Oxytocin Madonna – Part 1

Howdy everybody!  I just finished up the design for a new woodcut.  This is going to be another oversized block and I’m super excited about it.  There’s a lot left to do; I still have to blow the image up, transfer it onto the block and actually carve and print the thing, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some images from the design process.

I started with this drawing of the Virgen de Guadalupe which I originally created for this print.

For the new print, instead of standing on top of the moon and being held aloft by a tiny baby angel, Lupita here is going to be riding around town on an oxytocin molecule while breastfeeding.  So the first thing I did was erase the bottom of the original drawing and re-draw it.

Two different versions of the Virgen de Guadalupe with the oxytocin molecule. I ended up going with the one on the right. (ART TIP: Add maximum majesty lines to all artworks all the time. )

 

Next I needed to change her hands from their usual praying position.  So I added a transparent white layer in Illustrator, printed it out…

…and redrew the area.

Pencil drawing.

 

 

The inked drawing.

 

I then added a background, pieced everything together.  and here is the final design.

 

I’m planning to put this on a three foot by four foot block (same dimensions as the Periodic Table print) and I am beyond excited. Stay tuned for updates as the carving/ printing progresses.

Fresno Mini Maker Faire 2015

The Second Annual Fresno Mini Maker Faire is on Saturday, and this year I once again had the pleasure of designing, carving, and printing a custom woodblock for the event.  Commissioned by the Fresno Art Museum, the block was printed onto canvas tote bags that will be given as gifts to anyone who signs up for a Museum membership at the Maker Faire.

The block when I was about half way through the carving process.

A few proofs on newsprint before fellow Print and Glory printer Christine Rea and I moved on to printing the bags.

Just look at those beauties chillin’ on the drying rack!

 

Here are a few close-ups of the final product.  If you are in the Fresno area I hope that you will come by, and maybe pick up one of these awesome bags. 

Tired of trying to carry around loose produce and priceless family heirlooms with your bare hands? Well there’s finally a solution, and it’s these tote bags! At last you’ll be able to go out without accidentally dropping Grandpa’s Purple Heart or a bunch of raw potatoes wherever you go, AND you’ll look great doing it.

 

I’ll be at the Maker Faire on Saturday along with Print and Glory printing this block (and a bunch of other amazing student designed, hand-carved blocks) onto t-shirts.  Want a preview of the printmakerly goodness!  Try this on for size!

Get it? Try it on for size…’cause it’s a shirt. I’m hilarious.

 

The Fresno Mini Maker Faire will be this Saturday, April 11 from 10am to 6pm at the Fresno Art Museum and Radio Park. I hope you’ll swing by the Print and Glory booth and say “Hi!”

Draw Downs

Draw downs from a recent commission.

Print and Glory on Valley PBS

Hey everybody! I just wanted to share this short piece from Valley PBS on Fresno Art Hop.  It features several local artists including me and fellow printmaker Zachery Bland.  They kept asking us about the gallery and Art Hop in general…but all we wanted to do was talk printing.  I’m glad we made it into the final edit anyway.

This was filmed at a gallery called Corridor 2122.  Zach and I were there representing Print and Glory, doing a live t-shirt printing.  Print and Glory is the Fresno State printmaking club made up of students (like Zach), instructors, and community members like myself.  Print and Glory does live printing events around the Valley in order to raise money for the printmaking club, pay for visiting artists, and host free workshops for students and the public.  These live printings are also a way for us to engage with the community, and familiarize and educate people about what printmaking is and why it is awesome.

Mail Art

Hey everybody!  I recently designed and printed some wedding invitations for a friend of mine. Then just the other day, I got one of those invitations back in the mail. It was a little surreal…

…and pretty cool.

 

Print Giveway + Patreon + Print in Progress

Hey guys!  Lots of exciting news today! Basically today’s post is a cornucopia of printmakerly goodness! Ok, first, some pics of the new print I’m working on.  All I’ve got so far is the drawing on the block, but this is destined to become a nice reduction cut print.  Woot woot!

I just included this photo because I wanted to share how Gary has chosen my Wacom tablet as his throne. He’s constantly getting snot on everything, but somehow, he’s just so regal.

Alright!  And here’s the next tantalizingly delicious slice of announcement pie: I recently launched a Patreon campaign!  What’s Patreon, you ask? Patreon is a website that connects people who make things with people who want to support them.  Through my Patreon campaign I am raising funds so that I can buy printmaking equipment and keep myself stocked with ink and paper and blocks of wood and all that good stuff.  In exchange I am rewarding contributors with prints! I think it’s a pretty good deal.  You can find out more and read all about the awards available here.

And last but not least, I just started a print give-away contest on my Facebook.  Just like the post announcing the contest and you will be entered to win your very own woodcut!  Does life get any better than this?  I don’t think so!

Steamroller Printing and the October Print Round-Up!

Hello everyone.  During the month of October I didn’t do a great job of posting much of anything.  And while I have not been posting, I have been printing. So, I will today finally post all the printmakerly goodness of the past month in what I am calling the October Print Round-Up, or alternately, the Limited Edition Print ‘n’ Post 2013 Blog and Pony Show Champagne Jamboree: Secret of the Oooze!*

*The secret is printmaking.

First, a simple screen print done with paper stencils.

This is my cat, Gary. While this print may make it look like he’s winking, he is actually missing an eye. So he’s kind of like a pirate, except he has no interest in doubloons, and just between you and me, his sword fighting abilities are terrible.

Next, a reduction woodcut in the style of a tarot card. 

Ok, so are you ready for the good stuff? The high point of the month was definitely this oversized block I carved for the Taste the Arts Festival in Visalia.  The print was a giant periodic table printed via steamroller.

The block during carving.

The block getting inked up.

Prepping for the steamroller.

Steamroller printing!

The final product!  I’m pretty stoked on this print.  The tendonitis flare-up was totally worth it.

And finally, my most recent print and the last print of the month, a little dry point.

This image is a view of College Ten on the campus of UC Santa Cruz, where I first studied printmaking.

New Print: The Primrose Path

Man! Guns, skulls, AND a wall-eyed cat…this woodcut’s kind of got it all.

New Print: Kepler

Another in my series of scientist screen prints.

 

New Print: A Woodcut Adventure