new block prints

'hoosier hysteria'

12 1/2" x 9 1/2"

i must have the dirtiest print shop in the world.  most printmakers i know keep their shop pristine so as not to ruin the paper with spots and mess from dirty surfaces.  mine is covered in sawdust, broken, disassembled and random junk, stencil and linoblock scraps, art ready to show, art waiting to show, spray cans and dust, and just general mess everywhere.  it's an obstacle course.  but i navigate it, and yesterday was print day.

i started in on a new round of prints, quickly burning through the paper.  i decided to print some of the collage/mural blocks that i had cut several months ago.  i had tested most of them but never actually printed any.  yesterday, they resurfaced as some great pieces with spray paint underneath.

'singapore'

12 1/2" x 12 1/2"

this block is several scenes of singapore created from a combination of several sketches from our trip last year.  can't wait to go back and visit family and eat great food!

'play'

12 1/2" x 19"

this piece i think may still need some work.  i love the pattern with the image, but it feels a bit blank across the top, and i'm not sure the paper is beautiful enough to carry off the emptiness.  it's nice paper.  but i'm not sure it's that nice.

the weather was horrendous yesterday, and mindy had a shortened class, so she decided to join me in the studio afterwards.  she always makes the afternoon go by faster.  while i was cranking out prints on paper, she printed several shirts and onesies for friends and family with young kids or who are expecting.  we are using a heat-set silkscreen ink with linoblocks on fabric, and it can be a bit difficult.  the ink is very thin compared to relief inks, but we make it work by letting it dry a bit before applying it to the block.  then we iron the shit out of it and make sure that it's set as well as it can be.

it's fun to see what she does with my stamps.  i tend toward narrative.  she tends toward cute.  and i love that she can make something that cute be cool, and that she can take my stamps and make them look totally her own.


p.s. you can see more of the wearable block print pieces mindy made by going here.