Leighton Art Centre will be having a printmaking show from June 24th - September 24th and I am really excited that they have chosen all three of the pieces I submitted for consideration! 

As some of you know, I'm working through this plates theme in my paintings lately and it seems to have jumped the barrier into my printmaking. I really enjoyed taking the time to carve out the patterns that have been so familiar to paint. Stripping away the colour, texture and tone to focus solely on the graphic nature of these pieces of china was immensely satisfying. 

These are all printed in their own limited edition of 10. The first of each will be framed and  available for sale at the Leighton Centre, the others in the edition will be for sale unframed (at the moment). Please send me an email if you are interested in knowing more about these pieces! 

It's been a busy time of making in my little studio! I have a number of projects on the go - painting, linocut printmaking, letterpress, lesson prep and then I've had a couple of orders for flour sack cloths. I am very relieved I have moved on from the season of endless paperwork and can instead focus on getting my hands dirty every day! 

I recently had to change suppliers for my flour sacks. Man, are these new ones ever nice! These are very thick and thirsty and they take the dye and ink beautifully. They are larger than my other flour sack cloths, they measure 30" x 36". Like any flour sack cloth, they get better and softer with age. These are heat treated so the ink is permanently bonded with the cloth. It's been neat that people have been ordering batches of these, a lot of them destined to be gifts. They are pretty versatile, they can be used as tea towels, receiving blankets, scarves or bread basket liners or whatever else you can think of! 

This batch was a mixture of deep blue, light blue, tan, orange, deep pink, and light pink (the 2 light pink ones are still available). I will be printing more deep blue, deep pink and tan ones in the coming weeks as well as dying some fresh batches (I just have to decide what my new favourite colours are!!)

If you are interested in a custom order, just shoot me an email and I can let you know about price and shipping. Usually I can have an order ready to ship in a week or two depending on quantity and if you have specific colour/design requests. 

I could see this development coming for a long time. Discontent with the plates in my possession, at first I branched out to borrowing the plates of my friends and family. This worked for a while but lately, I could tell my eyes have been straying... I find myself building surreptitious stacks in thrift stores and sneakily taking pictures with my phone. 

The arrangement in this painting is one of those fleeting encounters in the housewares department of a secondhand store. I was attracted by the different eras represented here. A classic fine china floral sandwich plate balanced on an 80's era dinner plate with punchy colourful fruit and leaf combination anchored by a graphic platter from the 60's or 70's in the prerequisite brown pattern of the day. I fiddled and played around with the composition for a few minutes under the quizzical eye of a staff member. I felt a little odd after I took my picture and returned the plates to their mates. I loved the image I captured though, it was worth the stares. 

Still working in my limited palette. I seemed to have dropped the cobalt blue in favour of only having phthalo blue to mix with. Old habits die hard and I find I don't have to think too deeply to mix what I am looking for. I could have used a magenta for the floral china though - the pinks are not as vibrant as the real thing but I am just fine with how it looks in the completed piece - I find magenta can easily look too harsh sometimes. 

I've developed a favourite new habit. My new go to mode of relaxation is to put some DIY fixer upper shows on television and block print flour sack clothes. Nerdy, I know. I think this must be my version of knitting or something. I love the ritual of making patterned motifs and listening to HGTV hosts bickering about throw cushions.

This last batch I finished almost two weeks ago and already more than half of them are off to new homes. If you are interested in knowing which ones are left, send me a message and I can give you the details on price, availability and shipping if needed. 

Vintage Pyrex is super challenging to paint, I've learned. This painting has stymied me for a while now, sitting on my easel while I've puttered away on some other projects. I have my easel set up in my studio so that I can see if from my living room chair. Usually this feels great as I get to think about my next steps in a piece while I have my morning coffee. This time, this painting haunted me each time I sat down to read. 

I think the challenge lies in the milky white interior. When the light is cast through it, there is a hint of the exterior colour that glows through and lights up the interior - part of what makes these dishes so classic and beautiful. Also, this has a lot to do with why they are so hard to paint! Normally this dish looks icy cold white on the inside, but in this arrangement, the interior shifts from the blue all the way to a glowing yellow. As usual, the pattern was the most fun to paint, and this particular one, Butterfly Gold, is where my title comes from. 

I feel very behind the scenes this past few weeks. I've been busy working on a couple of orders, writing proposals and getting all my paperwork in order for tax time. I'm ready to be posting some new work at the end of this week. I have to laugh sometimes because an artist is usually measured by their social media output and so when I slack off on putting fresh work up online, I feel like people think I'm probably busy reading romance novels or something! 

I have a couple of demonstrations and classes I am excited about in the next few weeks - all centered around linocut printmaking. I have a particular fondness for working with people who are new to a particular art form. The opportunity to empower someone to step out of their comfort zone and build a new skill (and work with sharp tools) gets me quite excited. These are usually my favorite kinds of classes to teach. 

March 24th - Visiting artist to the Cochrane Ranchehouse In conjunction with my show upstairs at the Ranchehouse, I will be set up in the main foyer with my tools and ink demonstrating printmaking from 1pm - 3pm. This is a beautiful location and I'm looking forward to sharing my art with the locals. Find out more here.

March 25th - Leighton Art Centre, Calgary Basic Linocut Printmaking This will be a one day workshop where beginner and intermediate students will be walked through cutting, inking and printing thier own linocut blocks. You can register here.

April 1st and 2nd - Kelowna Art Gallery Basic Linocut Printmaking This is a two day intensive workshop where we will explore all sorts of the possiblilites of linocut from craft to fine art. Class size is limited so registering soon is recommended, You can do that here.

Looking forward to getting out of the studio in the next few weeks. I'll also be posting some new work in the coming days so stay tuned! 

 I am kind of excited about this! The Historic Downtown Cochrane Visitor Information Centre commissioned me to do a series of flour sack clothes that will be on sale at their downtown location! 

These are special Cowboy Boot designs with "Cochrane, AB" hand stamped on each. I won't be producing this design for sale anywhere else but for them. You can check them out in person - click here for address and hours.

Here is the full variety of designs available - each a one of a kind piece of art!