The Printmaker's Day (including a new Linocut-in-Progress)

It's been a rainy, foggy, blustery day here in midcoast Maine, not unexpected for this time of year and certainly not unexpected for... my birthday! How many times have I had a birthday blizzard? A lot. Today's rain, by comparison, is no big deal.

Luckily the weather held off last night for my opening at the Green Lion Gallery in Bath, and I was surprised by a number of friends who came out to see the show and then help me celebrate with a birthday-eve dinner. (You know who you are... thank you!)

When I woke this morning to rain lashing the windows I was delighted! My plans for a perfect birthday? A fire in the woodstove and ink on the table.

I had two new linos drawn and paper prepped. One of the images requires a lot of white space, which I have carved away already, but it's going to be a larger format than I've printed before and I have a little trepidation about it. When in doubt, start the smaller one!

One good reason for starting the smaller one is that the first color pass required only a spot-inking of yellow with a mask to contain it.

Linocut in progress, Step 1

Step 1 printed

An exciting start, eh?

Of course the carving for this step took about 5 minutes, and then I was ready for the second color. I mixed a transparent gray...

Step 2 printed

Not significantly more interesting than the first step, I know. But hey! Can you tell what it's going to be yet?

Carving for the third pass took at least four times the amount of effort as the previous color! (Snort. You do the math.) With things moving along so quickly I decided to go ahead and print a third color.

Step 3 printed

If the first yellow blob didn't immediately solve the mystery of subject matter for you, perhaps the state of things after the blue pass will start to provide some focus.....

Carving for Step 4 now will take a bit more time, and two full layers of ink (the first one hardly counts) will take a day or two to dry in our rainy weather, so I don't expect to print again for a couple of days. I have some small linos to hand-paint, frame, pack, and ship to Colorado this week, so probably I'll fit those tasks in between carving sessions.

It's been a fine day to begin my next trip around the sun. (Which I know is out there, even if I can't see it for the clouds.) Onward!

Exhibitions Everywhere!

Gosh, time is just escaping. I've got two new linocuts drawn up and ready to roll... paper is prepped... and one of the images even has its first color pass cut and ready to print. But am I printing? NO! Because check out this crazy two weeks of exhibition madness (and then go check out the exhibitions themselves if you're in Maine!).

"The Quiet Hour," reduction linocut © Sherrie York

Conserve the Call

Portland Public Library Lewis Gallery

Sponsored by the Biodiversity Research Institute

Portland, Maine

Now through May 25
(group show, I have one piece in the exhibition)

"Interlace," reduction linocut © Sherrie York

In All Seasons

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Boothbay, Maine

Now through June 8
(solo show, 22 pieces in the exhibition)

"Passing Through," reduction linocut © Sherrie York

Sherrie York - Linocuts

Green Lion Gallery

Bath, Maine

Opens this Friday, April 19, through May 13

Whew! That takes care of April, but watch this space for announcements of shows coming up in May at Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado and the Stable Gallery in Damariscotta, Maine.

Coming up!

Look over there! Linocuts!

It's that time of year! Loads of holiday art cheer to be found. Here are a couple of events at which you will be able to find to work of a certain linocut printmaker you know:

Holiday Artisan Faire: Curated by Pine Tree Pop-up and hosted by the Woodman Museum, Dover, New Hampshire. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, November 23-December 23.

South Gallery, Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Rockland, Maine. Opening reception December 1, 11:00am-1:00pm. Show continues through February.

Home for the Holidays, Ann Korologos Gallery, Basalt, Colorado, November 24-January 8.

Also, Oh Be Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte, Colorado and Green Lion Gallery in Bath, Maine will be featuring seasonally inspiring work through the winter. Please stop in and check them out!

Repairs made, work begun!

The studio in coming together. Click image to embiggen.

There are a lot of reasons that I am happy that I moved to Maine, but at the top of my list right now is my new neighbor, Jeff. I shared my woes over my damaged press bed and he came right down to take a look. He felt we could manage a repair ourselves, and since I know him to be very handy (and experienced with construction and countertops), I figured we couldn't make things any worse and should give it a try.

A couple of days and a lot of stinky contact cement later... voila! We got the laminate re-adhered smoothly to the press bed and I am back in business.

There are still a few little quirks that developed in storage... mainly with one of the adjustment screws... but I jumped on in and printed some black-and-white images just to see where things were.

Happiness is linocuts on a drying rack.

Of course just because I haven't been able to print doesn't mean I haven't been working on other things... including the opening of an exhibition at the Green Lion Gallery in Bath.

I was tickled to find my piece, "Wild Dreams" facing the gallery entry door, and two small floral pieces adjoining the work of another local printmaker, Holly Berry. That's Holly in the middle, Martha Truscott on the left and some other slouch printmaker on the right.

Whew! It's suddenly summer time in Maine and things are hopping. Gallery shows, workshops, and field work are all vying for my time... and I'm still trying to get things functional in my living and working spaces. And I've had some company again, too!  It's starting to feel like a more normal sort of craziness, and I'm happy to be in the middle of it.

I'll be prepping some paper and getting started on a small reduction print in the next few days, although I expect to be interrupted by a high school graduation extravaganza and the annual Belfast Ukulele Picnic this weekend. Ukulele? Yes. That's a whole OTHER story.

Birds, Bees, and Springtime at the Green Lion Gallery

"Pas de Ducks," reduction linocut, 8" x 16"

Please join us this Friday at the Green Lion Gallery in Bath, Maine for the opening of "Birds, Bees, and Springtime." 

We're celebrating the exuberant color and promise of springtime and new beginnings, but the show also includes images of migration, movement, and multi-layered ambiguity that might recall paths not taken and things left behind. Most of the works in the show are wood or linoleum-cut prints, but it also includes print collage, monoprints, drawings, and paintings. 

I'm delighted to have my work showing at this lovely space, alongside that of Holly Berry, Siri Beckman, Matt Brown, and surprise! my "old" friend Jean Gumpper from Colorado. I'd love to see you on Friday if you're in the neighborhood. 5:00-7:00pm, 104 Front Street, Bath.

Lost in transition

My search for a place to live and work here in Maine continues. It has been a frustrating process, but my friend Sue encourages me to stay calm. “Maine challenges you the first year,” she says, “to test your resolve.”

Okay, Maine. Bring it. 

There have been several bright spots lately, though!

Green Lion Gallery

The Green Lion Gallery in Bath. This gorgeous space is owned and nurtured by artist/printmaker David Morgan. The Green Lion represents mostly (but not only) printmakers and artists who create work on paper. The space has a great vibe, and it has an Ettan press in the back. Dave was kind enough to offer me some press time a couple of weeks ago, and I managed to create three small (4x6”) blocks. I printed on 300# watercolor paper and then hand-painted them. I was reasonably pleased with the results AND the feeling of shaking out a few cobwebs. 

Green Lion Gallery

New linos!

Inspiration for the new images was the March 11 Mass Audubon Birders Meeting in Boston. It’s still a bit surreal to me to realize that I can now drive to Boston in about the same amount of time it took me to drive from Salida to Denver. The scenery is certainly different, and the traffic once one hits Boston is worse (which hardly seems possible), but it's totally doable. 

Linocuts all set up and ready for visitors at the Birders Meeting

The Birders Meeting is a one-day event, but I arrived a little early and stayed a little late to have the opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends at the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon. 

Evening comes to MABA

MABA is a small museum with a big heart and a collection that packs a big punch. Part of the reason for my early arrival was an opportunity to hear Paul and Alan Singer, the sons of artist Arthur Singer, speak about their father's work. The brothers have recently released a comprehensive and lovely book celebrating Arthur Singer's life and career, and MABA hosted the lecture, book signing, and an exhibit of some of Singer's original works.

Additionally, the museum's current main exhibition is "Waterbirds," featuring paintings, prints, and sculpture from their permanent collection. Selections include work from Audubon to Warhol... bird art aficionados will also drool over pieces by Frank Benson, Sir Peter Scott, Don Eckelberry, Barry Van Dusen, Keith Shackleton, Anne Faust... and my design hero Frances Lee Jaques. It's remarkably difficult to find a centralized online location for Jaques' work, but trust me, you need to Google for images. The paintings are nice, but the black and white illustrations will knock your socks off. (The Jaques Art Center in Minnesota has a little blurb about him, but not many images.)

Nubble Light at Cape Neddick, Maine

On my way home from Boston I stopped at the Nubble Lighthouse / Cape Neddick in southern Maine. The day was windy and cold, alternating between bright sun and clouds, but I was on a mission! I had heard the Cape could be a place to find dovekie, a cute little auk which I had never seen. I identified two other life birds, thick-billed murre and black scoter, before I finally spotted the stubby little critter bobbing around offshore. I snapped a couple of photos that were horribly distant and blurry but contained enough information to later confirm the ID. Hooray!

Yes. Dovekie has entered the queue for new linos.

The next day we had our third nor'easter in less than two weeks, with our second blanket of about 20 inches of snow. Enough already!

So what next? I'm still on the hunt for home and studio, but life and work have to move forward no matter what. April 19th I'll be presenting a program at the Camden Library for Midcoast Audubon. Also, registration is now open for a leather journal-making workshop at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, April 27. Also in April, I'll have some work presented by the Green Lion Gallery at the Boston Print Fair. I'm also deep in image design for posters for the International Loon / Diver Symposium coming up in Portland in 2019. I may be unsettled, but I'm certainly not bored!