Happy New Year 2022!

 It's time to say good-bye to 2021, which was a mix of happy and sad events, as is the case in most years. This year brought the joy of a beautiful new granddaughter (our first), and the sadness in the loss of my mother, after several years of poor health. The new year starts off with all the disruptions we saw a year ago, with Covid 19 still the top story, but humans are resilient, so I hope in 2022 there will be less fighting and more cooperation in finding common ground.

An icy, snowy end to December

Inspiration for a new block print

Carving out the white areas

Best Wishes to all!

Pop Up Art

 Last weekend I had the opportunity to set up a little "Pop Up" shop in a replica train car, built by Roundhouse Workshop, which is based in Contoocook NH. The replica train cars can take on the roles of tiny houses, studios, shops, etc. 

The interior of the green car 

Magical!

I had fun greeting visitors to my shop! It was a great opportunity to explain my printmaking techniques, and to show off the cutest little rail car! The middle car functioned as a craft brewery for the event. The Caboose on the left is a tiny house model with a queen sized bed in the upper level. Everyone I met was impressed by the construction and versatility of the cars.

In my town, we had our first bit of snow on Wednesday night. My husband captured this shot of the town square with the recently lighted Christmas tree. Quintessential New England scene!

Goffstown NH

Lots to do before the big day in 2 weeks! Stay well!  xo

November Days

 November has graced us with some very nice weather this year! Although as I write this, rain is coming down in buckets! 

I can't resist taking pictures on my walks. The colors of the foliage are ranging from subtle to vibrant, and it has been great to be able to get out and enjoy them.

                                                        Piscataquog River in Goffstown

Dorrs Pond in Manchester

 Uncanoonuc Mountains in the background

I have been working on some ideas for Christmas cards, and played around today with some textures using a Gelli plate. I had already carved out a series of snowflakes from small easy-cut blocks, to use as traditional stamps on a snowman design. Then I experimented a bit with the Gelli plate to make background textures for other cards. 

Golden Open acrylics

The Gelli plate can be used to make a variety of textures

 

                                                Some variations of the snowflake textures.

I will have some of my reduction block prints in an art show later this month at the Two Villages Art Society Gallery in Contoocook, NH. I framed five of my newest prints to hang in the show. The gallery will be running this exhibit and sale from November 26--December 24th.

You can never have too many cat pictures! Hello from Wiley.

The finished print

I finally finished the final layer on my "Cascade Falls" print. It takes so long to complete these highly detailed prints, as I have to hand print each of the 16 prints for each color layer. I think this print has about 8 different color values in it, so that's 128 individual pieces of paper that must be rubbed with a baren and wooden spoon. A printing press produces a quicker, more even print, but I like the ability to control the pressure on individual areas of the block. 

I use Akua Intaglio inks for most of my prints. They are made with soy oil, and can be cleaned easily with soap and water. I use diluted Dawn detergent for cleaning, as it cuts the greasiness of the inks. 

The prints take time to dry thoroughly, so I leave them hanging for a week or more, then I stack them in my print drawers with paper in between each sheet. The more layers, the longer it takes for drying.

A close up of the block near the end of carving

The last layer on this print is a mixture of Mars Black and Burnt Umber. 

I'll be posting this print in my Etsy shop, JGTentas when it's dry enough to package up.

Have a great week!!

Progress on "Cascade Falls" Print and Welcome Autumn

 I've been busy working on the current reduction block print of the Cascade Falls trail in Waterville Valley, NH. There are so many leaves, rocks, and other textures to carve away, that it's taking a long while to fully complete! It seems that the more prints I work on, the more complex and intuitive the process becomes. I'm fully hand printing each layer, which allows for more control of pressure in specific areas, but it also slows down the printing of each stage of the image. I have also been switching to a slightly heavier and whiter BFK printmaking paper, that holds up better to multiple color layers.

Here are a few photos of the ongoing progress.

yellow tones added to background

mixing ink for a layer of green

more green

The printing plate with brown ink

The brown layer

more green

This is the state of the print today. I have to carve away all the areas that I want to stay the current colors. I think there will be just one more layer of a dark neutral gray, which will define all of the darkest shadows.

Sunflowers blooming in the yard! Happy Autumn!

Cascade Falls Block Print

 It's hard to believe that it is September 1st already. The summer flies by so fast, and this is my second year of not having to go back to teaching.  I miss my colleagues, and the kids, but I'm happy to be retired! I really enjoy being able to work in my studio, attend the morning classes at the gym, and have some flexibility in my schedule! 

I just started working on a new print of the Cascade Falls Trail in Waterville Valley, NH. I went hiking recently, during a weekend attending the Women's Leadership Summit, a group connected with Plymouth State University. It was a great time, and we had a lot of fun being outdoors in the beautiful White Mountains.

I just love the rocks!

This is a Soft-Kut block with Sharpie marker.

I carved out the white areas, then printed a light blue first layer.

The second layer is a light gray. 

Now I will be carving out some of the gray areas for the rocks. There are so many tones on the rocks, I'm not sure how many layers it will take to define them. I also think I'll be carving and printing the foreground rocks separately from the greens of the forest in the background.

Stay tuned! 

Piscataquog River Print

 I've been busy getting ready for the Uncommon Art on the Common Art Sale, which is taking place in Goffstown Village tomorrow. It has been a couple of years since I last participated, due to weather and Covid, but it's always a lot of fun! I'm selling block prints, and my friend Lori has gorgeous felted animals, as well as prints.

I just finished, in the nick of time, a new print of the Piscataquog River. The river runs right through the center of Goffstown Village, and is a great place to observe wildlife. I've recently seen a bald eagle, and an osprey flying overhead. 

Here's the steps in creating the new print that I just finished.

The "soft-cut" block is ready to carve. I use a black sharpie to outline the transferred drawing.

Warm yellow tone for the first color

Light blue for second layer

more carving, then a couple gray layers for the sky

First green layer

Second green layer

third green layer

Final green for the finished print!

Have a great weekend!