Tara Axford Inspires Me

Meet Tara Axford.

 

I admire her work! Her online course, Inspired by Nature is high on my list.  

She is a print maker, collage artist, water colorist, book artist. 

 

  Australia is her home. The items she finds in nature are

so different from what we find here in Northern Michigan. Fantastic pods,

 leaves, & flowers appear sci-fi like to me. 

 

She is a tiny press owner too. She has great little prints on her Instagram. 

Not to mention loads of other eye candy. 

Admittedly I will cheat in the A to Z challenge when

X rolls around. If an X is in a name or topic I'll use it.

Hope you don't mind. 

Whatever it takes to get the job done at this point in the challenge

Intaglio Printing

Pronounced: in-taal-ee-oh

Intaglio is a print making technique that's been around for centuries.
Invented in Germany in the 1400's.
A design is carved into a substrate: copper, zinc, linoleum, plexiglass are examples. 

The resulting "plate" is then inked & run through a press to get the image on paper.

Glenn Wolff is a renowned local print maker who teaches at our local community college.

Just before the world turned upside down I took a month long print immersion class from him.

There were only 3 of us in the class. A huge bonus. 

His images range from extremely detailed to rustic. The 2 works below are his. 

Another of my creations from the class, above, was in
my A post with a promise of details later.

The opening image is another of my prints taken from
 a page in my journal.

I added some water color to my print.

My 2 classmates did some great work!

Thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment...if you have the time.

A to Z Day One A is for ala

   ala plural

    n a flat wing-shaped part of an organism

   “the alae of the nose”

   “the alae of a maple seed”

   “the flat petals of a pea blossom are alae”

a winglike part, process, or expansion, as of a bone, shell, seed, or stem.

either of the two side petals of a flower in the legume family, as the pea.

(in an ancient Roman house) a small room, as an alcove, 

opening into a larger room or courtyard.

 

Away we go. The 2020 installment of the A to Z challenge begins. 

For my theme Inspiration, I can blend my love of words along with 

a print I recently created in a great class I took (more on that later) for the letter A.

 

 

 

 I first ran across this word via Word Smith. I subscribe to their word a day.  The etymology

is always interesting. Not what you may expect in many cases. 

This is where my weirdness shows up in my search & capture of items that inspire me.

 

 

This little guy lay dead in my studio last summer. It's about 1 inch long. I saved it...not kidding.  I used it for the details of the print at the top of the page I made in a wonderful class I took recently (more on that later). It helped me get the veining in the wings to look correct. 

See you tomorrow!

 

A to Z Challenge in April Might as Well

I was rather serious about not participating this year. 

In fact, we were to be off on a trip to Italy in April. 

Guess what? That is not happening.

As our world changes beneath our feet it feels right to once again be committed

to post daily for a month. Might as Well!

My theme will be focusing on things that inspire my creativity.

 Images, nature, people, projects, books, food, the list goes on.  

These are all things that make us human and give cause for appreciation.

Been painting lots of canvas for more & more vessels. 

Lots of time at the sewing machine. 

What are you doing to stay centered, connected, fed, encouraged? 

I would love to hear from you!

This is what things feel like in my head at the moment. 

Made it to Z in the A to Z Challenge!

 

 

I made it! The final day of the A to Z Challenge & I didn't miss a letter. 

One last artist to feature. This one not too far from me geographically.

 Judy Zeddies

 

She is in Chicago. Someday I may go invade my son & daughter in law's home to take a class at the 

Lillstreet Art Center where she teaches print making.  

Printmaking is something I am drawn to & have done a fair amount. 

There are always better ways to do things & much to learn from other artists. 

I plan to keep learning & making art. But first I need a nap!

How do you feed your creative muse? 

Have you enjoyed the challenge?

Completed Collagraphs & Beyond

Here are pictures of the completed mini collagraphs. I learned a fair amount in the process. I plan do use this technique more as I find it enjoyable. Some more investigation into paper & prepping the surface are in order.

                                   I've already got some ideas peculating for the next round. 

Spent the better part of yesterday going through a huge trunk of fabric and fiber related "stuff'.
                                              I swear some of it was at least 30 years old.   

 Unbelievable how many tiny scraps of fabric were thrown in the trunk. I tried to be merciless in my purging. I think I did pretty well. Especially since the lid would hardly close before. Things are corralled into bags and tubs which should help immensely.  Not to mention several bags are going to good will friends and the trash.

I'm feeling the urge to dive into more fabric sculpture and functional boxes.  I think this had to be the first step so I know what I have to work with.

Japanese Wood Block Printing

Summer school continues for me. Last week I took a three day class with Mary Brodbeck through the Glen Arbor Art Assoc. close to my home. Her 35 minute documentary "Becoming Made" you see at the top of her page is a wonderful 35 minute film that really gives you the feel of the technique & history of Japanese wood block printing, Moku Hanga.

I have wanted to learn this technique for some time and Mary was a great teacher. Only 5 of us in the class, which was a nice number. Our surroundings on historic Thoreson Farm, pictured here, were inspiring.

We were in the long sprawling building you see at the far right of the top picture. Fortunately we had gorgeous weather as we were somewhat exposed to the elements.

Using rice paste (Nori) and tubes of water color paint is a real bonus with no nasty smells and easy clean up of the medium. Color variations and opacity are limitless. Carving the Shina wood blocks takes lots of time, but it is an addictive and meditative task!

Mary's prints are gorgeous luscious things.  She did an artist in residence in Glen Arbor several years ago that generated this print of the farm.

I didn't want the three days to end. But we were all happy with the results of our first efforts in the ageless art form. I definitely see myself doing more & more of these types of prints. Thank you Mary!