Fire Up Litho! (I guess:)

  After years of asking, the administration finally agreed to let me move the Conrad litho press that has been mothballed for years, into my classroom. So, even though it wasn't really on my agenda, I guess I will be setting up a grinding station (outside, with a table and a hose) and getting something drawn on a small stone so I can crank out a print or two this summer. It would be so great if I could actually offer litho as an option to my students next fall.

    I think this little image came out of my time at Wheatland a couple of years ago. I've done it about 100 times and never achieved a final product with it. Maybe all it needs is a smooth stone and a good litho crayon. I reckon I'd better practice with pencil and paper first!

Novice

I made this drawing at the same time I made Guitar Kami and Journeyman. They are kind of a triptych, of the stages of development in learning an instrument and becoming an artist. We have a program at Ferris called Music Industry Management, a very popular program in which students learn the ins and outs of the music industry. Many of them are guitar players on the side, and they always look so cute and sort of vulnerable in their playing, underneath all the energy they put out. So, I'm entering this for today's IF challenge, beginner.

Guitar Kami

I finally got a good plate for this image, no thanks to my daydreaming tendencies. I was off in another world while burning the aquatint for this plate and exposed it for 10 seconds too long. I didn't want to risk using it for the quilt (I've had enough troubles with that!) so I hauled out this drawing and quick used it to make this plate. It turned out, so it was a happy accident after all.

Pawn Shop Guitar

This girl has enough to make her happy.

When I was 12, I bought a guitar at a pawn shop for $18. I was totally in love with it, and as soon as I woke up the next morning, I grabbed it and started tuning it. My mother, who has a gift for photography, took my picture, and it looks like this. I can't take an ounce of credit for this composition, but the painting is mine, even though it is in a completly different style than usual.

Punchline

IF: How do you confuse a guitar player? Put a piece of sheet music in front of him!

Journeyman

Today's IF topic is Muscles, so I reckon this guy fits.

When I first posted this drawing, I was reading a lot of Japanese folk tales, in which there are lots of beings imbued with a sort of divine spirit. The spirit is called 'mononoke', which might sound familiar because of the excellent anime film by Miyazaki called Princess Mononoke.

Sometimes, when people can do something really well, it seems like they tap into a spirit like that. It usually takes a long time to develop such ability. Maybe that's where he got all his muscles.