KEYWAY

This is a new solar plate etching and chine colle of a couple on their wedding day. It is inspired by a portrait I took digitally of them in the wine cellar bar area before making their reception debut. The picture was taken through the large gated door keyhole. The overall print is 14 x 9.5 and the etching itself is 4.5 x 3. I like the intimacy and the vintage quality of this print. It's something that you have to walk up to, and peer into to see what's going on. A small treasure of a moment.

PUBLIC ART PROJECT

ART / Vanishing JOBS

LOCATION

This project took place in an old industrial area in Brooklyn. The neighborhood was given the acronym DUMBO in 1978 (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), thinking that the unattractive name would deter developers (thank you Wikipedia). It became a booming artist's community in the late 1970's and by the end of the 20th century, as property became more expensive in Manhattan, DUMBO became increasingly gentrified. It now has an interesting dynamic of artist's spaces and luxury residential condos.

PROJECT

The project is made up of 50 unique "ghost prints" that each represent one of the 50 states in the USA, with up to date statistics of that state's unemployment rate printed at the bottom. The image is of the Employment Guide newspaper containers found all over New York City.

The found "gallery wall" was a garage door of a local lighting business. The prints were hung in a grid using powerful magnets.

The prints are hand silkscreened on Stonehenge 100% cotton paper and are 15x22. I hand stamped the data (states and numbers) during the course of the day while engaging in dialogue with passerby's.

As an artist, who is currently on the unemployment list, I have created this project (this JOB) for myself. Proactive waiting.

Ideally I'd love to reinstall this piece in a public window or gallery space. Suggestions welcome.

ALBUMEN PRINTS

The pictures above are from a day of making albumen prints.

I've had the awesome opportunity to apprentice with Master Printer Anthony Accardi of Green Rhino / Brooklyn Print Works. His new studio in Bushwick has enabled him to experiment more with marrying digital imaging with handmade emulsions and craft. Right now I am participating in learning the process of creating albumen prints and platinum/palladium prints. They are both beautiful time-consuming processes that have the potential to yield amazing results.

To read more about albumen prints, go to: http://www.alternativephotography.com/process_albumen_paper.html

If you're interested in hiring a talented photographic printer go to:

http://www.greenrhinoinc.com/

NEW TOTES

Hand Silkscreened Tote Bags : Brooklyn Edition

FOR SALE at two of my favorite Brooklyn boutiques called Cog & Pearl and Homebody Boutique. (Kitties not included).

For store info visit : cogandpearl.com and www.homebodyboutique.com

More designs to come ...

BELLYSIDE

Solar Plate Etching + Chine Colle :

Playing with variations of ink color and handmade japanese tissue paper.

BALANCE

This is another print that documents a specific occasion and moment(s) in time. In this case, it is a wedding celebration. It is an archival digital print on Hahnemuhle German Etching paper layered with two Solar Plate Etchings printed with bone black oil based ink. The color prints are photographs that were taken while driving over the bridge to St. Simon's Island in Georgia where the couple married. The Solar Plate Etching is inspired by photographic images of the couples first dance. The symbolism here is about the balance in a relationship : structure, support, and logic .vs. intuition, freedom and mystery.

Note: the two middle photographs are of the etched polymer plate.

HAYSTACK RESIDENCY

I was super fortunate to receive a work-study full scholarship to Haystack Mountain School of Craft (on Deer Isle, ME) to participate in a Surface Design Workshop led by Fraser Taylor of SAIC.  It was a wonderful experience to be surrounded by creative focused energy for 2 weeks without the distractions of everyday life.  Amazing meals were prepared, studios open 24 hours a day, mossy walking trails along the ocean, library resources, a staff of all artists of different disciplines, slide shows and presentations, 70 students from all over the world ... all making for a rich experience of creative growth.  I was definitely influenced by the natural surroundings when making my own work.  Above is a collage of some of the experiments I worked on during my stay.  The hand cut stencils that created the screenprint on muslin are reminiscent of barnacles, bones or sea life.  These were screenprinted individually in variations of white. The prints on paper are "x-rays" of the sea life shapes, created by the pigment residue left on the screen.  These prints were more spontaneous, not knowing what the output of the one swipe of the screen would be.  I also experimented with discharge printing on fabric, using found moss to use as a stamp while making the screen.  Since there was a press to be used in the Book Arts Studio, I printed a solar plate I made in NY, combining it with a process learned at Haystack called Dye Transfer, using sodium alginate to push the dyes through the screen.  The experience was all about exploration and discovery.  For more info about Haystack, visit www.haystack-mtn.org/