work:



They are a wide and varied bunch, from jewelery to cosmetics, toys to accessories, paper to fabric, so much to see!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

"2011: The Pre-Occupied Horsemen"

This graffiti mural is by Chris de Souza Jensen, one of my patrons, who lives in Malta:

Monday, February 7, 2011

Hello, my name is Amie R...

... and I'm addicted to Etsy Treasuries and Tumblr. Oh dear.

Check out my Treasuries on Etsy, and my new Tumblr blog, where I post mostly interesting finds from Etsy (not surprisingly, many printmakers and specifically Printsy members).

Here's my most recent Treasury:



Sigh. Like I don't have better things to do with my time. Like sleep (read: I have a 7 1/2 month old daughter that has decided she doesn't like to stay asleep when we finally get her there... so why am I wasting time on the internet when she is asleep? Dunno. Must be insane).

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

101 Prints - Malaspina Printmakers

I have donated one of the "Exposed" edition to Malaspina Printmakers' 101 Prints fundraiser:

Exposed

Get your tickets now! $300 guarantees you a fabulous print worth at least $300, and all proceeds go towards Malaspina Printmakers. Find out more information on Malaspina's site.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Leftovers Print Exchange

Lighthouse
Do you have lots of bits and pieces of paper kicking around from various editions? How about old blocks or plates that would combine in an interesting new way? Or do you have leftover prints lying around that you could funk up a bit? Well, then, step right up for the second annual Leftovers Print Exchange! Delivery deadline is March 15, 2011. Join the over 124 (!) participants from around the world and get your special printers' dozen in the mail.

Details
Prints: 14 (twelve for the exchange, one for the exhibition, one for donation to raise funds for a local charity)
Process: That's up to you! (No inkjet though, please)
Size: Up to 5" x 7" - can be smaller, but NO larger please!
Cost: $12.00
Due Date: March 15, 2011

Please advise by return email [amyen at mac dot com] if you wish to participate.

And please invite other printmakers to join us!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Printmaking around the Web

Thought I'd share some neat printmaking stuff that I've run across recently on the internet:

One of my all-time favourite internet printmaking buddies, Sherrie York, has a wonderful little film about her work:

PPLD Off the Wall: February 2011 from PPLD TV on Vimeo.


Congrats, Sherrie, it's a great film, you do a wonderful job of explaining your work, and I love the pieces chosen.

Another favourite printmaker that I've met online is Annie Bissett, and she's just announced that one of her pieces has been accepted into the 1st International Moku Hanga Conference in Japan in June. Congrats, Annie! Your work is brilliant, and deserves the international attention that it gets.

Finally, a funky little print project from a couple of years ago titled "Just in Time" by Xavier Antin. My husband found this on his blog reading, and I thought I'd share with my printmaking buddies. Enjoy!

That's it from me; still not been in the studio, still hoping to get there sometime soon... eventually!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Artist's Way - a hiatus

Well, it was a good idea, but bad timing. Yes, I'm sure that those of you who've been through this workshop would argue that any timing is potentially bad, and that I should stick with it. I just don't have the psychological strength or physical fortitude left after looking after our little girl. I'm pretty sure that I'll have more time and energy eventually (hopefully soon) to pick this up again. I made it through weeks three and four (four was interesting: no reading! I managed to not read almost, and I tried to avoid TV and computer as well, mostly), but then burnt out. I did discover on the couple of days I was able to manage the morning pages first thing in the morning that it really does make a difference what time of day they get written; it was much more productive first thing in the morning.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some more art done sometime soonish. I did a quick sketch outdoors the other day with Kate strapped to my front; if I get to the scanner any time soon, I shall include it in the blog. For now, though, I think that any spare time and energy is going to be devoted to sleep, and just coping with being mom :)

Hope everyone is having a creative and fulfilling new year thus far! I sure miss being a part of the online printmaking community right now, I look forward to catching up with you all again sometime soon.