Who's Printsy This Week

	Hojack by DeanRussellThompson
	Woodcut Woman Lily Pads Face Woodcut Fantasy Portrait by bdelpesco
	Red Fawn, Blue Skys - Greyhound Woodcut by jenniferzalewski
	Remus by allthingsgrow
	Spider Mum Etching Green bleed print edition of 57 signed flower by HelenGotlib
	Everyone Loves a Corn Dog Letterpress Linocut Print by pspress
	Hand-Held Harpy I - multimedia by minouette
	Tree of Endless Branches original linocut by bluecicada
	Little Sheep Lost - original woodcut print by AzureGrackle
	Dragonfly Original collagraph by DeanDymentStudios

Printsy Interview - Erin Nolan

Name: Erin Kathleen Nolan, aka pejnolan

Website: flickr.com/photos/pejnolan
Blog: pejnolan.blogspot.com
Shop: pejnolan.etsy.com

Brief Bio:

I moved often when I was a child. As a result I was shy. Artwork was something I could do that didn't require other people. It was also an ice-breaker when I had to find friends at a new school. I didn't receive formal education in art until I attended college. There I blossomed and knew that having a career in art was my goal. It took awhile to achieve that dream. Currently I am a graphic designer/creative consultant for OC Imageworks by day and an artist by night. I have been married for 19 years and have a high-school age son - both of whom are the loves of my life. We have our dog, Gracie and a cat, Crystal. We also have a stray cat that claimed us as his family. His name is Robert, Bobert, Bob, Bobby, Robierto del Feline.

How did you get started in printmaking?

I am a printing noob. I've only been working with prints since the summer of 2008. My brother, Al Stark (aka dakokichidekalb), has been making woodblock prints for years to use when constructing Japanese inspired kites. His work is wonderful. I kept watching him work, listening to him talk about the woodblock process and watching his eyes light up as he spoke about the block he was working on. Eventually I wanted to try it out for myself. I started out with wood my brother supplied, but my hands just aren't that strong, so I switched to linoleum block.

Describe where you work:

I work in a basement studio that I rent in a house. I use a drafting table as a workbench. On the opposite wall I have a metal cabinet and an old library bookshelf. There, my supplies are organized by type and stacked in plastic boxes. Everything has a place and I do my best to clean
up each item and put it away before I leave the studio for the day. That way it is fresh and clean - and inspiring - when I walk in next time I work.

What's your favourite printmaking process?
So far I've only made linocut blocks. There is so much to learn about papers, inks, barens, brushes. It will be awhile before I feel I can move on to something else.

What's your creative process for any given print?
Being a graphic designer, I scan in a sketch or photo reference, then manipulate it in Photoshop to find what might work well as a composition. I print out a copy to 100% size. Next I will transfer the design onto a sheet of Tengucho paper. During the transfer, I alter the sketch further. Next the Tengucho is turned over so that the pencil side faces the block and adhere
it to the block with rice paste. After allowing it to dry 24 hours, I return to the drawing and adjust anything using a Sharpie marker.

What do you enjoy most about printmaking?

So much of myself goes into each piece that I found it difficult to part with it after a sale. I love the idea of being able to share my artwork without giving it away entirely. I guess I'm a bit selfish that way.

What's your favorite part of the process?

Lifting that very first proof after carving! There is hopeful anticipation that wells up inside. It is the suprise and excitement of what might be - as if I were a child again opening gifts on Christmas morning.

What's your least favorite part of the process?

Clean up. I hate washing ink down the drain. I feel like I'm being wasteful.

What are your inspirations?

Beauty is everywhere: it is in the natural, organic forms found all around us. I use personal life experiences, memories, and stories as my inspiration. Many of my pieces are related to Door County, Wisconsin, USA. Al Stark is my printwork instructor and mentor. The energy of the linework in Van Gough's drawings currently has my attention.

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
When I started I didn't have proper tools. I used an X-acto blade - cutting one side at an angle, then cutting the opposite side. I used silk-screen ink because it was what I had on hand. I'm learning more every day.

How doyou get past creative slumps?
Oh! This one is hard! Sometimes I'll go weeks without being productive, then BAM! I have a conversation with someone, or go for a walk and something strikes a chord. Then I feel like I can't keep up with everything I want to get done. Basically, I allow myself those times when it just isn't working. The downtime is like sleeping: you're creative body needs it to refresh, renew, and repair itself.

How do you promote your work?
Etsy is my primary source of promotion. I also enter juried exhibitions and shows. Art Calendar Magazine is an excellent resource for this. Every week I search the internet to find new opportunities. There are Flickr groups to join and print exchanges to work on. I regularly attend my art groups: The Kishwaukee Valley Art League and The Makers Art Group. Moo cards are handed to all interested persons. Currently I'm working on a series on 100 prints for Art-O-Mat.

Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled
prints?

Don't wait until you have the education, proper tools, etc. If you want to try printing, or try anything in life, do it today! Action equals productivity. Productivity equals satisfaction. Satisfaction equals happiness.

Great interview, Erin, thanks so much!

Who's Printsy This Week

	The Arrival of Fieldfares by magiccochin
	Jazz Club Hand Pulled Linocut by littlebirdesigns
	Octo-Tiki original lino cut print by craftyhag
	Hello Mice Linocut by loadedhipspress
	Cricket by sheridesthelion
	particles two (original silk screenprint) by mizudesigns
	I could have a cupcake...if you have any to spare (original woodblock print, red) by Cakeasaurus
	Los Angeles Sky - Screen Print by miriamdema
	Charlton - original wood engraving by spoonergregory
	Branches in Moonlight by edamamepress

Printsy Interview - Justin Miller

Name: Justin Miller

Blog: boundstaffpress.blogspot.com
Etsy: boundstaffpress.etsy.com
ArtFire: boundstaffpress.artfire.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/boundstaffpress

Brief Bio
I am an artist and teacher living in southern Colorado with my wife and three children. I grew up not too far from here in KS and am the most comfortable when I can see for miles and miles in every direction. I love to travel in the mountains, and throw rocks into lakes and rivers with my kids. We try to hug and wrestle and play at every opportunity.

How did you get started in printmaking?
When I was young, my dad ran a printshop for which I had little interest. But in college, when I smelled the print studio, I new I was home. I loved the ink and solvents, the process of lithography and etching, and the way my drawings had a new life in ink.

Describe where you work.
My day job as an art teacher provides a studio space that is to die for. I usually carve blocks at my desk, and print either in my print studio office, or on my letterpress which has not yet found a home in my office.


What's your favourite printmaking process?
It is a tie. I love the smooth textures of stone lithography. In the absence of a litho press, I find that linoleum relief prints are my favorite medium to work in. I find that the graphic nature of relief work lends itself to my ideas.


What's your creative process for any given print? (eg. sketch first? Pre-planned or free-form?)
I develop what I call an artist's vocabulary. I have a certain number of images that I use regularly in different combinations. While I do sketch out these ideas over and over, I am always in search of a new way to arrange them, or a new image to add to my vocabulary. I hardly ever transfer a complete idea from my sketchbook to a block, instead I use my sketchbook to build idea momentum, then begin a new sketch on a block. When I have what I want, I re-draw the image in sharpie marker. I often let the image mellow on the block before I cut it.


What do you enjoy most about printmaking?
I love ink. Printing with ink. Ink in my fingernails. Ink smell, Ink cleanup.

What's your least favorite part of the process?
The last few cuts before I ink up.


What are your inspirations (other artists, people, places, events, etc.)?
Nothing gets me going like a good road trip across open countryside. I like discovering little visual gems in small towns or by the highway.

Artists that have influenced me: Goya, Jacques-Louis David, Birger Sandzen, Herschel Logan, Mic Jilg, Frank Nichols, Natalia Moroz, and many others.

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
I used to work almost exclusively with the human figure. In the last few years, I have begun working with birds as a metaphor for the human body, or spirit. I have really enjoyed the change, but still like to play with the figure from time to time.


How do you get past creative slumps?
My most successful method is to sketch every day at the same time. Sometimes drawing the same thing over and over, other times copying drawings to sharpen my skills.

How do you promote your work?
I use flickr, a blog, and a lot of word of mouth. I have found that participating in online groups and commenting on other's blogs can funnel a great number of people to my work. I display work at a local coffee shop, and in a nearby insurance office. My newest push is to participate in some national shows to expose my work to a wider audience.


Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?
Find an opportunity to pull a print in a class or at a local studio. You'll be hooked. Rich inky blacks are like a drug. Try it once, and you'll sell your possessions to get your own press.

Thanks for the great interview, Justin!

OzBushfireAppeal - Shop on Etsy

by janallsopp

I've been a member of DUST (Down Under Street Team at Etsy) for a while now and while they have seemed to be a great bunch of people all along, I feel they have truly shown their best as a result of the devastating bushfires in Victoria. Victoria is Australia's south-eastern state on the mainland.

As you can see on this map, the situation is amazing. There have been many, many fires and while most have now fortunately been contained, 16 fires still burn out of control, 7,800 survivors are displaced, 1,800 homes have been destroyed including whole towns, and tragically the death toll, stalled at an official 181 for several days now, is tipped to climb dramatically higher.

Victoria has been gripped by a terrible drought for a decade. When the drought eased in most of Australia in recent years, it clung on to Victoria. This, combined with an astonishing heatwave with temperatures up to 46ºC (115ºF) for almost 2 weeks, led to fires that swept uncontrollably and unpredictably across the state fanned by strong winds.

I think I can safely say that most Australians have felt like I have this week: sad, depressed, numb and feeling powerless in the face of an overwhelming desire to help. Ah, my friends at DUST! Almost instantly a new shop was opened at Etsy to raise money.


All items for sale in the OzBushfireAppeal shop have been donated, not only by DUSTers but by many artists and crafters from all around the world. The response has been amazing. In the short 6 days it has been open there have been (at the time of writing) 365 sales! There are currently 178 items listed, but even with working at it around the clock, not all the donations have been listed yet! The shop is growing and growing. It is truly exciting to see how we all come together when help is needed. So far we have raised over $5000 AU. The items sold are being shipped to buyers all over the world, and the money is being passed on to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.

What can you do to help? Visit the shop and have a browse. Buy something - in all of that lot there must be something you want! Everything in store has free shipping.

	'Dry' artist's book with original Australian poem by meliors
	'Weaving Warmth' lino block original by bizarregalah
	Handmade Artists Book - Forecast by janallsopp
	'Monkey Robot Couple' limited edition print by benconservato
	'Little Red Riding Hood' (print) by beyeler

Or if you would like to donate something to sell here's what you do:
* Email the listing wording, price, tags and pics to feliciafairy [!at] gmail.com
* We'll do the listing
* Once item is sold, you will be informed and YOU will Ship it out. We need to have FREE INTERNATIONAL shipping on all items so that they can come from/ go to anywhere.
Be sure to include your shop name so we can credit you :)

Better still, do both!

Thanks Jan for bringing this to Printsy's attention!

Who's Printsy This Week

	Where do my bluebirds fly by fustian
	Tiny Fawn Linocut by RioSalidaArt
	Lotus in Turquoise Water (Original Editioned Woodcut with Gelatin Printing) by edamamepress
	Huber Park Bridge by dakokichidekalb
	Harriet by mmcullen
	The Peacock, Gocco Screen Print by bridbird
	Gibby Napping (original etching) by VizArt
	Sleepers 8 - original silkscreen print by etsasketch
	Queen 6x8in (original woodcut) by mLee
	Of All the Gifts by sheggestad