Some of my latest prints will be part of the exhibition "Pulso, Art of the Americas" taking place at both Kendall College of Art and Design and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. This exhibition compiles artwork from more than 25 regional and national artists.

Please join us for the opening this Wednesday October 30th, 6PM to 9PM.

Apocalyptic images

I have been working on a series of prints based on some of my apocalyptic nightmares. It seems like I learn of a new environmental disaster twice a day now.
In face of an impending new reality that we are already experiencing, but ignoring as random events, I can't help feeling some sort of environmental depression.
Now instead of creating an altogether depressing image, I am trying to play with satire and beauty as a way to lure viewers into the issue.

Grand river

Drawing

I'm finding out that my patience for drawing is lost, has been for a while. I sketch maps of ideas of which a few will become block impressions on paper.
Carving a wood or linoleum block is like drawing in reverse, you start with a black surface and little by little your knife finds the outlines and highlights, there is no adding; its all about permanently removing material and committing to every line because there is no eraser tool. I love this way of "drawing"
Now, if anyone is ever going to pay me for an idea I better start showing them clean real drawings that represent such idea, so here we go... back to my school days of constant drawing until I develop my patience again.
Yeah, but now I have also developed a thing for distorting everything...

Commissions

July was the preamble to crazy August, in the same week my job at the health food store and my class on interpreting ended, on the same day, so here is the undeniable sign of change.
Surprisingly, my income is coming from commissions, which in the past would feel more like a punishment, but now as I get older and more tolerant I love them! And as they become my only source of income until the next big sell (which are non existent during the summer) I realize that I could have done this a while ago. You live and learn.
And happy to share that I'm also working on new prints for a show in the fall at Kendall college, and getting my piles of stuff, memories, letters, paper, old plates, craft projects, etc sorted out but mostly clearing out my life.
The studio will be ready for printmaking classes in the fall and my favorite holiday of all El Dia de Los Muertos.

Here is the last commission I worked on:

Hops

The first time I tried microbrewed beer I hated it, plain as that. I had a really hard time swallowing every single one sip of the 12 sampler arranged in front of me. That was almost 15 years ago. Now I am a fan, I have been for almost 10 years and during that time I have made a point of visiting at least one microbrewery of every city I stay or pass through. But that is not the best part; I live in Grand Rapids Michigan which (look it up) is beer city 2012 and 2013! and if that wasn't already too good to be true I live and work less than a mile away both ways from Founders Brewing Co listed as the 3rd best brewery in the world!

My favorite brew is the India Pale Ale, that's the one with tons of hops!

Hops flower blockprint visit my Etsy shop if you wish to get one

This is a list of some of the breweries in GR

• Founders Brewing Company - 235 Grandville Ave SW, Grand Rapids
• The Mitten Brewing Co. - 527 Leonard St NW, Grand Rapids
• Grand Rapids Brewing Company - 1 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids
• HopCat - 25 Ionia SW, Grand Rapids
• Hideout Brewing Company - 3113 Plaza Dr NE, Grand Rapids
• Brewery Vivant - 925 Cherry St SE, Grand Rapids
• Harmony Brewing Company - 1551 Lake Dr SE, Grand Rapids
• B.O.B.'s House Of Brews - 20 Monroe Avenue NW, Grand Rapids

and a few near GR: 

• Bell's Brewery, Inc. - 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., Kalamazoo
•  New Holland Brewing Company - 66 E 8th St, Holland
• Rockford Brewing Company - 12 E Bridge St, Rockford
• Perrin Brewery - 5910 Comstock Park Dr NW, Comstock Park

Reduction printing. Wolf relationships

Like that fancy dish that takes for ever to prepare, tastes amazing and never find the motivation to do, color printing, or better said reduction printing takes a lot of motivation on my behalf, but I enjoy every bit of the process once I convince myself to engage in such a project.

The motivation was, the passing of a law to allow wolves to be hunted for sport in Michigan for the first time in nearly 50 years, thus removing them from the list of endangered species. For more on this subject visit: http://keepwolvesprotected.com/

I started this carving 3 weeks ago at UICA's Live Coverage, I don't know what I was thinking trying to design, draw and then carve and print 4 times in an 8 hour period of time. Nonetheless, I managed to carve and print 8 backgrounds and one general decent image to be auctioned.  Then I let it rest for one week and started the process again. Here is the process in pictures:

First step: carving the background. There are still black marks
on the board from the rough sharpie drawing

Background printed (first layer of color)

After pulling enough copies to leave room for mess ups
(I did 8) Then all of the blue background is removed

Green and red make brown, right?
 here I only removed a few lines of green.

Yes, green and red make brown! Third layer printed, red on top of green.
I also have to wipe off any ink on the raven every time I print. Next and last layer will be black.