My Green Door Print Exchange has arrived!

Check it out! My Green Door International Print Exchange has arrived. This has been the second time  that I've participated in this show and I've been quite impressed with how organized the exchange has been. Below are just a few of the pieces that I received in exchange for my Bandit linocut print.

l-r: Eleanor Walker, Harriet Brigdale, Monique Wales

The picture above is of the wonderful info-graphic that was included with the print set. Here I got to see which print mediums were used, what paper was the most popular, which countries submitted as well as all of the names of the participants. What fantastic info! 

Green Door print exchange

Hey, check it out! I've actually been working on some artwork lately. Even though a good chunk of my spare time has been spent creating custom cakes, I was able to squeeze this linocut in for the Green Door International Printmaking Exchange. Did you create something for it too?

PaperGirl Vancouver is back

It's been ages since I've posted on this blog. Sorry. It's not that I haven't been creating but rather my time has been occupied by my other creative venture in cake decorating. Take a peek and you'll see I've been busy learning so many new things. That is one of the best pay-offs for me, the chance to learn something new. I need it. Nothing sends me down the slippery slope of depression faster than boredom. Unfortunately it also means I can't hold a full-time job very well. Ah,the lottery....if I ever win I do believe I would become a professional  student. Teach me more!

 For now though, I'll sneak in my creative fixes whenever I can. That brings me to how I'll be sharing some of my artwork again through PaperGirl Vancouver on July 8th. PaperGirl Vancouver is a city-wide event where volunteers will ride bikes through Vancouver and hand-deliver  artwork donated by artists to anyone they come across. Anyone can submit and anyone can receive a piece of artwork. Take a peek at last years Flickr shots of the event to see how well it was received.

I sent 25 copies of my Birthday Bear this year and one hand-pulled linocut of my edition "Flower". I wonder where they will end up.

Leftovers Print Exchange 2014

Hey! I almost forgot to tell you about my submission for this year's Leftovers Print Exchange put on by Wingtip Press. This is the third year that I have participated in this show that fundraises for community food banks. I always enjoy creating artwork and I love it even more when I'm able to contribute to a great cause.

Below is my linocut "Pretty Please"

Year of the Horse print exchange

Well! I'm happy to say that even though I've been slogging it through an artistic slump that my creative addiction has won out and I created something for the Year of the Horse International Print Exhibit and Exchange. The horse theme was a little tough for me as I couldn't come up with anything that didn't look lame or cheezy. I think the new video I saw from Kayne West featuring running horses DID NOT help. Fromage!

Anyways, here's my linocut submission: "Circus Pony".  I look forward to seeing what kind of horses I get back from other printmakers. Did you submit something?

La Calaca Print Exchange

Yeah! This year's submission to the La Calaca International Print Exchange is done and has been mailed off. I did a linocut again this year but this time my preparatory drawing was digital. I really like this skeletal couple and I hope it brings a smile to those printmakers that will receive it. As always, I can't wait to see what I get in return because the quality of the prints have always be great. What about you? Do you have a favourite print exchange?

My submission to this year's Wingtip Press Leftovers

I just sent off this little linocut dragon to this years Wingtip Press's Leftovers. This has been a great fundraiser for hunger relief and I've participated in it for the past three years.  Do take a look at previous entries.

Two trial proof's are available in the shop.

This image has been floating around in my sketchbook and computer for a little while now and I was happy to finally get it out and onto paper. I cut it into thin lino and printed it with my press. I used to hand-burnish all my linos onto thin paper because they were always mounted on blocks but it's been so much easier to use the press.You can see a short video I did of proofing the print on my press here.

New video of a test-print of a linocut done with a press

I did it! I actually rigged my iPad up to my tri-pod so that I can create some videos of my printing process. I had created printmaking demo videos in the past with my Flip camera which I was quite happy with until it stopped recording segments longer than 10 minutes.  Even though I bought a rechargeable battery for it, the camera won't record past the 10 minutes and will delete anything recorded if battery gets depleted. With my iPad I'm hoping to record a monotype which takes me at least a couple of hours from start to finish.

So below is my latest video and the photos below that are of my iPad set up. Not too pretty to be sure but who cares if it works. As always, I would love to hear your comments.

A short video on test-printing a linocut.

Hey everyone. So I tried to rig up my iPad to film a short demo video but I just couldn't get it right. I will eventually figure it out but for now I have this short video I created on my Flip camera instead. I don't like how blurry it is and the captions need work but I think I just need some editing practice.

This video is about how I test my linocut plates before printing. Feel free to comment and share! 

My La Calaca Print Exchange has arrived.

Guess what I got in the mail the other day? My selection from the La Calaca  International Print Exchange! In exchange for this linocut, I got a fantastic set of skeleton prints done by people from all over the world. This has been the second year that I've participated in this show and I've been really impressed with the quality of prints. If you would like to see a daily dose of printed skeletons you can "like" the La Calaca Press on Facebook. Very inspiring. 

This trio are my favourites from what was sent to me. The print techniques from left to right are: etching, linocut, and lithograph. What's your favourite?

La Calaca Press print exchange

  A whole year has passed since I submitted my print for the La Calaca International Print exchange. The Day of the Dead theme is fantastic and I love sketching out ideas for it. I created a few ideas that I will re-work into other mediums but the image below will be my submission for the exchange.

Mmmm......Brains

Edition of 15

Linocut on mulberry

  The deadline for this years exchange is May 15th so you still have a little bit of time to throw one together. Details are here.

It's time for Left-overs again!

A year has already gone by and it's now time to serve up some more Leftovers thanks to Wingtip Press. The criteria for this open-call print exchange is to create an edition of 14 prints to be printed on any leftover printmaking paper you have. As all printmakers know, it's easy to accumulate a bunch of paper you can't use but can't throw away either.

 I really enjoy this exchange because the size of the image and the edition is kept quite small. It doesn't hurt that the fee to participate is only $12. So what do you think? Do you think you'd like to participate? The deadline is March 15th. Get all the details here.

Here's my submission: Sour Puss

Year of the Dragon print exchange

Last year I posted about my submission to PROOF Gallery's Year of the Rabbit print exchange. Well this year's Chinese zodiac is the dragon and I recently sent off my submission for the show. I really enjoy working with the Chinese zodiac theme as it always produces a lot of new images for me.

Below is the linocut that I submitted and I only did an edition of 6 for this one. I colored this one with artist pencil crayons. My kids saw me coloring and begged for some to color too. Luckily I had a few dud pulls still around for them to use. This has re-kindled the idea of creating a kids coloring book this year. Hmmmmm....

I just got notice that the deadline for the exchange has been extended to January 25th so if you're quick you might be able to submit a dragon too. Guidelines for submissions can be found on the blog Year of the Dragon.

Ganbare Nippon Charity Shop

A little while back I had put a call out on my blog asking for people to let me know of any opportunities for me to donate some of my artwork to worthy charities. Thanks to a someone on Twitter who saw this, I was directed to Erica Sharp. Erica is an illustrator in the UK who is amassing an amazing collection of artwork that she is selling in a shop on Etsy called Ganbare Nippon . Ganbare Nippon is a shop dedicated solely for fundraising for relief and aid in the earthquake struck regions of Japan.

I have donated my "Into the Brush" monotype which is a one-of-a-kind print on Rives BFK paper. My "At home" linocut is from a small edition which was hand-rubbed with a wooden spoon. The final donation, "Simple Wants" is a small editioned colloraph that has been hand-painted with watercolor. Take a look at the shop and blog to see my donations and the numerous other fantastic pieces you can buy. There's no guilt in buying a piece here for your home because your purchase will help those in Japan trying to rebuild their lives. A fantastic deal I think.

A Sneak Peak of my latest creation.

Today I thought I would show you a sneak peek of what I've been working on. I've been finding myself a little bit overwhelmed with the amount of ideas popping into my head lately and each project seems to stirring up more ideas. A little while back I had the idea that I would like to create an art doll using some sort of printmaking technique. I had a couple problems because I've never printed on fabric with anything by silkscreens and I'm not a great sewer. You may have seen in my previous post that I've figured out how to reclaim my ability to silkscreen at home with inexpensive materials. Here come the ideas....

For this project though I wanted a linocut look to my doll and I was fully prepared to figure out how to use my press to print on fabric with a thin lino plate. Instead I did my image planning with my new Bamboo tablet, created a black canvas and treated it like a virtual lino block using the scratch tool as my cutter. The biggest advantage was being able to redo my "plate" and fix up any wayward "cuts". This doll went through numerous changes because I found that even though my initial image was fine 2-D, it was horrible when it went to 3-D. I made numerous trial dolls and it was great that I failed so often because I got to learn so much about sewing. Later I decided that my dolls needed some embroidery so I took to learning some of that too. But my dolls needed some pretty buttons and beads in their hair so I took to learning about polymer clay so I could make some of my own. I've now grown an obsession with polymer clay so don't be surprised to see some of it pop up here. Can you see how my brain is getting filled with ideas?

In the end I created five one-of-a-kind art dolls complete with embroidery, beadwork, individual skirts, handmade buttons and beads.  My girls wanted to play with these dolls but with all the small pieces on them they really are just for display.  Of course I already have other doll ideas in my head. I will be trying to sell these at an up-coming craft show in Vancouver next month.
I would love to hear your opinion of them.

My Green Door Print Exchange has arrived

This year I created a print for the Green Door International Print Exchange in the UK. For my submission I created "Bank & Balloon" which was my first multiple plate linocut.
When my edition arrived to the Green Door Print Studio I was notified via email that it made it safely. Thank you. It's so nice to hear something has made it intact through the post. Once the deadline had past the Studio divided the prints amoungst the participants and packaged up the collections for the exchange. I received an email that my exchanged prints had been put in the post. Thank you again. While it took quite a lot longer to arrive than they stated I was really happy with how much communication I got from the Studio.

Once my prints did arrive I got a list of the other printmakers that had received my prints and then I got a list of the prints and artists that I received . I really appreciate being able to look up these artists and find more about them and their work. To top it off, the inside cover had a complete list of all the participating printmakers. I have to say that this exchange was very well organized and executed and I look forward to participating in it again. Will I see one of yours?

List of prints and titles that I was given and a list of all participating printmakers.

Top to bottom:

Maja Mihalovic

Anna Johnson

Robert Pickens

Green Door International Print Exchange

Throughout this year I've made a point of taking my work off-line and out into the world a little more. One way I've done this is through art exchanges with some of the fantastic artists I've met online. I'm getting quite the print collection I tell you. One of the more formally print exchanges I decided to participate in is called Green Door which is based in the U.K..


Green Door International Print Exchange is an all-inclusive exchange that maintains specific traditional printmaking criteria for the submissions. The print must be created solely for the exchange and not sold anywhere else. The edition is limited to ten which makes it easy to complete for the novice printmaker. I have heard good things about this exchange and I'm looking forward to seeing what I get back.

Below is my linocut submission, "Bank & Balloon" which gave me a little bit of a challenge in that it's the first multiple plate lino I've done. I hate having to register plates. I know all you reductive linocut printmakers are laughing at me right now.

Bank and Balloon

I would love to hear your thoughts on my piece and let me know if you'll be entering the exchange as well. There is still time to create something as the deadline is for August. Happy printmaking!