Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Peanut Butter Jelly Time



You know you're an artist when food reserves consist of a weekly loaf of bread and P&J... And you know you've been doing prints like crazy when there is no counter space to eat on in your studio except for the inking station... you use a print as a placemat... and an ink card to spread your peanut butter and jelly.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Die Cuts, Embossing, Projections, Digital Media





Thesis work has been in the works for sometime, although I don't think I will end up showing a key piece or two due to setup of the gallery and lack of time on my part. I don't really see this show as an end all, only the beginning, so that's ok. I have been working with technology since at least 1995 when I studied graphic communications at my high school and downloaded my first version of Photoshop. Actually, it was all an "accident" I never had an art class until my senior year of high school, and I had only transferred to Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School because the day before classes started in the 9th grade I had gone to the dentist and one of my best friends James was there. He told me that he was changing schools... So I asked my father if I could too, I didn't even know what a vocational school was. I remember being called down to the cafeteria to sign up for "shops"... later I learned that this meant that I only had to study "academics" every other week, but really it meant so much more. I changed shops three times while I was there, Electronics, Information Technology, and Graphic Communications.

Actually, I really hated commercial printing, I found it to be so boring at the time. Printing calendars and brochures was not fun at all, but luckily somehow I learned enough which transferred over to my Printmaking as an undergraduate at Rochester Institute of Technology. My first real experience with fine art printing was when I met Keith Howard and David Jay Reed, that changed everything. I miss those years because I used to do everything that you weren't supposed to do, when you're young and clueless you just don't know any better. I remember asking Keith if I could develop a photograph (photo paper) in the developer... which turned out to be "soda ash" and not photographic chemical. He looked at me and said he didn't know whether to laugh or not because he couldn't figure out if I was being serious.


The way I work has changed and evolved over the years but in general it starts with sketches/drawing that I redo in Photoshop or Illustrator. Using scanners, commercial printing techniques, and photographic processes... They all usually end up being mixed up together. I really do not see a difference between any of them and I never have. I've had this discussion a lot lately... it always ends up really abstracted and people telling me that this is not that or that is not this.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Silkscreen Photography



Before break I was approached by Sergio Gomez from Columbia, a first year graduate in the photography program to help with some silkscreen. After figuring out a few variables in the studio during open hours, our troubleshooting paid off. I can't wait to see his graduate walk through. The first screen was underexposed (the emulsion completely fell apart) so we redid the exposure time and degreased the screen again just as a precaution. Not bad for his first silkscreen print ever! (2oo mesh count, 1 min.)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Atmosphere Decons






I was recently selected to be in the faculty/student invitational show for the grand opening of the downtown Gallery r location. After so many years, it was nice to finally show alongside Keith Howard, my professor, mentor, and friend. Bernie took the photo, she was recently accepted for the IPCNY show in NYC so that was great to hear!

I have been trying to juggle thesis exhibition work, writing, job research & applications alongside my crazy schedule and personal life. I guess this is what everyone goes through... It's frustrating, I do not enjoy "finishing" work for the sake of deadlines, I do not feel sometimes that my final prints/drawings are completed as I would like... but again, I'm sure every artist goes through this. (I most certainly am not an exception.) There's so much crap that I produce that never gets shown anywhere: ideas, notes, experiments. Countless experiments, they have always been part of my nature. Piecing together and taking apart...

I have been creating and learning more and more about book binding... Books, although geared towards aesthetics are quite functional. I really enjoy sitting down and figuring out how to put together a book that potentially has some kind of purpose. It can be considered art, but not necessarily. So when I am done, there is no question of its authenticity. Bookbinding right now equals meditation.