New In The Studio - July 2019 (Part II)

It's hard to believe summer is halfway over, and fall is right around the corner. Though I'm not a fan of the hot Texas summers, I do love the fact the daylight hours are a bit longer, and I feel more jazzed to make art.

This summer has turned into the 'Summer of Collage' for me, because I've been churning out collage work left and right for the last few weeks. I'm really not sure where this burst of creativity has come from, but I'll take it. In fact, I've been enjoying collage so much, I took one of the mini pocket notebooks I made and turned it into my new mini collage notebook. It measures 3.75 inches x 2.75 inches (tiny, right?!?) and fits in the palm of my hand. Below is the first of many collages that will grace the pages.

I think it'll be really interesting to see what I can come up with in an even smaller space. The last several collages that have come off my art table measure 5 x 5 inches and 5 x 7 inches, respectively. Whether it is on a small scale or large scale, the size of the work can be challenging, either way.

I've thought about producing, branding, and marketing more of these pocket collage notebooks...could be fun. But, we'll see. Sometimes, it is hard for me to see a long term project all the way through before I get distracted by something else. I don't see the collage work slowing down anytime soon. I'll try not to bore you all with just collage work, though.

In other fun news...

I recently acquired a 1920's era Chandler & Price letterpress printer from a friend of mine, and finally moved it to its new location. The 1500lb+ beast, now dubbed, Ringo, will be a nice addition to my printmaking arsenal. A lot of the type of printmaking I've been wanting to do for a few years, now, requires a press like this, and I am very anxious and excited to see what I can do on it.

The press is not quite large enough to print posters, but I can handle prints 10 inches x 15 inches (thereabouts). I think this press will mostly do business card, small art prints, handbills, and any other cool little thing I can think of. Once the press is set up and I feel more comfortable with the machine, I'll be open to take some custom printing orders.

Well, that is all of the current exciting news going on. Hope to share some print jobs from the C&P with you all, soon.