Updates of All Sorts

Print I did for the reduction linocut demo

Spring has sprung in Texas and as the seasons change so does my work in the studio. I have dedicated April to be my printmaking-only month. The beginning of the year has flown by sewing customs and I finally had to say "stop" to all that and reclaim my space back as a printing studio. Now that I have cleaned a mountain of fabric and bits of thread off the tables, I have ink, paper and brayers ready to go.

The rest of the year is dotted with lots of print related events so I am happy to be in the studio to make more work and to share it with others. I am also teaching a good amount, and if you are local to the Bryan/College Station area, see my Facebook page for regular events and updates, or if you are not on FB, ask to be put on my local mailing list for events that goes out about once a month. Here's a quick rundown on whats coming up:

First of all I am teaching an ongoing printmaking class on Thursday nights in Bryan, TX. It's been a lot of fun and is open for everyone to attend. There will be several workshops coming up in May and September at the Forsythe Galleries at Texas A&M and the Arts Council of Brazos Valley.

I just did a demo yesterday for the local art league, about reduction linocuts, and will do another one on engraving for the Forsythe Galleries (TAMU) in July.

Demoing at the art league, photo by Nikki Smith

This week I am working on a wood engraving for the cover of the next Wood Engravers Network publication, Block and Burin. It's a really fun project so far. I don't want to reveal the image too much until after it hits the mailboxes, but here's a *little* sneak peak.

As soon as I'm done printing this one, I have a piece to make for an invitational exhibition at the Forsythe Galleries. Some local artists were selected to make work inspired by pieces in the University's collection. I was given a nice watercolor by Stanley M. Long that features a horse and rider to work off of. More on that later when I get to it.  

In May I teach a workshop on making linocut postcards and then take off with the kids to Finland for a month and a half. I'm going to try really hard to finish the book on Finnish wallhangings while I'm there and have my parents help on babysitting the kids. The project has been going for a long time, and I think I have enough to finally put it all together.

After we get back there will be an art fair in Bryan, TX, that I am looking forwards to participating, some classes, and a solo show at the Sead Gallery (also in Bryan) at the end of the year that I'm really excited to create new work for.

I have so many ideas brewing and already know I won't have time to make even half of what I want. Some ideas are for nice exhibition prints and then some ideas are for small prints that would do well at an art fair and on Etsy. Hmmm, and come to think of it my website needs a revamp too, but looking at all this, it'll probably have to wait until the end of the year!

I have some nice websites to share for resources but wanted to do a separate write-up for that. You can look forwards to a press-maker, image resources and other random things that are out there as soon as I get another chance to sit down and write.

Have a great day!
Mirka

Exhibition week

This last week has been loaded with art related things- I'm so happy. I taught class, went to class, had two receptions and took down and hung a show. So much fun and I hope we'll even be written up with the local news papers in Nummela Finland.

Where to begin, well first I wanted to show you the doggie print. I got most votes from friends to go with the orange and brown theme, so thats what I printed it with. The paper is cream colored Stonehenge. Heres the stack of prints, all 45(ish) of them. I still have to go through them and sign and edition them. But the grueling part of printing is over. Below is a closeup of it. I hope to make more linocuts in the future, it was so much fun. I also liked doing two colors for a change, so I hope to work with more colors in the future too.

I almost forgot to mention it, I also finished cleaning up and painting my little Kelsey 5x8 letterpress. During my last day of teaching polymerplates at my Tacoma Studio we inked it up for the very first time and tested one of the student plates on it. After futsing for about an hour with everything we got it to print fairly well. I think one of the hard parts was that it was not attached to a base, so applying too much pressure was out of the question. But it worked, and now I need to get back home and test it out a bit more. :)

So talk about exhibitions! I was able to organize a group show for La Familia Gallery members in Seattle. La Familia is a co-op gallery that I have been a member of since November 2009. I brought all the artwork in two suitcases for a show at Gallery Golden Point in Nummela, Finland. I have known the owner for quite a while, so I was comfortable organizing the exhibition with her. The pieces went up on tuesday and the reception was held right after. I was interviewed for the local newspaper, so I can't wait to see what they write about us.

The exhibition was well received. Everyone was super excited about it, since Gallery Golden Point is in a smaller town about an hour from Helsinki, seeing a variety of works from across the Atlantic was a breath of fresh air to the city and proved that there can be an international art scene outside of Helsinki. Here are a couple of shots from the show. As a co-op gallery we are also going to be showing at Art Monaco '10 at the end of April. With volcanic ash flying in the air, we have been on the edges of our seats waiting to see that our crates get there on time and that the members responsible for our booth will make their flights. I'll write more about that when the time comes.

The other show that just came down was at Galleria Gjutars in Vantaa Finland. I did not fly in until halfway through the show so we had a closing reception last Saturday and the show came down on Sunday night. The gallery has two floors and I had the upstairs space. The gallery fit well for the type of work I had, so I was very satisfied with how everything went. You can see more pictures of the installation on my flickr site.

Lastly I took a non-toxic printmaking class over the course of two weekends in Espoo Finland. I learned several new techniques that I was unaware of. There is so much to tell, that I have to write a whole new blog about that. It was nice to get some time in a studio, try new things and get the gears working again. I have had so little time in the studio to make new work lately its pitiful. I hope to go home and get a grip on time and actually get some new work done. Stay tuned for insights into etching non-toxic hard and soft grounds!

News and Upcoming Exciting Events

There have been so many exciting events going on in my life that I have hardly had the time to sit by the computer. I have some great video from a Karen Kunc and Zha Zai demo from Seattle to post in the near future. Also just went up- a intimate exhibition by Chandler O'Leary at the Pacific Lutheran University Gallery in Tacoma.
I was selected as one of 4 artists to complete work for the NoteWorld Servicing Center corporate offices in Tacoma. The time frame is very tight, so I have been working double time on that. I also have a solo show at the Friends Gallery at Lakewood Library going up on Nov 1st, so I need to get crankin' to have some more new pieces to put up. The images are the finished set of linocuts of the message series.

Here is a short list on some events coming up:
1. Exhibition in Dupont, Patriots Landing. Oct 2nd, 2009-Mar 28th, 2010, 1600 Marshall Cir, Dupont, WA 98327
2. Solo show at Lakewood Library. Nov 2nd-30th. 6300 Wildaire Rd SW, Tacoma, WA 98499
3. Beginning Polymerplate class taught on Tuesday mornings in November in my studio. More info and syllabus on my website front page.

4. Art At Work Month- a citywide event in Tacoma. Open studio tours, Nov 7-8th, 10am-4pm. F.S. Harmon Building, 2926 S. Steele St. Tacoma, WA.

5. A table at the 37th Annual Yule Boutique, at Pacific Lutheran University, Nov 22, 9am - 5pm. 12180 Park Avenue S, Tacoma, WA

6. In the works a portfolio print, some other exhibitions, a possible co-op membership in Seattle and children's book illustrations for a local author.

I had sworn to be busy after my husband deployed, and I can say the least I have accomplished that goal. It's all good though. I am thoroughly enjoying networking and making myself cozy in Washington. I miss my husband dearly every day, but keeping busy helps with having less time to feel sorry for myself and spending time with friends keeps me upbeat. Who knew water aerobics, bible study and walking dogs could provide so much joy in my life. :)