Monday, July 14, 2025

Taos Sketchbook Workshop




In June of 2025 I attended Amy Bogard's travel sketchbook workshop in Taos, New Mexico.  I attended the same workshop in 2012, and loved it.  That was the very first time I ever used watercolor!  It seems like ages ago in some ways, but at the same time also passing in the blink of an eye.  Before the first trip, Amy taught me how to make my own watercolor journal.  This time I didn't have a chance to make one.  But I did apply an old cigar felt to my cover (seen below).
Our class was again held in the Juniper house at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. If you ever visit Taos, you must visit Mabel's!  It is a historic property with quite an interesting story which you can read about here.  My room was in the Juniper house this year and so each day I made my way downstairs to our light-filled classroom with the beautiful wooden vigas running across the ceiling.


Amy Bogard has now been teaching this class for over a decade, and she is masterful at her craft.  I learned watercolor from her and have taken her Guatemala trip two times (first trip, second trip)...and hope to go again this spring!  She creates the perfect space...just the right amount of activity, slow time, and fun time.  And she meets each person exactly where they are at.  Plus, she is hilariously funny and has a wonderful sense of style as you will see in my sketch below.

I drew the first image in my sketchbook before the trip (at the top of this post).  I selected a photo of a cholla cactus I had taken in Santa Fe a year ago.  I have always loved the plump cholla fruits and wanted to draw them.  I made the drawing with the intent to not outline it.  But after I finished the painting, it felt like it needed more definition.  So I couldn't resist getting out the micron and, as you can see, it definitely made it pop more.  But I was still wanting to explore a less "cartoony" look.

Penstemon

With that intent, on the first day I decided to draw the penstemon flowers that I had seen blooming everywhere in New Mexico.  I absolutely love the stunning lavender flowers stacked tightly along the central stalk.  I began my drawing, again trying not to outline at all.  But in the end, the light lavender flowers needed a little more definition.  I grabbed a sepia micron to see if I might like that better than black.  Overall this wasn't my favorite sketch; again way more cartoony than I wanted.  But the good thing is, this is the exact place to experiment with this kind of thing.



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Beauty Way

And so the next day I was determined not to use any outlines.  Amy led us outside to sketch in the courtyard of the Juniper house.  I was immediately attracted to the berries on the ivy growing up the adobe walls.  I did a pencil sketch and took a photo as the sun was burning me up!  Inside I added color in the way Amy taught us that day.  She encouraged us to first paint any color except the actual color of the plant we were drawing.  So I chose to paint orange and purple first.  Then I came back in the with green afterward.  I loved the effect!



"Today my heart will have harmony,
My spirit singing the songs of happiness,
My mind will seek balance,
One with Mother Earth and the Creator,
My eyes will look for good,
And there, I will find it,
My mouth will whisper the words of gratitude,
Today I will walk the Beauty Way."
—Howard T. Rainer, Taos Pueblo Creek Indian

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Ristras

My next page was inspired by our walk to dinner in town.  On the way I noticed a building that had a ristra (dried peppers) hanging on the wall.  The door to the building was so tiny-looking and was painted blue.  I just read today that the blue doors in Taos are supposed to keep out evil spirits.  I think the doors are beautiful and cheery and can see why unhappy spirits would be deterred.  After I sketched the building and the big ristra, I had an empty vertical spot on my page.  I filled it with a sketch of the St. Francis statue I had seen at Jackalope in Santa Fe.  He is found everywhere in New Mexico, always tending to some animals.  


"It's the most wonderful place you can imagine...
It's so beautiful there it's ridiculous."
—Georgia O'Keefe

One of the fun exercises Amy had us do was to paint little icons.  You can draw anything that tickles your fancy and then edge it in gold.  She also asked us to make an extra icon for a card for the staff at Mabel's.  I drew two butterflies in the indigo batik style that I love.  Below you can see the effect of the gold edging.  It doesn't always show up when you photograph it straight down.  Adding this gold edge started my obsession with painting a little bling on almost every page.  Taos seems like a magic place to me and the hidden metallic element seemed a perfect way to capture that feeling.


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Om Guadalupe

My next pages were inspired by the Virgin of Guadalupe postcard that I bought in town.  I pasted it into my sketchbook and copied the motif in the postcard to surround it.  It was my first time using gouache.  Amy loaned me her paints to try and I am definitely interested to do more.  It has been a goal of mine for a while now to try them, but they are a bit more tricky if you want to keep them in pans as they can dry out.  You can always squirt them out of a tube, but I have become accustomed to the ease of the watercolor pans.  She had a nice setup with each color in a little vial that was sealed when you shut the lid of the whole container.  

The right-hand page was inspired by a few different sources.  The rabbit border came from a plate I saw at the Couse historic house that we toured one day.  Walking home from that tour I noticed an "Om" windchime hanging on a door and took a quick photo to sketch back at the studio.  You can't tell from this scan, but I used the metallic paint on the bells and it creates a really nice effect in the light. 

"Stop the flower of your words,
Open the window of your heart,
and let the Spirit speak."
—Rumi


"All forms are the Mother.
The Divine Mother has the whole universe in her."
—Adilakshmi

The corn painting was the very last image I painted in the whole book.  I was going to leave that space empty, but every time I flipped through my book it bothered me.  I knew I needed a vertical form that would connect with the quote above it.  Corn was the perfect shape and I liked to imagine that whole universes of colorful kernels magically appear when you open the leafy ears of corn.  I had also tried posole (nixtamalized corn kernels, aka, hominy) on the trip and found it delicious!  Below you can see I tried to photograph the gold edging before I pasted it into the book.


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Bighorn Sheep at the Gorge

One evening after dinner someone in our group proposed a spontaneous trip to visit the gorge.  Taos is about a ten minute drive to a jaw-dropping gorge where the Rio Grand begins its journey.  When we parked the car we could see people in the distance looking at something.  Then we realized they were looking at bighorn sheep!  We quickly scampered out to have a closer look, and I couldn't believe how close we were able to see them!  We were probably about 15 feet from two of them nibbling on vegetation. 


We watched the two for a while and then took a walk out onto the bridge that spans the gorge.  When we returned to the parking lot we got to see about nine males rubbing their heads against the bushes.  We had pretty much finished watching them when all of a sudden we heard a very loud "CRACK!"  Two of them were butting heads and fighting!  That got our attention and we again watched them for another fifteen minutes or so before heading home.

"In some Native American traditions, bighorn sheep are seen as guardian spirits, associated with the sky and connected to cosmic regeneration.  They represent a source of spiritual guidance and protection." (LiveScience.com)



The bird symbol above was drawn from an incredible carved wood door of a storefront in Taos.  

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Couse Sharp Historic Site

The Couse-Sharp Historic Site was the location of the home and studios of two famous Taos artists, Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp.  We took a two-hour tour of this historic property and it was amazing!  The original building was a chapel built in 1835 by Juan de Luna.  When the Couses bought the property in 1909, it had grown to seven rooms.  In 1915 the Taos society of artists was founded, with Couse and Sharp as two of founding members.  Both men were incredible painters and built studios on the property.  While looking through the website I came across black-and-white photos on them.  When I saw the following photo of J.H. Sharp I was moved by the incredibly kind nature that came through the photo...so much so that I decided to sketch them both.

Eanger Irving Couse (Left) and Joseph Henry Sharp (right)
Photos from Couse-Sharp.org.

"Think about the drawing, the color, the composition;
don't work without thinking equally about all these things,
because nature, your only real master,
has forgotten nothing."
—E.I. Couse



The house still has much of the original furniture and art that the family lived with throughout their years.  I was particularly struck by the painting below that Couse did of his wife Virginia.  She had wanted to be an illustrator, but due to eye trouble "she relinquished her pen and brush for shovel and hoe; the soil became her canvas and flowers her colorful palette" (WomenOfTaos.org).  Below are the two paintings I sketched from the house.

Peonies (left) by J.H. Sharp, Virginia Couse (right) by E.I. Couse

I also want to mention our tour guide, Steve Talley.  He gave us a really informative and lovely tour.  At some point in the tour he mentioned he was also a painter.  I looked up his Instagram and WOW!  His skill and love of painting came through the tour and I had to include a small sketch of him in my book (above spread, bottom right).

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On the next page I drew a few of the flowers from the garden at the Couse property.  "Over 100 years ago Virginia Couse planted the first seeds in  the 'Mother Garden of Taos.'  It was one of the earliest flower gardens in the area and was generously shared with the town.  She would give seeds and seedlings to newcomers to town, so they could start their own gardens." (WomenOfTaos.org).  I also added a sketch of my classmate Sandy.  Sandy was from New Hampshire and was a joy to sit next to the first couple days of class.  I am hoping she comes to visit me soon. 

The plate on the following page was also from the Couse house.  It was my favorite plate from the whole trip (and I LOVE plates...and there were a lot of good ones!).  No one understands my Rumi quote because I only put half of the line.  The complete line reads, "You should wish to have a hundred thousand sets of mothwings, so you could burn them away, one set a night."  It is a quote about longing and every time I read it, it strikes a chord in my heart.  If you want to read the whole passage in its entirety, click here.


The motif above (lower right) is from a leather bag I bought in Sante Fe a couple years ago.  I needed a horizontal band of something and I happened to see the details of the bag one day while stretching on the floor with the cats.  You never know when inspiration will strike!

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My next sketch from the Couse house was the image below on the left.  It was a motif from the marble fireplace.  I liked the simplicity of the design made with just holes.

Whenever I travel to New Mexico, the stores are full of wooden saints or painted icons of saints.  And I am always on the lookout for a particular one that is hard to find.  "My Grandma's favorite saint was San Martin De Porres.  He was a Peruvian friar noted for his kindness, his nursing of the sick, and his charity.  He was an animal whisperer and the patron saint of mixed race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony." (Wikipedia)  I knew I had to create a drawing of him in honor of my Grandma and Dad.



The right hand image is best explained by the following poem.

Rabbit Paints

In the land of Taos where the desert dreams,
Our sketchbooks filled with adobe scenes—
With ink and wash and dusty boots,
We painted bison (and their... attributes).

Then Amy B. appeared one day
In pants that took our breath away—
Not silk or cashmere from Fifth on Sax
But adorable hares on cotton slacks!

“Rabbit pants!” we cried as one,
And knew our sketching day was done.
Forget the brush, forget the tree—
We had a fashion emergency.

So down the road we marched in glee,
Led by our bunny muse, Amy B.
We found the store, we struck gold twice—
Cathy and Amy P. paid the price.

Now three stood proud, in pants of bunny,
The furry joy that can be bought with money!
Those rabbits gave each other the eye, 
I daresay they did multiply!

I knew that this, I had to draw—
six legs, twelve bunnies, I was in awe!
This does conclude our cotton tales
Hasta luego mijitas, and happy Trails!

—my 1st poem written with AI collaboration
 

Above: Gold detail of San Martin
Below: Rabbit Pants!

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Buffalo

One of the things I had been looking forward to on this trip was visiting the pueblo to see the buffalo.  Since my last class in 2012, Amy has become friends with a Native American named Harold.  Harold generously offered that we could come and visit him and the buffalo early in the morning when they are still close to his house.  Due to the unusually rainy weather, our trip to Harold's was cancelled two days in a row.  But luckily, on our last day, Harold said it wasn't too muddy and we could come out for our visit. 

Harold warned us to speak softly as the herd would probably leave when they noticed us.  Just as he said, as we rounded the corner and saw the herd, they all stood up and started running.  It was pure joy to see the handful of little ones darting amongst their families.  And it was amazing to see such large creatures galloping through the field, although they were dwarfed by the mountain behind them.  I so enjoyed seeing them.  A big thank you to Harold for letting us visit.

"What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.
It is the little shadow that runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset. "
Crowfoot



I bought a notebook in Taos that had a lovely motif on the cover.  I thought it was a perfect image to pair with the bison.  (Notebook here.)

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One of my goals for the sketchbook was to draw everyone in our class.  Penny was the last person I illustrated and she was the only one where I didn't use a pen...and I thought it was the best one!  Penny also gave me Mabel Dodge Luhan's book, "Winter in Taos."  She purchased it and read it before we left for home.  I am now almost finished with the book and have loved her description of life in Taos in "the early days."  

"up here under the sky,
winter and summer,
one can lie in the sunshine
and bathe in it until
untied are the knots in the heart,
for there is nothing like the sun
for smoothing out all difficulties." 
Mabel Dodge Luhan






Above are Penny and Jeannie's sketches in more detail.  I have to admit that drawing people is not my favorite thing. But the idea came about one day in the Couse house.  Steve Talley, our tour guide, was talking about how Couse had visited Europe and was inspired by the use of dramatic light by the masters, such as Rembrandt.  As he was talking, I looked over at Jeannie and my jaw dropped.  Jeannie was lit up like the sun in such a dramatic and beautiful way!

"Beauty encodes the structure of the cosmos." J.M. White


On the way to the workshop, I drove the High Road to Taos.  I stopped in Las Trampas at this gorgeous adobe church.  The name of the church is San Jose de Gracia Catholic Church and it was built between 1760 and 1776,  The sign next to it said the parishioners periodically re-mud the adobe walls which are as much as six feet thick.  It is considered one of the best preserved examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico. 


I also had to include a sketch of the blanket I bought in Taos.  The very first day I was too early to check in at Mabel's so I walked around the square.  I happened to notice a gorgeous blanket in one of the windows.  I assumed it would be too much and thought I'd put it out of my mind.  That is until the final day of our trip.  A group of us decided to do some last minute shopping and somehow I found myself at the Six Hand Hat Store.  Of course I had to ask the owner if the blanket was indeed for sale.  And it was!...and at a price I could afford! It seemed too good to be true.  I still wasn't sure I should do it and all the girls found me at the store and convinced me I should purchase it as friends are wont to do.  I am now the proud owner of a vintage wool Saltillo blanket.  Every time I look at the blanket it brings me joy.  And as I worked on drawing the motif, I found the motif was working on me.    

"When I looked down at the image I had just drawn of a folk design from an old Mexican blanket, I realized the design was "me."  It's hard to put it into words exactly, as the image was not human...but a pixelated embroidery flower.  The Mexican blanket had two rows of woven flowers.  Due to the nature of weaving, the flowers were squarish in their design...reminding me of the old space invaders Atari figures.  Nevertheless, when I saw the shape, something ancient was remembered in me.  That shape lived at the core of my being...and I loved it."


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Mabel's

When I got home from the trip I made a list of things I still wanted to draw.  The list was long...maybe twenty items or so.  I knew I wouldn't be able to sketch all of them, but thought I would give myself two weeks or so to finish up.  I put stars next to my favorite items on the list and Mabel's was one of them. 

I am not a quick illustrator.  As one week turned into two, and then four, I was starting to feel like I needed to finish this project up!  Sometimes I'm not sure how long to let myself go...because the ideas are endless.  But there is only so much time.

The very last starred item on my list was Mabel's.  However, I knew that I didn't just want to do a small, quick sketch like I did last time.  I wanted to do a whole two-page spread!  I knew if I thought about it too long I wouldn't do it.  Sometimes you have to push all thoughts away and just proceed.  And so I printed my photo out to size and did a light tracing of the basic outlines.  It is a simple step that usually gets me going.  The thing that took the most time was the trees and vegetation.  I altered them a fair amount from my photo to make the house more visible.  I also like to give them a little character.    


I wish you could see it in person because the photos don't really do it justice.  In fact, the whole post seems that way to me.  I especially liked the metallic watercolor elements that don't easily show up in a photo.  Below I tried to show the way the light reflects the paint.  Hopefully you get a sense of it, although you can't see it on the chicken weather vane which IMHO was the perfect use of metallic paint.

I truly can't put into words how much I love staying here.  On my first trip here, my friend Christina stayed in Tony's room.  His room is the one on the second floor with the incredible covered patio shown in the image below.  I have also stayed in Mabel's room and hope to one day stay in the solarium, the very top room with all the glass windows.   



So much time and energy went into this sketchbook.  At the end I scanned all the pages, and thought I would make a video.  I spent hours one night listening to A LOT of music.  I wanted to find the perfect song.  I didn't want it to be Mexican music, but New Mexican music.  In the end I narrowed it down to three songs, all of which were perfect.  I literally had to call my friend Tiffany to ask her to help me narrow it down (Thank you Tiffany...you always tell it like it is!).  All this said to encourage you to turn on your volume while you watch the video!


Conclusion

Sometimes I question my sanity.  Why spend so much time on something very few people will ever see or read?  I do it because it is my work to do...and it brings me great joy.  And because I have been blessed with the time and means to do so.  I absolutely love walking around with the intent to find beauty...to see what catches my eye.  No one but me can make those decisions.  No one but me knows what I love.  This work helps me to know myself.  I imagine it is my assignment to go out into the world and feel what tugs at my heart. 

I know for sure that the biggest tugs on my heart this trip were the women who took this journey with me. There is nothing like the magic that happens when a group of women comes together with the sole purpose of creating.  The bonds that are formed and the stories that are shared create an intimate atmosphere of safety, joy and love.  It was a precious gift to spend time with these beings and I hope to see them again in Guatemala! 

A deep heartfelt thank you to Amy for creating this space for us. 

Photo taken by Steve Worley

"Do not leave your longings unattended." Austin Kleon

I would also like to thank our dear friends Bruce and Nancy who hosted me before and after the workshop (and loaned me some wheels to get there!).  I would also like to thank my husband George for putting up with my sketching obsession the past month and for always supporting my artistic endeavors in a thousand ways.


Wednesday, May 28, 2025

"Rocky" Linocut



"Enjoy the Rocky Road"
Vanessa Sorensen

The above quote was taken (and altered) from a little embroidered tag sewn into the lining of a pair of pants I used to own.  The original quote read, "Enjoy the Rough Road."  The pants were from a brand called "Rough Hewn."  I remember wearing those pants through many a difficult time.  And every time I saw that little tag,  I was reminded that even the hard times have something to offer us.

When I was looking for a quote for this post and couldn't find the perfect one, this altered version popped into my head.  To me it has a triple meaning: 1) The aforementioned...enjoy even the tough experiences. 2) Relish the precious time we have with our pets, specifically Rocky. And 3) It is something one might yell out to a person on their way to an ice cream parlor.  Savor that delicious flavor of chocolate ice cream with diced marshmallows and nuts!  Whether difficulty, puppy, or ice cream, treasure this life in all of its various flavors.

INSPIRATION

On most Saturday nights we make our way up the street to game night at our neighbors' house.  And every single game night we are greeted by a very enthusiastic boy named "Rocky."  Rocky never seems to tire of greeting us and is very happy when we "accidentally" drop a morsel of food for him to snarf up.  He is a sweet-natured boy who will present his white belly for tummy rubs at a moments notice.  And who could resist belly rubs with that adorable ear sticking up?  Certainly not I.

Last month it was our host Mark's birthday and at the last minute I decided to make him a "quick" linocut.  I poured through my old texts from Mark and found the images below.  


I ended up choosing this photo as my reference, as he is looking very handsome, and it showed his one-ear-pointiness perfectly.
SKETCH

I cropped the photo for my sketch.  I also made a few minor changes to his position and removed his t-shirt.


CARVING

I transferred the drawing to my Safety-kut plate and carved the image using my Flexcut carving tools.  


TEST PRINT

I like to pull a quick test print using a stamp pad to make sure the design is what I want.  After seeing this test I knew I had to shave a bit more off his nose and thin some of the lines a tad.
PRINTING

After making my final adjustments it was time to print.  


Below is a short video of the entire process.  It is rare that I find a song so fitting and I was very pleased with how the video came together.  I googled "songs about dogs" and found Patti Page's "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?".  When I added the song to my photos and videos, I was surprised at how perfectly it worked.  Make sure you turn your volume on!


I really only needed one good print, but I have learned it the past to make more than I need.  You never know if one might get ruined while adding watercolor.  This time I made an edition of four.



WATERCOLOR

I was going to make a video of adding the watercolor, but I had a weird issue with the paper.  I almost always use Stonehenge paper for my prints as it is the perfect smoothness for hand-burnishing (some of the traditional printmaking papers have a rougher surface and you have to press quite hard to get a nice print).  Stonehenge also takes watercolor beautifully.  When looking for paper for this print, I found what looked like Stonehenge laying around the studio and tore it down to size.  It printed just fine.  That is why I was surprised when I painted the watercolor on and it absorbed immediately into the paper!  Normally you can spread the paint around easily.  I have hand-tinted MANY prints in the past without a problem.  This time the watercolor was not only absorbing fast, but the paper was bubbling up in a bad way.  After I painted the print I thought it was ruined.  It was so puckered.  I was not enjoying the rough road!

I ended up spraying the back side with water and pressing it overnight.  Luckily, in the morning, it had flattened and everything was OK.  Phew!
    
FRAME

The final step was to frame the print.  The size was a little too big for the mat that came with the frame, so I cut a mat to fit the image with the signature.  I can't tell you how many times I have made an image to fit into a store-bought frame and forgot to compensate for the added height of the title and signature.  This time, I bought the frame after the print so I knew I was going to have to cut the mat.  In the end I think he framed up rather well.

Of course, all of this didn't happen the day of Mark's birthday because I woefully underestimated the amount of time it would all take.  But I presented Mark with a test print on his birthday and about a month later gave him the framed print. 

I have mentioned my neighbor Mark numerous times on this blog.  He is my neighbor who has every wood-working tool you can imagine and who has helped on MANY of my projects.  He never hesitates when I text or call him with a crazy idea...and often spurs me on to make them even more difficult!  I am deeply grateful for all his help and time.  A big thank you and HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!    

One who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure.
—Jewish Proverb


Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Shooting Star Linocut



“What are we but shooting stars,
hoping to shine long enough
to make at least one soul believe in the magic.”
― Sherry Namdeo

INSPIRATION

I am a member of a local printmaking group called Tiger Lily Press, and each year we have a members' show where we can submit two framed pieces.  I knew I wanted to submit my framed "Magnolia" print, but I also wanted to make a new piece. As I usually do, I opened up my ENORMOUS file of plant photos to see what caught my eye. 

Below you can see I chose a plant I photographed in May of 2015 at Miami Whitewater.  I specifically remember we were on a bike ride around the loop, and we stopped under the big oak tree where they have a picnic table to rest.  I was wandering around looking at plants when I spied this unusual beauty.  Its name is "Shooting Star", and it is a native prairie ephemeral.
SKETCH

I begin every print with a sketch.  I usually do a light tracing of my photo, and then alter it according to my taste.  This time I felt like I wanted to beef everything up a bit.  I remember I was staring at my sketch when my neighbor Joe came up the stairs, and I showed him the sketch.  Joe is a package designer and also a talented printmaker.  As he was walking down the stairs I thought, "What would Joe do to make this better?"  What came to me was to not only beef it up, but to make it more angular.  Below you can see my starting sketch and where I ended up.

TRANSFER TO PLATE

Once the sketch is completed it is easy to transfer it to the plate.  I simply flip it over and rub with a credit card.  
CARVE

Once the design is transferred, it is time to carve!
Carving is my favorite part of the entire process.  Below you can see the finished carving.  I like how the plate looks when I carve the large expanses with the same v-gouge that I use for the subject.  It gives the appearance of energy or vibration lines coming off the plant.  An efficient person would just carve the expanses with a large flat u-gouge.  It was probably not the smartest thing to do right now as I am trying to get over tennis elbow.  But I REALLY like to photograph the plate with all its "energy" lines at this stage.



Check on the goals you have set for yourself...

Make sure your vision is charged with desire.
We get the word desire from the Latin de sider, meaning “of the stars.”

Unless your vision is charged with desire,
you have lost touch with your star and are bound to go astray.

But if your desire is fully invested in your vision,
then you cannot help stirring forces in the world to support you.

— Robert Moss


Below is a 60-second timelapse video of the carving process. (Music by Dmitri Kolesnikov from Pixabay)



CLEAN PLATE

For ten years I have cleaned the plate the same way before printing.  I normally use vegetable oil to remove the pencil from the plate.  You don't have to even clean the plate if it is a one color black print (which this is).  But if you print with lighter colors, like yellow, the pencil will sometimes show on the print.  
I just happened to be carving upstairs in the computer room, and the thought popped into my head, "Why don't we try cleaning with acetone?"  Sometimes the vegetable oil gets stuck in the grooves, and I have to use a Q-tip to clean the grooves so it won't leave an oil mark on the paper.  I figured acetone would just evaporate.  And I knew I had some fingernail polish remover just a few steps away in the bathroom closet.  I even googled it to see if other people used it as a cleaner, which they did.  But I couldn't specifically find anything about using acetone on safety-kut.

Below you can see it cleaned up beautifully.
DISASTER STRIKES

The day after I cleaned the plate I went downstairs to print in the studio.  I pulled a test print, and then my sister called.  I briefly looked at the print and had a funny feeling something was wrong, but I couldn't study it in that moment.  And after I finished talking to my sister I was on my way to dinner with my neighbors.  When I returned home I studied the situation and was so sad...the acetone had eaten away the linocut material.  When I was cleaning the plate I had noticed there was some very tiny "dust-like" particles on my paper towel, but I figured it was maybe part of the pencil carbon.  Unfortunately, it was the plate dissolving.  For those printmakers out there, DO NOT USE ACETONE ON SAFETY-KUT! (or Speedy Carve or Soft Kut)
When things like this happen, which is not that uncommon in printmaking, it takes me a while to adjust to reality.  With all my "zen" training and meditation, you would think I could just accept it and move on.  I do think I have improved somewhat in that regard, but it still takes the wind out of my sails for a bit.  I think I took a week off before I could stomach starting over again.  

RE-PRINT

I can also tell that I was "all business" because I took no photos of the re-carve.  The first time I carved the plate I went slowly to not irritate my elbow.  But the second time I went a little quicker and felt it in my forearm.  George graciously offered to help me print (to give my arm a break), and we had a successful day.  Below is a 60 second video of our efforts. (Music by Mykola Odnoroh from Pixabay)
 

Although we only printed five, the edition will be a variable edition of twelve. I plan on printing seven more on different kinds of paper. 

CHOP SIGNATURE

Once the prints were dry it was time to add a chop signature.  I don't add a chop on every print, but I especially like to on black-and-white prints to add interest.  

The scientific name of the "Shooting Star" is Dodecatheon meadia.  When I looked up the meaning I learned that Dodeka means twelve, and theos mean gods.  Hence it is known as the "Flower of the 12 Gods."  In honor of that I decided to add a twelve-sided flower chop.  I designed the chop in Illustrator as you can see below.

Once I completed the design I had to decide if I was going to carve it myself or order a rubber stamp.  In the past I have tried carving my own (you can see my attempts in my Pigsqueak post), but I couldn't get it to be as crisp as I liked.  As the show was quickly approaching I chose to order a rubber stamp from Hathaway Stamps in downtown Cincinnati.

Unfortunately my order took way longer than I expected, and I only got the stamp three days before my print was due at the show.  Also, for some reason, red ink takes a long time to dry.  But I added a new wax drier to the ink...plus I "cooked" two of the prints in the back of the car.  The heat greatly speeds drying time.  One might also ask, why use oil-based ink instead of a stamp pad which would dry faster?  The answer is the stamp pad ink is not as vibrant.  But luckily the wax additive and "car cooking" worked their magic...everything was dry the day before it was due, and I was able to frame the print!    
Below is a video of the nerve-wracking process of adding the chop! (Music by Ievgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay) 



CONCLUSION

Whenever I make a print of a plant I always research any folklore or medicinal uses, and I am always amazed at what I learn.  This time, the "Shooting Star" took me on an unexpected journey back in time to encounter a brilliant, ancient being.  As I mentioned above, the genus of "Shooting Star" is Dodecatheon, which means "twelve gods."  The flower is in the family Primulacaea, and it has been suggested that primroses were under the care of the twelve superior gods of Olympus (Lake Forest College).  When I read this I was curious to know "who were the twelve superior gods of Olympus?"  As I read the list of Greek gods and goddesses nothing in particular caught my attention.  That is until it occurred to me to ask, "Is there a Greek god or goddess of shooting stars?"

Why of course there is!  And her name is Asteria.  She "was the Titan goddess primarily associated with falling stars and was also connected to nocturnal divination, including astrology and oneiromancy, the interpretation of prophetic dreams" (Theoi).  At the time I was researching this, I just so happened to be taking Robert Moss's course, "The Power of Active Dreaming" where we were exploring the vast potential of using dreams as guidance in our lives. And my sister had just loaned me the book "The Night School: Lessons in Moonlight, Magic, and the Mysteries of Being Human" by Maia Toll.  I am about halfway through this mystical book that takes one on a creative journey into the mystery and magic of the night.

If this wasn't enough to shoot me over the moon, my jaw dropped when I read Asteria's story.  Asteria was beloved by Zeus, but she rejected his attentions.  He pursued her in the form of an eagle. To escape him, she transformed into a quail and jumped into the sea, becoming the island of Delos (Wikipedia)

When I read this story I was just at the point of designing the chop for this print.  I first sketched a twelve-sided star with a quail inside.  Then, playing around with the idea, I reversed it and sketched a quail with a twelve-sided star inside it.  Both sketches were too detailed for a little chop signature, and I abandoned my sketches for the simpler twelve-sided flower.
But when I saw the sketch of the quail with the star on his chest I realized it resembled the main character in my recently published book "Little Bird and the Quest for Happiness!  The same day I was researching Asteria I just so happened to be adding an inspiration section to the end of the book and was writing about a bird with an insignia on his chest.  In my book, the symbol represents the idea that we all contain something magnificent inside us...indeed that we are each one of us magnificent. 

When I get repeated synchronicities like these I slow down...I pause...and listen.  At first I thought I was supposed to name the print "Asteria."  But then I realized people would not know the back story.  They wouldn't know the scientific name and all the references to the Greek gods.  I also thought they might get the name Asteria confused with the genus of flowers named Asters.  So I kept the name of the print, "Shooting Star."  

But listening further, I am left with a feeling that one gets when you see a "Shooting Star."  I feel lucky.  I feel like the universe is very much alive and is reaching her beautiful tendrils and sprinkling stardust into every facet of my life.  Whether I see a shooting star blooming at the prairie's edge or blazing across the vastness of the night sky, it is a very good sign.  When the goddess Asteria reaches her shimmering hand through time and plants a spring ephemeral in my path, I take note!  Her transformation into a courageous little bird (and eventually into a sacred island) is an inspiration that steadfast bravery can defy even the greatest of powers.  I receive all of these synchronicities as a message to keep following my intuition, to connect with the extraordinary through the ordinary, and to be astounded by the mystery of it all. 
“CALL YOURSELF

Look deep in the mirror
And say: 'I LOVE YOU'
And immediately
An electric current will
Ripple throughout your soul
And burst through your eyes
Like shooting stars
Dancing across the skies
In ecstasy.
To tell your soul you love it -
Is like remembering
WHO YOU ARE
After being in a coma
For a hundred years.
Your face will beam the light
Of a hundred galaxies.”
― Suzy Kassem

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The "Shooting Star" is now available for purchase on my website, Nessy Press! Also, the Tiger Lily Press Members show opening is this Friday, May 16, 2025 from 6-8pm at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center.  The exhibit runs through Jun 13.