Body & Soul Exhibition at Bunker Hill Community College, Boston MA

My work will be included in this awesome exhibition! Come to the opening on Thursday February 11, from 6 - 7pm.



www.bhcc.mass.edu

Stone Graining video

Had fun shooting this short clip while graining a litho stone:



Lithographic limestones are re-usable; once an image is drawn, processed and printed, the image can be removed and the stone used again for a new image. I use a levigator to grain off the previous image from the top surface of the limestone. The process is a bit painstaking, in that I start with a very course carborundum grit to blast away the image, going through several rounds. Carborundum grit is basically shaved metal. It's like using sandpaper. Then I progressively use finer and finer grits to level off the stone and create a smooth surface. During the process, I have to be consistent ands even, I cannot grain one side more than the other or else then the stone becomes uneven, which then interferes with the printing process later on. So periodically while graining, I also check the level of the stone and check for any scratches. Scratches will interfere with my image. I want the stone to be a smooth as a sheet of Rives BFK, having a slight tooth to the surface so the drawing materials will adhere nicely.

So while it is painstaking, it is also very meditative. Like kneading dough for a baker. Or at least that's how I imaging kneading dough would be like!

Old wood, new groove

"Destroyed" the block from a series of monoprinted woodcuts I started years ago. Still love the idea of the image but the image itself needed to change. Here's the proof so far. Still needs some work, stay tuned...

Let's read a story! more from the DeCordova

Forgot I shot this short vid on my phone!

DeCordova fun with Jlee

Earlier this week my little man and I went to a faculty holiday party at the DeCordova Museum. But the best fun was had in the museum's Process Gallery with an installation by Nadya Volicer, called "Brain Storm." Hundreds of leaves and birds made of hand made recycled paper swirled and whirled around the walls of the room. The floor was made of quilted squares of recycled fabrics. And tree stumps were created of rolled recycled magazines. In the center of it all was a large "tree" made of recycled wood pieces. Even cooler, there were books! Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go," "The Giving Tree," and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

We took our shoes off before entering and the quilted floor felt neat and springy under our toes. There was one big tree stump and two smaller tree stumps, which Jackson enjoyed climbing atop of, ready to hear a story. He was also magnificently awed by the kaleidoscope of paper leaves, and the texture of the big tree in the center. We'll visit again in the winter, as it would be a great room to relax in after a bit of sledding outside in the sculpture park!