In Memory of Hector Garcia

My Uncle Hector from Corpus Christi, TX died last night from cancer.  In the words of Norman Maclean, “Eventually all things merge into one and a river runs through it.  The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.  On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops.  Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.”  Hector is gone from this world but still lives in my heart and mind.

Chaloner Photo

This is one of the photos I took for the creation of the linocut.  The owners, Carol and Duane Flint are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.  I love everything about their store, the creaky wood floors, the smell of sweet tobacco and fresh popcorn.  If I get a chance I’ll stop by the Historical Museum downtown and get some historical information and post it here.  

Arte Goyo Slide Show

While Kayleen was in Chicago this week I’ve been playing on YouTube.  Here’s a slide show of my work.

Arte Goyo Slide Show

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Taking a break from mowing the lawn I heard an unfamiliar bird song outside the kitchen window.  I took the field glasses outside to take a look and there were two birds I had never seen before high on our Maple tree.  It took me about 15 minutes to get a good look to be able to identify it as a Yellow Rumped Warbler.  I then grabbed the camera, set it on the highest resolution and snapped three pictures before it flew away.  You cant see the yellow crown on his head or the yellow patch on his rump….but they were there.

 

Musical Inspiration…Dance of the Birds.

Last night K and I went to our second Adrian Symphony Orchestra concert at Dawson Auditorium on Adrian College’s campus.  We are lucky to have such an amazing Symphony  orchestra in our area.  Music director, John Dodson is fantastic.  He has really opened our ears to music with his informative introductions.  This concert was titled, “A Blaze of Glory” featuring “The Suite from The Snow Maiden” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E Flat Major” by Franz Liszt and “Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36″ by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  All of the performances were great but I especially enjoyed the second movement of The Snow Maiden, Dance of the Birds.  I plan on starting a new print series on trees and birds.  This music will definitely be playing in the background.

Circle of Art 2008

Today I stopped by the Saline Picture Frame Company and dropped off a few pieces for the Circle of Art auction fundraiser to support the Food Gatherers.

Click here to place an on-line bid.

http://www.salinepictureframe.com/showroom/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=368

Bookstores and New Tools

On Friday I participated in the first ever Tecumseh Art Walk.  I was located in “That Used Book Store“.  It’s starting to become a trend because I also display work at the Book Abbey in Adrian.  The owners of the store are the nicest people you’ll ever meet.  They let me put nail holes where ever I wanted and were happy to see art on the walls.  Tomorrow I’m picking up half of the work I have on display and leaving the rest.  

Today K and I drove down to Toledo to the Woodcraft store near the corner of Reynolds and Airport Hwy.  My printmaking mentor, Carlos Tobar, told me about the place.  I had been wanting to begin woodcutting for a long time.  At the store, I asked the salesman about a hundred questions.  He was very informative and even showed me how to sharpen tools.  I walked out with a starter set of Flexcut carving tools. Anyway, I thought I would buy local since they were very knowledgeable and offer free classes on Thursday evenings.  They didnt sell any finished boards there so I’ll be purchasing some Shina wood from McClains some time this week.  My first project will be a series of Maple leaves for a friend of mine.  If I fail miserably with the wood I have a ton of lino to use just in case.   

Linocut Materials

I’m giving a linocut workshop this thursday.  I thought it would be helpful to give a rundown of the materials I use.

1. Cutting Tools:  I use Speedball cutters.  They are very inexpensive and effective on linoleum.  I have not had to sharpen them.  If they ever did get dull I would probably just buy new ones.
2. Linoleum:  I’ve only used mounted linoleum from Hobby Lobby and Wondercut linoleum from Dick Blick.  HL linoleum is smooth and soft.  Wondercut is textured and extremely soft.  I believe the Wondercut linoleum requires more ink to print due to the texture.  I use a warm halogen light over my work space that keeps the lino warm.  Lino gets very hard to cut when it’s cold.
3. Ink:  Waterbased Speedball ink is ok.  It cleans up nicely.  It dries fast.  This can be a positive or a negative, depending on what your trying to do.  I prefer water soluable oil based ink by Daniel Smith.  It dries slower which allows me to be more meticulous with my printing.  I usually allow my oil based inks a week to dry before I try framing them.  I’ve found that humidity affects the drying time of both inks.
4. Paper:  I prefer Rives BFK.  It holds up well to hand pressing and accepts the ink well.  
5. Baren:  I use two speedball barens.  I start with the teflon baren for soft pressure to get the paper evenly tacked to the block.  I switch to the regular plastic baren for more pressure.  Sometimes the plastic baren will pull the paper across the block if too much pressure is used in the beginning.  You probably have to learn “the feel” on your own.
6. Brayer:  I only use soft brayers by Speedball.  I have not experimented with different brands.

Let’s be Fronds

This is the time of year when I start to dream of sunny days and warm weather.  This picture was taken in the tropical room at Hidden Lake Gardens.  I wish I were these fronds soaking up the sun.  I’m excited about getting outside today as the temperature is going to be above freezing.  On the other hand it means I’ll finally have a chance to scoop up poop that the golden retriever left for me…ha!  Despite the stinky chores I still love this time of year.  I love the smell of spring…which is basically just the smell of fresh air….and not the smell of a musty house that has been closed up all winter long.  My wife and I began to plan our spring break vacation this weekend.  We always head to the Smoky Mountains to visit my parents and do a little hiking.  We plan to hike to Mt. LeConte again.  Hopefully we’ll get another day of clear weather and great views.  We also plan to hike to Rocky Top again.  The last time we were there we were hiking the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies.  I remember sitting on top of Rocky Top enjoying lunch and watching the clouds roll in.  It’s so peaceful up there.  No lazy tourists, no cars, no roads, no worries….just great views, fresh air and the sound of the wind pushing over the ridgeline.  Anyway, the cross country skis get put away today.  It’s time to start digging out the backpacking gear….not the serious AT gear but the smaller dayhiking gear and camelbaks.  I may even try to lube up the mountain bikes to take them with us this year.  I would like to bike around Cades Cove.  Cades Cove is open to walkers and bikers for a few hours before they let cars in.  When the cars come in you may as well be in New York City. National Parks were created to preserve and to be enjoyed by all.  But our oil loving government turned it into “to be enjoyed by all….in cars”.  I’m hoping this changes soon…for the sake of preservation and for the planet.  People…get out of your frickn’ cars and walk…hike….bike.  I’m not the only one who thinks this way.  Read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. 

Spotlight Show

Myself, Janet Graham and Gerry Church will be exhibiting artwork at the Image Gallery located at 126 South Main Street in Adrian.  The show runs from now until February 15th.  An artist reception will be held this Friday, January 18th, 6-8pm.  The reception is open to the public.  Cheese, deserts and punch will be served.”Hendrico”, “Golondrina” and “Cloud Watcher” are all new work that has not been exhibited until now. For more information about the show go to http://lcvamembers.blogspot.com .