Ellen Heck: art and news from the inking glass

New Year, New Artists at Groveland Gallery

2012-01-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

The work is shipped (and according to FedEx, rolling through Utah at the moment) and on the way to Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis, which opens New Year, New Artists on the 20th. A good way to start off 2012!

What: New Year, New Artists
Where: Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
When: January 20 - February 25, 2012
Ambiance: a warmly-lit show nestled under oxidized copper shingles on fairytale eaves

Good Press

2011-12-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

For those of you who love a perfect-bound art magazine and off-the-press eye-candy, Uppercase is always fun to find in the mailbox. The current issue (#11) also has one page dedicated to my practice (so if you decide to subscribe, please start with #11!). Also, the cover for this particular quarter is awesome:

Open publication - Free publishing - More craft

And another fun new find: Printeresting, the content-rich printmaking blog toured Kala Art Institute (where I work) in mid-November. If you look in several of the photos from the workshop, you will see five square prints hanging upside down in the rafters. Those are stage one (one woodcut complete) of the print that eventually became this:

It was a fun little surprise to see that they'd eeked their way onto the web in infancy.

What: good press
Where: in your mailbox and on the web
When: November/December 2011
Ambiance: good reads - one analog, one digital - and fraternal feelings for the ink-fingered printmaking community at large

Featured Artist: Leslie Lewis Sigler

2011-11-02T08:38:00.001-07:00

Artist and fellow Austinite-turned-Californian, Leslie Lewis Sigler has recently put together a solo show at the Faulkner Gallery West titled, "Objects of My Reflection." In their review, the Santa Barbara News-Press wrote:

In this show, Sigler brings a meditative, realistic still life aesthetic, a painterly eye and attention to objects both mundane and ceremonial. Shiny sterling silver vessels and heirlooms hang happily alongside lovingly fastidious paintings of a desk fan, an espresso pot and a vintage telephone, looking gracefully iconic in this setting.

Some of the more "precious" objects and heirlooms are presented in triptychs and other multiple panel contexts, giving works like "Revival" and "Family of Heirlooms" the character of personality-endowed object worship and transformation into art. From the evidence here, Sigler has a real gift, as a painter and thinker about how painting functions.

I couldn't agree more. One of my favorite of her most recent paintings, Hand-Me-Downs (below), is a rare example of an image that captures the silent beauty of a still life, while at the same time allowing the viewer to understand an open-ended narrative that gives the painting staying-power. These are works with which you can live; they subtly maintain your interest, remaining beautiful because they always have something new to say.

Another of my favorite pieces, Scalloped Creamer, was recently part of Atkinson Gallery's Small Images show. Again, Leslie is able to take a still life and make it something more. It is beautiful, but it is also a cold, hard object yearning for warmth and life that it can only reflect.

I'm looking forward to following this series as it continues to grow, quietly telling a library of stories with a vocabulary of polished surfaces and discreet compositions.

What: Objects of My Reflection and other works by Leslie Lewis Sigler
Where: several Santa Barbara galleries and her site
When: ongoing
Ambiance: still lifes that move the imagination

Still Need a Costume? Want a Print?

2011-10-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

With Halloween around the corner, perhaps you have a costume party or a neighborhood candy trawl in your future. Still in need of a costume? Want a limited edition print of yourself? If so, please consider donning a crown of flowers, maybe a parrot or some swarthy eyebrows - your choice - and send me a snapshot at ellenheck at gmail dot com. In an effort to finish the "Forty Fridas" project, I still need at least 20 more volunteers dressed as Frida Kahlo who would be willing to be the subject of a limited edition of woodcut and drypoint prints (some of which could be shown at Wally Workman in June of 2012). I'd love to send you a print that was made from your reference image along with many thanks for participating in the project. (Which is, by the way, open to all genders and all ages.) Happy Halloween!

What it will be: The Forty Fridas Project
What from you: a snapshot, or screenshot, or phoneshot of yourself being Frida (taken from straight on, if possible, to limit foreshortening)
What for you: a print from the edition of yourself
Ambiance: everybody's wearing the Frida persona, but individuals still shine through

New Portfolio: Aging on Copper

2011-10-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Over the past year, I've been working on various uses of the multiple - exploring ways in which the repeatability of printmaking will allow for the depiction of collections, juxtaposition, movement, and the passage of time.

The recently finished experimental portfolio, "The Aging of Mark Twain on One Copper Plate" is a study of the icon, aging, and time. The youngest portrait of the writer is a drypoint and aquatint on copper. The subsequent portraits are each etched over the burnished earlier images - all on the same plate. As a result, a progressive ambient "history" accumulates, revealing visible shadows of the past that themselves fade with each impression.

While choosing an icon, like Mark Twain, fits within the greater plan for next summer's show at Wally Workman, I think if I were to try this concept again, it would be nice to choose someone not-famous, whose face not everyone can recognize. By simplifying the project in this way, the focus would fall more on the themes of time, change, and the life of an unknown subject, and less on the question of likeness, or our preformed ideas about the legacy of a historical hero.

What: The Aging of Mark Twain on One Copper Plate
Where: five etchings in sepia/black on Somerset in a gray/black portfolio
When: June - October 2011
Ambiance: a chronicle of bow-tie fashion trends between 1850 and 1910

The Paper Quilt Project and sculpture by Nancy Mintz

2011-10-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Paper Quilt Project is showing concurrently at the Berkeley Art Center and Traywick Contemporary through December. I was drawn to the Traywick opening this Saturday both by the lure of work-on-paper and the hope of finding new takes on repeated shape, collage, and other quilty sensibilities. Admittedly, I left the show suspecting that the real power pieces must all be housed at the BAC, because most of the paper pieces at Traywick were pretty tame. The booklet, however, promises wonderful surprises, so I'll be sure to make it over to the other site.

For me, the hit of the current Traywick collection was new sculpture in the entryway by artist (and fellow Kala-ite) Nancy Mintz. Her walking houses, yearning ladders, and caged eggs continue the thought-provoking study of motherhood that she began at Traywick with her show last March.

Event: The Paper Quilt Project
Where: Berkeley Art Center and Traywick Contemporary
When: October 15 - December 4, 2011
Ambiance: (Traywick) a sleek multi-level, multi-nooked home/gallery inside a former Masonic Temple

Last Day of artMRKT San Francisco

2011-05-22T12:39:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day of artMRKT San Francisco. If you have time to stop by and see Kala's booth this year, you won't be disappointed. Here's a great shot from Andrea of Dan and Gary installing the prints.

Event: artMRKT San Francisco
Venue: Concourse Exhibition Center
Dates: May 19-22, 2011
Ambiance: the SF version of Art Chicago (with more noticeable/comfortable carpet), great for an efficient inspiration overload

Mapplethorpe at San Jose Museum of Art

2011-05-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Through June 5, square black and white Mapplethorpe portraits are on display in three large rooms of the San Jose Museum of Art. It was not actually the reason for our going to the museum, but was definitely what we took away from the event. After three rooms and hundreds of tidily-framed prints of influential people from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the museum has set up a small studio where you, the inspired museum-goer, can be both the photographer and photographed. Here we are, along with Mapplethorpe's Patti Smith and Louise Nevelson.

Event: Robert Mapplethorpe Portraits
Venue: San Jose Museum of Art
Dates: January 29 - June 5, 2011
Basically: perfect culture stop on a carefree San Jose weekend, be overwhelmed by modestly-sized photographs from the analog age

Light/Dark at Berkeley Art Center with Enrique Chagoya

2011-04-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

The California Society of Printmakers opened the Light/Dark show juried by Enrique Chagoya last night to a packed house. It was the first time I remember being claustrophobic in a crowd since being manually pressed into a Japanese train ten years ago, but the show was well displayed (especially for a group show of this size) and the Light/Dark theme was perfect for printmakers. I would recommend going on a quiet afternoon on the heels of a walk through the rose garden.

Some highlights from the show below are Jenny Robinson's Billboards and Debra Jewell's Soberanes.

Event: Light/Dark
Venue: Berkeley Art Center
Dates: April 2 - May 22, 2011
Ambiance: perfect North Berkeley - perfumed by prehistoric flowers

Getting a Glimpse

2011-03-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

Wally Workman recently collected photos of gallery artists' work in patrons' homes for their facebook page, and I love this lo-mob shot that includes Sliced Apples in a Ziploc Bag at the Renaissance Fair. Thanks to Elizabeth Tigar for sharing the photo.

Armstrong Fine Art, Chicago

2011-02-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Armstrong Fine Art will now be showing The Plus A Century portfolio alongside their large collection of French Impressionist prints. It's good to be back in Chicagoland - even if only on paper.

Stopping to Play Cards

2011-01-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

After a restful holiday with family and friends, I took off a week between projects to complete a few of those between-projects-projects. Here is a set of cards inspired by our friends Zsolt and Jasper Johns. More about these here.

What: a deck of cards
From: your very own ink-jet printer
Dates: anytime
Ambiance: a bit inky on the fingers if you're not patient and/or don't have spray fixative

Alison Kendall at Mina Dresden Gallery

2010-11-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

A particularly exciting roller coaster of a cab ride formed the bridge between Stella Ebner's opening at the SFMOMA artist gallery and "Bound By A Common Geography," new work by Alison Kendall and Clare Judith Bowers at Mina Dresden in San Francisco. A good night for openings.

Kendall and Bowers's paintings hang well together with shared wood and putty tones. This buffalo map of the U.S. was one of our favorites from Kendall's science illustration-inspired work:

Event: Bound By A Common Geography
Venue: Mina Dresden Gallery
Dates: November 11 - December 12, 2010
Ambiance: narrow, wooden-floored room and memories of the Field Museum

Plus A Century opening at Wally Workman

2010-11-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Wally Workman opening for the Plus A Century portfolio. Special thanks to Wally, Rachel, and the St. Andrew's community for a wonderful First Thursday evening.

Event: Plus A Century
Venue: Wally Workman Gallery, Austin TX
Dates: November 4 - November 30, 2010
Ambiance: warm, back home with friends

The Plus A Century Exhibition Publication

2010-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

With less than two weeks from the opening of Plus A Century at Wally Workman, the first finished books have finally come from the press. I have always been a sucker for paper between two covers and if there's something on that paper - all the better. The book includes a full color catalog of proofs and plates from the show, a section on printmaking materials and process, and an essay about the choices - both technical and conceptual - that went into the completion of this two-year project.

Here is a blurb-generated preview of a selection of pages from the book. (Note to viewers: the first spread is blank, so you can click to the right immediately instead of waiting indefinitely like I did for an image to appear...)

The Plus A Century Portfolio by Ellen Heck | *

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at the show opening on First Thursday!

Publication: The Plus A Century Portfolio
Pages: 76
Publisher: Blurb
Ambiance: a real book and careful thinking about the Plus A Century project - with lots of pictures, close-ups, and love for the tangible

Davidson Galleries Catalog

2010-10-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Davidson Galleries's biannual catalog is now online and in paper, and I am very pleased to be found on page 19, amidst some illustrious neighbors...

Publication: Davidson Galleries' Catalog
Venue: subscribe or download from their website
Dates: Fall/Winter 2010
Ambiance: like Davidson Galleries's collection in general, a seamless coexistence of old masters and contemporary artists with an eye for detail

Good Press

2010-10-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasure to find this favorable review of the +1 Print Invitational Show at Groveland Gallery and of my own work in particular in yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Event: +1 Print Invitational
Venue: Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis
Dates: September 10 - October 16
Ambiance: both newsprint and digital, on matte gray paper and shiny LCD

Groveland Gallery +1 Print Invitational Opens Tonight

2010-09-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

The +1 Print Invitational opens at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis today and will run through the end of the Mid America Print Council Conference.

Each of the gallery's printmakers was invited to pick a second with whom to show, and I would like to wholeheartedly thank Stella Ebner for thinking of me.

Stella and I met at Kala, where she was completing a residency last year. She is currently teaching at the University of California, Davis and will have an upcoming solo show at the SFMOMA artist's gallery in November.

All of my pieces in the show are part of the Plus A Century portfolio that will be exhibited in its entirety at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX in November.

Here are three prints from other artists that I particularly enjoyed. From top to bottom they are: First Light, 2010, by Fred Hagstrom; Ilulissat Icebergs, 2010, by Robert Dorlac; and Celebration, Part 1, 2010, by Stella Ebner.

Event: +1 Print Invitational
Venue: Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis
Dates: September 10 - October 16
Ambiance: green roof, red ivy

Reduction Relief Demo

2010-07-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Do I look like I'm imparting wisdom?

We we are at this summer's Camp Kala high school printmaking course where I was invited to give a reduction-relief demo. The print that I am holding as the example is by Cameron Bentley and was part of the Plain Brown Wrapper trade portfolio in which we both participated in 2008. It is one of the best examples of a step-by-step reduction linocut that I own, and has become a useful teaching tool. The portfolio also came in a very posh cloth-covered box that I cherish for its smooth expanse of cover and crisp edges; it is sturdy and navy and looks like it should house military secrets.

Event: Reduction Relief Demo
Venue: Kala Gallery Classroom, Berkeley, CA
Dates: July 28, 2010
Ambiance: glass-paned wall, plenty of light, attentive students - though not many questions

Introductions at Davidson Galleries, First Thursday Art Walk

2010-06-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

We are now officially back from our Northern-Pacific-Coast road trip and the First Thursday Art Walk opening of Introductions at Davidson Galleries in Seattle. I was impressed with the turn-out in Pioneer Square and thankful that the rain stayed away just long enough to let the brick courtyard dry off and set the stage for a perfect evening art-viewing stroll.

Matt Rebholz was also at the opening, and it was good to hear about Austin, printmaking news, and other fun facts from him, as well as to meet Cara Forrler, director of the contemporary print and drawing center, who organized the show, and Sam Davidson, director of the gallery.

Here is one wall with some pieces from the Plus A Century portfolio:

At the show, I was drawn to Matt's chine collé works and Carrie Lingscheit's prints that used textures impressed in (what I am guessing) is a particularly delicate soft-ground. In the back room, a print that I had loved in the catalog by Hundertwasser, Painted Words, called out to me again - and in person this time - which was lovely.

Event: Introductions 2010
Venue: Davidson Gallery, Seattle
Dates: June 4 - June 26, 2010
Ambiance: warm-wooden floor, white walls, alternating artists, flat-files with secrets

Shawn HibmaCronan and Nemo Gould at the Oakland Museum

2010-05-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Pat Epstein for tipping me off to this opening at the Oakland Museum on Thursday: In its sculpture court and gallery 555, the Oakland Museum has organized a show of furniture-artists-turned-inventors.

Shawn HibmaCronan's get-away school desk and other personal movement machines look like materialized daydreams, while Nemo Gould's Victorian robots remind me of sculptures that might have existed in the collection of Prince Armitage Ranjit Dakkar - it could have been the artist's name which inspired the connection, but it could also have been the giant moving squid on 12th street...

Event: Shawn HibmaCronan and Nemo Gould at the Oakland Museum
Venue: the sculpture court and gallery 555
Dates: May 27 - July 30, 2010
Ambiance: sunny, sanded, and polished

Introductions at Davidson Gallery, Seattle

2010-05-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Cara Forrler, director of the Contemporary Print and Drawing Center at Davidson Galleries will be introducing "three new young print artists working with the etching process to create visual narratives" on June 3rd. I am excited about being featured along with Carrie Lingscheit and Matt Rebholz (who happens to teach at UT in my hometown of Austin, TX). The show will be opening on that first Thursday evening for the Seattle Art Walk - Andrius and I are planning on driving up, so if you find yourself in the area, we'd love to see you.

Here's a quick preview of some of the prints they chose before I shipped them. (Davidson is framing all the work, so it will be fun to see everything spot-lit and behind glass.)

Hoping for a beautiful evening two weeks from today...

Celebrating the Multiple

2010-04-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last year's donation of a portrait commission given to St. Andrew's School's scholarship fundraiser was won by a family with two sets of kind, smart, beautiful twin girls. Although the print included three human figures more than I had originally anticipated, the process - as well as working larger than I normally do - was rewarding, and I ended up with a varied edition. Each girl received her own proof of the print on Christmas morning, randomly choosing one of four that were each wrapped in different corners of the room.

I love seeing prints displayed in multiples, and the Shermans have done a beautiful job of displaying these three together in their living room. Thanks to the Shermans for inviting me to stop by and see how a piece of my work has become part of a family's daily life and home.

Print: The Sherman Girls, Fishing
Venue: their living room wall
Dates: long-term
Ambiance: homey and relaxing - a steep-roofed Austin house full of art with personal stories

Brownstones to Red Dirt

2010-03-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Brownstones to Red Dirt Postcard Art Benefit ended yesterday, raising over $25000 to support Schools for Salone. One last postcard is still available in the auction by Peter de Sève, and all of the cards can still be viewed online. It was great to be able to participate - especially since schools, pen pals, and postcards are all high on my list of good things in this world.

Event: Brownstones to Red Dirt Postcard Art Benefit
Venue: their blog
Dates: March 6 - 15
Ambiance: a quick look at what a list of artists and character designers will do with an hour, a wooden postcard, and a cause

New Editions

2010-02-04T21:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a detail of the first figurative piece of 2010 (I believe another addition to the Plus a Century portfolio). And below, the first abstract narrative, titled, This is where things grew before they grew here.

Pieces from the Halfpenny Portfolio are also being shown right now at the Kala gallery alongside Transformative Processes in Environmental Art. There will be a panel discussion of the exhibit on February 20th at 2pm.

Utrecht 60th Anniversary Competition

2009-11-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

It was pleasing to find out a few days ago that this print I did when I was still in Chicago received an Honorable Mention in the Utrecht 60th Anniversary Competition. It will be featured in Utrecht's 2010 catalogue as well as in American Artist Magazine in either January or February.

Print: Girl Trying On Her Mother's Wedding Dress
Venue: American Artist Magazine
Dates: Winter, 2010
Ambiance: glossy glossy glossy

San Francisco Open Studios

2009-10-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

This Saturday and Sunday from 11-6, I will be meeting and greeting in a gallery space in SOMA (South of Market) for the third weekend of San Francisco Open Studios. Stop on by if you can for some art and snacks (there will be snacks) at 185 Clara St. at 5th St. (Yes, that alley-like bit of concrete that looks like it couldn't possibly be a real street is where you turn. 185 has a chartreuse door.)

All prints will be selling for approximately 50% of their normal price (no gallery commission) so stop by for a great deal from five very nice and friendly artists.

Event: San Francisco Open Studios
Venue: 185 Clara St. at 5th St.
Dates: October 24 & 25
Ambiance: the floor used to be a roof, so you cannot play marbles or sit in office chairs, but you can look at art

Earth Tones

2009-09-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

I am covetous of a small black self-compiled swatch book in which Steven Holloway, a fellow artist-in-residence at Kala, has recorded each and every one of his hand-mixed printmaking inks. There are no blues in this book, because every pigment is a genuine earth tone - no synthetics or pharmaceutically-derived hues - but the range of rusts and greens is vast and subtle.

To make an ink, one needs the pigment itself - crushed to a fine powder, and a binder of some sort. The binder for watercolor, for example, is gum arabic, while oils are most commonly made sticky with linseed oil (though other lubricants, like walnut oil, can be and are used commercially). Printmakers require burnt plate oil, a form of linseed oil which has been set on fire to eliminate the elements that make traditional oils non-archival for works on paper. It is thick and gooey and honey colored, and what gives a finished print that very specific smell that will linger in the flat files for ages.

Steven uses pigments from Sinopia, but powdered pigment can be found readily at many art stores; they can also be found in one's own backyard, as the article on Melvin Edward Nelson in this month's issue of Art on Paper shows so wonderfully.

The Evolution of Print

2009-09-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

They're finally here! A trade show in Las Vegas gave me the excuse to walk the Oakland Airport from the tip of Terminal 1 to the tail of the Southwest wing (as if the convention center had not satiated my desire to walk long distances). But I must say, the show is lovely. The Oakland Museum has done a wonderful job. The lighting is warm and inviting, and the prints - broken into three displays throughout the terminals - give a diverse, but coherent taste of the many things Kala has to offer.

Happy flying!

Color Test: Boudin Baking Lesson

2009-09-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today I ran a color test of six woodcut proofs for the next print in the Plus a Century series. As is sometimes the case, I chose "d) none of the above" but that's what tests are for, right?

Also, today is a bit of an anniversary: the end of my first six-month residency at Kala and the beginning of a second. It will be celebrated with a chocolate cake and milk, purchased at the new Berkeley Bowl West, which will doubtless be responsible for a dramatic increase in the quality of residents' diets. (Before now, snack breaks took place at the corner Walgreens.)

Evolution of Print: Artists of Kala

2009-09-01T15:45:00.001-07:00

The highest-security show of which I've ever been a part (with the highest-dollar entrance fee): Evolution of Print: Artists of Kala is curated by the Oakland Museum and located in the gallery space between terminal 1 and 2 at the Oakland International Airport. (I believe that this is very near, if not right across from Hung Liu's gorgeous glass cranes.) We have not yet gotten the clearance to see it (not having the necessary plane tickets to pass through security), but I will get back to you with pictures after a visit to my sister in Norfolk, VA. Happy traveling!

Also, I'd like to thank Kaoru Kitagawa for having my pieces professionally framed.

Show: Evolution of Print: Artists of Kala
Venue: OAK International Airport Gallery
Dates: August 28 - November 27
Ambiance: you'll either be running past, or killing time

New Work at Kala

2009-08-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

It may be made of only plastic bags, masking tape, and hot glue, but Yasuaki Onishi's work was well received Thursday night at Kala Art Institute's Residency Projects Part II. Onishi's large-scale installations fill much of the open gallery at Kala's new location and appear to be very at home in the structure. It is worth the trip just to relate to the hair-like tangle of black glue which cannot help but send your mind along strings of analogies - the brain, consciousness, emergentism, and sticky fingers.

On the other side of the gallery, the large-scale photographs of Ali Richards are also worth examination, but the pin-up display did prove to be a little distracting in this venue. For a more intimate encounter with her work, this is a good site.

The OnView work, scattered throughout the gallery, presents a nice showing this time. One of my pieces can be found in the main archive, although for more recent work, I would urge you to visit the gallery at Oakland International Airport's Kala exhibition, or the Kensington library, starting on September 2nd.

Show: Residency Projects Part II
Venue: Kala Art Institute Gallery, Berkeley CA
Dates: August 26 -
Ambiance: delicate work in a large, calcified shell

California in Relief

2009-08-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Hearst Art Gallery at St. Mary's College is currently exhibiting California in Relief: A History in Wood and Linocut Prints, which we were able to visit this weekend. The relief prints are displayed chronologically (mostly...there are some confusing corners) and begin in the late 19th century with some beautiful woodcuts with eastern influences. There is a Gustave Baumann print, Redwoods. It's not my favorite of his, but fun to see the oatmeal paper and heart-in-the-hand up close.My favorite by far was a Linda Lee Boyd print, Pouring Concrete III which is an ode to everything that the woodcut can provide - the fine grain on the man's face and shirt lifted subtly with an electric engraver set against the stark flatness of a thickly inked brayer.

The curators also did an excellent job with the wall colors; deep, rich hues behind the large black and white woodcuts from the 60s enlivened what could have been a very bland experience.
Worth the trip for a half-lit walk through history...

Show: California in Relief: A History in Wood and Linocut Prints
Venue: Hearst Art Gallery, St. Mary's College of California
Dates: July 25 - September 20, 2009
Ambiance: library-esque gallery nestled in Spanish mission

New Edition: Karla and Zoe

2009-07-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

Newly off the press: Karla and Zoe, inspired by Cassatt's Mother's Kiss and Maternal Caress. Many thanks to Susan Kemner-Reed and her family for the extensive reference work. Mrs. Kemner-Reed is currently at the Art Institute of Chicago pursuing her own work with a TICA grant. She shows at Wally Workman gallery in Austin, Texas.

Kala Show: Residency Projects Part I (and secret fame)

2009-07-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

The Kala fellowship residency show is currently up in the new space. Here is a closer view of Chris Turbuck's graphic novel in its un-bound form. Chris has become such a fixture in the workshop over these past 6 months, I don't know what it will be like without him and his elaborate tupperware-contained lunches.

Also, I cannot help myself... May I please point out a small claim to fame: Chris used me as the model for the woman getting ready for the interview in the back of this frame. Recognize anyone?

Show: Residency Projects Part I
Venue: Kala Gallery, 2990 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA
Dates: July 16 - August 15, 2009
Ambiance: high ceilings, high walls

I always paint better on other people's paper.

2009-06-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Karl Kasten who donated several packages of very nice paper to the Monoprint Marathon volunteers. I now have a few sheets of 500 lb. cold press and I wonder if the botanical gardens would be a worthy field trip... Apparently, there is a corpse flower there on the verge of a bloom.

Also, Kala is having a retrospective of Karl Kasten's work on August 2nd. Tickets and books are available here. It looks like it will be very interesting.

New and Different Prints...

2009-06-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

First: Why don't I make more more monoprints? Why all of this delayed gratification?
Second: Perhaps some experimenting is in order...
Third: I am now going to make a print for every book I have read in the last year. (Perhaps just the good ones...) Graham Greene will be next on my list...

Below, you shall find:

First: the monotype I am donating to the ICASecond: the monoprint titled, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Third: the newest woodcut / drypoint concoction I've been working on over the last month called, Backyard; Midland, Texas; 1989

Monotype Marathon 2009

2009-05-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday was spent enjoying the company of other Kala AIRs who, like me, were volunteering for the San Jose ICA's Monotype Marathon Extravaganza! Twelve sponsored artists spent the entire day monoprinting at Kala with press help from the printmakers. The prints will be sold at auction in July to benefit the Institute.

I haven't made my contribution yet, but will post as soon as it develops...

Event: Monotype Marathon
Venue: Kala Studio, Berkeley, CA
Date: May 30, 2009
Ambiance: messy inking tables, thick damp stack of Rives BFK

The Windy City Show

2009-05-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

Opening this Friday, the Windy City Show will feature four artists with ties to Chicago. For the first time in a gallery setting, my prints will be "floated" from the walls without frames. I look forward to seeing the pictures...

If you're in the area:
Show: The Windy City Show
Venue: Kayo Gallery, 177 east 300 south, Salt Lake City, UT
Dates: May 15 - June 16, 2009
Ambiance: "progressive art" in downtown SLC

The East Bay Monthly

2009-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth and Her Laptop - Buenos Aires is being featured on the cover of the East Bay Monthly this month. Many thanks to Mayumi Hamanaka at Kala for making that happen.

Here's the blurb:
Artist Ellen Heck created this work as the first in a series of 10 images in her print portfolio, Plus a Century. The title references the etchings of Impressionist artist Mary Cassatt, known for her images of women and mothers with children. Heck’s prints respond to Cassatt’s compositions with contrasting views of contemporary women. As part of Kala Art Institute’s 35th anniversary celebration, Heck’s work is featured in On View: New Work from Kala, May 1–Aug. 15, at the new gallery at 2990 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley—part of Kala’s expanded facility. For info: (510) 549-2977 or www.kala.org.

Print: Elizabeth at Her Laptop - Buenos Aires
Venue: East Bay Monthly, on your doorstep
Dates: May, 2009
Ambiance: glossy on the cover, inky on the inside

Re:con-figure and OnView

2009-04-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

New Work from Kala

2009-04-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

The new gallery space at Kala is opening its doors officially to the public on May 1, so please stop by to see the first show, Re:con-figure and selected work from Kala artists in residence. My works in the On-View segment of the show, curated by Yuzo Nakano, will be Margaret and the Mirror, and Raising the Umbrella.

Show: Re:con-figure
Venue: Kala Gallery, 2990 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA
Dates: May 1 - August 15, 2009
Ambiance: high ceilings, high walls

Show Opening: The Dimension of Dreams

2009-04-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

The CSP show The Dimension of Dreams, curated by Betsy David opened today at the Academy of Art University Gallery. It will be hanging through the 29th.

I am pleased that my print, "Late-Night Casualties of the New Year's Eve Party" has been hung next to Nif Hodgin's blind embossed figure piece. We will be showing again together soon during October's San Francisco Open Studios. I believe that we will be presenting during the third weekend with other SOMA artists. More news on that later.

For now:
Show: The Dimension of Dreams
Venue: 688 Sutter Street, San Francisco
Dates: April 1 - 29, 2009
Ambiance: wooden floors, rainy day loitering