alpha fun

I made these 2 alphabet prints for a Christmas present, but true to my procrastinator nature, did not actually have them ready until January. I have a wee little obession with pandas and french bulldogs, so they had to fit in even if the letters weren't actually in our names! I think this is a really fun project and lends itself to so many ideas.

Lynsey

Matthew

Woodblock Class

I love Japanese woodblock, or Moku Hanga, and ukiyo-e prints, and have tons of books on the history of ukiyo-e. I'm always drawn to the imagery and detail, from the patterns in each kimono to the soft background gradation's of light and water. So when I saw a class offered on Saturdays for Japanese Woodblock printing at SVA I signed up right away. How's it going? Am I printing delicate, smoky multi-color prints of gorgeous cherry blossoms? Not exactly. It turns out the carving and printing is reallllly hard!! In the first project, a single color print, my woodblock chipped a lot, due to my poor carving skills (we had to learn how to sharpen the knives to carve well and I still don't have that down) and choice of image. Next time I'm doing a much larger flat plane and few thin lines. We printed editions of 10 (which is why you see the same 2 girls all over the website!!) and I've been playing with layering them by drawing on top of the print. It's really great learning all the actual tools to use and learning the traditional way, though, so I can't wait to start the next project and get it right this time.

My woodblock...um, it's much too deep and looks better here than the actual prints!

2 of my editions, i started only doing the girl on the left because too much ink picked up when printing the entire block

Yoko Furusho

You may have noticed in on my corkboard I have a gorgeous card from one of my favorite artists, Yoko Furusho . Her work caught my eye in an unlikely place- at the grocery store in the free newspaper stand. A beautifully illustrated cover made me pick up Chopsticks NY, and I immediately googled her. I went to Destination NY, a cool retail store/ gallery space, where she had installation, "Exhale" of not only her prints, but amazing fabric works, stuffed mushrooms, hanging floating people, and richly layered stained, stuffed, and printed fabric framed on the wall. Her work is amazing, she's definitely one to watch and has an upcoming show at the Society of Illustrators in NY.

picture via Yoko Furusho
picture via Yoko Furusho

picture via Yoko Furusho

picture via Yoko Furusho


picture via Yoko Furusho

A beautiful interpretation of one of my favorite writers/ directors, Michel Gondry picture via Yoko Furusho

Exhale show at Destination NY picture via Yoko Furusho

Postcard from Exhale show

Chopsticks NY Yoko Furosho covers

Where I create...

I recently turned part of my living room into an art and computer workspace and it's made a huge difference for me. Before my things were scattered about and it was hard to find appropriate space to work on. Now I have my amazing Ikea lightbox table and already need more hot pink Container Store drawers for my growing supplies hoarding. The print is called "Do Not Disturb" by Yoshitomo Nara, which I think is perfect for my little work corner.

Buttons! i love buttons and collect wayyyyy too many....

Best Ebay find ever!! vintage oil paint-by-numbers geisha

Anthropologie and Jonathan Addler vases


Yoshitomo Nara "Do Not Disturb"

My little studio space