Changing Seasons—1

5" x 7" woodblock print on Stonehenge paper
with Graphic Chemical ink.

Ecclesiastes, Pete Seegar, The Byrds, and Bob Dylan, all tell us there is a season for everything. What they don’t tell us is how long a season lasts before it changes. The post-modern mindset would shrug and respond, “Who’s to say?” as if there is no real answer to the question or that any answer is as good as any other because there an impossibility of coming up with a definitive answer. But since we are supposed to be in a post-post modern period, perhaps it is possible to come up with an answer for this lily of the field. What are the ways its bloom is as ephemeral as the flower that generated its design? Has paper and ink changed the length of its season?

And changing to another subject, I was recently introduced to Weebly.com and decided that not only would I have a blog, I would have a (possibly never finished) web site at: http://robertsimola.weebly.com/

So even though I don't Twitter and I don't know how my Facebook page works, or even how to access it, perhaps I am not really a troglodyte or even a candidate for the Flat Earth Society.

If April showers bring May flowers, what does a June rain bring?

Katy dancing with her bear

It was raining last night. For those who do not live in Southern California, a little rain in June won’t seem like any big deal, but since I live in an area that does not usually get any measurable rain between April and November it is a wonderful way to start the day. The day got even better when I got a call that my print, “October Afternoon” was one of three prints to sell at the Santa Barbara Printmaker’s Ojai Show. So today I’m playing the piano--something I usually do very badly, planting flowers--even if planting season is supposed to be over, and pulling prints that will register properly. I’m on a roll! The Solstice Exchange group even chose my print, “A Naked Maja” as the best print of their last exchange.

The wailing and complaining, the whining and the gnashing of teeth, the moans and groans, and the eating of worms are going to have to take a number and wait. There is nothing I can complain about today.

Chaucer portrait

As a Chaucer collector I sometimes find unusual and unknown (to me) objects related to Chaucer or his works. A recent acquisition in this category is a nineteenth century painting purported to be of Chaucer by an unknown artist. I have been able to find nothing about it. If you are familiar with this painting and can tell me anything about it I would appreciate it very much.

Carving up my new floor

My new floor has a tree growing out of it . . . or at least that’s what I’m telling people. Actually my new, vinyl floor is still sitting in boxes waiting for it to be installed. But since I got more flooring than I will need for my studio, I decided to use some of it for a print of the curly willow growing right outside. This is an experiment since I have never made a print from vinyl blocks nor made a print using multiple blocks, but the benefit of doing something brand new outweighs the risks. This will be the best print with multiple colors and the best print made from vinyl I will have ever done, and how often does anyone get to honestly say that something is the best they've ever done?

From a subjective viewpoint, I think vinyl is a little harder to carve than linoleum and (except for its homogenous, grain-free nature) about the same as carving cherry wood.

An Elegant Solution

In my little studio space is at a premium. I have just about everything on wheels so I can move them about. But having things on wheels didn't save space when it came to drying prints. I would either have the prints covering every available horizontal surface or hanging from a clothes line I had stretched inside the studio. Neither was a very elegant solution. Then I visited the studio belonging to a member of our local printmaking group, and I stole her idea.

I went to Home Depot and bought the materials for making window screens from scratch and made a number of screens sized to fit an empty cabinet. I had never made or repaired a window screen before, so I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. Fortunately the only tools required were a hacksaw and a spline tool that I bought with the screening material. And while the screens are not all prefect, they are more than good enough for my needs. Now my prints they are out of the way, and I can work on other projects while they are drying.