A successful reception at Marblehead Gallery: ARTI

 

Having a grand time with fellow printmaker, 

Susan Dosick

 Here are my prints that are being exhibited.

Coyote Sensation, color reduction linoleum

Monhegan Island Series, color reduction linoleum

Mellow Marshlands for Hard Shells, reduction lino

After a very successful opening, we were invited over to fellow printmaker, Amy and her husband, Seamus Hourihan's gorgeous Marblehead home. A delicious buffet was prepared for us and we had great conversations around the dining room table.  Later in the evening we were invited up to their home's widow's walk that overlooks Marblehead harbor and beyond. Gloucester, in the distance, was pointed out to us.  What a view!   I hope you check out this amazing show of talented printmakers.

Print Show in newly established Marblehead Gallery

 

Opening ARTI Gallery Saturday, May 27, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm   Welcome to the new ARTI Gallery in Marblehead. 70 Washington Street, Marblehead, MA 01945 Informal reception starting at 4:00 pm to toast with TJ and Arend. Come see our new space, as well as a sneak peak at the amazing work of our first artists: the North of Boston Print Collaborative.  CHECK OUT THE ARTI WEBSITE     Exhibit Opening: North of Boston Print Collaborative Reception: Saturday, May 27, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm  Exhibit runs through June 11, 2023   In the highly technical world of contemporary print media, fine art printmakers continue to find inspiration in techniques that are centuries old, often in combination with 21st century methods "Coyote Sensations", S. Jaworski Stranc Artists of the NBPC work in a variety of methods, including woodcut and reduction linoleum, monotype and monoprint, etching, mezzotint, lithograph, collagraph, and mixed media Participating artists include: Muriel Angelil, Michele Champion, Sally Dion, Sue Dosick, Diane Francis, Kate Higley, Amy Hourihan, Susan Jaworski-Stranc, Barbara Nachmias-Kedesdy, Mary Pollak, Kathleen Reming, Christine Riccardi, Christine Robinson and Mary Carolyn Webber.  CHECK OUT THE FULL EXHIBIT     ARTI  70 Washington Street, Marblehead, Massachusetts  United States

Turbulent Remains

 

TURBULENT REMAINS:

3 Women explore the boundaries of Climate Change,

Erica Flores, Gillian Frazier, Susan Jaworski Stranc

at the Mary L. Fifield Art Gallery

Bunker Hill Community College

Charlestown Campus

250 Rutherford Avenue

Boston, MA

now through April 28, 2023

The NH mountains were snow white but not Sugar Hill

 After a COVID hiatus of a few years, our merry band of plein air painters headed for Sunset Hill House in Sugar Hill, NH https://www.thesunsethillhouse.com/ for the annual winter gathering.  Unfortunately, February temperatures were unseasonably warm and in the 40's, with a shrinking snow cover on the Hotel's premises. The distant range of the White Mountains to the east and the Green Mountains of Vermont in the west seen from our hotel were still covered in a white blanket of packed snow though. Every morning the sunrise over the White Mountains never failed to present a colorful palette to our waking eyes.

At the start of the day most of the painters walked out from the classroom porch and within a few feet set up their easels. Others chose to hike a bit to find other vistas to paint and still others hopped in their cars and sought farther points of interests.

The above three, 12x16 oil sketches are what I painted during my 3 day stay: two are scenes from the premises and the other is painted along the frozen Ham Branch Gale River a short drive from hotel.  All finished during an outdoor session of no more than two or three hours. 

One afternoon another artist and I decided to travel to the beautifully detailed and well maintained Sugar Hill Community Church not far from our hotel. I always liked looking at the simple architecture of New England's steepled wooden houses of worship. Most difficult to draw it's entirety on a 8x10 sheet of paper when the foundation is always the starting point for a drawing. So from the back of my car I looked skyward and focused on drawing just the steeple using General's charcoal pencils and kneaded eraser.  Soon the fast disappearing sun was making the winter temperature difficult to work in, so I drew two more charcoal drawings before heading back for dinner.

Having dinner together at a local restaurant. Look at all those rosy cheeks. Ah fresh air!

Here's the communal lunch and snack table in the classroom basement. Such a wide assortment of foods for sharing!  Nourishment is very important to an outdoor painter.

Once home and rested, I played with my artwork on the computer using filters with interesting results: what was painted in colors, now is rendered in black and white & what was once a b/w charcoal drawing is now colorized. 

OUTSIDE SKETCHING

Along Point Shore along the Merrimac River, in Amesbury there is a business called Lowell Boat Shop. Established in 1793, this wooden boat building shop is the oldest operating boat shop in America. I have spent many outings there, sketching the multitude of boats found on the property: most are sea worthy, some not.  The stacked formations of these crafts make very interesting compositions.

While out drawing one morning, a Newburyport Daily News photographer stopped by for a chat and asked if I would mind him taking pics while I worked. The temps were in the 20's, so I was properly attired as only an outdoor artist could be dressed in layers of clothing, hats, scarf and a blanket for my lap.

Recently I have been making pronto plates, a type of lithography process, from my Lowell Boat Shop charcoal drawings. 

Drawing directly on a polyester plate using China markers, Litho pencils and Sharpies, I can closely replicate the marks and tones of the original charcoal drawings. The plate is then inked up using a brayer while the surface of the undrawn plate is kept wet by sponging on a solution of gum arabic and water. The basic principle to lithography is water and oil do not mix. They repel each other.  Using an etching press, I offset the image onto printing paper. 

There is so much more to learn about this new printmaking process. Experimenting over time will lead to more interesting results.

Area Holiday Shows

                                        Holiday Greetings!

Recent prints and drawings will be shown at the following holiday markets:

13Forest Gallery

167A Mass Ave

Arlington, MA

"PLENTY"

November 19-January 13, 2023

Western Ave Studios @ Studio 223

122 Western Avenue

Lowell, MA

December 3 & 10th, 12noon -5p and by appointment

Concord Art, Concord Center for the Visual Arts

37 Lexington Road

Concord, MA

December 1 - 18, 2022

Francesca Anderson Fine Art

56 Adams Street

Lexington, MA

"38th Annual Almost Miniatures Show"

December 2 - January 21, 2023

4x6, reduction linoleum prints made from charcoal sketches drawn on Monhegan Island, Maine

printmaking Pumpkin Halloween project

 

Now was a good time to try my hand at printmaking to reclaim some strength in my dominate hand since three rupture hand tendons were surgically repaired in April. I have replaced my old wooden spoon with a new wooden spatula. On the handle, I  slipped on a foam tube and wrapped it with self grip athletic bandage to increase the diameter of handle since I am unable to squeeze and make a tight fist. 

Cutting out the sugar skull design into the soft rubber block plate was easy: like cutting butter. I zipped along using a v-gouge and in no time it was ready for printing. 

To prepare the pumpkin surface, I painted an oval with black acrylic paint and let it dry. This step will provide a high contrast to the white printing ink.

Since the block was bendable, my thought was it could wrap around the curved pumpkin to print the design on the painted surface. Yes and no. Pumpkins have ridges and the printed design was missing in its deep recesses. So I printed the inked design onto tracing paper.  Then I pressed the tracing paper onto the pumpkin surface, being sure to gently rub all areas. Remove the tracing paper. Voila!

This next step is optional. Sprinkle embossing powder over the wet inked areas. With a gentle tap to the pumpkin, the excess powder will fall away. A heat source especially made for melting the embossing powders was used. Hair dryers are not hot enough and a commercial heat gun might be too hot for melting. Use caution.

Trick or Treat.