Brassworks proofs

Here are some more proofs of Brassworks etchings....the one of the design department benches ("Irv's bench") is on a zinc alloy plate, and the etch made  a deeper, fuzzier line. These images will be uploaded to the ArtPrize website, also.

Late summer activity

We took our annual Ravinia/Wrigley Field weekend trip to Chicago the last week of July, which always includes a stop at Graphic Chemical & Ink in Villa Park. This time, the owner, Dean Clark, gave us a tour of the back rooms where they were manufacturing ink (Bone Black the day we were there!) and Stones Litho Crayons. It was very interesting to go "behind the scenes" there. See http://www.graphicchemical.com/.

The Plainwell Inside-Out Art Festival finishes up this week, and meanwhile all my extra time is with my ArtPrize entry. I'll post some more proofs by the end of the week.

Plainwell Art Festival

I'll be showing Miller Road-49080 at this event starting this Friday, July 6th. This will be the third venue for Miller Road, after ArtPrize 2011 and the 2012 KIA West Michigan Area Show. Meanwhile I continue work on Brassworks; the brass backplates are unpredictable as an etching matrix so each one is a learning opportunity.

Graphic Chemical's Bone Black, revisited

A while ago I was whining about my new one pound can of Graphic Chemical Bone Black etching ink, but today I had a successful time printing with it; I added two pinches of magnesium carbonate to my ink pile and the consistency became very much like some other inks I've been using. And it was very easy to wipe. I try not to waste any supplies and since I ran out of other black inks I knew I had to make the Bone Black work. Yay!

ArtPrize 2012

Looking forward to ArtPrize 2012! I'll be returning to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, where I had a good experience last year. "Brassworks" is now the official title of the etched backplates project; Nate pointed out I might need official permission to use a company name. In any case, I'll keep posting Brassworks progress.

Doyle Watt, 1926-2012

Doyle Watt, the design director at Keeler Brass when I started there, died on March 8. I probably learned more from Doyle in one month than I learned in four years of art school. This photo is from the memorial folder from his funeral, and the doodle is one I did when I was supposed to be designing hardware. The doodle I will incorporate in the next brass etching.

Thanks for all you taught me, Doyle!

Proof: Marlin Signor

This image is from a sketch I made of Marlin around 1988. When the design department all worked in one large room, sometimes when I got tired of drawing hardware I'd just sketch whatever (or whomever) was around. This is a first state, it needs some revision. Marlin had more hair, for one thing. It's easier to see what's wrong once it's printed. As all the Keeler series will be, this is etched on an actual brass backplate from the company.