Work Makes Work

I've been in a slump waiting for my next bit of inspiration to strike and (I should know by now) that never works. Sloth begets sloth and work begets work. I am so thankful that Jenn came over today and worked with me because I was forced to actually make something. We ended up completing even more than I'd hoped for! We printed, signed, stamped and packaged over 150 prints in three brand new designs! A burst like this practically makes up for having spent the past two weeks "thinking".

I'm eager to share all three new prints but I'll try to restrain myself and space things out a bit.

I'll show my favorite one first. "Sweet Surprise" depicts a familiar scene in my home. I seem to be a big fan of buying a sweet potato and then forgetting about it until it grows eyes. Well, out of curiosity, I have let a few potatoes continue in their natural progression to sprout forests. Justin thinks they are disgusting, but I really think they have some lovely qualities. The stems that shoot up are often a pale violet transitioning into burgundy color with tiny dark green leaves at the top. I never would have expected such dramatic and colorful growth to come out of an old potato.

These prints are on a beautifully textured pale pink paper and printed in a rich rust ink. Available in my shop for $12. I'm excited about them.

I miss holding you.

I made a new print featuring my favorite bug. Behold the striped fluffiness of the woolly bear caterpillar! I think I'm more pleased with this print than anything I've ever made because I never thought I'd be able to successfully draw and print the subtlety of the woolly bear. I hope I don't come across as immodest, but I'm pretty proud of myself with this one! It's available in my shop for just eight dollars because it's a very small print (the caterpillar is actual size).

wooly memory time:
One time when I was a child, I was headed to a checkup with a doctor that I'd never met before and I remember being very very nervous walking towards the building because I was expecting to receive a shot. I was dragging my feet and looking down when I stumbled across a fine and fuzzy bug wiggling across the path ahead of me. My mother told me that it was a woolly bear caterpillar and that I could bring it into the Doctor's office with me if it would make me feel better. I was greatly comforted and have no memory of any stinging shots because I was probably distracted by my new friend.

another woolly memory:
In college, I went on a field trip to Storm King Sculpture Park with my class. I had a great day walking all through the park looking at huge installations in the brisk fall weather. After a few hours of art absorbing, I was pretty spent and decided to just stroll along a path that the park maintenance staff used with golf carts for the remaining hour of the trip. I was looking down with my hands in my pockets being a little chilled and over saturated when I spotted a woolly bear hustling across the path. Then I saw another and another! There were probably twenty caterpillars crossing the path in front of me and I was dismayed to see that a couple had been smushed by the golf carts. I spent the rest of the trip as a caterpillar shuttle and safely escorted the rest to the other side.

I haven't seen one in years. I wonder where they disappeared to. Maybe I need to get out more often.

Animal Advice series

I just want to share a sneak peek of a new (first ever!) series I'm brewing up for the shop. The animal advice series will be a small collection of prints highlighting one particular animal and the advice on life I expect it would give if it could. I'm considering the natural habits and peculiarities of a few species and then translating those features into little pearls of wisdom from the animal kingdom.

The only one I've finished is the goldfish. Considering the goldfish's reputation for having a short memory; it's bit of advice is "fuggetaboutit". "Fuggetaboutit" has been a popular phrase in my home since Justin and I saw a hilarius skit about "fuggetabuddies". I hope I can find it on youtube to share.

The next few I have are sketches waiting to be printed. I have the serene whale advising us to "take a deep breath" and an upturned beetle realizing that " a little change can be refreshing.".

I'll probably make a bee, a sloth, a squirrel and a rabbit (of course) in the next few days. I'd love to hear what you think about these (especially since I haven't printed them up yet).

"Kraken Down on Piracy"

This print marks the first time I've had a miserable time printing. I ended up having to use two screens and four bulbs to get one decent burn. Gocco supplies are pricey and hard to come by so I was pretty disgruntled. Even after burning the second screen, the whole thing was a little mis-registered and each print took extra attention to get it right.

I think it is worth it though and I'm really pleased with the way that (most of) the prints turned out. I think "Kraken Down on Piracy" may have missed it's heyday in trendy squid and pirate imagery by a year or two, but, I hope it's fun enough to sell well without having to rely on the popularity of nautical themes. I was originally going to print it on midnight blue paper but when I was cleaning my screen on a piece of tan paper towel, I saw that the turquoise and tan lent the drawing a nice nostalgic feel that I think complimented my handwritten lettering. Printing this was surely troublesome so I'm glad I had a happy accident that made it better.

Fungi is going to save the world.

I was finally able to get around to printing up one of my drawings this afternoon. My parents had visited for Father's Day and I had a wonderful time but the second they left I couldn't wait to get going on my printing. I've been meaning to print this mushroom spores drawing for over a week. I didn't even bother to clear my desk off I just started working on the floor like a maniac (the whole time guarding my designs from nibblesome bunnies).

I made this design after watching this T.E.D. talk on how fungi is going to save the world. I was also motivated to draw something that did not contain a precious little creature. I really like drawing bunnies and bunny stuff sells well but I want to make sure I don't overdo it until I become formulaic.

Above are three parts of the Gocco process.

1. I made a sketch. In the sketching phase I'm very messy. In this particular drawing, I kept adding and removing a snail from the end of the top branch. I'm glad I settled on being snail free because I think it really took the focus off the spore cloud.

2. I use a micron pen to neatly draw over my sketch and erase all the old marks. The carbon in the pen is what burns through the screen I'll use.

3. The printing is my favorite step. I decide what color ink I'll use and then print it on a few different colors of cardstock until I find the magic combination. This step is the part where I sometimes get surprised. For example, today I expected to print this design on a dark mossy green paper but it turned out that the combination of white ink on the silvery gray was much more appealing. I love how the cleanliness of screen printing and the right color combinations can make a rather mediocre drawing much more special.

I printed a small edition of 25 and I'll be putting them in my shop later this evening.

Bunnies are BOSS!

Remember when I found all those antique handmade doilies at my parent's house? Well, I found another handiwork marvel that has given me inspiration for a new design.

The photo above is of an unfinished cross-stitch that my Dad's first wife made. The design honors their beloved black pug dog named Klinka. I think it's a really charming pet tribute and I wanted to make a similar design for the bunnies. I printed "Bunnies Are Boss" on pale yellow cardstock with hand-pinked edges (admittedly slightly wonky) in pink, blue and green ink and then mounted the image on dark green cardstock. Anyone who has a house rabbit will understand that they really are boss of the house but I meant boss in the retro slang kind of way. Bunnies are boss as in bitchin' or rad!

I also have been wanting to make an item to use for fund raising for a bunny rescue group. I always wanted to volunteer at a shelter but there are none close enough to me and I don't think I'd be great at it anyway. I probably would have the my apartment overrun with bunnies in no time. So, I thought it would be a good idea to have a fund raising item in my shop so I could help out somehow.

I'd like to make these "Bunnies Are Boss" Gocco prints in an open edition in hopes of generating as much money as possible for the rescue. I'm planning on selling the prints for 15 dollars each and sending 10 dollars from each sale to Hop-a-long Hollow which is a bunny rescue in Norwalk, CT that is outstanding. I'm just waiting to hear back from them regarding using their name in my item listings and then I'll get going. I am very excited to do this because I always have such good intentions and rarely follow through.

gocco promo-stravaganza!

fronts

backs

bunnies helping to clean up my scraps

finished pockets!


I spent about eight hours today making new business cards and promo pockets for Argyle Whale. I am really proud of them even though the process may have been a little bit inefficient. I busted out my Gocco and got to work making use of a pile of imperfect prints that were too good to throw away. First, I screened my promotional designs on the backs of the imperfect prints. Then, I cut them all out and made pockets too. I'm excited to go pinning my pockets-o-promos on a few corkboards around town. I think they are pretty slick... and repurposed!

I've heard that business cards are one of the least effective forms of advertising but I enjoyed the process. I really would have spent my day just making more lolbunnies if I hadn't done that anyway. I'm addicted to the lolcat generator. I really can't understand why I'm so delighted by putting misspelled subtitles on pictures of my bunnies but I absolutely cannot stop.

My favorite toy is my print Gocco.

I recently purchased a Riso print Gocco machine from Japan to make some thank-you cards and I completely fell in love with this simple printing process. There is nothing quite like a new tool or method to get me working again and the Gocco sent me into a flurry of productivity and had my head brimming with new ideas.

Before I started using my Gocco, the main imagery I was working with was for Lazer Beanz. Due to the nature of my materials and the technique I used in the LazerBeanz appliques, my aesthetic became bolder, simpler and mostly color based. When my Gocco arrived in the mail I was surprised by how much of a challenge it was for me to make a simple line drawing to print. Using multiple colors in one print on the Gocco was too advanced at first so I couldn't rely on using color to define my shapes as I had been doing with the fabric. I had to shift my brain into contour mode and that was a big obstacle that I hadn't been expecting.

My creative side was a little lopsided so I'm glad that the Gocco forced me to design differently. It also helped to expand the types of images I use. I would have taken forever to make something as detailed as the "Barnacle Whale" or "Treasure patterns" with sewn fabric and, honestly, I'm more of the instant gratification type.

Here is my first try:


"Treasure Patterns"



"Barnacle Whale"



I'm pretty delighted with my Gocco and plan to make lots and lots of things with it forever! In fact, I plan to have a whole Etsy shop (argylewhale.etsy.com) packed with my limited edition prints and other treats by mid January.

I bet you are wondering...
What is this Gocco?
Where did I purchase such a fine thing?
How do I use it?
What's the news on the Gocco?
Where can I see more prints?