Progress. I’ve been making it, albeit in a total tortoise slow and steady wins the race fashion. I’ve been facing the fears inherent in this new “big project”* and taking small manageable steps towards completion.
ha! That’s sounds so grown up.
I’ve taken the photographs (still need a couple more) and the universe has generously provided me with the means to print them as large cyanotypes in the form of the amazing Judy being in my Alt Process class! She has a kick ass alt process studio set up in her home that we can print at and she has a contact frame large enough for 20×24” paper. Ask and ye shall receive right?
So, that part of the project is moving forward. The sculptures? ugh. Still haven’t figured that out yet. Not even sure if that’s what I should be calling them. First material test was a bust. Need to try some thicker paper. Plastic? Mat board?? I’m still a bit stuck there. But I’ll figure it out. I have no deadline for this, so am not stressing things. Just trying to keep the momentum going and not get bogged down in self-doubt.
I think my woodcut is close to completion which means I can get the giant jig Chris made me off the table. I haven’t painted in what feels like ages and need that surface clear. Maybe one more day of cutting back those high marks. I ran another test print yesterday and took a photo of the block after I inked it to see what areas still need to be worked on.
Not all of those extra marks showed up on the print, so again, not gonna stress about it too much. And I kinda like those marks on relief prints. Perfection is not the goal thank goodness.
In other “big project”/painting (but not the good kind of painting painting) news, we’ve been painting the house! yeah, that was a lot of paintings. Welcome to my world. Now that Kyle is firmly ensconced in the dorm at Sac State (and in a frat! omg who is that kid?!), we moved Erin into his bedroom as it is the bigger of the 2 rooms. We let her pick out the paint colors – within reason of course – and now the room is Beloved Pink. Nice. She had picked out new bedding – because she is big now and ladybugs and flowers just aint’ cutting it anymore! – so we had a color scheme to work with. I even painted her dresser a pretty light mint green. Our Paris-girl is loving it!
We moved her in on Tuesday and Wednesday was the previously scheduled start date for having the exterior of our house painted. oh my. They are finishing up today and it is looking great! I will be beyond happy to get the remaining plastic off the windows. At one point yesterday, not only were all the windows covered, but the doors too! I was trapped in plastic wrap! And that is no way to live. But we aren’t done yet! Tonight Chris will start painting Erin’s old room for Kyle. Chris is on a tan wall be gone bender!
* I haven’t known what to call these new pieces I’ve been working on, but I now know that I do not like “big project” even if that’s what it feels like. I think I will now refer to it as the “Freeway Project”. Totally irrelevant to what it is about, but reminds me of how the ideas came to me. Plus it gives me a fIREHOSE earworm that I like. sweet.
