Installation in Progress

Prints

I just returned to my cute Adirondack motel room after an 11 hour day of cutting and placing linoleum block prints into an installation, I titled the show “My Own Private Wilderness”. I have 2.5 more days to complete it and I am a bit nervous. Day one is always slow but today seemed extra slow. It is the first time I am building water. I was at a loss on how the land meets the water, but thankfully Lake George is right outside the window, the beautiful mountains in the background giving me a direct reference.

The photos are from my cell phone so not ideal but I will have excellent photos with my good camera soon. The title of my show refers to my wilderness fantasy. Living in NYC I often feel removed from nature, and I am a person who loves backpacking, loves hiking in the mountains. My ideal would be living in the mountains full-time. But until then I create my own fantasy.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, November 14 at 4pm. The gallery is Lake George Arts Project Courthouse Gallery, Old County Courthouse 1 Amherst Street, Lake George, New York 12845. Here is a link to the specifics of my show.

Stay tuned more photos tomorrow.

A Radical Change

Drawing, Prints, stonetrigger press

At the beginning of August I drove the 2100 miles back to NYC leaving behind my beautiful studio and embracing the big unknown. I had sold my apartment and was coming back to find a rental. I knew I wanted to live in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, an “industrial seaside town” as a friend calls it. Ideally I would find a place large enough to work in and still be affordable, by NYC standards that is. What I found was a home that makes me so happy, each day when I wake up I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest I love it so much. I have huge windows, 1200 square feet, two floors and two bathrooms. It is really unbelievable to me. I set up my work tables in front of the windows where I can see the expansive skyline.

I started working on a couple drawings. Of course I had a small coyote to add to this 7″ x 5″ collage.

Mostly I have been working on a moose print, 20″ x 15″ with a rainbow roll, and stencil. It is part of a portfolio project titled Western Communities, a collection of artist who live in the west. I do not have a photo of the block or finished piece, just some of the process. I am also working on a custom print for my friend Kat in Cleveland.

When I am not working in the studio, I am walking miles each day with my dogs. We walk at least 4 hours a day, 2.5 in the morning and 1.5 at night, just exploring everywhere around our new home. Here are a few photos of our neighborhood discoveries.

I miss New Mexico but I am so happy with this change. I love change. I had sold all my furniture and had very little beyond my books. I am enjoying the process of recreating my life in Brooklyn….that is until next summer when I return to NM. You can expect all new projects, and all new artwork with new influences, my guess would be a lot of water.

Open Studio Pre-view

Drawing, Prints, stonetrigger press

Today is a photo extravaganza. This weekend is my Open Studio, from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. I have been cleaning, hanging artwork, and building a small, but crazy printed paper installation. If you are in or around Abiquiu, please come and say “hi.”

GPS Location – 36°12’41.2″N 106°13’48.9″W
From SF, take 84 toward Abiquiu. On the corner of 554 (the El Rito Road) marked by Mamacita’s Pizza turn right. Drive just over 1/2 mile crossing the Chama River, turn right on CR142. Drive 1.1 mile. On your left is “Trigger Drive” turn left, drive 200 meters and the studio is on the right, #5.

A variety of linocuts waiting for people to custom print their backpacks at Open Studio

Studio shot by Hilary Lorenz for open studio

Studio dogs, Homer and Conrad

A giant proof print of Homie and Coyote

Studio shot by Hilary Lorenz for open studio

A variety of linocuts waiting for people to custom print their backpacks at Open Studio

Studio shot by Hilary Lorenz for open studio

8″ x 10″ linocut prints, Stonetrigger Press

Hand printed journals, Stonetrigger Press

Custom printed bags, Stonetrigger Press

Studio shot by Hilary Lorenz for open studio

Watercolor collage by Hilary Lorenz

Wilderness cut paper installation for Open Studio, Abiquiu, NM

Getting Ready for Open Studio!

June Studio News

Drawing, Prints

Detail of 24″ x 18″ Moose Linocut

Finally after more than a month of carving it looks like the moose linocut is ready for a trial printing. I would love to get this baby on the press but I have one problem, I am not suppose to put any weight, at all, on my foot. Two weeks ago today I broke my foot in a race, and, boy has that made life a little less exciting. But fear not, even if I can’t print I can still carve, collage, and paint. In fact I just finished the “Narwhal World” today. I don’t know if I will keep that title but that is what I am currently calling it.

Narwhal World 14″ x 11″ watercolor and linocut printed collage

I also went to FedEx and shipped four pieces to the Lake George Art Projects for the exhibition, Art@the Lake. If you are in upstate New York from July 1 through July 27th, come and see the exhibition. It also serves as the annual gallery benefit with over 70 artists. This is going to be a terrific and I am sure you can find some great art to take home.

Lastly, I am making a new personal 30 day challenge of a watercolor/ print collage a day, details on the project will follow in a couple days.

24″ x 18″ Moose Linocut

Four minute video of Cool Printed Bag

Prints, Small Print Store

I am very excited to share the latest addition to my Etsy Store, a demonstration of the cinch bags and how they are printed. You can even custom order your bag color and what linocut you want on it!

The first bags hot off the press:

Cinch Bags, Coffee, Pink, Khaki, Red and Tan

Khaki Cinch bag with Feral Kitty Linocut

Coffee Cinch bag with coyote

Red Cinch bag with Coyote Linocut

Tan Cinch bag with Coyote Linocut

My Daily Print Project

30 prints 30 days, Prints, Small Print Store, stonetrigger press

Bat Linouct

We are now in the middle of March and I have printed and posted 69 items to my Etsy Store, some of which are now sold out. This all started as an experiment to make one print a day, open up an Etsy store to sell inexpensive high quality hand printed linocuts. These prints reach a far wider audience and collector base than the larger and more expensive projects that are made for gallery and museum exhibitions. And quit frankly it has been far more gratifying because of my direct interaction with people. Well, my virtual interaction with people, but never the less, it is far more engaging. In the two and a half months, I had 163 transactions on Etsy, with most people buying multiple prints, some even bought the whole first month’s 30 day set. There were just over 250 prints sold. Of course I would love to double, triple, even quadruple that.

Starting this project is making a tremendous difference in ability to also work on larger pieces and to become self-sustaining. That is my real goal. You see I have lived in NYC for the past 21 yeas, teaching at Long Island University in Brooklyn and coming to Abiquiu, NM in my summers. I bought my NM house in 2010 and built the printmaking studio. It is my goal, to create a solid business where I can move out to NM permanently. So, every time you buy a print, not only are you getting a really great new original hand signed and dated artwork, you are helping me create the dream of living a simple life of making art, walking my dogs, running in the mountains, and enjoying the quiet beauty of New Mexico. Today I put three new prints to my Etsy Store. The super awesome bat, a beaver which I printed over the summer and a fox. If you like my FB page, and follow my blog you will get all the Etsy updates as well as my larger exhibition updates.

Right now my drawings prints and journals can be found at The Gallery at Pioneer Bluffs, KS, The Fuller Art Center, Los Alamos, NM, The Printmaking Center of NJ, and this summer it will be at Lake George Arts Project’s summer exhibition Art @ The Lake, NY which will be followed by a Solo Exhibition in November. And of course at my studio in NM,(until August 1) and on Etsy. Yes, it is an exciting time and I am always looking for new venues, recommendations, collaborations so please keep me in mind and please recommend my store to your friends. I really do appreciate it.

Fox Linocut

Beaver Linocut

Annie the Dachshund Linocut

30 prints 30 days, Prints, Small Print Store, stonetrigger press

Annie linocut on Japanese Kozo

Each time I make a dog portrait I try something different. It may be in the size of the block, a profile vs. full body, changes of paper or changes of color. Each one is very personal. I began “Annie” last week. Annie, one of the sweetest dogs I have had the pleasure of meeting, passed away a couple of months ago. After looking through a number of photos of her, I kept melting in her side looking gaze.

There were a couple of things I knew I wanted. First, I wanted to show the pink and blue blanket, though there was only a sliver of it. Two, I wanted to have a separation between her brown and black. The only way I knew I could that is in a reduction linoleum block. This block got carved and printed 4 times over, pink, blue, brown, then black. Once all four layers were printed, I printed what remained of the block, which was quite a bit, onto 300 pound buff Rives BFK paper. In total I have 18 prints. Some were thrown away for begin off register, too dark or too light. I finished with an assortment 4 color prints on very thin Japanese paper, type types of Japanese paper.

I am beat. It was a super busy week. Spring is here and I had fences to mend, a race to run, orders to fill, grants to submit and groceries to buy. For those of you in the know, grocery shopping involves a 100 mile round trip, so it is time-consuming. But these are complaints, on the contrary, I am so lucky that I am able to do so much and have so much fun. As I await the cinch bags to come in, I am starting on a 22″ x 30″ linocut. I will shoot a photo of the daily carving process. In the meantime, there are 64 items in my Etsy store, so check it out!

Completely out of Printmaking Paper, Now what?

Prints, stonetrigger press

Pigment dyed hand printed backpack

I use my weekends to rest from my intensive printing, I have pulled more than 650 prints since January 1 with 60 new carved linoleum blocks. I use the time to run, attempt to be social, I say attempt so that I don’t have to hold myself accountable to actually being in public, draw and come up with new ideas. Since I have also exhausted my entire paper supply, it is a good time to come up with new ideas. Should I buy more paper OR perhaps heavy duty cinch bags?

I did some mock-up’s today with the coyote and really like them. I love these bags. They are 100% cotton, pigment dyed, heavy cotton webbed straps, a zippered front pocket, 14.5″ wide by 17.5″ tall, 9 different colors. They are really strong, great for books and big enough for picking up groceries, and of course CUTE!

Nine colors of Stonetrigger Press hand printed bags.

I mocked them up with Stonetrigger Press Abiquiu, NM printed under the coyote, but in linocut I can’t print text. I don’t want to go to silkscreen because everyone silkscreens. I want to keep these one at a time linocut printed. I will work out whether or not I have the press name, and it is possible I print it separate or get a woodblock laser cut to print it. Now there is another good idea.

So if you had a bag what color would you want?

Steps to a Happy Dog and Happy Printmaker

Prints, Small Print Store

In Progress – Shadow, custom linocut dog portrait

I love my dogs. You love your dogs. We all love doing things for our dogs, and we love to give gifts to friends who have dogs. One can never go wrong with a dog gift. Unless of course you are giving a dog as a gift which is I highly discourage. Unless of course you are a parent giving it to your children, but secretly you wanted the dog and you plan to take care of it.

This is a gift being given by a sister to her brother. “Shadow” is a very important family member and seen by his pose, a little character.

I began Shadow a week ago, looking through several photos. I was struck by two of them, one a close up profile which I love, but I kept coming back to this pose, it became my favorite.

Shadow, photography for linocut

I often have to tease out details by lightning the photos or sharpening them in order to see disguising characteristics. I then draw it onto a linoleum block.

Drawing of Shadow, reversed on the block

Once the block is drawn it can take anywhere for 4-8 hours to carve. Normally I carve from 4pm until bed time, so that I can print during the best day light.

First carving of linocut

This is how the linocut looked when I first printed it. I made one print, then carved a bit more, made another, printed again. I generally make 3-4 “proofs” that is seeing what it looks like, cleaning the block, inking it again and reprinting until I get what I want. On bad days that can take up to 10 separate inking, printing, cleaning, carving inking, etc.

The final print I made of Shadow is dark grey, despite looking black in this photo, he is grey:

Shadow, custom linocut dog portrait in dark grey

I am hanging on to him a few more days as I may want to do a little more carving, and experiment with the ink to make him just a bit more grey.

If you want a custom dog portrait it takes about 1-2 weeks, and you can order from my Etsy Store. The details are there.

A custom carved linocut portrait of Sam.

30 prints 30 days, Prints, Small Print Store

Sam Linocut Custom Dog Portrait

Lisa Studier left this morning and I got into the studio to catch on a portrait that my dear friend Peggy requested. Honestly, at first I was not so sure I could do a pet portrait. But have already done one for her I welcomed the second opportunity and it was a blast.

The custom linocut dog portrait is a gift for her daughter, who also supplied the photos for me to work from. I drew “Sam” onto a 5″ x 7″ linoleum block, carved him out, and set out to print.

Carving Linocut of Sam

It was a rough day in the studio. It was very cold, colder inside than outside, some ink colors appeared almost frozen where others were way too runny. I printed and printed and got nothing. I cleaned up, came in the house, and tried again today. And it was perfect. I got a great print of Sam. In addition I made 5 folded gift/greeting cards. These cards are pretty sweet and since it is a gift Peggy can write a message to her daughter in it, plus her daughter will get 4 others she can send out. She can always get more later if she likes.

4″ x 5″ folded hand printed linocut cards with custom carving

I am going to offer to make up to 3 dog portraits a month. They can take 10 to 15 hours to make, so doing three a month would be super fun. I am beginning some big 24″ x 36″ linocuts all based on mountains, hiking, wilderness adventure in for my fall exhibition and I need to make sure I leave time for those. They take about 60 + hours to carve, but they will be amazing, just as amazing as little Sam here. You can order a custom dog portrait at my Etsy Store.

P.S. The color is the same on all of them, despite looking different here. The photos are a bit crappy because they are from my cell phone. I still need to get a new camera.

Sam, Linocut Dog custom dog portrait

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