printmaking
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Took a break from black ink and relief prints to work with watercolor, pastel and color (!) in this portrait of Ava, a fawn-colored Doberman.
Commissioned for a gift, there’s a bit of a ‘small world’ story to go with the artwork. The purchaser now lives in China, but the recipient is local. Apparently Ava lived nearby several years ago and participated in a monthly dog walk that was dubbed the Pooch Patrol. One of the evening strolls, and snapshots of the event, inspired my print, Ready to Walk – and there she is, with a couple of her walking buddies! Who knew?!
images:
Ava, mixed media
Ready to Walk, block print
Tags: Doberman, dog, linocut, mixed media, pastel, pet portrait, printmaking, watercolor
The mandrakes, Mandragora, make another appearance in the As Potent as a Charm series – this time in the fifth pairing from the Solanaceae family. Apparently they’ve been unearthed by a hapless dog that couldn’t resist digging in the dirt. Their underground relative, the potato, is a much kinder, gentler variety of nightshade.
image: Scuttle, block print
Click on the links to read more about As Potent as a Charm or check out the mandrakes in Red as a Beet.
Tags: dog, linocut, mandrake, nightshade, potato, printmaking, relief print, Solanaceae
Oh, those Best Laid Plans . . . which seems an apt title for another pairing from the plant family Solanaceae. That’s Henbane, Hyoscyamus niger, causing the chicken to be a little, uh, chicken. This is the fourth print of unlikely familial pairs from the nightshade family. Although the related vegetable isn’t visible in the above detail, the logical partner for henbane is (what else?) eggplant!
image: Best Laid Plans, block print
Tags: block print, chicken, egg, eggplant, henbane, linocut, printmaking, relief print, Solanaceae
Just completed – another mixed media piece in the Imprints series! The client’s only specific requests were the finished size and the inclusion of a compass rose. The tiny compass rose print guided the overall theme and inspired the title of Imprints/Directions.
image: Imprints/Directions, mixed media, private collection
View more pieces in the series on joancolbert.com.
Tags: block print, compass rose, mixed media, printmaking, relief print
Of the five planned botanical prints of Solanaceae pairs, four combine a poisonous plant with a vegetable. The remaining one is a floral, featuring Deadly Nightshade and Petunia. The edition of Loves Me Not is finished – and it’s a good guess that the romance is too! There’s no doubt that Atropa belladonna (Deadly Nightshade) is heartless, but the pretty Petunia? In the Language of Flowers it actually symbolizes anger and resentment.
Tags: belladonna, block print, deadly nightshade, linocut, petunia, poison, printmaking, Solanaceae, wasp
It figures. Last week I printed the small edition of the woody nightshade/tomato print and a day later decided I was somewhat unhappy with it. It was that darn black sheep, living up to his troublemaking reputation. Actually, it really was the black sheep, but the problem was my fault. His curly fur was too busy and too distracting. It was very tempting to just recut the block, but first I decided to try my hand at pochoir and change the existing print.
Using a stencil (the French/English translation of pochoir) I was able to lightly roll ink over the small area of white curlicues and successfully redeem the disappointing image.
Pleased with the results, I titled the print, Bittersweet, not just for the woody nightshade wallpaper, but for the happy ending.
Tags: black sheep, linocut, pochoir, poison, printmaking, relief print, Solanaceae, stencil, tomato, woody nightshade
It’s exciting to finally begin printing the pieces in the Solanaceae group, the newest in the As Potent as a Charm series. Solanaceae contains both botanical bad guys and garden favorites, so each will feature an unlikely pairing, such as the Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, with Woody Nightshade, Solanum dulcamara, in this yet to be titled print.
Tags: block print, linocut, poison, printmaking, Solanaceae, tomato, woody nightshade
Black sheep and skeletons in the closet . . .
even the plant world has its share of family secrets, eccentrics and deviants.
Consider the family Solanaceae, commonly referred to as either the nightshade or potato family: members of this unwieldy clan run the gamut from the meek to the murderous.
The final line drawings of five pairings of Solanaceae are ready to be transferred to linoleum blocks – the newest in the As Potent as a Charm series. In each combination the virtuous shares space with the disreputable.
Look for mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) and the potato (Solanum tuberosa), deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and Petunia, henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) and eggplant (Solanum melongena), bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), along with tobacco (Nicotiana) and chili pepper (Capsicum). With about 2,690 additional species, the history of the Solanaceae family’s interaction with humans is one of dramatic trial and error, malevolence and goodwill.
The Solanaceae relief prints will be included in a solo exhibit late this year:
As Potent as a Charm
December 4 – 31, 2015
the BOX gallery
140 East Market Street
Akron, Ohio 44308
Tags: line drawing, poison, printmaking, relief print, Solanaceae
“Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and in all the nooks.”
Dr. Suess
There are a few additions to the Books in Print series, started last fall, all of which are on display at the studio at Summit Artspace. This has been a fun little diversion – even though many of us enjoy the convenience of digital books, there is something about groups of books collected on shelves or in stacks. Their warmth invites us to choose an old favorite or something new, to leaf through the pages or settle in for a long read.
On the subject of books: Last fall also saw a couple new Little Free Library additions right here in west Akron. Fellow artist and friend, Don Parsisson, designed and built a Cape Cod wood-shingled library (Little Free Library #17708) in front of his home.
photo ©Don Parsisson
Around the same time, Angel Falls Coffee Company installed an A-frame version, designed by artist, Steve Levey, adjacent to the coffee shop. It will be maintained by the Highland Square Branch Library.
photo ©Highland Square Little Free Library
Tags: block print, books, bookshelf, linocut, little free library, printmaking
