Small Print Proof

I haven't forgotten how to print..... (artist proof of 4 blocks..it needs some fine tuning)
I was taught that black should have it's own brush...the pigment never really can be completely washed out....
so, the black just sat there....
finally, I bought a brush!

Biker

I thought I'd get this done, and framed by Christmas...

(acrylic paint on frosted mylar, or acetate)
it got away from me...still working on the frame.

Metamorphosis...2

I'm slowly experimenting to see just how the wrist and back hold up to cutting woodblocks.

....biggest problem is taking it slow enough...taking breaks...
or the wrist and back complain fiercely.

I get lost in this, and the dogs have been failing in their duty to interrupt me every hour or so to go out...

they don't like it cold....

(These are rubbings from what I've got so far. Metamorphosis is ready to print...
the one on the bottom has two more blocks...
red and black were the crayons within reach at the time.)

If you are looking for the Elves, you'll find them all over at Artings.

posting problems

System problems have prevented me from posting here...
so, I've been posting at Artings.

Carved Soap Photographer....& studio progress update

This may be the oldest bar of soap I've got...

The Photographer....with his Deardorf view camera....1974
Views of all sides can be seen here.

Getting the studio back in working order is slow...
the Wrist not dealing well with too much activity too quickly.
I want to get back to the woodblocks.
I'm making plans for a very small one....
a little tester...
just to see how the wrist does...

Geez...I just want to have that feeling again.

My Carved Soaps

(Naked Lady on a Couch...bath-sized bar of Ivory soap)
I decided to have a friend photograph them...
which I should have been doing all along...
there are about 27 left.
This is the last Naked Lady on a Couch...
two sold, the other was a birthday present for a friend.

It started when I was a kid...
me and dad at the kitchen table.

I know there are better ways and better things to pour my hours into.

I've been successful at staying away from the soap
for a couple years now.....
but, these pictures that Eric took...
geez....
he made them look so good...
just like I see them...
just like I think about them....
that smell....
that feel....
how the knife eases through the soap.....
finding the surprize within each bar....
looking at these pictures...it's all back.

I've been so good for so long...
maybe a bar or two would be ok................

I'm posting the other views at Artings if you want to really see it.

One by one I'll get them all posted...
and probably eventually give them their own blog
(especially if I find myself cutting again).

Resuming Studio Normality

The FallArtTour is over....and the Convent Gallery's Breaking the Habit show was a sucess!
I want to thank all who visited my studio....
who marched through the mud, to climb the "treacherous" rock steps...
and who used my "lumpy carpet" path through the snow.
It was a lot of fun....thank-you.

The studio doesn't look like that all the time...

It was fun to have the arting around for a few days...
but, it's time to get started on whatever is next....
the remaining completed work will be put into drawers,
packed away, or brought into the house.
Out will come all my scribblings, boxes of stuff, and notes....
clipped together, taped to the windows or pushpinned to the walls.
Piles of books and things will begin growing again...
and all sorts of items will begin crawling from the drawers and boxes....

The studio is for work in progress....it's not big enough for work that's done...
besides, I'm sort of uncomfortable with completed artings out there.

So, I put them away...or sell them.

Ha...that's how I lost track of 12 paintings....
I forgot where I put them...
I think I mentioned something about this....
studio archeology? maybe that's what I called it....
Yeh, I just ran into them not long ago...

Today I found a box of 15 monoprints....
while looking for a couple oil pastels I tried to find for someone last weekend.
I'd been looking for the monoprints for 5 months.
The oil pastels will turn up.
They're just really safe.

The Barn

I just saw these barns side by side for the first time last night,
when posting them on my Artings blog...
the first one was done in the summer of 1996...
our house burned down in December of that year.
This next one
was one of the 4 I did (this was the second)
right outside the studio...in 2002.
I always felt that I saw things differently since the fire.

October Art Shows

FallArtTour and Breaking the Habit
I'm posting mostly pictures at Artings .
It's going to be an interesting weekend....
I've got a tiny studio...and because I can't seem to stop arting...
I've got lots work....and with the cleaning and attempted organizing...
I'm running into artings done in the last 12 months that I've forgotten about...
arting I seem to have just had my hands on, has been misplaced...
but, in looking for it found other arting I thought was long gone in the fire....
so, it's been sort of fun....
although, I would like to finish a couple paintings I started up before the extrication took place.
but, now, I've got elbo room!

Re-organizing

We moved a lot of stuff out of the studio...
carousel posts, huge freezer, doors, etc...and I'm finally able to get at areas I haven't seen in years.

This past week I've not been arting...
but, spreading out into spaces finally available.

For those more interested seeing what I've been up to...
I started http://lindakelen-artings.blogspot.com/
with my own name in the address, which might make it easier to find my work.

It's to be mostly all arting...
probably a wider variety, as I'm just going to post pictures...
so, little chatter, if any....
except for what is generated from comments/emails....

I think I just want someplace unincumbered with stuff
just for pictures.
.......something new to play with.

SOME DAY I'll have my own official website...
where all will be in one spot.

Some Art

I'm trying to complete a variety of artings between now and the ConventShow/FallArtTour....
and rather than post them individually, I'm just going to gang them here...
unless I find this page becomes a real bear to load.
My studio...
BlueMounds...
landscape painting , studio

Technorati Profile

The PigHouse

It started out as a chicken house on a farm about a mile the other side of that hill.

The story is....
50-60 years ago, the chicken house got moved to be near a newer farm house, a couple hundred yards behind where I stood to paint this....
and stayed planted there until they decided to raise pigs....at which point it got moved far from the house to this side of the barn.

They gave it fine plaster walls and a wood stove to keep the pigs warm.

It was the easiest of the out-buildings to doctor up
for me and my stuff when we got the place 15 years ago....
no one lived here for years....
and the pighouse, unused for 10-15 years before that...
housed generations of vermin.

It's too small, but it's "home"....
all sorts of artings at varing stages of life....
when something is completed,
it goes...either sold, or moved into the house....
but it can't stay here...
I don't like what completed artings feel like in here....
not enough space...
the process is more important to me than the result...
although, I am really hoping I'm able to achieve,
with one painting, a kind of big deal feeling
some religious paintings have...
just because I want to see it.

Downtown Vermin Bob

I have FOUND the original drawings
from the tale of
Downtown Vermin Bob...and his son, Benny....

















which started out as a thank-you note
to the Chicago Police Department for the rescue of these courageous beasts
who bravely pursued a garage burglar....
and got lost....
but, my note with a small drawing of the dogs
turned into a 12 page tale of adventure
in Bob's own words...with a color cover.

I made enough "books" for all involved....
and a few extra to have around...
which now amount to about two.

I'll make a few more...
and maybe, hopefully, have this fall.

Left's first time with crayons

The studio looks as though it was upended and slammed down.
I'm cleaning and attempting organization...
it could be that I'm only rearranging....
fooled into thinking it is organization
when it's really only organized chaos.
True order has always been way out of my reach.

I found several crayons that slipped behind a printcase...
and some paper that got away a long time ago.
I've been wanting to give my left hand a go at some color....
so I took a break:
















...must do more...

Driftless Area Ephemera

Here is the first of 8
I made up as postcards
for the "1000Postcards" show at the GreenLantern Gallery in MineralPoint..
opening tomorrow, August5th.
I'll make up another set similar to what is hanging there...
and I'll tell you all about them.
All I'm going to do right now is show you
this....













The Postcard Show just hit me right.
Postcards!
Postcards are pictures of places one has visited, spent time, or is now residing...
the show's timing was the perfect for me
to begin organizing the first of a large body of arting
I've been at on and off for the last several years.

This is the first time I'm introducing it publicly...
well, 8 small pictures of it.

A few pieces have been shown briefly...
but never in the company of the rest...
and never with the explainations.

I would have scanned the 8 before they left,
but this scanner could not handle the 3 dimensionality of them,
once I completed making them "ready to hang".

Right Wrist Repair Begins....................... & a little crabbing

cold...hot....weekly needling...herbs....
various braces....
now "firewater" and "biofreeze", as my local muse chimes in....
and hardest of all...
keeping the Right AWAY from any kind of arting implements.....
(truely a test of sheer will power)
it's feeling better....
which means it's going to get harder to NOT use it.......much.

Don't like having to be forced into changing the arting direction....
shelving the 3d projects planned for an October show...
postponing the printing of the woodblocks I've been cutting on...
because I can't make my thumb operate with the rest of the crew of that hand
to PICK UP the paper and place it into perfect registration on the block...
SO close...
and SO maddening!!

I keep arting...
can't help it....
put a 4th coat of varnish on a 4 foot wooden pig sign...
which I'll post when it's done...
(ah, another time a digital camera would be handy)
it's looking really good...
&
I'm messing around with some other things....

















It may have slowed me up some...
but it's hardly stopped me.

Easle Bite

deQuervain's Tenosynovitis Victimizes Right

Green Bridge Proof

Yeh, I know...
long time between posts.
Well, there wasn't much to say...
nothing new or exciting going on....
just practice, practice, practice, practice, practice....
trying to get some kind of handle on this printing process.
That's really all I've been up to...
and cutting the next block for the tale of Booger's disappearance....
a block with which I've become quite involved.

BUT, I have made progress....
I've got a long, LONG way to go yet!!









I was so carbonatedwhen I finished this!

Making some headway...solving some problems....getting a better grasp on my paste/pigment problems....seeing that I was finally making it work for me instead of against me....
finally!
Nothing but fuel for MORE carbonation!

Today, taking a look at what I did...carbonation's gone.
I see lots of things I need to trim up, correct and/or work on in the printing....
and above all learn to keep my fingers clean of color!
Geez.....
little specks here and there.....
well, I got excited when things actually starting going really good, I forgot to make sure my fingers were clean.

Tomorrow I start printing "little eve" again...
on BETTER paper...
yep, I've made enough progress,
that it's time to see what better paper does.

Inconvenient Truth...again

I'm about to print the green of the Bridge print....
I'm using sized paper now.
Slowly, with much determination, will power and sheer stubborness...
I'm catching on.
I really want this.
The last print two days ago saved the day, and my spirits...
yesterday's printing was very much better
having learned much from the day before's efforts.

In the mean time,
when I'm not arting....
reality creeps in.....













Find a theater..
and go see this "Inconvenient Truth".
I'll make it easy for you:
http://www.climatecrisis.net/findatheater/

An Inconvenient Truth

I've been working hard at overcoming printing problems....
which would probably be quickly solved
if I were able to have someone simply SHOW me
what I'm doing wrong...
which, I'm willing to bet, would be easily spotted by one of experience...
but, "one" is not near...
so, I'm battling through on my own.
I'll get it..
I'm just that stubborn....
so, sit tight...
postings will begin showing up once over this latest hurdle.

In the MEAN TIME....
I've pasted a posting from dailykos.com
that hits directly upon one of my main concerns.

I will never understand how such behavior can continue
when, the "house" we ALL live in is in such dire need of attention.
I do what I can do...
I'm in a community that is aware of the planetary situation
and does what it can do...
there are others,
but, we're just small specks in the global mass here.

I wish I could take all those with disagreements by the ear,
forcing them to leave all their religious beliefs at the door....
and sit down at one big round table as individuals having humanity in common...
having the wish to live healthy, happy lives in common...
wanting clean air, water, food in common....
and make them ALL stop fighting and arguing
to attend to the matter at hand...
the climate, the air, our resources, our energy, etc...
and after all is back on track
they can go right back to their arguments.

Yes, it would take a long time...
at least they would have that long time...
and chances are, by spending so much time
working together, towards a common goal...
their bickering would be forgotten...
and humans might just have a better, longer future on this planet.

This is a very real, big issue for me...
and I can easily go on....

Read what I picked up from the DailyKos...
track down the links...
find the movie...
do your part.


An Inconvenient Truth
by DarkSyde
Tue May 16, 2006 at 03:51:58 AM PDT
Crooks and Liars has posted the trailer for Vice-President Al Gore's movie debut in An Inconvenient Truth here The film is an in depth look at the case for global warming as well a graphic illustration of the devastating effects in store for mankind as a result of climate change.

An Inconvenient Truth: About the Film--Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced ...
Gore also proves himself to be one of the most misunderstood characters in modern American public life. Here he is seen as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and downright on fire about getting the surprisingly stirring truth about what he calls our "planetary emergency" out to ordinary citizens before it's too late.

DR Eric Steig at Realclimate had some observations about the quality of the science itself:
Realclimate--This isn't the "wooden" Gore of the 2000 campaign; he is clearly in his element here, talking about something he has cared deeply about for over 30 years.
How well does the film handle the science?
Admirably, I thought.
It is remarkably up to date, with reference to some of the very latest research.
Discussion of recent changes in Antarctica and Greenland are expertly laid out.
He also does a very good job in talking about the relationship between sea surface temperature and hurricane intensity.
As one might expect, he uses the Katrina disaster to underscore the point that climate change may have serious impacts on society, but he doesn't highlight the connection any more than is appropriate.
This is pretty slick:
There's also a blog and news site,
a real blog with comments where you can discuss the movie,
along with a schedule of locations and dates where it will be showing.
Permalink

Bridge in Blue and Yellow

Drawing for my steel client lately...
great time...
terrific ideas/drawings...
I'm waiting for approval now.
Tricky concept, so these last few weeks
there's been no arting for me...
BUT,
there's been busy work.

I discovered the paper I thought was sized....
wasn't...
so, I've been learning to size it myself.
In theory, it doesn't sound difficult...
but, reminds me of learning to drive a stick shift.
I'm told it takes years...
like everything else in this hanga process....

I'm going to catch on sooner.

My first batch, was sticking to everything...
I felt like I was performing a comedy routine.
second batch was better....
so much so,
I used part of it today
printing two of the GreenBridge blocks.





I cut in the kentos....
it's registering!
I'm not fussing about colors right now...
I just want to see where I'm at.
There is some tailoring to do..
but, nothing I was not expecting.
I'm tired...
more later.

Bridge Blocks Rubbing

All day cutting on the forth bridge block....
and I finished it enough to made another rubbing
of all four.








It's a little messy...
but, I can see enough to know the registration
is right on the nose....
so far....
I still have to cut them into the wood....
the kento.

Bridge Update

The "time of disgust" seems to have passed...
so, I'm cutting on the last block for the green bridge.
I'm consumed with this!
Today, the amount of time I've put into this wood
hit me...
.....geeez......
I had to check the registration.........






Not an easy rubbing to do...
but it's looking ok.
The sky needs work...
more cutting is ahead.
Once I see a proof
I'll cut a couple masks,
trying to get as much milage as I can with 4 blocks.
I don't think I'm ready for more than that.
I really want to play with black..
but, I don't have an extra brush to dedicate
to the color I'm told never really washes out...
SO, until I can buy one...
I'll be doing what I can with colors..
which is not a bad thing.

Nurse Dogs

At first glance,
one sees the classic "Man's Best Friend" thing...
how touching...
their owner, miserable with a cold....
they stay by her side...
ALL DAY,
to encourage and support her
through this time of Disgust.

But, look again.

True, they've been with her constantly..
but, not because of that
Dog Loyality crap. . . . . .

No.

It's all because of kleenex!
Thats what they love.
A fresh box for them is
nothing more than a PEZ dispenser.

From the first nose blow
in the morning,
these tissue eating cur
stay glued to their infected owner
all day.....
waiting..........
for the only thing BETTER
than fresh kleenex.

The Yellow Dog

Six years ago
after doing a new logo for the
Iowa County Humane Society in Dodgeville, Wisconsin...












I was so fired up,
I dug out a very weak monoprint
saved from my "yellow dog" series...
(I don't throw much out...
I don't see things as failures...
only beginnings for something else)
and produced a fine, newly painted Yellow Dog.
I scanned him when he was dry...
and then took him in to the gallery where their first auction was to be held
to see if he would be an acceptable donation.

I don't know if I simply lost him...
or he was stolen.
He never made it to the auction.
The only proof of his existence were the glowing pixals on my monitor.

This year I mastered the Epson printer...
and using CavePaint, some beautiful archival paper,
and my new printing abilities
finally released the YellowDog from his dark, digital quarters
in time to be at this year's Humane Society auction.



















The YellowDog brought a bid of $218.00.

Small Dog of Power

That's him...
He was my effort towards the BarenForum
Chinese Year of the Dog print exchange.
The first major effort on my own with Moku Hanga....
I needed some mild mannered beast to print..
considering I may be printing hundreds of them
in order to get the 60 some I needed...
so, I selected this mild tempered/mannered fellow
which I felt I could look at for the duration
and not risk either eyeball damage or boredom.

I DID manage to discover that there is one volume of Murphy's Laws
which addresses Japanese printmaking specifically...
and I've managed to follow
and then successfully break every one of them
with the help of this fine beast...
which is, actually, part of his job AS animal of the year.

I printed in batches...
and each batch was a bit different than the one before.
I couldn't help myself...
I had to keep trying something different
but I did achieve consistancy within each batch.
I guess I should call them "editions".
I'm still learning.
I had a ball.
It took way longer to get those 60 prints than I expected...
but, I wonder how much of that time was spent
following all those "laws".

I'm not done with this one though.
Fine tuning, tailoring and experiments with flaming glue are in his future!

My knives are calling...
more later.

Bridge work

I'm almost done drawing this
up on blocks that I'll eventually print....






I'm into the last block.
I SO under estimated what I was in for.

Of course,
it would probably help matters greatly
if I could stop making small changes
along the way....
but, noooo....
I latched onto this printmaking method way late
so, I'm packed with too many
"what if"s and "how about"s
to keep things simple and easy....
besides, I'm a sucker for a challenge like this.

arting

I've got some arting at http://www.absolutearts.com/kelen
too much really.
I post to show someone...
and there is stays.

They selected one piece to be featured for 24 hours
starting at midnight tonight...
which means thousands of viewings.

So, I added a new piece.....








reordered them...
posted a link to SardineQueen.

My bad back sure threw me off.
Last summer, I was going strong...
and wham....
I went from strong and powerful
to delicate and breakable overnight.

I've got a kind of arting rhythm going again...
I'm seeing a variety of projects at various stages of completion...
more starting up...
it's starting to feel good again.

I'm getting quite involved with these woodcuts.
Two more nearly ready to start cutting...

and then it will be time
to dive back into my
"garden of eden" work.......















but, in the mean time
I was paying attention to where our fearless leaders are taking us...
and needing to take me someplace else...
got to doing some monoprinting...












there are 15 more.

"Captain" of us

There are so many
much better than I
at assembling words
about what's going on...

Enough Sardines.

I'm a bit tired of them at this point.
Well, I was working on them...
and they were right there in front of me.
Somehow it's fitting
they should be at the bottom
sinking lower
buried in posts.

I had to take a break from drawing up new blocks to cut....
and, in trying to find something else to work on
ran into and got to working on the "wedding procession"....

The Sardine Regatta drawings

OK...
I'll post the photo that's framed WITH that first Sardine drawing...
when I find it.
....................Found it..........................
here's the first time the Sardines appeared

in a boat...

and the commemorative stamp:

In the mean time
here's more:

the official
Sardine Regatta....












the Sardine Classic...

(got to use the bigger picture size here...
all those little motor boats....
it's a good sized watercolor...)

and then...











That's it for today.

February 23...

I have to get some kind of web presence...
this seems to be the fastest and easiest way.

Throw something up...
anything...just to see what it is....
then I'll figure out how it works.

How about a picture...

The Sardine Regatta!
A Gathering of Remote Controlled Model Boat enthusiasts....

More about this later...
right now I want to see what I've done.