The Book of the Raven, Corvids in Art and Legend

 The Book of the Raven

In 2019 I was contacted by a publisher about being included in a book that celebrated Corvids in Art and Literature. Excitedly I gathered high-resolution images of the prints in the publisher was interested in. A few weeks later I received a contract from a London publisher, Laurence King Publishing. After a quick Google search, I learned that my artwork would be included in a book by the United Kingdom’s premier publisher of art books, I was thrilled. The book was due out in 2020. Then Covid happened and I heard very little from them. I wasn’t even certain if my work made it into the final edit. In December 2020 I wrote to them and asked about the status of the book, I got a polite reply saying that everything had been pushed back until Fall 2021. I asked if I had been included and “Yes, we chose two of your prints”. Today I received the book from the publisher and it is more beautiful than I thought, it is small, but it is 160 pages, beautifully edited, bound, and printed. It is due out October 15. When I opened the book, I found many of my favorite artists and writers from the 18^th century. Some artists I do not know but many are known, as masters. It is a profound privilege to be included in the book.

Robert Batman,

Will Barnet

Masahisa Fukase

June Hunter

Alex Coleville

Frank Capra

Kawanabe Kyosai

Ohara Koson

Sakia Hoitsu

Casper David Friedrich

Arthur Rackham

Sue Bowman

Karl Martens

Paul Gauguin

Leonard Baskin

Vincent Van Gogh

Watanabe Seitei

And Me!!

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/198516071/wall-art-raven-artwork-raven-crow-black?ref=shop_home_active_35&pro=1&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/469262323/wall-art-raven-artwork-raven-crow-three?ref=shop_home_active_41&pro=1&frs=1

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Raven-Corvids-Art-Legend/dp/1786277018/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1DWMAD6IN70DG&dchild=1&keywords=the+book+of+the+raven+corvid+in+art+and+legend&qid=1631924285&sprefix=Thw+Book+of+the+raven%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-1

IT IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATE

 IT IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATE,  

SEPTEMBER 9 - OCTOBER 15

I have been making prints since 1978. I love drawing and painting. Painting is very difficult for me; I will labor over a painting for weeks and still not be satisfied. It has never come easy, and that is one of the reasons I love it, it challenges me. Drawing has always been easier for me. As a teen, I learned scrimshaw (engraving whale teeth). I spent summers selling my artwork on Nantucket. The building in which I worked was part of the Moby Dick legacy. George Pollard, the Captain of the Essex tragedy once own the building, Herman Melville visited Captain Pollard in that very building while crafting his epic novel Moby Dick.  

I suppose Printmaking was a natural transition for me. I honed my skills as a teen engraving whaling scenes, printmaking was the perfect marriage of those engraving skills with the love of drawing and painting.

After all these years I still get excited by pulling a nice print. It is always a surprise; I never know what I will get. It is like a Box of Chocolates.

My show at Valencia College was an honor. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all gallery shows went virtual since March 2021. I was honored to be the first in-person show since the pandemic. No offense to virtual art galleries, but NOTHING can compare to seeing artwork live.

Carley Frank and her team did an incredible job curating, hanging, and lighting the show. I gave her much more artwork than needed for this show. I hadn’t been in the gallery in years and wasn’t sure how much space there was, so I brought it all. She skillfully selected a wonderful show.

Here are some photos and videos from the evening

Seminole County Printmakers Steamroller Event

 

Seminole County Printmakers worked with The Tenth St. John Festival of the Arts to bring to the City of Sanford its First Annual Steamroller Printmaking Event. “…What is printmaking?” ….and.. “why use a steamroller?” you may ask.

Today most people do not understand the art of Printmaking. It is a very old art form that starting in China over 1500 years ago and arrived in Europe with Marco Polo in the 13^th century. Printmaking is an art form that allows an artist to create multiple handmade copies of one image. Today we take quick reproduction for granted but once it was the only way an image could be reproduced. Some printmaking methods are woodcuts, wood engraving, etching, metal engraving, and relief prints. Relief printing is made by carving away areas that aren’t to be printed, the high points hold the ink.

The Seminole County Printmakers provide Seminole County and Central Florida access to Fine Art printmaking. The Group informs students, artists, faculty, and the public by sharing our knowledge, understanding, and support for all forms of artmaking.

A Steamroller event is a wonderful public art celebration. Steamroller events have been very popular with art groups over the past 15 years as fundraisers and educational events.

Traditionally, printmaking is done in an artist’s studio with the aid of a printing press. Artists carve on wood or artist linoleum and create large-format plates. A typical relief plate is usually small depending upon the printing press size. A plate is run through a printing press, it runs under a roller and the ink is transferred from the plate to the paper. With a Steamroller event, the artists are only limited by the size of the steamroller. The steamroller becomes the printing press and artists often create huge prints some as large as 4 feet by 8 feet. Our event was smaller 2ft to 3ft max. 

Steamroller Printmaking Events are wonderful public events. The Crowds loved the event and were eager audiences. Children and adults are intrigued by the process and the printed results.

Seminole County Printmakers hope this will become an Annual Event and will enrich the Arts Community by making Sanford an artistic hub in the region. Artists from all over Central Florida are recruited are participants. The plates we  used are 24” x 24” and 24” x 36”. We printed 4 prints per plate. Sales of the prints will benefit Seminole County Printmakers and St. Johns River Festival of the Arts Children’s Programs. Please visit our Etsy Shop, Seminoleprintmakers