2017 Year of the Rooster - print exchange by mail

This is the Year of the Rooster, specifically, a Fire Rooster year. 

people, wake up. (2017)  Katie Argyle - linocut on canson card, edition of 45.

 For several years I participated in a Chinese New Year print exchange through 

Proof Gallery in Toronto. After many years, they cancelled their event.

Theresa Martin, Kansas City, USA - the print was mailed as a postcard

 I looked for another exchange and found a Year of the Rooster exchange through the mail. 

Stephanie Chao, Laguna Niguel, California, USA

This was on Baren Forum which is a great printmaking resource aimed 

toward woodblock printmakers but definitely open to other fine art printmakers. 

Take a look at their site! Wow.

Frank Trueba, Felton California, USA - super interesting information printed on the back

I signed on to exchange new year greetings. 

There are 30 of us and we made and edition of prints/cards for each other.

copper etching over linoblock with chine colle - not sure who the artist is...?

On the list are a few Canadians, one from the UK, one from Italy and 

one from Tasmania. The rest are located in the United States of America. 

Sonia Jensen - clever two sided rooster card

So far I have received 7 of 29. 

Monica Bright, Star, Idaho, USA

Many more to look forward to.

Calvin Carlisle, Shaker Heights, Ohio, USA

Friendly Plastic and Me: A Love Story: the foreward.

I've got 369 friendly plastic sticks, all non-snappers.
If you know what I am talking about, then you know what Friendly Plastic is.

Lets just say my plastic is of the highest quality. ;)

I have a good range of colours and patterns.

And now that it's obsolete*, well, I could sell them for a pretty penny!

My Artrepreneur cohort (hello fellow Vaughan artrepreneurs) would say this is the obvious move.

But I think no.
Use it.
Allow it to fulfill its purpose: shiny happy things at a moderate price for fun and a bit of profit. (I did learn something.)

For me, that is its highest calling.

Since I'm still a bit under the weather I will end this note here. I have a whole year to talk Friendly Plastic. Feel free to unfollow me now!


*Friendly plastic continues to exist in its original form: pellets. If you have a hankering for making your own crafting material, or using this product for other applications, I salute you. For me, it is the end.
Here's a link to the manufacturers site.

Ebay search for Friendly Plastic

January 1st, 2017

The new year is here.

I don't feel ready for the new year even though I was dying to see 2016 leave.
2016 was a grind.

Good things, bad things, busy busy busy.

My goal last year was to have more fun.

Sadly, I'm not sure I accomplished this,
seemingly,
easy to achieve goal.

I feel as though I am still trying to find my way here after our move.

It's already been 5 years.

I have met and made friends with lots of great people, still I can't help but feel this isn't my "place".

That's not always a bad thing.

A bit of discomfort keeps you on your toes.

What keeps me grounded is my desire to make things. No matter what, my drive to create and the challenge of bringing things into the world continues to be my greatest joy.

That and mulling things over a cup of coffee. I really really like to do that too.

2017.
Bring it on.

Busier Than I thought I'd Be - RHGA Artist in residence Mill Pond Gallery

As a member of the RHGA (Richmond Hill Group of Artists) I have been an artist in residence at the Mill Pond Gallery this past week.

Sharon Kirsch, cold wax artist, hard at work during our shared residency at Mill Pond Gallery this week

My intention was to blog daily on my week's exploits but it's already Wednesday and my residency, with Sharon Kirsch, ends tomorrow. We will be played out by an ABBA cover group as the feature concert in Mill Pond Park tomorrow night. So this is a summary of what I did and what I hope to do tomorrow for the finale.

I wanted to focus on woodcut and woodblock prints for my residency.

5 days in residence, 5 prints. Day 6 tomorrow. Last day for week#1.

One of my goals was to create a print a day. I succeeded, so far, even though I had to fudge it a little on Tuesday night because I didn't have my brayer (what kind of a printmaker forgets their brayer??) and instead settled for a conte crayon rubbing of block.

My other goal was to wrestle the third block of my suburbia series down to the ground finally and print the thing. I started that block in residency at Mill Pond last year. That image has fought me all the way, all year long. Yesterday I had it. I could feel it. Today I hoped to finish the carving and do a proof. I succeeded.

                    Angela's not home. Her car's not there.   woodcut (proof) on japanese paper, handprinted                          

I know what I need to tweak and will get to that tomorrow and it is minor. I am satisfied and ready to begin large block number four in my - surprise - extended residency at Mill Pond Gallery! Dan Marlatt, who begins on Friday (actually Saturday, I'll be there solo on Friday) is moving out of town and the move is happening this week so he asked if I would share the space and time with him. Sharing is good as we can cover each other if we need that. Dan is so generous I was happy to help him out. It's good for me as well because now that I am in a printmaking groove I can keep pushing it.

Primarily I want to do more colour reductions and make some decisions about a large piece of lino I have. And also, continue with my print a day. By the end of my residency next week, I want to have the final versions of these blocks/prints made so I have a bunch of new work as I move forward.

I'm the Featured Artist on the Richmond Hill Studio Tour blog this week

 The Richmond Hill Studio Tour isn't until the fall but with so many great artists on the tour the promotion of ourselves and our work begins early.

To that end here is the blog post related to my work and to what I will showcase on the tour.

http://richmondhillstudiotour.blogspot.ca/2016/05/katie-argyle-its-all-in-black-and-white.html

I am now in the planning stages of what I would like to create for the tour. It's a juggling act that gets tougher as the summer comes on. This is my busy time of year. I have to be super-organized and that isn't an easy thing. I build flexibility into every day just in case I have to shift gears. Overall, I have a good idea of where I need to be by when.

Of course, when I lose my way there are the ever-present hard deadlines and the fear of preesnting sub-par work *shudder* 

The Richmond Hill Studio is the weekend of October 15h and 16th. I will be in the tea room of the Burr House at 528 Carrville Road, Richmond Hill.
Tour info here