Albuquerque Wrap-up

Today was my last day in the studio and I feel good about what I have accomplished in the last month.  I met some very talented New Mexican printmakers who were very welcoming.  Here are just a few.

On the left is Regina, the director of New Grounds Print Workshop.  She has created a fabulous facility for making prints using non-toxic methods.  On the right is Ren who assists in the studios, galleries and office.  She is a wealth of information about processes and procedures at the studio which was very helpful for me.

Below on the left is Elaine with whom I shared a studio a couple times a week.  We traded lots of Netflix recommendations!  On the right is Pam, a very excited expectant mother who also assists in the studio.

Here are my latest prints for a grand total of 10 for the month.  I will tweak them after I get home and print some editions, maybe introduce some color so some.  We’ll see….

3 more new prints

I have been working on several etchings and have completed three more in the series of Sticks and Stones.  All of these prints are “proofs,” not final prints.  I still need to do some minor work on the plates, which I will do after I return to my own studio, before I print final editions.  For instance, the first print below has some scratches and tone in the white areas that need to be removed.  Also in the second print, there are some vague light shapes in the dark background that I am not totally happy with.  I will be working in the studio three more days and hope to complete 3 or 4 more prints.

Murals in Albuquerque

In a few days I will have completed my four week stay in Albuquerque.  I have lead a simple existence here, spending all day, six days a week in the print studio and one day a week doing laundry, shopping for groceries, and going to a movie.  I have loved every minute of it!  It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to be so focused on making art!

This simple existence has meant that I have not been out and about exploring the city.  My travels have been limited to taking a bus along Route 66 from my apartment (red dot on map) to the studio, 14 blocks away (blue dot) to the movie theatre downtown (green dot.)  As limited as my excursions have been, I have encountered a great many murals.  This leads me to think that there are lots of murals elsewhere throughout the city.  From the location of the murals I have seen, I have concluded that most have been commissioned by private building owners. Nice!

I noticed that many of the murals incorporate existing features of the building’s architecture into the mural images.  For instance, a door in the wall becomes a door in the image.  This mural is painted on the back wall of a restaurant.  It faces an alleyway, yet the mural incorporates two real doors while the windows, tiles, signage and potted trees are painted.

And this one uses an existing fan in the wall as the propellor of the airplane and a door and mechanicals are incorporated into a painting of a building.  Clever!

Here are more.