Circle of Care Event Tomorrow Night

 

I will have some woodcut prints at Green the Night tomorrow evening, December 8th. It is a benefit for Circle of Care, an organization that brings seniors to arts and cultural events.


Stop by to enjoy music, food and wine, and support the arts!

Please join me tonight for the Open Studios Holiday Market opening!

The Open Studios Holiday Market is having an opening tonight!  

Because there will be wine, you must bring a free ticket to attend.

I will be there tonight, and the show will be open for the next two weekends.

For a ticket, go to www.openstudios.org to print out your free ticket

How Long Do Wood Blocks Last?

Occasionally I get asked how long a wood block lasts, or how many prints can be pulled from it.  There is no clear answer to this question. It depends on a lot of factors like how hard of a pressure is used in the press, what type of wood it is, or how well it is taken care of.  I had a print commission for the rooms of the St. Regis Hotel a few years ago, and was surprised that I was able to pull just over one hundred and seventy prints from a set of blocks. 

This is my favorite wood block that I carved about ten years ago when I still lived in Durango. The design I carved in it was inspired by a book I have of Indian wood block patterns used for printing on cotton. I found a scrap of high end plywood to use, planned the design as a repeat from edge to edge, and carved it as a demonstration at the Durango Art Center. This wood block has been used for thousands of printings on so many things; my prints, fabric for my art bin and handbags, on my suede day planner I made, paper covered light switch covers, notebook covers, and note cards I have been selling since I first carved this block. After ten years of printing this block, the plys in the wood have begun to crack and peel.  It is de-laminating, and the top layer is barely attached any more. Despite all of the wear and tear, it still actually prints pretty well.  I just used it tonight to print some cards for the HART sale at the Foothills Art Center, and the Open Studios Holiday Sale. The poor thing needs to be retired, but I keep using it anyway, hoping I can pull just a few more prints from it before it falls apart completely. Every time I pull it out, I wonder if it's wise to use it, or if today is it's last day to be printed. So to answer the question to "how long does a wood block last?" My answer would be - until I can let it go.

Photos from White Space

My piece for White Space was four feet square, larger than any piece I've ever done.  I had read somewhere a line about the idea of swatting nervous butterflies away from your stomach. When considering what to do for White Space, I decided to use this idea as a metaphor for swatting away my own butterflies about this event. I took photos of my hands, and drew the image on to the 4' x 4' woodblock.  The butterflies were carved separately, and cut with a jig saw into shaped blocks.  The night of the event, I printed a rainbow roll of orange and yellow as background for the butterflies, and printed the black butterflies on top.  Then was the incredible task of carving the huge block.  I recruited some helpers from the audience to cut out the butterflies, and to help me print the paper just in time to finish!  Thank you everyone for coming out to White Space, and for all of those who helped me finish my biggest woodcut ever!

Me in the studio with the woodblock

Rolling ink for the butterflies

Inking up the block

The bidding sheet

Carving the block

Must not stop carving!

A little visitor with so many questions

Applying glue to the board

The crowd

Friends taking pictures

My little helpers.  These girls helped me rub the back of the paper to print it.  They were such a big help.  I couldn't have finished the piece without them!

The audience

Jen, my husband Paul, and Lisa who was also a big help in in getting my piece finished!

Yaay! I'm done!

The finished piece;

"Swatting the Butterflies Away From My Stomach"

Time Lapse Video of My Piece at White Space

Thank you everyone that came out to White Space to cheer me on.  I appreciated seeing so many familiar faces in the crowd. This was a challenging event, working so large in such a short time period.  I carved the wood block like a mad woman, and finished just in time!


Haberkorn Woodcut Timelapse: BMOCA White Space Event from Theresa Haberkorn on Vimeo.

Collective Show at Showings Gallery

I will have three pieces in the Collective Show at Showings Gallery in Denver.  The opening will be November 20, 5 - 9 pm

Showings Fine Art

834 Santa Fe Drive

Denver, CO 80204

ph.  (303) 623-2500

Hours:

Friday, Saturday 12-6pm

Sunday 11-4

12-9pm on first and third fridays

Red Delicious Press Print Sale

I have a few prints for sale at the Red Delicious Press print sale.  It begins this Friday, November 13th from 6 - 9 pm and runs through December 19


www.reddeliciouspress.com

Art on the River Exhibition

I have a new piece "Sticks" in the Art on the River Exhibition at the Art Students League of Denver.  The opening was Friday night, which I did not attend since I was at White Space.  I will be posting about that event later today.   Art on the River runs November 6 - December 18

"Sticks"  Woodcut

This woodcut is from a photograph I took of the reflection of branches in the river.  I wanted to abstract them somewhat from their original source. The print was pulled from two blocks that were cut reductively, and reprinted in new colors.  

Art Students League of Denver
200 Grant St.
Denver, CO 80203

White Space tonight

A preview of my piece for White Space

Join me tonight, November 6 for White Space, a live art event held at Design Within Reach in Boulder.  Six artists create a work of art in two hours as guests bid on the pieces in a silent auction. There will be a DJ and bar to create a festive atmosphere.  The event is a fundraiser for Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and half of the proceeds go back to the artists. 


Though the event is two hours, I have been preparing for White Space all week. The canvas size is 4' x 4', larger than any piece I've ever done before, and much larger than Dents De Lion which was 24" x 36".  I was excited to participate in this event to get me out of my comfort zone, and the theme of my piece reflects this idea.  Working this large in front of the public is very intimidating, but I'm ready for the challenge.  Please come out tonight to see my huge new woodcut, cheer me on, and bid on my work!


Design Within Reach Boulder Studio
2049 Broadway
Friday, November 6, 6:30 - 9pm
$5 suggested donation at the door

Video of Open Studios

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for a video about Open Studios produced by the local channel BV22.  Check out my segment at the 10:20 mark.

Open Studios 2009 - Boulder Colorado - BV22 from BVMA on Vimeo.

2010 Scroll Woodcut Calendars are Now Available!

The 2010 calendars are now available at my etsy store Haberkorn!

The steps to making the calendars are as pictured above.  (From left to right) I start with a drawing, which is then transferred to wood and carved out with gouges, and printed on to paper.  The print is scanned in to my computer, where I add the months, and then print it.  The calendar is scrolled around a wooden dowel glued to the bottom for weight and stability.  At the top is a grommet and ribbon to hang the calendar from.  The finished size is 8" x 26", great for those little skinny walls that are too small to hang much else. These calendars make wonderful gifts for everyone on your list!

Last reduction Woodcut Class

Thank you everyone who came out to visit me and my studio during the Open Studio tour in Boulder. Over the two weekends, I saw lots of familiar faces, and many new ones.  Despite the cold weather, and economy, it turned out to be a good Tour.  It feels so good to receive such great support for my work.  


Last Thursday was the last class of my reduction woodcut workshop at the Art Students League of Denver.  I was impressed with how great all of their prints turned out.  The reduction process was intimidating for them at first, but they for the hang of it pretty quickly.  Here are the last versions of the students reduction woodcut prints.

Jessica's third color orange, over yellow and blue

Jessica had a small edition, so she had time to add one more shade of dark orange 

Kelly didn't make it to the last class since she was going to Japan the next day after class!  Though she didn't finish her print, she made some progress printing more colors.  Both shades of green were inked through a stencil.  I'm sure she'll finish it when she returns from her trip.

 

I hadn't been able to show Ann's print until now because the colors she used were so light, they were hard to see.  This is her final print with three colors, a light blue, medium blue, and brown.  I like how expressive her carving was executed.

Debby's last color of burnt orange, which looked great over the rainbow roll  of yellow and green.

Laura didn't get to finish by the end of class, but her print shows great skill and precision in carving.  She has been working on her own time in the studio and printed blue over her first colors.  

"Simone" had a great  time playing with different papers, and two images.  We couldn't decide if this was a chicken or a rooster, but since it had eggs, it must be a chicken!  Here it is in black on red paper.

Simone's chicken with red printed over yellow

The chicken with black over red and yellow.

Simone's fish with the third color dark blue.

Liddy had a very simple image, which was her metro card while she was in school in San Francisco.  It turned out to be a great graphic, and bold print.  The last color she printed was the black lettering and icons.

Sabyl's graphic design background shows in her woodcut print. She tied all of the elements in her print together so well.  The smaller elements in her image were inked separately with small brayers, and run through the press in one run.

Larry finished his print by giving his lady red hair, some yellow details, and dark blue around her.  I like how he went with the bubbly block instead of starting over.  It adds another layer of interest and texture to the image.

After six weeks of classes, the registration guide got a lot of use, and has the stains to show for it.  This was a fun group of students, and I will miss them. Which woodcut prints did you enjoy the most?  Was it informative to see over the span of posts to see how the prints progressed?

Tomorrow night I start another class in my studio with the Lifelong Learning Program.  Stay tuned for another series of posts on the next class. 

Save the Date - November 6 for White Space with BMOCA

I am very excited to be invited to participate in White Space at Design Within Reach, a fundraiser for Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. During this two hour live event, six artists including myself will be creating a work of art on a 4' x4' panel. Throughout the evening, people can bid on the pieces, and enjoy a live DJ and bar.  I have less than a month to decide how I'm going to put this piece together in two hours.  I may bring my press to DWR, and print on site. Come by on November 9th to see this exciting event.

Friday, November 6, 2009

7:30 PM

2049 Broadway in Boulder

Second weekend of Open Studios this weekend

Please come out in the snow and visit me at my studio this weekend during the second Open Studios.  I have great new woodcuts on display, and the 

2010 calendars are in!

Saturday and Sunday Noon- 6pm

My studio: 2810 Wilderness Place Suite C Boulder 303-819-1901

Fifth Session of Woodcut Workshop

I got behind on posting my reduction woodcut print class and the student's progress on their prints.  Tonight is the last class, and I'm sure they will be printing madly to finish.

Simone's little chicken, a single color print

Jessica's second color, yellow over blue

Kelly's second color green inked with a mask

 

Larry's second color blue

Laura's second color 

Liddy's second color, hot pink

The first color of Simone's rooster

Sabyl's second color of swirls in light brown

Simone's second color of dark green