springing again

in march the sky is sometimes like this

though snow still covered the land 

(there's much less now,

only patches in shadyplaces)

 it's still pretty darn cold

 but spring is in the air

the deer are moving alot.

 one is hiding against this elevated deer hunting thing

at my neighbor's hedgerow.

 soon i'll be on my way to idaho 

for a talk and two days of kami-ito and shifu making

(see the last post)

i return and head to portland to peddle my wares at the book arts bazaar.

.

i'll have papers and books and prints.

and below,

these prints are really that strong. 

wild color gifts from the pot's alchemy,

even a few eucalyptus leaves harvested 

at codex.

 this little book that i carried home from melbourne that last time

is letterpress printed

(on lousy paper, unfortunately)

but it's cool 

and i'm wondering what would happen 

if i combined some of it with some other imagery...

this is how it begins...

another book.

 our bookish group met and we made little blizzards

all over my table

using up some drawings.

 a ruffed grouse was checking out the backyard 

 finding something left behind as the snow melts

 looking like the local name: partridge

 until there's something to attend to

 then the crown appears

and away with you!

no ruff display on this photo op.

there may be some news

soon.

but not just

yet.

learning printing

i've made lots of flax paper this winter.

one mould,

custom made by britt quinlin the paperwright for a zone 4

and brush gallery project,

makes a dry sheet of about 10 x 24 inches.

the mould is unweildy and tricksy to use.

but i like it. 

working with the expert guidance of melissa schulenburg

i made some collagraphs 

about weave.

my living room furniture as drying rack. 

there was no way i could abandon these to the drying rack 

in the studio for five days,

they're too new and special for me.

and living with them helps me figure out the next steps.

dog kennels re-purposed.

 my living room includes two,

for the visiting setters,

gwen, who has made a happy comeback from her bad spell, 

and tess the princess birddog.

i opened up my sketchbook

looking for pulp stories

 and found this

from two winters ago.

a pulp herbal.

shanna's covered rock holding the page.

at school

the freshman group made 

super mokuhanga self portraits,

here are some of them.

and a warwick press surprise

i found in my mailbox.

a reflection on the times,

a poem, and this lovely, lovely landscape.

it feels like almost nothing in my hands,

so light and airy.
it's been a good week.

storming

all around the north country

wild 

clouds, snow, wind

 it started out cold and strangely golden 

early just after dawn

and the clouds were strange colors.

 i spotted two ends of a snowbow

 as i drove down the amish road.

 all day we heard stories of 

blizzard-like conditions nearby

(lake ontario)

and on the other big lake

(lake erie)

 so i drove home with courage and a high glorious joy

hoping to avoid whiteouts,

relieved to be going home to warm up the house

for whatever weather arrives.

and on the road

a pair of snow buntings

 they are back

  having traveled south for the winter.

i soon saw a flock

gathered on the gravel shoulders.

 there were some prints last night

i used up the last of the late fall harvests

before the snow came.

 and here, 

back home,

there's a snow dance

a crazy little spiral in our four inches or so.

found

folks, 

i found my book and shifu sampler

and

thank you all for your support

 this is what i did on saturday

to fight off the demons

autumnal printing

it's getting good, now. 

and so there's a nifty moon.

prints

they won't last long, these prints.

i've noticed all winter

the layering of soil, sand, and snow

how my boot prints show up time and again

and occasionally a wendy print

besides all the others:

cat (bobcat?), deer, dogs, turkey, little rodents... 

so the snow will melt this weekend they say

and i will place more rocks on the cairn that covers

my friend.

strange, how the days were shaped around her

and i didn't even know it.

friday thoughts in snow

 that damn porcupine has been feasting

on my one big white pine

 and you won't believe 

how hard it is to follow it

back to where the tracks

become a confusion

a vanishing

a something i don't understand.

sigh.

i wish it wouldn't.

 a nice big snow storm here

an elder dog prefers not to forge through 

(not many leaps left)

i hope there will be skiing tomorrow

after i shovel or plow out.

the house is creaking 

as the wind becomes

a bit more serious.

that pink comes from

a cold dyebath 

with lemon zinger in it.

and the ball of lokta is very tough.

the cloth is harem or strong cheese cloth,

with globes of its own.

 during clean up 

a few moons

have surfaced, and a few

are missing.

and a few prints,

a surprise, 

a happy surprise collaboration

from aimee, 

how textile

and paper

and print

converge.

i like this very much!