Corset of Arms

What if chicks had ruled the world back in feudal days? Now I know some would say that we would never have adopted the corset as women's wear in the first place, but I beg to differ. Women like being beautiful, no matter how much torture it is...

This pencil work measures approximately 3.5" x 5.5", which is the proper size to use as a master for a Gocco print. I have had a Gocco set for several years now, have gotten it out of the box, read the instructions, just have never pulled the trigger and ever tried to do anything with it. I will probably go to Kinko's and get a photocopy made of it, as I am not sure what might happen to my original if I use that to create my master. I have never done screenprinting of any kind, so this would be a whole new step for me...

Checking the Blue Corn Traps -- Finally Finished, Again

Drumroll please... I am not 100% positive, but I think this may be finished, again. This colored pencil work is one that I "finished" in 1999 (hence why the '0' in the '09' next to the signature looks a little like a '9') and have blogged about before. There is almost no space on this drawing that has not been drawn over now, but I think I like it. I have totally changed the color of the background, enhanced the original colors of the 'trap,' totally changed the color and shape of the corn, and punched up the little green, um, slug-thingies-that-are-doing-the-trap-checking. The most challenging part was the fact that this wasn't done on particularly heavy drawing paper, and erasing and colored pencils don't go together for a reason. I almost couldn't get the color to take on the last piece of corn for lack of a smooth drawing surface. I am still looking at it trying to decide if I missed any spots, or if I want to lighten up the corn a little, but overall, I think it looks okay. Pretty soon I will put it back in its frame and buy it new glass (found a place here in Albuquerque where I can get low-glare conservtion glass for cheap) and decide on a price! I appreciate any feedback from my readers so please, comment away!

Green Man--An Embossed Print with a Celtic Feel

"Green Man" is an embossed print I created in 1997 as an edition of 15. It was created by carving the three-dimensional design into a linoleum block, then running it through a printing press with a piece of damp printing paper. The embossed design stays in the paper pretty much forever, creating this beautiful texture of white on white in wonderful detail. I have sold about 1/3 of the edition so far.

The tradition of Green Man in history is unclear, but its origins are mostly European, and are represented by a relief carving or scultpure of a man's face with branches and leaves coming out of it. Green Man is generally considered to symbolize rebirth or rennaissance.

This particular print measures 6" x 9" on hand torn paper measuring 11" x 15". It is sold unframed in my Etsy Shop for $45 plus shipping.

Black Dog Friday

Yes, I know it is May Day, and Friday, but I decided today is Black Dog Friday. I was playing around with my digital camera on the SuperMacro setting and the Kids & Pets setting (I actually do know how to work a real camera with lenses and f-stops and whatnot, we just don't have a digital camera with all of those un-automatic features). My teenager is out in the back yard with his airsoft rifle, or else I would have gone out there for some natural light. Oh well.

So my three black dogs are all as terrible as models as I am a photographer, so if any of these pictures are worth a darn, it defies all odds.

First we have Mimi, the Doberman Pinscher, prima dona, Star Pilot and Alien sent here to protect mankind from itself.

Isn't she pretty? I know, everyone says that about their dog. But in the case of Mimi, if I don't say that, she will kill me in my sleep. Or so she tells me. I also got a shot of one of her pretty brown eyes:

And a great closeup of her nose...

Then, there's Axel, a Black Lab mix. He hates to have his picture taken, as if it is going to steal his soul or something. But I did manage to pull off a couple nice shots...

This one I especially like, because he wasn't looking at me, so he didn't seem so scared.

Then, there's Cassie, the Australian Shepherd. Everything I've read about the breed talks about how smart they are, but I swear Cassie was dropped on her head as a puppy, because she's really pretty dense... I couldn't even get her to look at me in response to her name today. But she is pretty photogenic.

So there's the three black dogs. Maybe I'll get better pictures of them oneday, which means I'll probably be a pretty good photographer by then.

Here's a drawing of Mimi I made from a fabulous photo I managed to get of her...