printmaking | Callagrace's Blog

September 19, 2012

A Rather Exciting Summer….

Well, summer is at an end and I must say that with that said I am very pleased with what I accomplished thus far. A little of this and a little of that really. I had started another blog back in April 365days1year.com and it really worked. I have managed to produce 165 completed images to date, that have been published and posted on the blog. As one might expect I had to adjust the blogs goals as time went on, primarily the whole “I’m going to post every day,” who did I think I was? I mean it’s not like I work a full-time job and a part-time job and have a husband and two dogs and a rather embarrassing social life… Oh wait nope I do have all those things…. SOOOO I had to adjust the requirement to post every day to about once a week, loosely. It’s not that I am not making or creating something each day, but afterwards I am not always up to posting, it takes a different side of me. Below are some images of works created along the way.

On another note, I joined the Hull Artists Studio Connection, which has been another wonderful endeavour, proving to be worth the little effort it took on my end to become a member. It is great to talk with fellow artists who are attempting to make a profit on their works as well. In addition it is also nice to have a few venues for showing handed to you with little effort. I participated in two Open Studio Tours, one in July and one in August, both allowing me to meet some wonderful people along the way. In addition I was able to participate in Endless Summer this past weekend and that was a lot of fun. Not exactly the art touring kind of mentality but a great networking event and networking is what it is all about. Below are some of the images of my set ups from both events.

So after all of that, with a new season approaching it is time for change yet again. My husband and I are moving from Hull to Canton and although it is close in retrospect it will be quite different. With every change I like to promote new goals within myself the next being online purchasing. Once upon a time I created an ETSY account, which since then has grown spider webs, if it were possible. Within the next month or so I hope to have successfully set up my ETSY shop for purchases. I will inform you as soon as I pull it together… believe it or not my biggest concern is shipping, who knew!
On another note, I did start a new project which I am super excited about but not really ready to fully disclose so until then here are images of projects in the works….

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April 28, 2012

Well, Today felt like a good day to write!

Hello there,

I know it has been quite some time since my last post but I wanted to announce that I have started a blog that went live on April 1st, The blog is called 365days1year. It is a blog about my everyday challenge of keeping myself in the right mental state to allow myself to draw regularly. With every day I require myself to create something, which can range from a drawing in the sand to a finished watercolor. Either way by midnight of that day there must be a post for everyone to see and read. So far, so good. I am onto day twenty-seven and going strong still. It has been a wonderful challenge for myself, since I now feel that I have an obligation to others to keep the posts coming. Bellow I have included a few images from what I have created thus far. Please take a look and spread the word!

http://www.365Days1Year.com

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September 27, 2011

Hyde Park Open Studios… Success

Well, I guess I wouldn’t say it was a “success” I didn’t really sell much except for the cards I had produced. Granted even that was nice though, to see that people do actually like what it is that I make. The most entertaining comments were always from people who obviously could understand the cards and then were completely baffled by the actual prints on the wall. Anyway, I have great feedback and luckily some great conversations with visitors. The event also allowed me to finally get to meet a lot of the members from EES which was wonderful. Being the newbie on the block has been a bit interesting and it is nice to finally get to chat with people. Anyway below are a series of images I took of the Open studios. Maybe next year you can stop by. Enjoy!

There it is my own personal wall… I was pleased.

A series of artists work including my own!

The work of fellow artist Iris Kumar… LOVE IT! check her out at

http://irismorehousekumar.wordpress.com

People were examining the portfolios EES has created over the years!

There were a few demos taking place in the shop… they were great!

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September 16, 2011

The beginings of the card selection…

So I decided to start printing cards as a way to bring in some elements to my work that are quite affordable. I actually really like the cards I’ve made so far and I hope you enjoy them too. I’ll be selling them at Hyde Park Open Studios this Sunday at EES. Below are a few selections from the group I’ve made. The cards are simple, cute and whimsical and sometimes even a bit cheesy, but who doesn’t love cheesy? I want to apologize for how yellow the images are the lighting was horrible and I was too excited to worry about it. Enjoy.

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September 8, 2011

The print exchange with AS220

So this summer I signed up to be part of a print exchange with AS220 as a way to give myself a deadline. Luckily it worked and although the exchange has officially happened I still feel like I want to work with some of the blocks I have carved. I did a few variations just because I would have it no other way, but I feel there is a lot more that could be done with this. Bellow are the prints that I came out with so far . The red and blue one is the print I did for the exchange, now I love red/orange color but the blue is to be discussed. Once again my struggle with color has become such a focus on this piece and still erks me. I hope you enjoy and suggestions and feedback are always welcome.

These are all 24 printed and tiled out because I wanted to take this picture. Oddly enough my feet are my favorite part of this picture. Oh well!

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August 3, 2011

So it’s not much but it’s something!

As you know I gave myself an assignment of a small set of prints which would compiled into a book format. Well as you probably expected I have yet to complete that but I have done a few of the plates. Only the branch one is finished but there are many others in the works and I hope to have a finished version to show you soon. I do however think it is interesting to see how my intentions of drawing unrecognizable things completely changed into very common imagery, but once I arrived in New Hampshire I found everyday moments so interesting I just wanted to draw that. I’m trying to interpret them my own way and put my own eye into it, but it takes some time to truly develop something real into something you can call your own. The mood in the end will be important to me since that was such an essential part of the times when I would draw. Each morning I would wake up early to be alone and uninterrupted. You start to notice everything from the slight shift in the breeze and the way it affects the branch you were drawing to the repetitive sound of small waves crashing against the waves. It was wonderful…. wish I could go back.

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June 27, 2011

It’s about time!

As some people may know, I’ve recently graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. It has been such a long journey but totally worth every minute. I started my college experience at Mass Art and studied there for two years choosing Printmaking as my major in my second year, however as a new artist I just wasn’t ready to accept it as my career with everyone always asking me, “how are you gonna make any money? Where are you going to work?.” With my self-doubt leading my life I turned to my second love, figure skating, and began to study exercise and health sciences at Umass Boston. It was ok at first, but I didn’t love it. It was then that I discovered my love for skating came from the impromptu movements and choreography on the ice. After one year I switched majors yet again to liberal arts with a focus in art. This too was a learning point, I was able to work in another printmaking shop and well it honestly made me realize that if I wanted to be a printmaker why wasn’t I back at MassArt. The following year I went back at Mass Art and well it was strange going in not having had a freshman year with my fellow classmates. I always felt somewhat separate, but at least I knew I wanted to be there. The next three years there would prove to me why it was the right decision to return and between the teachers and my fellow classmates I learned more than I could have hoped for. It is definitely bittersweet leaving, since Mass Art has been such a huge part of who I have become and who I currently am, but we are in the next chapter now. I was accepted for an artist residence opportunity at EES (Experimental Etching Studio) in Hyde Park and I’m hoping this will begin to define who I am and where I might be going! Bellow are a group of photos of my final pieces from my final semester. I loved making each and every one of these and hope you yourself enjoy them!

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March 16, 2011

Second attempt at a color print…

I decided I wanted to have another go at a multiple plate print and I’m happy I did because I’ve learned a few good things. First and foremost if I ever attempt to have as many plates as I did during this project my head spins and well I can’t seem to focus on the image and instead I focus on the technique, which normally does not create an interesting image. Also, I learned that editing has become a great skill. After creating 4 plates that worked together I always wanted to print them all, so a forewarning to you, some of these prints are busy. However, after a while I learned that in many cases less is more and hopefully this is the biggest accomplishment of this project. please let me know any thoughts or critique you have, another set of eyes is always helpful.

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February 15, 2011

The color print…

Well lets just begin with saying that this project was very intimidating since I primarily feel comfort in black white and gray tones, but considering the facts I was pretty happy with the outcome. Bellow are the final print some variations and collaborations. Enjoy.

Collaboration with Chelsea and Nick

Variation with stamping

variation with stamping

variation flipped plate

color variation

final edition

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February 1, 2011

Okay here we go again!

So I think posting about how guilty I felt made me work extra hard to get some decent work produced…. of course when I say decent these are merely study drawings but I always finish my studies since I consider them a piece in themselves. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave any comments, they are always helpful! By the way they are all made with chalk pastel and india ink washes.

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