Saturday, January 6, 2018

A warm post from the frigid coast

As I type this it's afternoon here on the coast of Maine. There's a deep blanket of snow from our "bomb cyclone" blizzard earlier in the week and everything looks picturesque and lovely... a veritable treasure trove of potential linocuts.

Until one goes outside. At noon our temperature had risen to 0 degrees F. (That's minus 18 for you Celsius types.) Except for that brief respite when it warmed up enough to drop a ton of snow we've been in subzero lows and single-digit highs since Christmas. 

As a result I've had to curtail my wandering in the woods or scrambling on the rocky coast. It's a good time for catching up with other projects, though, including an "introduction to reduction linocut" video. The spectacular landscape painter Tim Deibler shot the raw footage just days before I moved away from Colorado. His daughter Rachel, the project editor, sent me a rough cut just before Christmas, and yesterday I finally had time for a first review.


We had just one day to do all the filming... in the midst of towers of boxes and half-packed belongings. In true Sherrie fashion it was essentially a seat-of-my-pants endeavor and the intended 3-color demo turned into five colors. (It could have been six or seven, of course, but... time limit.)




It is a little strange to watch the process unfold in a studio space that no longer exists (for me), especially when my search for suitable space here in Maine has not yet met with success and my press is still in storage. Yes, it's a test of my patience. But the video project reminds me who I am, even when I'm not able to work the way I'd like just now.


Between Rachel's travel schedule and mine it will likely be late spring before the video is finished and ready for prime time. Hopefully these few screen captures will whet your appetite for the completed project. 

There is one important aspect of the video that hasn't been decided yet, however, and I need your help!  Assuming we end up with about 2 hours of instruction, if you were interested in the video would you prefer to receive it packaged as a physical DVD or delivered online behind a paywall? 

Personally, when I purchase a class online I rarely watch the entire thing through, or I forget that I have access to it and it languishes. But I'm starting to fall into the dinosaur category for that sort of thing, so I'm curious to know what Brush and Baren readers think. Let me know!

In the meantime, stay warm... and if you have a favorite manufacturer of snow pants, send me that information, too! Needless to say, I'm shopping....

9 comments:

  1. I hate the new technologies...so hard to learn as we age. So DVD for me. And i am excited to see it!

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  2. Yes, I am like you. Life intervenes and I drift away and stop logging in and keeping up with something online. I think I'd prefer a physical DVD but I am a bit archaic. Stay warm and inspired!

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  3. I, too, prefer DVD format. Thanks for allowing input. Phyl Jones

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  4. DVD for me too! Wishing you the very best in the New Year. Glad you are staying warm. Duluth Trading Post for snow pants.

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  5. I purchase either way, though I am a little concerned about optical drives going the way of the dinosaur just a few years from now, so I try to purchase online and keep an archive for viewing. Looking forward to buying your video in any form!

    Marmot for snowpants! And Sierra Trading Post.com is your friend for deals on cold-weather stuff. Indispensable when I was a high-adventure trek scout leader from FL and had ::nothing:: to wear on the trail up north. : )

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  6. :-) Okay, then... so far we are leaning to DVD, but I'll continue to look in to online options also. I'll keep watching for feedback, thanks everyone!

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  7. Ah! But I just realized I need friends across the pond to chime in, since our DVD formats don't work there, I don't think....

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  8. DVDs can be a pain to store, and might not even work as you mentioned. people will still buy DVDS etc but if they can get a digital copy, I know most of the people I know prefer digital, if you can back the copy up or download it again

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  9. Like you, I prefer a physical DVD, but I am in Australia and postage rates often mean that a digital download is much more cost effective.

    You can do a generic DVD that will work across physical areas.

    Thanks, Sherrie. I love your work.

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