Downtown Boulder Art Fair this weekend!

Please join me this weekend at the Downtown Boulder Art Fair, July 18, and 19 2009 10 am - 8pm Sat., and 10am - 5pm Sunday. I will have new work like "Shadow Wall" to show, that I am very excited about.

How to Care for Original Prints

After selling my work to clients, I realized I didn't have any instructions to leave with them on how to take care of their woodcut prints. The following is a brief guideline on how to care for any original print.

How to Care for Original Prints

If properly cared for, an original fine print will survive for generations.

Handling and storage- Loose prints should be handled as little as possible with clean hands or white cotton conservator’s gloves. To avoid damaging or bending the paper, prints should be handled by two hands on opposing corners of the paper.Don’t stack prints on top of each other unless they are separated by an acid free glassine paper. Avoid storing prints between low-grade acidic papers, as it will stain the prints over time. Store prints flat, in a temperature controlled room (air conditioning), away from smoke, and light. Storing in plastic envelopes is acceptable, but should not be airtight because they can trap damaging moisture.

Framing- When framing a print, never place the print directly against the glass. It must be separated from the glass by an acid free, 100 percent rag mat. Low-grade mats attract moisture, fungi, and parasitic organisms that will deteriorate and stain the print. Mount theprint to the mat by hinging it at the top with an archival linen tape. Acid free foam -core should be used to back the print in the frame. A UV filtering glass is recommended to prevent the print from fading over time. Sealing the back of the frame, or placing a dust cover on the back will prevent insects and dust from entering the frame.

Hanging framed prints- Do not hang original prints in direct sunlight, as they will fade and deteriorate over time. If the frame will hang beneath a flood or spotlight, consider upgrading to UV filtering glass. It is not recommended to hang, or store prints inhigh humidity areas, such as bathrooms, or basements where they can attract mold, mildew and/or insects like silverfish that destroy paper.

I hope this helps to provide you with basic information to care for fine prints on paper. Please add any other helpful tips you may have for conserving prints.

Referenced from "A Guide to the Collecting and Care of Original Prints" Carl Zigrosser and Christa M. Gaehde 1965 Crown Publishers

Save the Date August 13 reception

Thursday, August 13 2009

5:00 - 7:00 pm Complimentary Hors' d'oeuvres

Wright Kingdom Real Estate, 4875 Pearl E Circle Suite 100 Boulder

Featured artists: Annette Coleman, Theresa Haberkorn,

Donna Mayo, Laura Tyler, Joan Wolfer

Envelopes

The envelopes for the invitations were a project by themselves. I made envelope liners that had my woodcut seashell printed on them, and hand addressed the guests names on them.

I was inspired by Martha Stewart to line my invitation envelopes. To make a pattern for envelope liners, take one envelope and cut away the gummed area. Measure and mark 1/8th of an inch off on the sides and bottom of the envelope, and cut on those lines. Transfer the pattern to mat board. Use this to cut around with an xacto knife to cut out each liner. I printed a woodcut on the liners, but any rubber stamp would be a nice touch, or use pretty patterned paper as a graphic liner. To glue them in, slide the liner into the envelope, fold down the flap and the liner together to make the crease. Slide a scrap piece of paper under the liner that is still folded over, and run a glue stick around the edge. Remove the scrap paper, and fold the envelope flap back over the liner and rub it down to stick with a bone folder.

Envelope pattern made of mat board

On the blog Design Sponge that I love to follow, I saw a project for addressing envelopes that inspired me to create my own project. That project was to use a calligraphy font on your computer, and print your envelopes through your home printer in a color slightly darker than your envelopes. This would be used to go over with a paint pen to create the look of calligraphy.

I adapted this project by printing out my guests name and addresses from Word in Bickham Script Pro on to white paper. If you don't have this font, there are several sites that offer free fonts like searchfreefonts.com I placed the print out on a light box, and centered the envelopes over each name, and traced them with a calligraphy pen and ink. Using the dip pen in a bottle of ink gave the envelopes a lovely hand written touch. My hand writing was a little shaky, but I think the results looked almost as good as the real thing. I also used this light box and tracing technique for the seating cards, and menu cards, which I will show in the next post.

Wedding Invitations

Printing your own wedding invitations is a daunting task. It is such an important project that represents not only the wedding, but also your art and craftsmanship to everyone on your guest list. I carved four woodblocks of palm trees before I settled on the right one to use for the invitation! The trees represented Paul and me, him being the taller one, standing next to my shorter tree, growing together side by side.

The third version of palm trees

Final version of invitation

I made solarplates for the text on the invitation, rsvp, and return addresses on the envelopes. It is a light sensitive plate that is exposed with a negative, and washed out with water. After hardening the plate under UV light, I used it as a relief plate to roll with ink I hadn't made a solarplate in a longtime, and had to make several plates before getting the fonts to look right. Some fonts I chose were too delicate for the process, and had to change to a slightly thicker font that would print well.

Rsvp and rsvp envelope printed with a solarplate and woodblock seashell

Solarplate, woodblock, and invitation

Invitation Paper

One of the first things I shopped for in the wedding planning was paper for the invitations. I spent days looking at websites for design inspiration, sources, and pricing. I considered using Waste Not card stock, or other fun colored papers but settled on Arturo Fine Stationery from Jerry's Artarama. It is a beautiful soft white cotton paper made in Italy for just a little more money. This is a classic, slightly more formal, traditional mold made paper that would indicate "handmade", not "homemade". When ordering from Jerry's, this paper comes flat or folded in a choice of three colors, in various sizes, and matching envelopes, in boxes of 100. Other websites have smaller quantities, but are more expensive. This quantity worked well for me since I had extras for mistakes, misprints and an unexpected addition of the rehearsal dinner invitation to add.

When planning a wedding, the guides recommend first picking your colors, theme, and formality, and make sure everything matches that plan. I had a hard time knowing what message each item I chose would connote. Was the paper too formal for a beach wedding? Ultimately, it did set the right tone for our semi-formal beach wedding.