The Rhinoceros Project at Ramon's Tailor

The Ramon's Tailor installation is up! Visit here to see a sneak peek!

Our opening reception is tomorrow, November 19, from 3-6 PM. Join us at 628 Jones Street for sewing circles, rhinoceros cookies, and rhino ephemera!

We will be in residence on Saturdays and Sundays, 12-4, till January 8. Visit us to take a break from the holiday craziness and sit, sew, and share!

Collaboration is...

I've been working on an article for the upcoming issue of The California Printmaker. The issue has a focus on collaboration, and I'm writing about Book Bombs!

Collaboration is such an important part of my work. Not only have I collaborated with Mary, I also have collaborated several times with Marie Elcin, and am currently working on a collaborative project with Anne Beck. And I can't forget my recent collaboration with Robert! The image above is from one of Anne's and my tests. In fact, one of the first artist books I ever made, which convinced me what I really wanted to do was make books, was a collaboration between sixteen artists.

As I was writing about Book Bombs, I was trying to capture the essence of what a collaboration really is. It's more than just working with others to make art in some way. As I was brainstorming, I ended up with the following list, which I decided to share here.

Collaboration is working together
Collaboration is an environment for growth
Collaboration is a loss of ego
Collaboration is exciting
Collaboration is a form of evolution
Collaboration is learning to listen
Collaboration is embracing the process
Collaboration is opening up
Collaboration is new insights
Collaboration is unexpected turns
Collaboration is a form of giving
Collaboration is a form of receiving
Collaboration is a form of gratitude
Collaboration is an act of love

New Print and collaboration about Pluto!

As a usual gap in blogging indicates, a whirlwind of activities happened. I need to sit down and really do a couple of posts about the time at Banff, but because it was just SO MUCH I need to process a bit.

So to get back into the rhythm of blogging, I'm writing today about my recently finished print for the Pluto Print Exchange that Mandy organized. Robert and I ended up collaborating on our piece, and we didn't end up killing each other! (I find it odd that as frequently as I collaborate with others - Marie, Mary, Anne - this was my first time with my husband).

With all the new images of Pluto from New Horizons, I started looking at images of Pluto from mythology, particularly in printed matter. Robert and I both ended up being drawn to this image by Hendrick Goltzius.

Our original intent was to combine the historic and the most recent scientific, perhaps in a sort of like Vitruvian Man. However, the idea developed through our love and respect for papercutting to incorporate that technique. We were also inspired by Allison Smith's Pitcher Collection, and how isolating an image from context makes it both more playful and yet gives it a certain presence.

Using some of the leftover Sekishu from my Small Plates residency (thanks SFCB!) we digitally printed (with archival inks) some images of Pluto's surface. I carved a block based on Goltzius's Pluto (above, inked) which was then printed onto the Sekishu.

The prints were then cut out of the Sekishu.

(I have to confess, the whole time I was cutting these, I kept thinking about this post from The Toast, and the line, GET THIS ARSE.)

Finally, the cut out images were chine colle'd to Rives BFK.

Click on the images for larger views.

The print needs to be properly documented, still. Next spring, the entire portfolio will be exhibited at UArts in the Printmaking Gallery. Artists from Oakland (me), Seattle, Iowa, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia participated. I've yet to see the rest of the portfolio, but have heard good things about the other pieces - trying to be patient but very excited!

More papermaking at Magnolia Editions

Just finished up another workshop at Magnolia Editions - this time, a focused class in pulp painting. The class set a new record for me in distance traveled by a participant - this time it was Florida!

Above, you can see the entire class took place under the very intense gaze of Chuck Close in tapestry form.

Jenny (pictured above) has made paper with David Kimball, and brought along a pouring mold he'd made for her many years ago. Here she is experimenting with incorporating doilies into the poured sheet.

The class only had six students, all of whom worked pretty much nonstop. My assistant Heather and I had to switch off for lunch, since the students wouldn't slow down. Some of them stopped and had a quick snack, but I'm not sure all of them did.

Don introduced an interesting technique. Using a piece of gampi that had been digitally printed with one of his and Era's images, he laid it under a screen that he'd gotten from a commercial paper manufacturer. The printed image was visible through the screen - although I think a thin pellon would work just as well. Students in the class played with painting some pulp using the image as a guide.

We tried pulp with formation aid and without. You can see the difference above - the yellow is without formation aid, much clumpier. Whereas the black pulp paint has formation aid and appears much more smooth, controlled, and linear.

After the class was all done giving it a try, a sheet of paper was pulled and couched on top of the pulp painted design.

The whole thing was pressed in the group pressing at the end of the workshop. A close up is below.

I'm not sure I've ever had a class go through so much pulp, make so much paper. I was kept so busy these are the only photos I took.

On Saturday, May 3, Magnolia will be offering the workshop "Creating Paper Sculptures," Rhiannon Alpers, a highly recommended class. For more information or to arrange payment, please email papermagnolia@hotmail.com.

UNBOUND at SAGE Projects

Infinite Thread, the artist book I collaborated on with Marie Elcin, is part of this exhibition in Sheridan. Making me miss my time at Jentel....