Snow Day!

Snow Day

Hopefully this is the last big storm of the season! One more week to the official start of Spring, and we are getting a March blizzard. Enjoyed staying home and working on my latest block print. Not so excited to head outside to do some shoveling this evening. Looks like we will get about a foot of snow out this mess, but we are hardy New Englanders, and this kind of weather is nothing new!

Working on a new print--Ogunquit Crow

I haven't posted to Illustration Friday in a while, but I have been working on a new block print. I took pictures last summer while visiting the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine. It was a rainy morning, and I saw this crow hanging out on the rocks by the ocean. I did a few sketches to figure out the layout and colors for a reduction print, and chose a  Gomuban plate for this piece. The advantage of this plate is that it can go through the press, but is softer than linoleum.

After six colors it is almost done. I have to finish carving away the gray layer, and then the final layer of ink will be black.

 

The Big Apple

I recently had the opportunity to attend the 2017 National Art Education Association Convention, held this year in NYC. Fortunately, the dates of the convention fell on my February break from work, so my colleague, Lori, and I were able to stay Tuesday through Saturday, and really enjoy a little extra time in the city. We joined up with a group of other NH art teachers, as well as thousands of others from every state, and many other countries.

                                 Central Park

               Keynote speaker Jeff Koons and his iconic balloon animal sculptures

  We visited the 9/11 Museum, which was incredibly moving. I was especially drawn to the exhibition of artworks inspired by the tragedy.

  Paintings above by Ejay Weiss

Next to the museum is the new entrance to the subway called the Oculus.

In addition to the workshops and speakers at the convention, we managed to visit seven art museums, took a field trip to an NBC prop studio, saw the Broadway show "Waitress", and had some truly delicious meals. It was a great break from the normal routine!

Inside and outside the Guggenheim

Finishing up at the Met after visiting El Museo del Barrio, the Museum of the City of NY, the Cooper Hewitt, and the Guggenheim! All in one day!!

Making my own wallpaper pattern at an interactive exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt!