Steamroller Printmaking

The other big event this past weekend was the Steamroller printing at the Idaho State Historical Museum.  It was a collaboration between the museum, Wingtip Press and Boise State University.  The workshop at Wingtip Press in August was a precursor for this event.

Some school classes, BSU students and local artists have been carving for weeks on 4' x 8' (or 4' x 4') pieces of MDF board.  A friend and I worked on one 4' x 8' board together.  She came up with the idea and design.  I helped tweak the design a little and we both did lots of carving.

The theme for the prints was Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  There will be a procession of the prints through downtown on Nov. 2 They also will be on display at the Historical Museum's annual Day of the the Dead celebration

Here is our board with Goodbye Kitty (as opposed to Hello Kitty) as we were just getting started on the carving.  A huge thank you goes out to Amy Nack at Wingtip Press for helping us attain the board, letting us keep the board at her space and transporting the board to the museum.  I'm not sure we would have participated without her help.

Marigold flowers are one of the symbols for Day of the Dead.  The scent of the flower is suppose to help draw the deceased back to earth for the annual celebration.  We integrated several of our own version of marigolds into the design.

On Saturday, we volunteers went to the museum early to set up.  The printing was done on the road behind the village outside of the museum.  When I arrived, the boards were leaning against buildings and fences everywhere.  There were around 50 boards that needed to be printed three times each.  We were told that we would need to print one every 9 minutes to get through them all that day.

It was very well planned and coordinated.  There were two "inking" stations set up (two blocks were printed at once by the steam roller).  Latex house paint was rolled on the boards by two teams of inkers.  The blocks were printed on sheets, so there was a team of people laying down sheets on the printing area.  Another team of guys were in charge of carrying the blocks from the inking station to the printing area and back again.  Other people helped hang up or lay out the sheets on the grass once they were printed.

I helped with rolling the paint on the blocks.  Once we got going, things went smoothly, we had a good rhythm and were able to get everything printed.  Some of the school classes came to help with their prints and many people came by to watch.  A DJ was there playing music and it was a great community event.

Here are some of the blocks lined up waiting to be printed.  They already have color on them because the artists toned the boards to make it easier to see the design when carving.

In this picture you can see the two "inking" stations.  There were mostly BSU students volunteering and just a few others, like me.

Here you can see the sheet laid out on the ground and the guys getting ready to flip the board face down onto the sheet (this is opposite of what you would normally do with a regular printing press).

Below, my friend, Cassandra, is driving the steam roller over the boards (under the carpet pad).  There are two boards laid out.  She drove over them once and then backed up over them again.

And some of the results!

Some of the sheets were donated by BSU (old ones they weren't going to use anymore), but artists were also asked to bring their own since there wasn't quite enough.  We thought Goodbye Kitty really needed to have some pink sheets and we were able to find some at the thrift stores.

This sheet also had pink flowers. 

If you missed the event, you can see the prints at the Idaho State Historical Museum.  It was a fun event and the biggest piece of art I have made to date.  All the prints turned out really well.

Phew!

My hectic weekend that I have been getting ready for for about a month is over!  It was a full, busy, good weekend.  Saturday, I volunteered at the Steamroller Printing event which was from 10 - 4 p.m. at the Idaho Historical Museum (I will write about it more in another post.) A friend and I have been carving on a 4' x 8' woodblock for weeks for the event.

Saturday night, I saw the play, Red, at the Boise Contemporary Theater.  I highly recommend seeing it if you are in town.  It was excellent.

My open studio was Sunday as part of the Boise Open Studios Collective event and I've been getting ready for it for several weeks as well.  I had a pretty good turnout.  It sounded like overall there were lots of people visiting studios all over town on Saturday and Sunday.

If you wanted to visit and couldn't, contact me and we can set up an individual visit.

Here are a few pictures.  I had more work out this year than I did last year, so it wasn't quite as streamlined as last year.  Since I am new to BOSCO this year, I also had BOSCO maps and passports out and a few of my original prints available for viewing in a portfolio.

For this first picture, I used the panoramic setting on my camera.  It is a bit distorted.

In the other room, I had more of my artworks displayed along with a few snacks and flowers from the yard.  I also had some exhibition catalogs and fiber related books out.

Because of the new passport program this year (visit 8 different studios over the weekend, get stickers on the passport and then turn it in for a chance to win art from the BOSCO artists),  I had some visitors that had never seen my artwork before.  I also had a couple of people that had never seen any fabric art before.  And yes, some people just came to get their passport stamped. But they still saw my art.

Even though I had no sales, I think it was good exposure and I enjoyed meeting new people and discussing my art with them.

Red

Here are some pictures of the artworks at the Boise Contemporary Theater that are being auctioned off to help raise money for the theater.  You can bid on them throughout the production of Red, a play about Mark Rothko and his assistant.  Closing day is Nov. 2.

When I was invited to participate, I decided to create a new artwork specifically for this event.  I knew the play was Red, but I didn't use the color red because I was thinking that was too obvious. Four out of the seven artworks have some use of red in them.  The other three do not.

Artworks from left to right:  Lauren Kistner - Red Dawn, Anne Peterson Klahr - Color is, Christine Raymond - Dream Spring.

Artworks from left to right: Lisa Flowers Ross - A Nod to M.R., Mike Landa - Act of Will, part 1.

Mike Chambers - Talk to Me, Mark Rothko

Not pictured: Troy Passey - issa

BOSCO Preview

Here are a few photos from the BOSCO preview at the Boise Art Museum last Thursday.  There were a few artists that were set up in the studios to do demonstrations.  There was a good turn out.

Katherine Bajenova Grimmett had a tableful of her works set up and was demonstrating drawing.

Theresa Burkes had an area set up for visitors to print bookmarks, along with a few of her Monotypes and a slideshow on her computer.

John Killmaster talks with visitors.

Julie Clemons had her drawing materials and also was working on the large piece at the left with oil paint sticks.

There are 32 artists who will have their studios open this weekend (Oct. 12 & 13).  My studio will be open on Sunday only (Oct. 13, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.).

This BOSCO event only happens once a year so I hope you (locals) can get out and visit a few of the artists.

Foothills Hike

Yesterday was a beautiful autumn day.  The temperature eventually got up to the low 60's.  The sun was warm but there was a cool breeze and the skies were clear.

Anna had the day off from school and Frank took the day off from work.  In the afternoon we took a lovely hike in the Foothills near our home. (We went up 5 mile gulch trail, to Watchman and Three Bears trail.)

Today's the Day

It's First Thursday! Lots of art to see and events to attend today. There is also a birthday to celebrate.  Happy Birthday, Frank!

First Thursday

There are a lot of events happening this First Thursday here in Boise.

1) A reception for Rothko-inspired artwork by local artists Mike Chambers, Lisa Flowers Ross, Lauren Kistner, Anne Klahr, Mike Landa, Troy Passey and Christine Raymond will be held at the Boise Contemporary Theater from 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 3.

Artworks will be up for bid in a silent auction through Nov. 2, in conjunction with RED, a play about Mark Rothko.

Here is a preview of my piece.

 A Nod to M.R.

fabrics hand dyed and painted by the artist,

machine appliqué, free-motion machine stitching, hand stitching

35" x 22-1/4"

©2013 Lisa Flowers Ross

Available for bids at BCT from Oct. 3 - Nov. 2

Detail of stitching

2) Preview night for BOSCO open studios event at the Boise Art Museum from 4-8 p.m.  There will be demonstrations and you can pick up tour maps and passports.  The open studio weekend is Oct. 12-13.  My studio will be open only on Sunday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. I hope you can stop by.  

3)  "Please join Boise Airport and Boise City Department of Arts & History Commissioners and Staff in Dedicating a new mural by Anne Peterson Klahr and new artwork by Belinda Isley at Boise Airport. These are the first public works to be acquired by Boise City by these two Idaho artists and are in honor of BOISE 150.  The dedication will take place Thursday, October 3rd at 9:30 am."

4)  Ten more traffic boxes will be unveiled this Thursday including another one by my friend, Kathleen Probst, whose box will be right under the Modern Hotel sign.  She will be there from 6-7 p.m. so you can stop by and say "hi".  (More info. on her blog. Click on link above.)

So much art to see and enjoy in downtown Boise this Thursday.  Hope you can make it to one of the events.

Busy

It's busy, busy, busy here for me right now.  My studio is a mess, a productive mess, but a mess still the same.  I am working on pieces in several different series.  That is unusual for me since I don't consider myself a very good multi-tasker.  I tend to want to stick to one thing until it's done.

I realize that I haven't shown you the second piece in the Striae series, which has been finished for quite a while.  This series is on hold.  While I have other ideas for it, it has been set aside for now.

Striae II

hand dyed and screen printed fabrics,

machine pieced, machine stitching

43-1/4" x 41"

©2013 Lisa Flowers Ross

$1900

It's kind of hard to tell from the photo, but the center rectangular section has fabric that is screen printed with white lines.  I think part of the reason this series got set aside is that I want to explore more ways to screen print/paint/stamp/etc. lines on fabric.  And I haven't gotten to it yet.

In the Studio

There are lots of things going on in the studio right now.

This is the state things are in right now.  I'm going to call this the "before" picture.  On Sunday, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., I will be having an open studio as part of the Boise Open Studios Collective annual event.  And the studio will be much cleaner than this. I'll try to remember to take an "after" picture.

I am grateful to have my own studio in my home.  It's not huge, so when the cutting table is all folded out and I have my extra piece of foam core set up behind my sewing machine (several pieces are piled on it in the picture), there is not a whole lot of room left for me.

Many times I have stubbed my toes on my little trash can or rammed some part of my body into the pointy corners of the cutting table.  But the space is mine and I love doing my favorite thing there, making art.

From the Garden

From what I remember, my grandfather was a good gardener.  Unfortunately, those genes did not pass down to me.  I plant stuff in the ground, water it and hope it grows.  I will admit that I do not take the proper time to care for my garden.  I'd much rather be making art.

But apparently, this year, I am very good at growing lemon cucumbers.  I've had a bumper crop and we can't eat them fast enough (some have had to go back into the compost).  Frank just took a load to work.

I have had some regular cucumbers as well, but not as many as the lemon ones.  The basil I started from seeds finally took root, so I think I will have enough to make some pesto.

Surprisingly, we have not gotten much zucchini, only a couple.  Frank's yellow squash plant was doing well at the beginning of the season.  And he managed to get some "Franken-squash" - weird shaped orange/yellow squash that must have come from some cross pollination with his pumpkin plant.  (We each have several garden boxes we take care of).

He had some monster basque pepper plants with loads of flowers (and we have plenty of bees) but not a single pepper.  I'm not sure what seeds he used.  I managed to get a couple of basque peppers off the plant I purchased.

Soon it will be time to clean out the boxes, but I think there are still a lot of lemon cucumbers growing out there.  How does your garden grow?

SAQA Auction

I am a member of the Studio Art Quilt Associates organization.  Every year SAQA holds an online auction to raise money to help pay for exhibition, publication, administrative and other costs.

Today is the start of the second week of the auction.  How it works is that the bids start at $750 on the first day at 2 p.m. Eastern time.  The first person to bid on an item that day gets it.  The bids drop every day until it is $75 (it changes at the same time on subsequent days).  All the artworks are approximately 12" x 12".

Here's what the bids for Section 2 (pages 2a and 2b) look like:

September 16 at 2:00 Eastern - $750
September 17 at 2:00 Eastern - $550
September 18 at 2:00 Eastern - $350
September 19 at 2:00 Eastern - $250
September 20 at 2:00 Eastern - $150
September 21 at 2:00 Eastern - $75

There is also Section 3 (pages 3a and 3b) that starts next week.

I did not get around to donating a piece this year.  But my friends, Kathleen Probst and Linda McLaughlin, both have pieces in this section.  Go here to look at all the artworks.

BCT and Rothko

This is a detail picture of the stitching of an artwork I am currently working on.

I will continue this stitching pattern over the entire piece.  When finished, it will be part of a silent auction to help raise money for the Boise Contemporary Theater.

I was invited to participate in this event which is being held in conjunction with their play production, RED, a play written about the artist Mark Rothko.  The artworks in the auction will be Rothko-inspired.

The opening reception for the auction is Oct. 3.  The opening night of the play is Oct. 9.  The auction will run the length of the production with the last day being on the closing night of the play, Nov. 2.  You can purchase tickets for the play on BCT's website.

I just sent out a "Save the Date" e-newsletter with this information and some other dates.  If you would like to receive my newsletter, you can sign up here.

Traffic Boxes

Last week on First Thursday, a handful of new traffic boxes was unveiled amidst major gusty winds and rain from a storm.  The artists were supposed to be by their traffic boxes for the "opening".

I managed to stop by two of my artist friends' boxes before they decided that standing next to a metal box in a storm might not be the best idea and left.

Here is Reham Aarti, trying to keep her hat on, with her box.

And here is Kathleen Probst with her box.  She will have another box, which is across the street from the first, unveiled at the next First Thursday (October).

(Looking at these boxes, I'm not really sure if they are all traffic boxes, or just some kind of utility box.)

Two of our friends from Weiser also braved the storm to meet Kathleen at her box.  Then, we all went for tapas.

Bruneau Sand Dunes

This past weekend we went camping at Bruneau Sand Dunes because the Boise Astronomical Society was having its Star Party there and the observatory was open.  We went Friday evening after Frank got off work and returned home Sunday.

We had some clear nights for star gazing.  The weather was good.  Although the daytime was hot, the mornings and evenings were nice.

Sunrise at our camping spot (our tent is out of the picture).  As you can see in the background, there were lots of people there.  Just about every camping spot had a telescope set up in it.

I loved the different colors of the scrubby bushes.

Here's a view of the observatory (and sand dune).  We listened to an interesting lecture by a professor from the University of Arizona, which is where Anna is thinking she would like to go for college.

It was a good idea to climb the dunes in the morning before it got too hot.  Although it was still pretty warm climbing.

I thought this was interesting with tumbleweeds and other plant stuff.

It felt pretty hot in the afternoon sun, even though the temperature was probably only in the 80's.  You could look around the campsite and see lots of people sitting in their chairs in what shade they could find, not really doing anything.  Just like we did.

I'm not sure what this bug below is, but I didn't mind it.  We did not like the millions of flys and biting insects that were around.  Anna and I both have many interesting constellations of bug bites all over us. Apparently, they only like girls, as Frank has none.

It was a good weekend.  We saw lots of stars.  I even saw some shooting stars.  But I am glad to be away from the bugs!