THREE THINGS

1. WHAT THE HECK! (saying that with gusto) Since my HELP CATS 10.00 PROMO on etsy is going so well I'm extending it another week. So check it out - all the cat prints are a mere 10.00 (reg 18.00) AND if you purchase three or more the shipping is free. (doesn't include ACEO purchases). When you purchase please make a donation $ or pet product to your local shelter /rescue and I will post the link to it on my policy and cat page.Besides have you checked the price of gas lately (im sure you have). Up here it's already $4.05 so you gotta save $ somewhere. So buy a print, here or there.

2. A change in my title bar logo - i crossed out MODERN - no more MODERN DESIGN (although I do love it so) - now its just DESIGN.Decided to broaden my blogs scope to encompass all styles, periods, art forms and all my ramblings and not be put into one MODERN box.

3. Who is Poppy Petunia? My furry third daughter, my Toy Fox Terrier dog of course!(I also have two human ones) Yup , thats the little rascal there, upper right, my avatar. Funny little neurotic little girl...she weighs a wee white 8 1/2 pounds. I might ramble off the subject and include her antics in this blog now and then.

BLOCK PRINTING Memories

Blockprints, Linocuts - I remember spending hours as a child in my grandparents studio making these. First we would draw our designs on flat pieces of linoleum that had been painted with white caseine paint. Then we would put them in the stove to soften the tops for carving. I can still recall the wonderful linseed oil smell that would drift its way out of the stove as they "cooked". When they were warmed up and pliable we'd take them out and get to carving our little masterpieces. Of course they were no where near the perfection of granny and grandpa's creations yet we were always so proud of our designs. What I like about this craft is the wonderful organic look it has - all the little uncarved spots show up in the print and give it texture and character.

I was fortunate to do a trade on etsy a few weeks ago with Darby Bayly ( CraftyRedFox ) for one of her charming little owl block prints that I love! I was torn between that and the fish print (right) which i think is equally COOL!

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Natalia Moroz takes the linocut one step further in her colorful and complex linocut reductions, seen here, her work is "...done in the reduction technique. It's a printmaking method when a multicolored print is made with the use of a single block. Through a series of progressive cuttings, inkings, and printings, the image slowly emerges while the actual block is destroyed. A reduction print can therefore never be reprinted.