Folk Art Mary

About Artist Registries and Links to Artists' Sites

We artists like to cluster together for company. One thing the web is great at is indexing information so it can be more easily found. Here are two artist portals that I like, Electronic Cottage and Jolaf. Electronic Cottage has been kind enough to feature my work on their home page for the month of October and into November. The links page at my website lists other interesting websites that feature artist works, including www.traditonalfolkart.com, one of my favorites. The Community Arts Partnership (CAP), arts council for Tompkins County, New York will soon have a registry of local artists and their work. Currently the best registry for Tompkins County artists is that at the Greater Ithaca Arttrail.  Artists also can do a fine job of listing resources. Abstract artist Lynne Taetzsch has a great links section at her website listing many artist sites and resources.

In the meanwhile... check out my print of the Cornell Clocktower

I've added another color to the Bird Print, but the ink is still wet so I haven't been able to take a photo. This blog thing is ravenous. Putting out an entry every two or three days really keeps me hopping. 

My blog makes it look like I work on one piece and finish it before going on to another. But the reality is that often I'm working on several pieces at once. Here's an example of this: while I did the class at the Ink Shop in October I worked on more than the bird print. I took the opportunity to make a few red versions of a one color Cornell clock tower print that I originally made in a moss green several years ago. It had always bothered me that I had never made a red version of this print, after all, Cornell is known as "Big Red".

www.maryshelleyfolkart.com

Bird Print, Third color Dark Blue Green

Here's the third and final printing of color onto the bird print which started out as such a rough drawing. Seeing it here I realize it may need one more color. An artist's work is never done. I'm going to have to experiment a little bit more with this, so stay tuned for the next blog. What do you think, is this print done yet?

Here is a picture of the Ink Shop press, nice space with north light.

By the way the Ink Shop will be having a benefit Black and White Ball on November 14, 2009. If you're in town you might want to come. 

Signing off for now - Folk Art Mary

Bird Print, Carving the Block Preparatory to the Third Color printing

Here I am outside of my back yard studio carving the wood block before the third and final color printing. It was the last of the beautiful fall days in Ithaca, sunny, some leaves lazily falling, others still brilliantly colored in the trees. This is a folk artist having fun!

First, an action shot. It's hard to see, but I've got the block braced between a bar clamp (that spans the width of my table) and my body weight leaning into it thus acting as a clamp. Note that I have the artist proof of the second printing of the block in front of me so that I can remember what I am doing! I don't want to carve off some detail that I will later regret.

 

Then a mug shot, holding the block after it's been carved.

Then a picture of the block, carved down and ready for the third printing. This is the meaning of a reduction print, by the end most of the block is carved away, and no more prints can be made from it. Does anyone want to guess what color I'll use on the final printing?

Bird Print, Second Color Blue

This is fun, to see the all birds begin to take their shape, with the bird in the middle standing out the most. I talked about birds in an earlier blog entry (see March 13, 2009 entry), they've been of interest to me for a while.  In this print I feel I'm beginning to succeed in creating one place (the middle yellow bird) in the picture that acts as a central focus, a place where your eye returns as a place of rest. www.maryshelleyfolkart.com

Bird Print, Carving the Block Preparatory to the Second Color printing

Here's the wood block further carved down. Wherever I carve away, the color from the previous printing (in this case yellow) will remain. So this means the frame area around the birds will stay yellow and the big bird in the center will stay yellow. Where ever I leave the board uncarved the new color will print. www.maryshelleyfolkart.com

Bird Print, First Color is Yellow

This is a reduction print, meaning that as each color is printed the block is further carved away, so that by the end the wood block is no longer useable. The material used for the block is MDO Board, so easy to carve in comparison to pine that I can't believe it. The problem in using MDO for a print  is that it sheds many fuzzy particles, so you have to be careful when you ink up the block. However, perhaps the easiness of carving outweighs the disadvantage of having to be very careful to remove all particles. I'm still trying to decide. Are there other print artists reading this blog, and do they have an opinion? I'd be interested to hear.

Here's the first printing off of this block, two more color printed layers still to go. www.maryshelleyfolkart.com, please consider joining my email news and updates list.

Greater Ithaca Art Trail 2009 Weekends are Over

Today was the last day of the two Greater Ithaca Art Trail 2009 weekends. It was good, had some good conversations, some sales, some inspiration. Between art trail visitors I worked on my wood block to get ready to print the second color of four at the Tuesday night class at the Ink Shop. Here's a picture of the wood block that I carved to make the first pass of the print. www.maryshelleyfolkart.com

Making a Bird Print at The Ink Shop

I've been having fun making a folk art bird print in a course at The Ink Shop. I came to the course with my own drawing and am now using the expertise of excellent wood cut artist Jenny Pope in order to render this drawing into a print. This is the third printmaking course I've taken. Each time I understand a little bit more of how to work, as I see it, in reverse to produce an image. Here's the drawing I am working from to produce my print. It was done on tissue paper and then photographed in a ray of precious sunlight. Note the color notations I have on the side of the print so I can remember my thoughts on what colors would work best.  This weekend is the second of the two 2009 Greater Ithaca Art Trail weekends. I spend much of this morning getting ready for the event. www.maryshelleyfolkart.com.

Setting up an Etsy Shop

People have told me I should do it. It took me one and a half years, but finally I've gotten to signing up to Etsy and setting up a shop there.

My page at the site has only 5 items so far, but I'll keep adding them. Check it out if you want. Here is the most recent item I've listed at Etsy, title "Waitress Saving Spilled Coffee". I'm on a series right now with the "EAT" thing. Could it have anything to do with the economy? www.maryshelleyfolkart.com.

Artist of the month at Traditional Folk Art Website

This month (October 2009) I'm honored to be the "featured artist of the month" at Traditional Folk Art. There are a whole lot of great artisans and artists whose work is shown on this site. Here's a page that lists the folk art members of this website.

I'm proud to be in this good company. Sometimes I get lonely being the only artist working in my particular style in my geographic region, and then I remind myself that I have a place where my work fits in. American Folk Art is the category where most people put my work. But it's also been called naive, primitive, self taught and outsider. I don't care what people call my work, I just keep doing it. This is all just labeling, and the labels will sort themselves out at some future point.

The sheep herding picture of mine shown at the Traditional Folk Art website also appeared earlier in my blog, and here it is again.