printmaking - the garden book

latest printmaking effort, this time of one of the pears from my tree. i used a spiral shape on the body of the pear to suggest its roundness. the ink color on keyplate could have been a bit lighter perhaps. but i am pleased overall with the effort. and i did extras this time so i have a few to give as gifts that will be numbered separately from the series of 6 i am making for the folios

my work studio

thought you might like to see my compact office/graphics design studio. i do book assembly, printmaking and cutting downstairs on the big table, woodworking in the basement and everything else up here. i own a swanky HP printer that can handle 19" x 54" and about any paper stock i can throw at it. art work behind the monitors is by friends as well as some posters i have done for my books and some other things collected over the years.

lost dice

4 sets of homemade dice (wooden cubes 1" to a side, painted with acrylic paint and stamped with rubber stamp numbers) for the game lost dice, a print and play game based on lost cities by reiner knizia. i played a few round of this tonight as a solo game and found it fun and similar to how 'lost cities' plays actually.

by the way 'lost cities' is a great 2 player game for couples.

this is one of the times i wished i carved as well as my brother does. i'd really like to re-do these dice with the numbers carved into them. i may tinker with the design some to make these look a bit more polished.

paperwhites

as autumn marches towards its winter self my garden closes up for a season. in order to have something blooming and growing during this time i plant paperwhite narcissus indoors. with their heady scent and almost visible daily growth they are quite easy to force into blooming. you dont even need soil.

gravel of some sort will do; place the bulb root side down in the bed of gravel and fill with water to just the bottom of the bulb. within a day or two the roots will begin to snake their way down and the flower stems will begin to grow up. they only bloom once so once they are done they are done.

narcissus come probably from a greek word meaning 'sleep' or 'numbness'

bound man scroll

click on photo for larger view

after a few hours of steady work today i printed and assembled the finished scrolls for mary robinette kowal's story - bound man. the scroll measures 1.5 x 15 feet long when fully unrolled. paper was a vegetable parchment and is attached to the spindles with aged brass rivets. spindles are made from wood and the brocade fabric wrap has leather ties held in place by aged brass grommets. gylph illustrations were designed by me, created out of alchemic symbols.

this was the first time i have ever made a scroll. its a very interesting book form, very unlike a traditional western codex or the accordion fold books i usually work with. mary's story combines elements of viking and asian cultures and i think i struck a good balance between all of the elements. i will take a photo of the scroll completely unfurled when the weather is a bit better outside to show the pacing of the illustrations.

work in progress

mary robinette kowal is a science fiction/fantasy writer who is gaining much attention of late (she is also a puppeteer). her story bound man caught my attention by its mythic quality and odd mix of asian and viking cultures. i wrote to her asking if i could turn the story into one of my artist book projects and she graciously agreed. i decided to do the book as a scroll because of the nature of the text and because i have not yet done a scroll as a binding/construction method

cut to a few months later

i finished the wooden spindle parts of the scrolls for the two copies yesterday and faux aged them. i am pleased with the result and will be printing the actual scroll this week on vegetable parchment. still looking for ideas on some sort of historically correct wrap or jacket to enclose the scroll in.

so mary, its coming to your doorstep soon, clear some space in your scroll cabinet or bin, maybe a scroll bin is the more proper term.

tonight's dessert - seckel pear tart

miniature seckel pears poached in apple juice and sugar and baked in phyllo dough. poaching liquid then reduced until caramelized and poured over top

tonight's dinner - tuscan style pork

rubbed with rosemary, sage, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted inside of a baguette, this recipe for pork tenderloin comes from joanne weir's site. very easy to make and great to eat (the bread really soaks up the meat juices and garlic well).

heirloom and diversity

the 'roxbury russet' is believed to be the oldest variety of apple cultivated in the united states, having been discovered and named in the mid 1600's. tastes pretty good too

new table

finished this morning, this table is built from spalted maple (top), curly maple (skirt) and cherry (legs). the legs have a slight taper to them i am pleased with.

tonight's dessert - peach tart

our local grocery store had peaches today and ripe ones at that. have not done many tarts this summer and now that it is becoming autumn, i thought i'd get at least one in

peach tart

1/2 box gingersnaps

2 peaches

1/4 cup butter

2tbl brown sugar

crush gingersnaps until the consistency of small crumbs and pour into the bottom of a tart pan or pie plate, use spatula to create an even, flat layer. melt butter and pour over crumb mixture, coating it. slice peaches thinly and arrange in a pattern, sprinkle brown sugar over everything. 350degF for about 20 minutes or until peaches are soft.

let cool, serve. ( i heated some apricot preserves in the microwave and pastry brushed this over the tart after it came out of the oven)

a taste of tables to come

check back soon

craft festival

well the 1st pittsburgh crafts n'at festival has come and gone. i had a great day there, my first craft faire, and met my goal of selling enough to buy a new piece of equipment for my woodshop so i can make even more things (like the table i am currently working on, which you will all have a look at in the next few weeks). lots of very nice people came and i am glad i found the pittsburgh craft collective. above is a photo of my half table of wares.

giant tomato

weighs about 3 pounds

more woodworking

also being featured at crafts n'at are some hair clasps i have been making for a while now.

wood species (l to r): paduak, mahogany, tulipwood, tulipwood

river tray

this is the 200th post for my blog. no special noting there, just like those round numbers.

i picked up a piece of chechen at my wood store recently because i couldn't resist its nickname - black poison wood. it had a very vivid grain and 3 aesthetically well placed knots which i drilled to metaphorically be stones in a stream of wood grain. birch dowels acting as legs on the ends carry the metaphor as reeds. this tray will be for sale at the pittburgh crafts n'at faire on september 5th at the union project (10-6) over in highland park on n. negley. stop by and see me and a lot of other talented people.

i think if i were to do this again i would make the dowels longer but i am happy with it over all. it makes for a nice tea tray, i will sell it with the teapot and a tea cup or two.

simple salad

1 small heirloom tomato, diced

a handful of african purple basil

sea salt

some olive oil

a very small bowl

dice, toss and eat

crafts n'at show

i've started getting ready in earnest for the upcoming crafts n'at show at the union project over in highland park on september 5th here in pittsburgh (see here). i will be featuring leather-bound blank journals, cheese boards, some wooden game boards, wooden hair clasps and whatever else i can get done between now and then. stop on by and see all of the crafterladies and me.

pears

the pears were harvested on sunday off of my tree. thinking up interesting things to do with them now

tonight's dinner - stuffed porkchops

wanting something more substantial the other night i made a couple of these

stuffing:

1 green apple

1 yukon gold potato

1 shallot

bit of brandy

i left the potato and green apple unpeeled. dice all 3 same size and brown in olive oil and butter and brandy until yielding to touch. remove from heat and let cool for a minute or so while you prepare the pork chops. keep saute pan on stove for pork chops

pork chops:

i had let the 2 double thick pork chops sit for an hour or so in a brining solution. they were then removed, patted dry and a slit was cut in each in order to shove the cooled stuffing in (overstuffing these is best in my opinion). cook 3-4 minutes a side in the saute pan. let pork chops rest for 5 minutes before eating.

a balsamic vinegar reduction was poured over everything once plated

side dish of mushrooms sauted in butter, olive oil, and rosemary.