Framing up small prints

Today I had a few minutes while munchkin napped to frame a few prints. These will be available  this weekend ar Arts in Bloom. Hope to see you there!

Rainbows and Lotuses

In the last month or so, i have been revisiting my printmaking background....i have always loved printmaking. The first prints i made were in middle school. Linocuts were all i was exposed to until after i was 22. Then i was introduced to collagraphy at a workshop when i was visiting a college for a scholarship competition. I fell in love with the process. Later when i moved on to another college, i dipped my toes into a prinmaking class that i found to be quite a challenge. We did etching, woodcuts, chine colle', solar plates, and used massive presses i have yet to ever see the likes of again...I almost did not take the class again...but, changed my mind and took two more semesters. I have always loved the printmaking processes...and because of that, here we are today...me dipping my toes back in the printmaking waters....

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104432070/rainbow-yoga-lotus-5x7-notecard

This morning...i got up before the rest of the family...in that still space when the entire world is still asleep on a sunday morning...started the coffee pot, let the dog out, noticed the moon and the planets in alignment...and got out my inks....i printed my normal one color prints....and then, felt the need to play...to add a little more color and see what happened...

Rainbows are what happen when one plays with color...when the binds  of the mind are taken off, and the ink is allowed to flow...

Life is a Bowl of Cherries Second Version

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103204888/life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries-5x7-print

This is the second version of "life is a bowl of cherries" in the new print line in my Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103204888/life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries-5x7-print

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103204888/life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries-5x7-print

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103204888/life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries-5x7-print

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103204888/life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries-5x7-print

Creative Momentum = On a Roll

So in the last week or so, I have felt some creative momentum...and I was trying to figure out why?

What is the difference?

My life is the same.

I have the same time restraints

I have the same obligations and interruptions...

the things that is different is the type of work i have been focusing on...

Prints...more specifically...Block prints...

Another thing that is different, is the ideas behind them....

I have been focusing on the simple things that give me and my family joy...that's it...

As a result... i have made three prints in the last week...which, for me, is HUGE...

I have always loved this type of printmaking since I was in middle school and my teacher introduced it to our class.(I dare to say, over 30+ years ago, gasp!)

And later in college I took a workshop on collagraphy printmaking and then went on to take a few actual printmaking courses that i adored.

A few times in the last few years of teaching i was fortunate enough to get to attend other printmaking workshops, but never seemed to be able to get to do it for myself...

Now, I can...

I have 2 small printing presses... and by small...I mean...TINY...in terms of printmaking...

One can handle 5x7 prints... and the other can handle 8x10's.... the larger one I haven't ever really used...ever..but i will be dusting it off and giving it it's shot soon i feel...

(note to self: explore the idea of unused art supplies)

life is a bowl of....

It is cherry season...do yourself a favor...go get some NOW!...well, after you read my post...
( seriously..dude)

The kidlets and I stocked up on the cherry sale going on at our favorite grocer. The youngest has developed a taste for "beh-wees" and so when she saw these, naturally they fell into the same grouping...and as a result, Ii have grown quite fond of the cherry pitter device my husband purchased years ago that i rarely used UNTIL THIS WEEK...

This morning, our family is chilling out...spending time together, simply "being"....a little cartoons, some books being read while lounging on the couch,  the dog snoozing, me enjoying a cup of tea with honey and cream, the dog snoozing...and a bowl of cherries for all to enjoy...


i realized...ya know?... life really is a bowl of cherries, isn't it?...




i know, cliche'....but i don't care... in choosing to see the joy in every moment we have together, the cherries are the most beautiful i have ever seen...

i love everything about them...

I love how my lil' one giggles when she eats them.
I love how the boy  laughs when we are pitting them and the seed shoots across the room sometimes.
I love how cherries are naturally heart-shaped and red..like valentines..and obvious signs of love.
I love how my family is content to simply "be" in the same room and not have to be in a nervous state of constant need for entertainment...

As i finish typing this,( it takes me a bit sometimes) we have all scattered about the house...taking naps has begun...

I have carved up a new block print inspired by the cherries...

And i hope it inspires you, to remember...to CHOOSE to remember, that Life really IS a bowl of cherries...

Namaste Yoga Lotus print line

available in my etsy shop!