Jennifer Zalewski Studio

Just a quick post to let you know that I added a new page, aptly titled ‘Books‘ (ha), to my website. It’s my rather lame attempt to try to keep a record of everything I’m reading, have read, etc. Today I spent a wonderful lunch hour at the University library, then went to the main city library branch (for the first time since moving here) after work. Yowza! Talk about Awesomeness Overload!! The Bookworm in me was delirious with joy. I’ve always wanted to keep a record/journal of what I read in a year- whether I like the book or not, – etc etc. Soooo… I decided to “just do it” (as the slogan goes…)

My Current Reading List

I’m always looking for new reads so if you can recommend anything, feel free to post/email~! 

Poor Clifford. His back/hind legs have been getting worse and worse. Last week I looked at trading in my Scion wagon for a minivan, since they are much lower to the ground and don’t require a big “jump.” I kind of felt bad about it though- I’m only 5 or 6 payments away from paying off the Scion loan!! Arg.   I finally decided to stick with the Scion and instead invest in a long, telescoping ramp for him to get in/out of the car.

We already have 2 half-length ramps. Lucy mastered this shorter type, but it was too steep for Cliff, who is an insecure chicken deep at heart (don’t tell him I said that!). I hated to get another ramp when I had 2 laying around but, alas- had to do something, right?

While at Petsmart recently, I saw a few bags of Nature’s Recipe Farm Selects Chicken Slices on sale so I nabbed a couple up. They were perfect for ramp training- smelly and utterly irresistable! First, I left the ramp on the living room floor for a few days so Cliff became used to it. Yesterday, we took the ramp outside, put one end on the car bumper and telescoped it all the way out.

I have to say… I’m SUPER proud of Cliffie! He was very nervous at first. I think the biggest initial challenge was the narrowness of the ramp. He can’t control his back legs very well anymore, so when the ramp was laid flat on the ground and I tried to lure him on, his back legs stumbled a bit on the lipped edges. Also, when the ramp was on the car, he’d try to get on it from the side and stumble a bit trying to lift his back feet up. Poor guy!!  I found that the best way to get him “aboard” was to stand back a few feet and walk him straight towards (and up) the ramp- not stand at the end and let him try to mount it from whichever way he thought best- because his judgement isn’t that great, LOL.

On Monday (oops, I guess that is tomorrow. Why do weekends go so fast??), Cliff has his first vet appointment at a new vet hospital. I did a lot of research to find the best place for him in our new city, and this place is not only within 2 miles but also seems to have state-of-the-art equipment and have greyhound-savvy doctors. The vet he’ll be seeing specializes in elderly animals and oncology so I have high hopes that she’ll be able to give me some info on Cliff’s breathing and back issues. We’ll see how it goes!

I’ve been obsessed since our last camping trip to 8th Lake, and I finally did it… bought a canoe! Wahoo!

It’s an Old Town Discovery 116 Solo Canoe. Cherry red. 43 lbs (theoretically something I can handle by myself). Jack and I took it out for a test drive along the Seneca River, just north of Port Byron:

The trip was a bit more nerve-wracking than our trip at 8th Lake. First of all, at 8th Lake (and in all my canoe adventures as a child) we had a 90 lb. 5-person aluminum Grunman canoe. Lemme just say that a 40 lb. single-person boat handles MUCH MUCH different than a 90 lb. multi-person! When Jack stood up and fidgeted in the OT, the whole boat wobbled like a jello bowl. Seeing on this trip that neither Jack and I had a life jacket (stupid), and I had my cell phone, camera and keys sitting on the floor -subject to totally sinking in the deep river if we tipped (stupid)- well, I was a nervous wreck. Jack did finally settle and I paddled a bit, but not nearly as far as I wanted to go. I’m fairly certain that Jack will need absolute training on LAY DOWN and STAY before I let him back in, LOL!!! And we’ll DEFINITELY be getting life-jackets and a waterproof box for my camera and stuff. But I’m so happy with the purchase, and can’t wait for more outdoor adventures.

Setup of the new studio!

I’ve been working on more monotypes… I’m REALLY liking  the reductive/subtractive method best! I only wish I could do a preliminary sketch first and somehow get it on the plate, instead of just doodling from my head and hoping things come out for the best, lol. I LIKE being free-form and all, but I always worry my dogs might come out too “caricaturey.” Anyway, here’s my next batch…

Above is an “in progress pic” … the plexiglass plate is totally inked, then then I use rags and Q-tips to wipe the ink into an image. In this case, I was doing a beagle chasing (be chased by??) a phantom black panther. Once I got the painting the way I liked it, I pressed a piece of paper up against the wet surface, transferring the ink from plexi to paper… and this produces the monotype:

I’m sorry for the crummy picture! It looks better in person- like a charcoal painting.  I took the photo standing on a chair looking down- obviously not the best angle (duh, nice job Jen).

There is a cool back-story to this image. A friend, K, used to live in my new neighborhood and was telling me about the huge nature preserve/park a block away from me (I have since hiked it with Jack- lots of trails- really beautiful! and so close to home, I love it!). She used to walk her beagles there, when she lived in the ‘hood. Anyway, one of her beagles was terrified of the place- absolutely terrified. She happened to be at a festival and see an animal communicator, so she asked the animal communicator if the beagle dreaded going anywhere-? The communicator talked to the pup, who gave turn-by-turn directions from K.’s driveway to the trailhead of the preserve!! He then said that there was a large black panther that lived back there, and it was very intimidating and scared him a lot. K thought this was funny (panthers in Central NY?? LOL) and then kind of forgot about it. She happened to throw a BBQ a few months later and was telling the story to friends…. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, one of her friends told K that there were legends of phantom mountain lions roaming the hills locally, occassionally seen by startled hikers and such. Were they real sightings? Ghosts (Haudenosaunee legends? We live on their land…)… anyway… when she told me the story I was just blown away by it. The idea of a phantom black panther and K’s little beagle really got my creativity percolating.  I love the way it came out, especially the phantom cat!

Next up…

In one of my previous posts I wrote about Clifford’s jimmy-legs, and how his crazy kicking (and occassional midnight howls) at night led me to wonder about his inner world . What does he dream of? Do greyhounds- so domesticated, so many generations removed from the wild- ever have flashes back to their ancient roots, to times when they ran across Iranian sands as lithe, hard-coated wolves?* I’ve decided to do a series of monotypes exploring this idea.

I like the way this came out…. the ink is pretty rich, and I think it portrays the kind of ethereal-ness I was going for. It’s working title is “Dream Circle” unless I can come up with something better, lol.

Here’s the next. It’s small, a simple ROO to the moon…

This is the most recent… finished last night. Here’s the plexi plate, all inked up, wiped up, and ready to go:

…and here is the ink transferred to paper:

This one was interesting. It started out as Clifford exploring a field, but I kept re-inking and re-wiping and suddenly–before I knew it– the picture was totally different, with Cliff  bounding through the air, caught up in the Energy of the sky.  I wish the ink was a bit darker  on this one, but in spite of that, I love the way it came out, especially the texture I acheived.

Well, that’s it for now. I should have scans soon, and more monotypes on the way. It is SUCH FUN!! I’m so glad I discovered this printmaking process… it’s really blowing my mind.

Anyway, it’s 9:30PM and I’m ready for bed. Is that bad??? This is a little late for me (ugh, I must be getting old?!?!?). ;o)

’till next time…

Jen

*There used to be a theory out there that different “types” of dogs- sighthounds, molosssers, spitz, etc- each originated independently from different subspecies of Canis lupus. It’s been pretty much debunked, I think, but I still find it fascinating…

Along the Cliff Trail

Glad to have my External Hard Drive back, hooray! All it took was a new USB cord. Phew.

Sunday morning, Jack and I did a 2 hour hike at Clark Reservation in Jamesville. Cliff stayed home, not only because of the length but also because of the strenuous trails. A few are okay for older dogs, but most are pretty rugged- rooty, steep inclines, limestone steps and/or hills. Jack and I did the Cliff trail (gorgeous), looped down to the Lake Trail (wonderful), back up to the Cliff Trail, and then cut over to Big Buck Trail, then Mildred Faust back to the parking lot. By the time we were done, temps were in the mid-80′s with high humidity, and we were happy to go home and relax with Cliff.

Jumping the limestone rocks along Cliff Trail...

Lake Trail, along the basin.

This is a great park for a nice long hike! I’m glad to say it didn’t close when Gov. Paterson was threatening to shut down a bunch of state parks earlier this summer. Clark Res is alive and kicking, with quite a few visitors I must say! $4 admission on the weekends, free during the week, with trail maps available at the kiosk.

Jen

We had our first visitors (other than my parents) at the new house this weekend! And everyone brought doggie guests.  We had a super fun time!

Saturday early afternoon, our friends Renee and Rich stopped by with greyhound Mercedes and doxie mix Morgan…

… and in the evening, my Aunt Tina and cousin Mel stopped by with Ivan (GSD) and Annie (Rottie)…

It was great to chat, chat, chat and watch the dogs have fun in the yard. Stop by again, guys, we had such a good time!

Jen

I had great plans for  blogging last night but unfortunately, as soon as my laptop booted up,  I experienced something that you never, ever want to experience when on the computer: The BSoD.  AAAAAHHHHH!  Deep breaths, Serenity now.  Once I got the computer re-booted, I finally figured out (with the help of the diagnoser-tool-thingy) that the USB cord from my laptop to Maxtor hard drive had malfunctioned and caused the hiccup. Phew- I thought it was a virus!!  Alas, despite multiple attempts to resusitate, I couldn’t get the cord to work. I guess I need to go hunting for a new one.

In the meantime, I thought I’d do a quick review on a neat little book I bought at B&N a couple weeks ago. It’s called THE ARTIST IN THE OFFICE by Summer Pierre. It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s about how to retain and nuture your creative self while working a full-time job. The hints, tips and exercises are thought-provoking.  Lots of doodley-pictures and quotes make the pages fly.

I’m usually not one for feel-good self-help books, but this one was pretty fun. The only downside was finding out I paid full price ($13) at my local Barnes & Noble when Amazon has it for $5. Son of a gun, that’s $8 I could have spent on mochas and donuts at Tim Hortons, boo.

Happy Reading!

Jen

It’s tough being frustrated. For the past year or so I’ve really been struggling with my linocuts and woodcuts, and after muffing up my most recent woodcut- gah!!- I wanted to throw the towel in. Relief printmaking isn’t a forgiving process, unfortunately, and I make lots of mistakes. So, on the verge of an emotional and creative meltdown (…maybe already starting down that road?!?), I decided to start experimenting with other media and processes. So maybe starting this new blog, at the same time as totally making-over my life (new job, new house)… was a good thing.

Anyway, it paved the way for playing with the Monotype process.

I admit: I’m not good at experimenting. I want to do thinks right and perfectly from the get-go. I get super frustrated and angry when things don’t come out as planned (endearing personality traits, I know (lol). But I’ve persevered, and have nicely enough been having a ton of fun.

There are a few different ways to make a monotype (as I’ve learned) but the basic jist of the game is that you make a painting, put a piece of paper up against the wet surface, and then run it all through a press. The painting is transferred to the paper, with the pressure of the press (or a baren, or rolling pin, etc if you don’t have a press) making interesting textures in the transfer.

Here are my first attempts (warning, they majorly stink!):

This doodle of Lucy (or the muppet version of Lucy, lol) was done in the subtractive method. That means I rolled my piece of plexiglass with ink, and then used paper towels and rags to wipe away the ink and manipulate it into a painting. I put a piece of paper against it, ran it through my etching press, and wall-ah- the finished Monotype. I used my ol’ Daniel Smith water-solubles for this.

Second try: A green Lucy and a green rabbit. I used the Additive method – meaning I painted directly on the plexiglass, then put paper up against the ink and ran it through the press. I felt like I used too LITTLE ink on the Lucy, so when I tried the rabbit I over-painted, and the press squashed the ink a bit. Interesting. Used DS water soluble ink again.

This (above) started out as a doodle of Cliff, but ended up being a kooky greyhound mix I think, LOL- monotype using the additive method, then because the doodle looked a bit lost-? I used a black Sharpie to sketch in details. Believe me it looked better Pre-Sharpie. This was done with my new Akua Intaglio ink. I added Blender Modifier to it, so it was easy to paint on my plexiglass plate with a brush.

Here’s another monotype- again, additive method. I didn’t add Blender medium so it was harder to brush on the plate with a paint brush.

I have to say… monotypes are superbly fun and addictive. Here was last night’s SERIOUS attempt… I tried to take a bunch of pics to document:

First, I covered my 18 x 24 piece of plexiglass with several layers of Akua Intaglio ink (I realized later I forgot to add blender, oops).

Then I used the tip of a palette knife to sketch a preliminary drawing in the ink. I began using a paper towel and Q-tips to wipe away ink and create Clifford’s shape:

Wiping, wiping and more wiping! If I made a mistake and wiped away too much, I just used my brayer to roll ink over the mistake. Instant “do over!” I can’t do that with linocuts… this was totally awesome and freeing.

After lots and lots of wiping… my painting on the plexi plate is done and ready to be printed:

At this point, I was so super-happy I can’t tell you. This was so spontaneous compared to linocutting and woodblock cutting… so liberating. I love that I didn’t have to pre-plan with tons of prelim sketches, that I could make mistakes and re-do as I went. Super happy time at Dog Hill Studio, lemme tell you!

So now I take a piece of Stonehenge paper and press it against the wet plate. I didn’t use a press, just my marble rolling pin– and then peeled the paper off. Wall-ah!:

(Sorry for the crummy photo. The sheet is so large I had to stand on a chair and look down at it, and even then I couldn’t get it right in the viewfinder. )

There are a few things I’d like to change, but for my first serious monotype? I think it came out pretty nifty! Look forward to making more. In fact, as we speak… I have ink in my studio calling my name. Ciao for now.

Akua Sample Pack

A few weeks (months?) ago, my ugly habit of buying/hoarding art supplies reared it’s ugly head, and I decided to splurge and buy a set of Akua Intaglio inks. Why, you ask? Don’t you HAVE enough inks Jennifer? yes. Do you NEED any more inks, Jennifer? No.  I mean, I have boxes overflowing with ink of all sorts: Daniel Smith, Graphic Chemical, even a few Speedballs; oil-based, water-soluble… EVERYTHING. *Sigh*, I just couldn’t help it.  I went to the Akua website, read a bit, looked at some art, got super-excited and before I knew it… I had ordered a set. And the Safer Printmaking DVD too. Marketers must love me!!

Anyway, I’ve been experimenting with the inks a bit, mostly trying Monotypes (will post some tonight, they aren’t that great but practice makes perfect). I have to say, Akua works a bit differently than the other brands I’m used to, so I’m super-glad I had the Safer Printmaking DVD which offered lots of helpful tips on modifiers, rolling-up, etc. Without it I would have been frustrated I think… doesn’t take much LOL. P I was kind of reluctant to buy the DVD because I’m still madly hoping that VHS will make a comeback so I’m being stubborn about investing in this new technology. But I sucuumbed and it (the DVD-using part) wasn’t as bad as I thought. Video was great- REALLY neat to see printmakers in action- two thumbs up!

Safer Printmaking DVD. Even if you don't use Akua, I highly recommend it- really gives a nice overview of all SORTS of printmaking processes.

I also bought a tube of blending medium, which converts the Akua Intaglio into more fluid, paint-ish ink for Monotype usage (why didn’t I just get the Akua Kolor, which is for Monotype? Who knows).

Just a quick review of my experiments with Akua so far:

PRO

• Totally environmentally friendly! Woo hoo!
• Super easy clean up- sometimes I don’t even need soap (just water). And sometimes I don’t even need water (just a quick swipe with a dry rag). Sweet. I wonder if I can throw my rags in the washing machine, so I can reuse?
• Great resources on the Akua website and Safer Printmaking DVD (linkies above).
• Awesome to use without a press, especially if you add Blending Modifier to the ink. A quick rub with Baren or marble rolling pin (my fave) does the trick quite well, even using thick machine-made paper to print on.

CONS (if you call them that):

• The ink doesn’t smell. Okay, this isn’t a con for most people but I love that turpentiney-linseedy stench that many inks and paints give off, LOL.
• Again, more a personal preference… the ink has a matte/dull finish compared to Daniel Smith or Graphic Chemical, which are bright and lusterous when dry. I’ve only used the Yellow Ochre, Pthalo Green and Carbon Black so far, though.
• Another personal preference: If you like doing washes, this ink is great. If you like printing opaque colors… well, you have to roll up the block several times. This means you use a LOT of ink to get an opaque color, and if you are working big or are poor (because, perhaps, you have two large greyhounds who eat you out of house and home) this could be an issue. I think the DVD said that to print an opaque black, you may need to roll up the block at least 10 times. I rolled up 3-4 times last night and got a very transparent black, so obviously not enough. Hmm.

Well, I think that brings me to the end of this luncthime-break post. Pics of my Monotype experiments (as well as my studio… it’s FINALLY set up!) coming tonight.

Jen