HOORAY, it's Monday!

One of my favorite things about Monday right now is that no matter how much I have to do or what state my studio and work is- I go to an hour and 15 minute  yoga class at Bend Yoga here in Prescott.  They only opened months ago and since I love hot yoga and could take classes only when I traveled- I was really excited to see they were here.  So I started with 2 days a week, went to 3 and now a couple weeks ago added Mondays!!!  I am back in my studio now and ready to start my day and although I worked my butt off for a bit earlier- I am energized and flowing creative energy.

On the agenda, more writing-  I have started my book on digitally printing alternative surfaces. For today I will finish the chapter on my 6 printers so readers can see just how I use all my printing tools.   This book will be crammed full of all sorts of information on my digital printing process.  I will do complete how to's on surfaces I have been creating and sharing and some new.  There will be information on printing with all 6 of my printers so surfaces will be designed for non-art printers also.  Coming up when I have finalized my table of contents I will post it.

Front of a cheesecloth skin.  The image is a detail of one of my digital mixed media pieces on slightly dyed yellow cheesecloth.

This shows the back of the above print on a cheesecloth skin.  The yellow tone of the dyed cheesecloth is visible as the base of the print.

JuliAnne Kaplan- Photographer

I’d like to introduce a professional photographer out of San Rafael California, JuliAnne Kaplan.  
About her work JuliAnne says  "My work is typically abstract and minimalist using natural lighting to highlight color and texture.  


JuliAnne contacted me at the end of 2010 to make plans for a one on one workshop in my studio in February 2011.  I had seen some of JuliAnne’s photography by visiting her website and was drawn to her interesting photographic world.  Her photographs lend themselves to all sorts of alternative surfaces.  What I didn’t know about JuliAnne was that she was a bit conservative in many ways and somewhat timid.  What I mean by this is that JuliAnne likes to structure her world a bit and my out of the box approach was an entirely new way for her to think.

Well think she did and in returning home she was so excited about what she had learned she immediately purchased a new Epson 7890. JuliAnne also got many of the supplies together she would need to embark on this new endeavor of digital printing alternative surfaces.  Now we need to dial it forward a year to 2012 and the ink still hadn’t been removed from the plastic packages and her printer was (after it being in a box in the garage for awhile) just freshly put together and in plastic in the corner of her computer studio. 

Luckily I was on my way to San Francisco to participate in a workshop and JuliAnne was in the need of getting her studio put together in such a way as she could actually print.  It was like a match made in heaven since I was available to spend some time setting up her printers and getting everything set so she could print alternative surfaces.  

If you visit my Digital Alternative Journaling site, you will be able to read the pages of my iPad journal about our journey through some of the set up and the significant results we had digitally printing some incredible surfaces. It was one of those- you had to be there, but humor was a LARGE part of our time together and both of us smile each time we think about our experience.  Three pages of my journal are posted from April 5, April 6 and April 9.  (You can click on each date to take you to the individual posts.)

Ms. Kaplan recently told me “the work you do has been the BEST THERAPY I have ever had!  I’m even learning how NOT to make my bed in the morning!!!  Your one-on-one workshops have really helped to stretch my comfort zone and as a result, I am quickly seeing and entirely new phase of my works emerge after shooting since 1970....”  

Visit JuliAnne’s website to get familiar with her photography.  Some of her work will appear in my upcoming book about digital printing alternative surfaces. 

Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces

Don't you just love the internet?  I recently returned from teaching a 3 day workshop for the Texas Federation of Fiber Artists.  I was also the juror of their show "Fiberwerkes 2012 and I gave the keynote at the dinner "Untwine Your Mind: Beyond Fiber". It was a brilliant week and I was surrounded by all sorts of wonderful people.  It was a great time and recently a couple people blogged on the event.  Diane Sandlin who was my "angel" in the classroom and everything else.  Then Leslie Tucker Jennison who is in the 8 That Create group I am in.  It was great to meet Leslie for the first time.  When you visit the link that is attached to Leslie's name, go back and look at this link also- it is about the workshop Leslie too from Mary Ruth Smith.  Mary Ruth was one of the instructors at the conference.  She was also one of the artist's I juried into the show and her work is just awesome.

Diane and Leslie beat me to any blogging on the subject and I wanted you all to see their posts.  I know for myself that every time I teach a new group or meet other artists interested in digital alternative surfaces I get all sorts of ideas on pushing this process.  So many ideas came to me when working on my keynote and researching the artists for my keynote.  I continue to grow, get tons of new ideas and spark my creativity!!!

So today along with the other links I will show you how to access one of my new domains.

Digital Alternative Surfaces.  I am building content in a few new places which will keep me hopping I the blog category and keep me creating and pushing the digital surface.  This is going to be a great year for creativity, but aren't they all? 

Amazing Digital Printing Weekend!!!!

Well it's Monday and after such a wonderful weekend, I'm ready for a fabulous week of working in my studio.

Some professional photographers were here to take my "Not Just Digital Printing" workshop.  They created surfaces to print on 2 different metals, metal mesh, layered paper, 3 types of skins, dyed silk, collaged watercolor overprints and did test strips of inkAID precoats on organdy on pimatex.

During the workshop we took a look at how to use regular plastic bags (recycling these) melt them together to prepare to print and then printed the surface using iridescent red  precoat from inkAID.  Now this surface is still experimental and the texture is awesome while it creates a beautiful print.  I have other ideas on how to push this recycled surface further, so that will happen in the months to come.

I am not posting images from the photographers, but every time the prints are finished by the end of a workshop it is exciting to see what everyone has created.  They had some brilliant images. Here are some links you can visit to see their work.   Southwestern Photos and Dudley Bacon.

Now that major cleaning was done to my studio to have a workshop in uncluttered space (which ended up being extremely cluttered throughout the weekend)  I took some pictures of my studio wall which is coming along nicely.  I added a chalkboard painted into the joining wall on the right.  That will be one of the next walls I move to along with one in the short hall to my computer and printer part of my studio.

"Not Just Digital Printing" Workshop

On July 16 and 17, 2011 I will be teaching a workshop "Not Just Digital Printing" In my studio in Prescott, Arizona.  This workshop will focus on printing and assembling alternative surfaces.  Where digital printing is concerned my goal is to discover the possibilities between the surface created, the inkAID precoat used and the printer capabilities.  We will use and Epson Stylus Photo R3000 for most of the printing, but students will also rint at least one print on the Epson Stylus Pro 7890.  This will be hands on experience with a couple of Epson's newest printers.

We will prepare and pring metal mesh, lightweight metal and beverage cans along with surfaces we build from scratch.  Students will get a well-rouded look at the digital printing process with alternative surfaces.  At the same time preprinted surfaces will be available for students to get an idea of innovative ways to assemble digital prints and create studies for future projects.

The workshop fee of $350 includes all supplies

For a complete prospectus contact me.

To register and save your spot click the buy now button.  Since this is in my studio there are limited spaces available.  When you register you will receive information on travel and a prospectus.

Beverage Cans and Crochet

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Colorado on a trip that combines business and pleasure.  Why is it that whenever I leave my studio for a bit I think I have to set up all sorts of work on the road?   Then even as I drag the work in progress with me, I could never possibly finish much of it when I am out of town.  Case in point today while trying to clean my studio a bit and get a little further on some of the projects for deadline, I get involved in setting up the pieces to continue work on my 4 foot tall Forest Book.  This page involves beverage cans and crocheted hemp.  So even when I should be packing, I am cutting cans and punching holes in them to string them on hemp to crochet while I am out of town.   At least I had the cans printed from a few weeks ago, so I wasn't varnishing them in a hurry to get them ready to string. 

Looks like this right now as I work through the pile to punch holes:) to add to the crochet section.

Bordering the Ridiculous

In the process of finishing the last 2 pages in my first Forest Book in a series.  There will be 10  total- 2 feet by 4 feet pages.  Once these last 2 are complete, the book pages will be attached to the metal spine.  This would be really exciting except that it will still take quite awhile.  The labor for this page is pretty time intensive. The hardware cloth in the frame for these last 2 pages has to be worked side to side in stages so as not to ruin the assemblage being constructed on the opposite side. As the pages are worked on, the work is juggled side to side for the correct time to put pieces together.

The part being constructed below needs one 8" piece of jute twine in each 1/4" square of the grid that is open.  The twine is pulled through, doubled over and tied close to the grid. The composition in the center is also being built up with layers of melted and torn lutradur that will attach to the top of the cheesecloth skin digital print.  Before the lutradur goes together the jute has to be completely attached to the grid.  It took 2 hours to do the small section in the left bottom corner that is finished.  I'll be here awhile:)

The crochet grid pattern you see in the background of the frame is the back side of this page.  The crochet grid will be the bottom layer of an assemblage using digitally printed tyvek, metal grid and waxed linen.  Some other elements are also being considered.

ARTFEST 2011 Workshops

One of the exciting workshops I will be teaching at ARTFEST 2011 in April this year is on the 8th entitled “Layered 3-D Collage”.  This interesting workshop is based on building textures and dimension.  Techniques from this workshop are just the start of an infinite amount of ways to build interest in your art.  The workshop incorporates little challenges where I will supply students with items to stimulate a unique 3-D element.  We will also make a 3-D artist card including what is designed in the workshop.  Imagination and risk will play a role in this unique workshop. 

I encourage you to bring any found or dimensional object to this workshop to incorporate in a design.

There are plenty of designs on my texture blog and all over the web that include my 3-D and textural work. Here a few little pics to add to those:)

Passing on what I have learned with digital printing is something near and dear to my heart.  At ARTFEST 2011, I will be teaching “Printing Alternative Surfaces”  in which we will discover how to digitally print on surfaces other then the norm of photo paper.  The surfaces chosen for this workshop give a wide range of what can be printed and will add texture to the prints.  Any question you have ever had about digital printing on fabrics and specialty surfaces will be covered and my aim is for everyone in the workshop to go home feeling confident about printing on their own. 

There are only 3 spaces left in “Printing Alternative Surfaces” on April 7, at ARTFEST, so if you are interested make sure you sign up soon.  Here are a few Southwest style images to be printed on the various surfaces we will use in the workshop.

youtube videos on these workshops:

"Printing Alternative Surfaces"

"Layered 3-D Collage"

Forest Book Kauri Page

Enter more to the inside of my Forest Book with a page based on the Tane Mahuta, New Zealands largest known living Kauri tree.  This tree is in the Waipoua Forest on the north island.  This forest is magnificent and the print this page is based on is but a tiny section of this immence tree that is upwards of 1200  years old.

The image is printed on these surfaces: lutradur, tyvek, rice paper and dyed canvas.  The layers also contain dyed burlap, chrocheted hemp, twigs and dyed cheesecloth. The stacks are wired together an attached to hardware cloth.  A large border of crocheted jute surrounds the tree composition.

Mariposa Grove 3

Recycled Beverage Can Installation

Since returning from my trip to Alaska, my new project is taking shape.  It was started sometime in February by figuring out what surfaces were going to be put together and how.  Then the print to work from.  Chosen surfaces decided on are: digital prints on beverage cans, digital prints on my hand made amate bark paper, twigs and hemp. 

The strands of the elements measure 10 ft long and around 1 ½ “ wide.  They are fragile, light and will hang in a circular configuration.  Of course that will be subject to change as more and more pieces are created.  Currently, over 400 cans have been printed.

There are around 400 of the small elements almost together, as you can see by the pictures below. Many piles of cans are ready to cut and assemble.  This is a seriously tedious process.  Let’s hope it has the end result I am searching for.  

Clear Matte Precoat from inkAID

Last year inkAID introduced a new product Clear Matte Precoat.  In the last couple of weeks I have been using the coating on a variety of surfaces. These surfaces include: recycled beverage cans, hand made bark paper from kozo fiber, hand made cheesecloth skins, metal mesh, pima tex cotton, organdy, lace paper, lutradur and recycled printers plates.  I tested it on surfaces next to inkAID's Semi Gloss Precoat, Pearl Iridescent and Type ll since these are my most used coatings.

Clear Matte gives a translucent, matte finish which allows the underlying image to show through. If you have a dyed or painted surface, the colors will show through on the print creating an overprint. Depending on how dark the colors are on the surface of the fabric or paper, you will see sections of the print or not.

What I found with my printing is that on porous fabrics such as organdy, the clear matte will give a slightly clearer print then the semi gloss.  When printing on metals and cans, it has a nice matte finish, but still allows the shade of the metal to show.  In some cases it is hard to see the difference between the coatings used.  I encourage you to try it on the surfaces that you like to print to see what you think.  It's always good to see how coatings perform on various surfaces.

As with all the inkAID coatings Clear Matte results in a quality print.  It has some adhesive in it, so it is safe to use on metals, but may show tracking with pizza wheels from some printers.  I had none of that going on with my prints.  Each print was professional quality with a clear bright image.  My printing was all created on my Epson 4800.  I printed the same image on all the surfaces so that it could be easily compared.

I loved the comparison of Type ll, Pearl and Clear Matte on the recycled beverage cans.  All 3 of these coatings created a beautiful print on the cans.  For more information on using inkAID products on fabrics and specialty papers see my workshop, "Getting Started with Digital Prints on Uncommon Surfaces."

Assembling Digital Prints on Beverage Cans

Finished printing 100 more cans to add to this piece.  Still haven't decided if I will wire them all across, or keep them in rows the way they are.  Regardless, I am assembling the pieces that are ready to go.  The print for this piece is from the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park.

Here also is one of the carrier sheets with the bottom half of the entire print.  Since I only print 8 cans at a time, I divide the print before printing.

Once the cans are ready, I will assemble them to fit with the other pieces.  When starting a piece, printing 100 cans to start will get me on the track of figuring out the way the piece will be assembled and what it will look like.  With this piece, the way I thought it would be is nothing near the way it worked out.  The original idea about constructing the cans came from the installation for Mack Web Solutions.  (Click on the link to see the blog post)

When I arrived to install the piece, all the cans were in one piece and they evolved into being cut, stacked and wired together with glass beads separating the layers.  For this Mariposa Grove piece, I cut the top layer of each square in 4 pieces.  The bottom layer is a duplicate of the top layer, but in one piece.  I crocheted 28 gauge stainless wire to put between the 2 layers.  Then copper wire was used to wire the layers together and add it to the piece.

Design Intriguing Surfaces Ebook

Intended to inspire and spark artist’s creativity, “Designing Intriguing Surfaces” is the first ebook in a series that will combine digital printing with alternative surfaces.  Silk, canvas, lutradur, organdy, pimatex cotton, tyvek and several types of paper are included in this ebook, to highlight surfaces that can be printed on any straight path inkjet printer.  This enables the artist to work with regular non art type printers. Of course the surfaces are also wonderful when printed on archival art printers also. The techniques can be used by anyone that wants to experiment and create this type of work.

“Design Intriguing Surfaces” includes precoating surface instructions, helpful hints and a complete supplier list.  Each page is filled with visual eye candy that encompasses prints on the various surfaces discussed and also details of completed art work.

Since my work is influenced by forests, textures are evident in the process of my digital prints. I believe there are unlimited possibilities to use digital prints in all sorts of manners in art.  This book will open a series on that path.  The second book, already in the works “Assemble Intriguing Surfaces” will take the reader into the ways I construct some of these prints into art books and other art work.  From there I will be doing one on: texture, printing with a mini printer, skins with added elements, recycled beverage cans and metal mesh.  These subjects will in turn create other ideas to take this series of books further. 

You can purchase your copy of “Designing Intriguing Surfaces”  by download or on a cd.

Members of KathyAnneArt  receive 20% off the price of 9.99 for the download and $25.00 for the CD version.  Members be sure to sign in to get your discount, once the item is in the cart your discount will appear.

OR-

For more information contact me at KathyAnneArt

Amate Bark Digital Print

Several projects have been going at one time and some of them were finished this past week. The subject of today's post is a piece that started when I made bark paper (featured in the previous post) using the Amate process. The finished piece is composed of 3 layers: the bottom is a piece of black hardware cloth with a 1/4" grid, above that is a piece of copper mesh that has been digitally printed, above that is a piece of the bark paper I printed with the same image on the copper mesh.

The photograph was taken in the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park this June. Photoshop was used to manipulate and combine the original photograph with another image. This piece is around 37" in height and 17" in width. The layers have been assembled using waxed linen tied through the three surfaces. The pictures show a few details and the actual piece.