On Line At Home

Here's a photo I actually took out in front of the classroom where I take printmaking, but it's a photo of the same kind of tree that grows in front of my studio. In this photo, the pods look lighter than they actually appear. But you can see the way they grow in big clusters from the ends of the branches. They cover the outside and the tops of the trees so that they look as though they're a mass of pumpkin colored flowers. Even though they represent fall, they are very pretty I think.

I went to class this afternoon. Yesterday, I was off because I was working on Tuesday, and so I traded days off. I'll be back at work tomorrow, working on the minutes of the board meeting and also probably working on my altar for the Dia de los Muertos show that begins the weekend of the 28th. I talked to the curator, and it's good I did. They want three dimensional pieces rather than just a collage which was what I planned. However, I was going to make my collage a mixed media piece and include some skull beads that I have and several other items. Then there will be a joint altar that each participant contributes to. They want letters. So that's good to know. I need to write a letter and then create a way to display it if I chose or keep it sealed if I'd rather. I have to see what comes out when I work on it.

Also, I'm rather excited about taking the etching plate that Jon scanned and printing it in different colors. I tried some of that already. I also took a photograph of one of the plates and used that to create a new piece. Then I added some poetry in a large blank area. It works very well. Of course, gettting into manipulating files on the computer can keep you busy for days on end. There's a certain "danger" to getting sucked into that arena.

There is a group of seven printmakers who puts on a yearly show at Spanish Village in Gallery 21, the space on the other side of the wall from me. That's the gallery that has a rotating show every two weeks. The printmakers are there now. I took a turn through the gallery this afternoon when I got back from my class. I'll definitely want to go again numerous times. I'm not so interested in the monotypes, because I know how those are done, but I'm interested in the intaglio pieces. There are some very nice ones that are done with more than one plate. I think that's definitely the direction I want to progress in next. And maybe I can get some of that started this weekend in preparation for next week's class. I'm one edition behind although I did print an edition this afternoon of my favorite plate. It was my first copper plate etching. I'll have to see if I can photograph it for this space.

The wi-fi network was down at the Village when I got there this afternoon. I spent about an hour talking to the technical help desk of the DSL provider with no definitive result. That was sort of a waste of my time. Philip says he'll help with it tomorrow if possible, if he has time.