Monday Multiples: Narcissus by Andrea Starkey

Here's another case of a shop so full of lovely prints I had a hard time deciding which one to feature. Because I'm in a spring mood, though, I chose this narcissus reduction linocut.


Andrea Starkey's Etsy shop, starkeyart, features hand-pulled linocuts and woodcuts of trees, forests and other natural subjects in soft, earthy colours. Go look at the loveliness.

New Bookbinding Article

I've finally got back into writing my "Bookbinding Basics" column (formerly "Leaf by Leaf") for Handmade News. The latest one, in preparation for more tutorials, is "Basic Toolkit." It describes what I think are the few tools you really need to do most bookbinding, from basic to intermediate structures at least. These are the tools I wouldn't want to be without. If you read the article and like it, it'd be nice if you could click the little "thumbs-up" doohickey at the bottom.

It's a Coming

Spring, that is. Bill spotted a couple of new visitors to the birdseed in the past couple of days, one of which was a grackle, and grackles are spring/summer birds around these parts.

If that's not enough evidence, I found a couple of dandelions (or dandelion-like weeds) flowering next to the house. I'd take a photo, but I keep forgetting until it's shady where they are and they've closed up their flowers for the night. But they're there and I've seen them.

The pheasant has continued to come back almost every day, strutting up the driveway with his long tail at a 45-degree angle. And yesterday we saw a big brown hawk chasing another bird in our yard. It happened so fast there was no chance to identify either bird except brown hawk with pale head and something vaguely falcon-shaped. Maybe. Of course I didn't have my glasses on, but I was at least outside or I might not have seen them at all.

And most evenings (and even some surprisingly early afternoons) we hear an owl hoo-hooing in the nearby woods. Plus there was that skunk last week that woke me up with his delightful smell at 5:30 am. So spring is definitely on its way, though the weirdness that is Nova Scotia weather could still mean cold and wet, or even snow again, before the winter gives up.

Addendum: So those dandelion-like weeds I mentioned are in fact coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), and according to my one book on NS plantlife (Edible Wild Plants of Nova Scotia by Heather MacLeod and Barbara MacDonald), they shouldn't be blooming for another two months. Hmm. At any rate, they weren't in shade yet when I popped outside (and I discovered many more of them), so I took a few photos of which this is one:


I'm going to need a good general book on NS plants (that includes the non-edible variety) before this season gets too far advanced.

[BFG] Latest Videogame Writing

Once upon a time, I started trying to cover more homebrew on my work site, About PSP, but I eventually gave up because it's so easy to get confused. I did succeed, however, in downgrading my PSP (an old PSP-1000 model) to firmware version 1.50, the best version for homebrew.

Lately, I've given it another shot, and started a series of articles on how to run homebrew on verious firmware versions and models of PSP. Here's the series so far, with many more to come in the weeks ahead.

• How to Run Homebrew on a Firmware 1.00 PSP
• How to Run Homebrew on a Firmware 1.50 PSP

I've also returned to a series of very fun, but perhaps not very traffic-attracting, articles on classic handheld gaming consoles. To make them suitable for the site, of course, I can't just write little historical sketches for each one. Instead, I have to relate them to the PSP, which has actually turned out to be a fun challenge, and I think may have resulted in somewhat better articles than I might otherwise have written. Here's that series (so far).

The PSP and the History of Handheld Videogaming

• Introduction to the Archaeology of the PSP
• The PSP and Milton Bradley's Microvision
• The PSP and Epoch's Game Pocket Computer

And in yesterday's mail I got a review copy of Konami's Shadow of Destiny, a remake (or maybe just a port, I'm not sure) of a 2001 PS2 game. That'll be my next review, sometime next week. My last review was Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, which I loved so much I'm going to download the original Silent Hill PSOne game to my PS3, and start playing through the whole series.

Watch This. Right Now.

Click this.

Wednesday Wishlist: Tiny Robot by Industrial Fairytale

I knew Industrial Fairytale was going to make an appearance in the Wishlist sooner or later, it was just a matter of choosing which marvelous thing to feature. Scrolling through her Etsy shop today, I realized that of course, it must be Tiny Robot. So here is "Tiny Robot and His Cold Metal Heart."


Industrial Fairytale is Sarah Dungan who, aside from making adorable tiny robots, cephalopod pendants and other delightful polymer clay things, also does lovely illustrations (and you can consider her self-published art books on the Wishlist too, even if I didn't include a picture) (actually, most of the stuff in her shop is on my wishlist). She's a fellow member of the Etsy Steam Team (there's a logo link over there in the left column somewhere, if you want to find out more), has her own blog, and co-runs the Cephalopod Tea Party blog. You can find more of her work on her website.

Monday Multiples: Phalanx by chartwellprint

This week's featured print is "Phalanx" by chartwellprint on Etsy.



The artist works with traditional printmaking techniques on copper (I also prefer copper for intaglio prints), and looks to fishing and watery things for subjects. All the prints are accomplished but I especially like the juxtaposition of different patterns and surfaces in "Phalanx."

[BFG] Wow . . .

I really don't like Microsoft (no, it's not a Mac/PC fangirl thing, I'm just tired of their stuff not working) (ok, maybe it is a Mac/PC fangirl thing), but their upcoming Courier "digital journal" looks really amazing. It could be very disappointing, but it looks like I've always thought e-book should and opens like -gasp!- a book.

That doesn't mean I don't want an iPad any more (boy do I ever). Of course, it'll be a loooong time before I can afford either one, so I guess it's moot.

Addendum: Maybe the reason I like is that it looks like an iPad that folds closed like a book . . .

Wednesday Wishlist: Steampunk Heart

Monster Kookies makes wonderfully fantastic anatomically correct heart pendants. Like this one:


They're sculpted in polymer clay, painted and embellished. I love how this one looks like clockwork. Others look like little scientific heart models, and one even looks like wood.

You can find these very cool hearts at the Monster Kookies Etsy shop, along with zombie cupcakes, clockwork birds and other cute-creepy things. Go look, it's fun. You can also find Monster Kookies work on deviantArt.

Monday Multiples: Swan Monotype

Technically, a monotype isn't a multiple, so this week the feature's title is a misnomer, but it's still a print, so I'm including it. So this week's featured print is "Swan," a monotype print by Lori Dean Dyment of Dean Dyment Studios.



You'll find Dean Dyment Studios on Etsy, where there's a shop full of wonderful monotypes, linocuts and other prints. Lori Dean Dyment also has a blog, So I was thinking ..., where you can read about her work and find out what some of her favorite art on the web is.

Writing

Just a quick note. I've been blogging a bit about writing (so far a very little bit, but will do more as I get myself back in gear) over on my other blog BFG. That doesn't mean I won't write about my writing here, just that most of the writing I've been doing lately fits BFG subject matter better. When I do some more writing about craft, I'll blog about it here.

It may turn out to be a bad idea, trying to separate these two parts of my life. In reality, of course, they're quite well integrated in me. But I realize that the people who come to this blog (besides friends and family who have been reading since the beginning) are most likely expecting to read about my art and craft, not about video games and comics (though, of course, I also draw comics, so that's part of my art, too).

Anyway, back to work.

Blog Ring: Tuscan Road Designs

This week's featured blog in the Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring is Tuscan Road Designs. The proprietor of Tuscan Road says this of herself:

I love to work with color and texture, Swarovski Crystal and the natural beauty of Semi Precious Gemstones. Many of my pieces have an eclectic, asymmetrical style. I have consistently been inspired during my numerous world travels, always keeping an eye out for the beautiful and unusual bead or idea that helps make these one-of-a-kind creations so unique.

She's certainly got a knack for combining a bunch of different elements into funky jewellery, as you can see from this piece:


The featured blogger from the other HAF ring is CJGrand, who just happens to be a watcher of this very blog (hi!).

[BFG] Aw, Crap

Well, The Madness of Kentaurs didn't make the cut. Here's the pitch that didn't get me to the next round (and yeah, I know, it's not exactly a typical submission pitch--I followed some advice from previous entrants whose pitches did make it through last year):

It is the time of year when once wild things become wild again, still wild things become wilder, and civilized things shut their doors and pretend they had never been wild.

During the season of madness, the kentaurs of the Pelion foothills—those half-horse, half-human creatures that humans call “centaurs”—journey from their home villages to the sacred lands across the Acheron River. Horses find the kentaur herd irresistible and often run away from their human masters to join the herd. One day, Octavian, stable-boy and floor cleaner at the local inn, gets carried off by the innkeeper’s horse, and ends up trapped in the kentaur herd. He is placed under the charge of Ixion, a young kentaur shaman-in-training, who begins to teach him that kentaurs are not the barbaric, half-sentient beasts he had thought they were.

And then the dreams begin. Dreams in which ancient, cold things with too many teeth steal the boys’ tongues and threaten to steal their sanity. Now Octavian and Ixion both have to learn enough about the otherworld to make it though a grueling initiation ceremony across the Acheron, River of Woe. But first, Octavian has to gain acceptance from the kentaur herd.

The Madness of Kentaurs is a young-adult fantasy novel that explores the ideas of difference and belonging that all children face as they become adults.

Stories about who we are and where we came from become very different when told from different points of view, as I learned while studying for my degrees in archaeology and folklore. The concept of belonging is one I have explored in other writing, including a number of short stories published in semi-professional venues.


Yeah, that last paragraph really makes me cringe.

So, what now? Guess I'll work on the pitch a bit, write a cover letter, and send it to some publishers. All they can do is say no.

And I'll get back to work on the next one.

[BFG] Killing Time and Biting Nails

Today is the big day. Well, actually it's only a somewhat significant milestone on the way to the big day, but it seems really, really big right now.

So what the hell am I talking about? Today, February 25, is the day they announce who goes on to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. The judging, for this portion, is based entirely on the "pitch." That's 300ish words of me saying why my novel is good. I'll post it later on, maybe, once I find out whether or not I made the cut.

I don't think I'm going to get very much done today.

Wednesday Wishlist: Miniature Pocket Globe

I've been eying this tiny globe from Bo Press for some time now.


Bo Press is the work of Patricia Sweet, who designs and prints (digitally) tiny books and globes and maps and binds them using traditional binding techniques. Not only are the books tiny and lovely, but they are full of exactly the kinds of things I like: science (especially the mad sort), maps, folklore, and the like. Please have a look at the Bo Press Etsy shop, where you'll find all this and more.

I especially want to feature Bo Press, not just because Patricia Sweet makes such cool stuff, but because I am also a happy customer and I can tell you that the customer service is top-notch. I purchased a tiny Bo Press book on eBay some time ago. When it got lost in the mail, it was not only quickly replaced, but a lovely bonus was included as well. I will definitely buy more Bo Press things--and I especially want one of those globes. Plus, I've been inspired to make more tiny books of my own (you can see some of my miniature books, in jewellery form, in my Anagram for Ink Etsy shop).

Edit: Also check out the Bo Press website for all the books and globes, and if you feel like buying something, I'd advise buying it from the website rather than the Etsy shop, so more of the purchase price goes to the artist.

New Neighbour

This rather dashing fellow stopped by for lunch earlier today.


I'm not sure if he's new to the neigbourhood, or has just been shy.

Monday Multiples (a day late): Belted Kingfisher

This week's Monday Multiple (yeah, yeah, late again), presented by Anagram for Ink, is a print by Anagram Press. Nice name for a press, don't you think? This print is part of a series of birds, which I'd love to bind in an album, but the printer also makes artist's books and probably doesn't need my help (grin).


Anagram Press is Chandler O'Leary, who does letterpress, lino and artist's books. You can read more about the work on the Anagram Press Etsy shop, website, and blog, or follow them on Twitter.

[BFG] Video Game Art Review

Video Game Art by Nic Kelman. New York: Assouline Publishing, 2005. (Cover image copyright Assouline Publishing and Konami.)

Being poor and a lover of books, I often find myself shopping in the remainder (aka "Bargain Books") section of Chapters, even though both Chapters (big box store for books) and the idea of remaindered books are a little dubious. Still, it's possible to get fantastic deals there, especially in art books.

Anyway, on my most recent trip, when the boy and I went after the holiday rush was over, one of the books I brought home was Video Game Art by Nic Kelman. I picked it up mostly because I'm interested in the whole phenomenon of digital art, and it's nice to have mementos of well-designed games that I'll probably never play again (for the same reason, I have art books from Gadget, Myst and Syberia--and the Syberia one is in French, of which I can read only a very small amount). The cover of the book does not inspire confidence, featuring a tacky lenticular image as it does, so I wasn't expecting a whole lot more than a superficial look at the art design of games coupled with some nice pictures.

So I was pleasantly surprised to discover a very readable scholarly essay on why we should count video games among the media allowed in the hallowed records of art history. The author placed particular emphasis on how games reflect myth and the heroic journey, which is a strong argument. It would be interesting to compare some video games with Joseph Campbell's hero's journey (even though I think Campbell vastly oversimplified mythology, he's very popular in film scholarship).

This book would make useful reading for game designers, as Kelman points out some of the ways game design has become codified (or petrified), and how it could venture into new territory. The emphasis is primarily on games with narrative structure, though there is some discussion of non-story-oriented games, too.

My primary quibbles with Video Game Art are physical. The gimicky cover I've already mentioned. The paper was also a little problematic. Though the heavy, smooth stock that the publisher chose was really good for reproducing the images, the book is not particularly large for an art book, so the stiffness of the pages made turning and holding them for reading more awkward than it should have been.

The really big issue was a printing problem. In at least three places, when a sentence broke off at the end of the page, it simply vanished and was never completed. And the last time this happened, instead of picking up at the next sentence or paragraph, the opening paragraphs of the chapter were repeated. Add this to the rampant minor typos, and the copyeditor in me was continually jarred out of the joy of reading the otherwise well-written prose.

Anyway, problems aside, Video Game Art is a useful addition to the so far scarce scholarly literature on video games.

Airship Blueprint

One of the things I'm working on right now is a commission for a large-scale blueprint-style airship drawing. I recently posted six concept sketches on my Flickr and had the client look at them. He sent me his comments and ideas, so now I'm working on a sketch that incorporates everything.

The Jules Verne is Frisland Air Ships' flagship, and is most famous for having carried the infamous Dr Sophia Shallowgrave around Frisland on one of her early exploratory journeys. Currently, the Jules Verne is a luxury passenger liner, with regular sailings to Frisland's far north, as well as to destinations overseas.

DAV Santos-Dumont. Darwin Aero Vessels prefers to keep the gasbag entirely separate from the gondola and observation posts, and frequently chooses non-rigid and semi-rigid designs.

Though Frisland Air Ships currently builds only rigid airships, it has experimented with semi-rigid designs, such as the Lebaudy-Julliot.

The pirate ship Flying Fish may have been constructed by the pirates themselves, as there are no records of it being built at any of the shipyards or workshops in Frisland.

Courier Ship Shooting Star, built at the Mountain Vista Shipyards in Peak City, Frisland. This ship features a single steam ray cannon, multiple black powder rail cannons and two experimental steam propulsion units.

The HMS Sgian Dubh was secretly constructed for Queen Victoria by Frisland Air Ships of Darwin, Frisland, as the Royal Air Navy's flagship. Armaments by Darwin Cannon & Sidearms Manufactory of Darwin, Frisland.

Now I think I'll repost this over on BFG, due to the extremely geeky nature of this particular project.

Spring Cards: Proof

I don't have much else to show on the spring cards. I had planned to have them printed by now, but I got sick, then it snowed, and then it snowed some more. I'm hoping now to get in to print them on Monday, along with a reprint of a self-published poetry book cover for a local aspiring writer, and some ink tests for an upcoming wedding invite job. But it all depends on the crazy Nova Scotia weather.

Anyway, here's a digital proof of the bluejay card. Keep in mind that it will look much better as a letterpress card. Sometime soon I'm going to put together a sample book that shows letterpress vs digital printing with the same images side-by-side. I might use the bluejay card as one of my examples.

More for Sandra Brownlee: Deluxe Edition

A while back, I bound a big pile of exhibition catalogues for textiles artist Sandra Brownlee. More recently, I worked on the deluxe edition of the catalogue, which featured hand-worked pages, textile additions and a woven paper cover. The inclusion of pages made from textiles and the mounting of various items meant the binding went much slower than that of the paperback edition, even though most of the textblock was the same. It was also more challenging--and thus more interesting--to work on.

To speed up the process of punching sewing holes--a tedious exercise when you're doing a lot of them, I used this jig made of stiff card, needles, and tape. The closest needle in the photo sticks out quite a bit farther than the others, to rest the bottom of the sections against, so all the holes end up punched in the same place on each section. The main problem with this process is that, with so many needles, it's much easier to jab yourself. (My number one bookbinding injury is needle pokes.)


Some of the added pages in the deluxe edition were actual textiles. There was a section of folded polka-dot sheer fabric, a translucent fabric section with a photograph digitally printed on it, and this one, a handwoven hemp page.



Other deluxe pages feature hand-drawing, embroidery, hand-poked holes, texture, and this fold-out section showing the whole length of one of Sandra's weavings.


There's some possibility that the non-deluxe, paperback edition of the catalogue may be reprinted, and if that's the case, I'll probably work on the binding again. Sandra is a wonderful person to work for. She's so enthusiastic about craft and appreciative of even the most basic handbinding, that I always go away from our meetings feeling fantastic about what I do.

Recent Reading

So lately this blog has turned into a showcase for cool art by other people, which is fine. I love to share the great stuff I find. On the other hand, this blog is supposed to be mostly about my own work. So today I'm going to spend some time writing about what I'm doing here in my studio home in the snowy woods (and oh, yes, it is snowy).

So first, I mentioned somewhere back there in a previous post that I was going to try the 50 books blog challenge again this year. So far I've read a bunch of stuff, but haven't blogged about it. So here are the things I've read since the beginning of the year.

1. Crossing Over: Where Art and Science Meet by Stephen Jay Gould and Rosamond Wolff Purcell (non-fiction) buy from Amazon
2. Zeppelins West by Joe R. Lansdale (fiction) buy from Amazon
3. Mouse Guard by David Petersen (comics/graphic novel) buy from Amazon
4. The Complete Guide to Prints and Printmaking ed. John Dawson (non-fiction) buy from Amazon
5. Hannah's Garden by Midori Snyder (fiction) buy from Amazon
6. The Blue Girl by Charles deLint (fiction) buy from Amazon
7. Mangaka America ed. Steelriver Studio (non-fiction) buy from Amazon
8. Video Game Art by Nic Kelman (non-fiction) buy from Amazon

I've got a few others in progress, too, so I'm doing pretty well. I might end up dividing the list in 50 each of fiction, non-fiction and comics/GNs yet.

Re-Post from My Other (new) Blog, BFG

Once upon a time, I used my blog to write about everything. I blathered on about writing, reading, my art, comics, craft, and my life. It was kind of a public journal for my friends and family to keep up to date on what I was doing, because I have a tendency to pick up and move to the other side of the country with little or no warning.

Now that I'm trying to become a little more serious about my letterpress printing and bookbinding business, it seems that craft and art have taken over Anagram for Ink. And I realized that the people who read my blog for my writing about art and craft might not be interested in video games, or comics, or anime. But those are still things I love and things I am around every day. Also, even though I can use my work blog to talk about videogames, my job is really supposed to be PlayStation Portable specifically, so I can't really babble about the great anime I watched the other day.

It feels a bit like I'm separating myself into two different personalities, but this way the people who want to read about bookbinding and printing can go to Anagram for Ink, and the people who want to read about comics and videogames and SF can go to BFG. And my poor friends and family will just have to read both. But then some of them think I don't blog often enough, anyway.

Wednesday Wishlist: Winged Scarab Necklace

Unfortunately, today's wishlist item was sold some time ago, but I love it so much I just had to feature it anyway. Behold the Winged Scarab Necklace in Copper by Clockwork Crow.


You'll find Clockwork Crow's Etsy shop full of other lovely adornments in copper, silver, brass and found objects. The airship pendant is also very, very nice, and would have been my pick for the wishlist if the scarab wasn't so stunning. You can also find Clockwork Crow on Facebook.

Blog Ring: Red Fox Jewelry

The featured blogger from the Handmade Artists Forum this week is Red Fox Jewelry. I can't help but like something with "fox" in the title, even before I see the work. Which is silly, I suppose, but I like foxes.

If you pop over the the Red Fox Jewelry Etsy shop, you'll find all sorts of pretty things to adorn yourself with, made with chainmaille, beads and wirework, including this delicious bracelet.



The second featured blogger ('cause there are actually two rings) is Reef Botanicals, maker of lovely smelling soaps, candles and related products.

And to catch up with those blogs I missed the past few weeks while I was sick and/or trying to remember where I left my brain, here are the featured blogs from Feb 7 -14. From Ring One was Haffina Creations ("a mum of 5 who creates unique pieces of jewellery and beaded items") and me (you are here). Yeah, I missed my own week as a featured blogger. Sigh. I need to assign myself a specific day to do the blog ring posts.

And from the week of Jan 31 - Feb 6 we have from Ring Two: A Painting Mom ("Random thoughts and quotes shared by a happily married mom with three kids trying to balance family life and a thriving home based business") and from Ring One: 'Twas Brillig, who says this: "Often found tinkering with things probably best left alone. Happy when playing with power tools and/or wire cutters. Bead-a-holic. Shutterbug. Will spray paint anything that doesn't move. Runs with scissors."

Monday Multiples: Vixen in the Snow

This week's print was so hard to choose. I knew exactly which artist I wanted to feature, but she has so many lovely things. Science! Sea things! All those things I love. I had decided on the nautilus, but then I found this lovely fox.


You'll find this linocut print and other equally beautiful ones in things from secret minouette places on Etsy. You can also find out more about minouette on her blogs magpie & whiskeyjack and the ongoing saga of minouette. Plus, she's got a Facebook fan page, so go become a fan if you like her work.

Wednesday Wishlist: Octopus Love

So, it's getting close to that love-it-or-hate-it holiday, Valentine's day, and to celebrate I present to you the perfect Valentine's gift for your sweetheart. If your sweetheart happens to be me.


This is the Octopus Love pendant from OctopusME Jewelry on Etsy. Each piece is hand cast in sterling silver from real octopus tentacles, then hand finished. I love just about everything in this shop, but mostly the tentacles.

Monday Multiples (a day late): A Walk in the Woods by Atelier Conti

I was in the big city all day yesterday, and didn't get home until midnight, so this week's Monday Multiple is a Tuesday Multiple.

This time I bring you a beautiful print from Atelier Conti, a printmaking studio in France. Do take time to browse their Etsy shop; it's full of beautiful work. The one I'm completely enchanted with, though, is this:


It's "A Walk in the Woods," a 5-colour aquatint etching. I wish I had a fraction of such ability with aquatint.

They've also got a blog, if you want to see what the studio looks like and learn more about the processes involved. If I ever go to France, I'll see if they'll let me drop by for a visit.

Wednesday Wishlist: Octopus Pendant

For this week's Wednesday Wishlist, I bring the truly wonderful work of Sheryl Westleigh (aka noadi on Etsy). I had such a hard time choosing one piece to feature here that I have to recommend you go browse through her whole shop. It's "Squid & Science Inspired Jewelry"--truly an artist after my own heart.


I finally settled on the Orange Octopus above to show you, but I love them all. Each one is hand-crafted from polymer clay and you can tell from the photos how lovingly made they are. Not only are there octopuses, there are also squid, cuttlefish, nautiluses, and things in jars! (And yes, I would happily trade a calendar or book or something for one of these. Or real money, if I had it.)

Monday Multiples: Morning Walk by Rudolf Kurz

There's just something about the line quality in an etching that makes it so rich. Just looking at it, you can almost imagine running your fingers over the surface of the print and feeling the raised lines of ink.

This week's print pick is "Morning Walk" by Rudolf Kurz (aka Rudolfkurz on Etsy). The artist describes this print as, "Two slightly seedy looking characters are taking their pets for a walk." Their pets, of course, are little dinosaurs, which appeals to my sense of the bizarre and whimsical.


You can find this print and other, similarly strange, works in the artist's Etsy shop. It's also included in a lovely book, Looking for Snails on a Sunday Afternoon, published by the fabulous Porcupine's Quill (who also publish the printer's journal Devil's Artisan).

Blog Ring: Jewelry by NaLa

Well, I managed to miss last week's featured blog (but see below). Sigh. This week's blog is NaLa: Delicately Elegant Jewelry. Blogger NaLa says of herself, "I'm just a natural born crafter. Jewelry making is not my first venture into the world of crafting, but it is definitely my favorite."

You can see more of her work, and buy some if you're so inclined, in her Etsy shop, Jewelry by NaLa. Here's a piece that caught my eye:


The featured blogger in the other Handmade Artists Forum blog ring this week is Kitzbitz Art Glass, maker of stunning handmade beads. Last week, which I mentioned that I missed, the featured bloggers were fiber/felt artist FiberArtistToo and Bejewelled and Beguiled from Lynwood Jewelry.

Wednesday Wishlist: LaMech

Part two of promoting art and craft and getting myself blogging regularly is the Wednesday Wishlist. Basically, this is going to be cool, mostly handmade stuff I find online that I would buy for myself if I had the money. Sometimes I will buy them for myself. But if you're looking for gifts for me (hint, hint) here is a good place to start. Or, you know, cool gifts for anyone. Anyone cool, that is.

My first pick is actually something that was near the top of my to-buy-when-I-have-money list, but has now been removed, on account of I'm trading a Flying Machines calendar for one. So don't buy this for me, but do buy it for the other cool people in your life.


This is the Mechanical Companion (LaMech for ladies and GeMech for gents), made by the tremendously talented Haley Moore (aka toenolla) and available for purchase at High London Mechanical. Or if you prefer Etsy, you can also get it there. See more of Haley's work on her deviantART page.

Monday Multiples: Purple Shore Crab by ploverwing

As part of my efforts to promote art and craft, and to get myself blogging more regularly, I've decided to start a series of more-or-less weekly posts. Actually, I hope to do a couple of series focusing on different things. Monday's post, "Monday Multiples," will focus on printmaking and related disciplines. You might find artist's books in here, though I'll probably have a separate day for those. You may even find the odd one-of-a-kind item (like, say, a monoprint or some other kind of art on paper).

So my very first ever Monday Multiples pick is this Purple Shore Crab by Amie Roman (aka ploverwing) on Etsy.


I really love her whole "BC Bestiary" series, and if I had a bunch of extra cash, I'd buy them all and make a special hand-bound album for them. Or put them all over my wall. She's from Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, which is almost spitting distance from where I lived in Duncan. Sometimes I miss BC terribly.

Amie Roman is also only of the organizers of Printsy, the Etsy printmaking team, which I recently joined (I'm working on getting better images of my prints to add to the Flickr group). To search for other members, just type "printsy" in the searchbox on Etsy. And if anyone just happens to be gift shopping for me (yeah, I know, it's months till my birthday), you can consider Monday Multiples posts to be part of the Wednesday Wishlist. Which I haven't even posted about yet. Hah!

Spring Cards: Preliminary Design

I started working on my spring card designs today. I need to pick up some stuff in Halifax next week, and I want to be able to send at least one new card to film while I'm there. Ideally I'd like to send as many as I can fit on an 11 x 17 inch film, but we'll see how much I can get done.

My plan is to do a series of cards featuring Nova Scotia wildlife. I'm starting with birds, since they're around me every day, and they're a popular subject. Despite the fact that it's the middle of winter and my bird feeders are crowded, birds still evoke spring. Anyway, I hope to eventually do four different birds, four plants, and four animals, and maybe expand from there. I originally thought six was a good number, but I have these plastic card sleeves that allow for the customer to see four different designs without having to remove any of them, so four seems to make more sense to start with. Maybe, come to think of it, I should try to do one each of bird, plant (or berry, or flower), tree and animal, to begin with. Or maybe I can do colour themes: bluejay, blueberry, bluebell (are those local?), blue . . . spruce? Heh.

Anyway. Bluejay is the first design I'm tackling, because I have some good photos of my own neighbours to work from. I'll do each card as two plates: one black, and one colour. It limits the design somewhat, but it's not cost effective to do more than two colours for most cards. Obviously, I'll print the bluejay in black and blue.


Here I'm working out where each colour will go. The bluejay is the perfect bird for a two colour print, because they're blue and black and white. Well, OK, and grey, but I can represent that as the white of the paper with some cross-hatching. The branch, being less important, will just be in black.

Next, I'll make two separate drawings from this design and scan them. I'll write more about that later, as I finish each stage and have something to show. I think I'll keep the images fairly lose and sketchy. I have a tendency to try to be too perfect, but I think in this case less formal will be more interesting. Maybe. We shall see.

I've been thinking hard about what other birds to do. If I base them on my own surroundings, I'll probably choose either downy or hairy woodpecker (they're so similar that there's no point in doing both) in black and red, and chickadee in black and beige. But I should probably also remind myself that spring will bring other birds, some of them perhaps more iconic of the province. Which reminds me, I really ought to see what the provincial bird is.

Ah! Osprey. That's cool. I can do him in black and brown. Now, I need to tweak that jay's tail a little bit, and maybe give him more of a standy-uppy crest.

Blog Ring: Speranza Jewelry

One of the things I've joined in on, in an attempt to meet my goal of promoting craft in general and my own work in particular, is the Handmade Artists Forum Blog Ring. The idea is that one blog is chosen each week, and everyone else in the ring posts about that blog, then posts the link to their post on the forum. Then everyone reads everyone else's posts and comments, and so on. That way, the featured blog gets lots of inbound links, and the bloggers doing the featuring get lots of comments. Both of these things can boost a blog up in Google search, among other things.

This week's featured blog (yes, I'm a little late to the party, but I thought posting later in the week might help spread things out, since most other ring members will post early in the week, if that makes any sense) . . .

Let me start that sentence again. This week's featured blog is Speranza Jewelry. The blog is quite new, with only a few posts, but it looks very promising. The blurb under the blog title says, "My First Year on Etsy – A Blog About Art, Entrepreneurship, and the Handmade Movement," indicating that this could be a very useful and inspirational blog for other crafters just starting out.

Aside from a blog with great potential, Speranza Jewelry also (as you might have already guessed) has an Etsy shop. Here's something really lovely:


As a side note, the HAF Blog Ring is actually two rings. I'm in ring two. This week's featured blog in ring one is Heather's Haven. Also, the blog ring actually started last week, with everyone in a single ring, but I got distracted and forget to post. Last week's blog was Seedlings Jewelry.

And The Winner Is . . .

I finally got myself organized and chose the winner of the 2010 "Flying Machines: possible and improbable" calendar.


I determined the winner my counting up how many entries each person had and writing their name on that many slips of paper. Then I shuffled the papers, put them in a box and shook it vigorously, opened the box and shook it a little more, than asked my lovely assistant (the fabulous BillyZ) to draw one of the slips.

So without further ado, the winner is Sunshine Folk! Yaaaaaayyyy! (Imagine Kermit the Frog and his arm-flailing enthusiasm--and if you don't know what I'm talking about, get thee to a video rental place and get some old Muppet Show episodes.)

I didn't get the huge response I was secretly hoping for, but I think the contest was successful in its own modest way, and I'm thinking about having another contest sometime in the not too distant future.

If you didn't win, and you're very sad about it, you can still buy a copy of the calendar on Etsy or ArtFire. And if you read this blog, I'll give you a secret free postage discount. Just post here, and I'll make a special Etsy or ArtFire (your choice) listing just for you. There's no time limit on this offer--as long as I have calendars to sell, you can get free shipping by posting here. (If you want to buy several items, let me know and if the postage isn't too high, I'll give you free shipping on your whole order. If the shipping is a bit steep, I'll knock off the cost of the calendar shipping from the total.)

Anyway, THANK YOU!!! to everyone who entered. You guys are the best.

Winner Coming Soon

Many, many thanks to all who entered my contest! I'll be tallying the entries and posting a winner soon. Whee!

Tools of the Trade: Quoins and Weights

Some of the smaller tools for bookbinding and printing are things we don't always think about. They're not as exciting or as romantic as century-old presses or handcrafted wooden sewing frames (topics for future posts, I think), and they're not as often in our hands as bone folders or etching needles. But they are dead useful just the same.

Quoins

Pronounced "coins," these little devices are what printers use to lock type in a chase, or cuts on the press bed. Quoins come in a wide variety of types, but I've mostly got one. Later, when I'm back in the printshop, I'll photograph some of the other types.


As you can see from the photograph, this type of quoin is made of two separate pieces that fit together. When you use a key (or, in my case, a big screwdriver) you twist them past each other, making them expand in width and put pressure on the furniture (those wood blocks that fill in the extra space between the type and the chase).

I've collected several different brands of this basic type. Each press maker usually also made their own quoins, and in the photograph you can see cast iron versions from Kelsey, Challenge, Warnock and Hempel (I don't know if Warnock or Hempel made presses, but Kelsey and Challenge did). Most of them use friction to stay in place, which is remarkably effective, but the Warnock quoin has a little spring-loaded nub on the inside of each half that pops into dimples on opposing half.


You may have noticed that one of these things is not like the others. It's a bar quoin, in which the parts are joined together. Despite the complexity of construction, it still works the same way. Stick a key in the hole and twist, and the quoin expands (alas, a screwdriver doesn't work on this type, so I've not used it). The advantage of this type is that it only expands in width, and doesn't slide sideways.

Weights

Even less glamourous than quoins are weights, but good weights are essential in a bookbinding shop. They range from bricks wrapped in brown paper, to lead or iron blocks covered in davy board, to specially machined brass.

I'm a little poor in weights at the moment (I've been eyeing the bricks in the garden, but I think I'll have to find a replacement for them before BillyZ will let me have them). I have a couple of very nice chunks of scrap lead that came from a batch of type donated to the Dawson Printshop last year and were rescued from the trash by printmaker and Dawson alumnus Chris Dunnett. We spent an afternoon covering them in davey board (and Chris covered his in bookcloth, too), but then I left them in Joe's studio. Eventually, I'll bring them home.


Here in my own space, I've only got two actual weights. One I just made today. I had a handful of linotype slugs that came locked into the chase of my parlour press when I bought it. Since you can't take linotype apart and reuse the letters, I've just had it sitting around taking up space. Today I finally cut some scrap card and glued it on all six sides of the stack. For fun, I used a scrap piece from the old Dawson packaging on top.

My other weight is an old flat iron that belonged to my grandmother. She had several in her collection. When she passed away last year, Mum asked me what of hers I wanted. I asked for her rock and shell collections, because it was my grandmother who first encouraged me to collect rocks (and my rock tumbler used to be hers, too). Alas, my nephew had already claimed the rocks, but I did get the shells. And I asked for her flat irons. I remember them always decorating her kitchen, which is where we always sat for Sunday tea. I don't know what happened to the rest of them, but Mum managed to snag me one, plus one of the trivets. The iron I have has a lovely smooth wooden handle.


I'm glad to have the things of Gramma's that I have. And not only does the flat iron remind me of her when I look at it, but it's useful, too.

Photo credits, from top to bottom (all by Niko):

• Chase with a cut and furniture. Normally, you'd use at least two quoins--one to apply vertical pressure and one for horizontal. A second quoin is shown apart.
  
• My collection of quoins. I really love the two-piece cast iron ones, and will keep adding to my collection. I suspect the Warnock one might be brass rather than iron, but I'm hesitant to take a file to it to find out.
  
• A weight I made from old lines of linotype and scrap card.
  
• My grandmother's flat iron, now a book weight in my studio.

50 Books and 2010 Goals

Some of you may remember a few years back when I picked up a challenge (I no longer recall who the originator of the challenge was, or where online I found it) to read 50 books in the year and blog about it. That first year, I was single and working entirely from home, and I ended up expanding the challenge to 50 fiction, 50 non-fiction, and 50 graphic novels, and still beating it easily.

So this year I've decided to change things (though I'm not single anymore, and often drive for more than an hour to get to the printshop, which will cut down on my free time). I'll still aim for reading 50 books (and maybe, if it goes well, for 50 fiction, non-fiction and comics). But this year, I'm going to try to bind 50 books.


While I don't count books I've already started in my reading 50 books challenge, I think I will include books started in my binding 50 books challenge, as incentive for me to finish the projects I've started and not finished over the past couple of years. So yeah, this year I aim to bind (at least) 50 books, and I'll blog them here.

And as for 2010 goals, I don't usually make actual New Year's Resolutions, but I do like to start the year with some general goals. This year, besides the 50 books thing, my goals are:

• take White Raven Ink seriously as a business, including registering the name, working on marketing, developing product, getting the website finsihed, etc
  
• finish, or at least get a bunch more done, Fey: Drawing Borders
  
• seriously get back into writing fiction (and maybe even finish White Foxes, Full Moon), including submitting stories and further exploring the possibilities of POD, and writing The Fabulous Forays of Aeryn Daring as an illustrated serial novel
  
• work on illustration, including furthering my skills in Photoshop and Illustrator--one of the projects I'll be doing is full-colour Photoshop illos for Aeryn
  
• work on organizing and cataloging my backlog of photographs
  
• get a portfolio together for Viewpoint Gallery and apply for membership
  
• apply for at least one show
  
• become more active online (one selected sites) in order to network and market my work
  
• make some time to play video games for fun (and not just for work)

Well, I think that's enough for now. Like I said, they're fairly general goals, but that makes them more feasible. 2009 was a pretty good year for me professionally (plus I bought a house!); I'd like 2010 to be even better.


Photos: Top - Copper Manuscript of the Hill People of Frisland. Copper-covered coptic stitch book with Japanese paper pages, hand-done calligraphy and illustrations. Photo and art by Niko.

Bottom - Sneak-preview back cover of an in-progress POD book project (and possible gallery show) called Taxonomy gastronomica (Silvester). Photos and design by Niko.