April is National Poetry Month

 

In honor of National Poetry Month I created some postcards that I left in the Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood. It was my first Free Art Friday activity since moving to Minnesota and it was really fun. Nice that so many libraries are in my area, then I don't have to worry about work getting rained on or blowing away and becoming litter.  I'll be doing this again for sure!

Beyond Printmaking: So Many Bunnies

 

For spring I spent a few evenings sketching rabbits (one lives in my yard and I have been watching for its tracks in the snow all winter)

I carved and printed a few of my favorite bunny images from the sketch sessions and loved how they turned out. Black and white is crisp and lovely!

 I wanted to enhance the block prints with some pen and ink. Sometimes I miss being able to draw and be spontaneous -- printmaking can become repetitive and predictable and careful - so I started adding pen and ink to the prints.

  

 Then, because it is spring after all, I felt like there needed to be some color, something fresh! So out come the water colors...

My favorite results are the ones that combine a little bit of everything. And now I have more bunnies than I can count....

Send a little love... strange love

I've been having fun combining stamps and pen and ink to create some unusual postcards to send out for valentine's day...  of course I create a lot of more traditional hearts and flowers type cards to sell in my Etsy store but personally I rather go for the weirdos.... XO

 

Welcome Home

 

 

I've relocated to St. Paul, MN and am excited to resume work here in the north! 

I finally have my new studio set up and have been working on my first block prints as part of the "Relief Conspiracy" print exchange. Check out @reliefconspiracy on Instagram to see all 400+ participating artists!

30 New Best Friends

I participated in a 30 day art challenge that my good friend and fellow artist Calan Ree initiated on Instagram--she makes amazing ceramics and came up with the idea that for the month of April 2020 we would all make a new friend every day to keep us company during  the COVID19 isolation of staying home.
Here are a few of my linocut friends -- you can see all of them on my instagram profile @thecraftyhag
and while you're there do a search for the #30newbestfriends tag to see what everyone has made and continue to make in response to this pandemic crisis.

White Ink Obsession

I have been obsessed lately with drawing with white ink on black paper and wood with an old fashioned dip pen .  It is messy and unplanned so i never know how things will turn out but i am loving the primitive look and direct immediate results....   and it is perfect for my upcoming Halloween art events.

Pop Up Art Shows Are Temporary Magic

I've had the good fortune to present two pop up events at The Studio@620 so far this year.  One night shows are a lot of work, doing all the installation that you would for a regular exhibition, only knowing that it is just for one night. I feel though that this temporary situation, a fleeting thing that you only can experience briefly, is very special, almost magical.  Like seeing wildlife while on a hike, that split second memory stays with you. And hopefully for the folks who attended my recent pop up shows, they have similar memories of a unique encounter.

Here's a short blurb about the August "Pick-A-Print event". 
https://www.tampabay.com/fun/tampa-bays-top-shopping-picks-quinceanera-expo-coralette-dammes-pick-a-print-popup-20190807/