The Gents

I burned six screens last night in record time. The reclaiming went smoothly, no issues with clogs now that I've discovered Holy Cow Pink Degreaser, and I was dried, coated, dried, burned and rinsed zippity split. Here are some shots of the first go-round with the big dots and the line-up of old time Gents. I love they way that the Clooney-esque one is checking out his friend. Too cute!

I had a grand time out with Miss Lyra last night. We had quite the wide ranging discussion: life at 40, families, to travel or not to travel, party planning, how to hang on to our optimism in these trying times, etc. It was lovely to be out with my BFF enjoying the summer light down at Nizza. If only I had said no to that last Mojito...

The Perfect Father's Day

We spent a gorgeous Father's Day with my folks and the wee Atlas pup. Good food, lots of laughs, a few g & t's and a sound trouncing at the poker table for me. Char made a nice lunch for Big Mike and we honored his most excellent fathering style. Here he is playing catch and managing not to spill a drop! Nice balls!

fresh art--fire red rocks!

Speedball's "Fire Red" is the real deal. Deep, rich and very opaque--if you go for that sort of thing!

Candy Land

Have you popped into Powell's Candy Store? It is on the main drag in Lafayette and it is dreamy. Not only do they carry just what the kiddies love but they also have incredible gelato. If you need a kid-centric activity for one of these long summer days, head through the tunnel and check it out. Oh, and bring me a bag of Bit O'Honey--dental work be damned!

"Hot" Background

Here are the process shots of the new "hot" background. I call it hot because it is a way enlarged image taken from an old 1950's Heat Exchanger Manual. It features air molecules heated and cooled and bouncing all around in a delicious friction soup. I don't know what the hell it all means but I love the design elements.

the tomato

Our foggy Berkeley weather seems to have squelched our tomato plants. On each plant hangs exactly one tomato. One lonely green tomato. Perhaps it is too early in the season to worry.

Sticker Nation

Do you know about Stickernation? It is a great resource for all kinds of custom stickers. It would be fun to do a bumper sticker as a party invitation and stick it to a doodle of an old bumper. Remember Peechee folders? The old dirty yellow paper files with the weirdo sports drawings on them? Great place for a sticker.

This is a picture of the mini bumper sticker I had made to include with my screen prints. The font is called "cat scratch"-- oh lordy, I love it!

www.stickernation.com

Birds-revisited

I read somewhere on the internet that bird art is totally over and so "last week"--what does that say about me? My bird urges are still going strong. I am considering a rework of the bird & house thing. More graphic less homespun. I saw a great graffiti black bird swooping down against a dribble of orange paint. Street birds a go-go!

Joel's roses

Mike's guitar and rowing buddy, Joel, brought us a jar full of these crazy, candy-cane colored roses. They almost look fake with their gaudy, show-offy red and white splatters. I love real garden roses. Lusty and disorganized.

more "Train" spotting

I've been working with the 5 "Train" screens and here are the results. Some process shots are in the earlier post but here we see the color and placement variation. My head is spinning. I don't know which combo works best. The pea green and primrose yellow are interesting together but I love the dirty commie feeling that the black and red prints evoke.

5 color print "Delicious Train"

I pulled prints and watched ink dry yesterday. With 5 colors, there is much waiting and carefully testing each color before proceeding to the next step. I am not a patient gal so it wasn't easy! The results are wonderful and I am so glad that I didn't rush the process. I should have these posted to my Etsy shop later today.

zucchini blossoms

Our dear friend Silvia brought us these gorgeous zucchini blossoms from her stint at the Ferry Building's Farmer's Market. Mike fried them up in a light batter and they tasted lovely--grassy and sweet. The color of the bloom knocked me out.

Mavis

My littlest darling pointed out to me that I have neglected to post a picture of the cat on my blog. Here is the cat. She is very nosy and is my "mostly companion" -- as Eloise would say.

English Comp.

I've burned a new set of screens and here are the results so far. This is a 5 layer screen print and I've only printed 3 layers but I am pleased with what is happening with this project. The phrases are pulled (sliced I should say) from a 1953 English Composition book. Chipper little sentences that make me laugh. The background layers are enlargements of a b&w photo of an old french castle. I am anxious to see how this all plays out. I will vary the color combos and alternate the layers and see what kind of trouble I can get into with this print.

Scribble swirl process shots

Here are some photos of the latest screen being printed and the initial results. The image is better as I add more colors-- though my original idea was two colors overlaying to create a third color. Also, my tiny committee has determined that a background is necessary. I may have to revisit some of the text backgrounds to make these crazy balls pop (can I say that??).

Atlas

O.K., I know, but he is so cute! My folks got a new puppy, a papillon, and he is the most dear little creature. Very even tempered and kind. He plays with great energy and then puts his head on his little pillow and takes a nap. Good baby. His name is Atlas and we are all in love.