Opening at YAAW

YAAW stands for Yukon Artists at Work, with an emphasis on the term “work” just so we can be sure that making art isn’t simply the happy consequence of too much free time. Informed people know that a serious art practice involves lots of work, therefore it’s good to have that reflected in the title [...]

Pecha Kucha!

Okay, a year ago I didn’t know what Pecha Kucha meant. A Mayan ruin in the Yucatan perhaps, or another way to say hootchie kootchie?
Now that I’ve attended two and presented at one of them, I now know that it’s a very happening and groovy event involving ten presenters following a predetermined theme, each presenting [...]

Timothy Cole

Timothy Cole is another master wood engraver whose technical proficiency amazes me. He spent his entire career in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s interpreting the work of master painters like Constable and Hogarth. I happen to have in my possession his engraving of Mona Lisa, signed by him in pencil. It’s printed on a [...]

Multiple Tool

Here’s the dreaded multiple tool. I say this because it’s a wood engraving tool that, if not used judiciously can make the resulting print look too mechanical.
The idea behind it is that it cuts two or more parallel lines at once, depending on the line count on the graver ( the one shown here cuts [...]

Making a chop

Over the years I’ve wondered about using a chop on my prints. I do like the appearance when other artists use them on their work although I wouldn’t necessarily  incorporate it with the actual print. Presently I do use a embosser for my wood engravings which I’m not hundred percent happy with.
Anyway, I made a [...]

Prison for Printmakers

Imagine the police arriving at your studio to arrest you for making a woodblock print of your national flag. That’s what happened to Paljor Norbu, an 81 year old Tibetan printmaker last October.
The Chinese occupation of Tibet is obviously sinking to new depths to protect their illegal control of Tibet. It’s not enough to kill [...]

Christmas Fair in Dawson

Once in awhile I’ll leave my studio and actually engage in the ‘real’ world. This past Saturday I shared a sales table with my jeweler friend Sharon Edmunds at the KIAC christmas fair.
Lots of folks and good discussion on wood engravings and how I make them. Happy to say many left with an image or [...]

Laid to Rest

I came across this wood engraving the other day, although it looks more like a woodcut. The artist is Felix Vallotton, a Swiss painter and printmaker from the last century. Given the wonderful results of the American election yesterday, this image is certainly an apt commentary on the outgoing administration.
The title Le Mauvais Pas is [...]

Box 40

Here’s my offering for the Box 40 show which opens on the 17th of May at the YAAW gallery in Whitehorse. All members were given a blank box to decorate in some way for the exhibition which will also serve as a fund raiser for ceramic artist Patrick Royle who is in the hospital right [...]