My New Website

I am so happy to report I have completed creating my new website. It is www.wswillis.com. The process was so easy and whenever I hit a snag, my "guy" at Photobiz was able to magically make it go away!  I have a guy!

I am really not a techie person. I believe it is important to try to keep up with the changing world and the technology that keeps evolving.  But I am far from comfortable with it. So I have spent over a week's time pulling images, updating my resume, and all the other decisions I needed to make about how I wanted it to look.  I am eternally grateful to have had Diana Hartley's assistance in funtionality and helping me think it all through.  I guess I have a "gal" too!  

So please check out my new website and tell me what you think. I hope you find it easy to navigate. I learned about Photobiz from Sam Dahl, who created an easy to update website for us at Five15 Arts Gallery.  Check it out too, at five15arts.com

New Two Color Reduction Linocut

Drawing on pastel paper on right, plate on left

Print of first color

I am happily taking a printmaking class at Glendale Community College, co-taught by Donna Atwood and Marlys Kubicek.  It is fun seeing how other printmakers teach, and more to the point, I am learning a lot from Donna who is an excellent linoleum carver.  She has arranged for our class to have our two color reduction linocuts printed at Santo Press in Scottsdale, by Brent Bond.  This is thrilling, to see how the Vandercook press operates, and to have the luxury of having someone else do the laborious inking and registration.  I also learned a great way to help define the areas of color, black and white, by copying my line drawing onto pastel paper the same color that will be used and then coloring in the white and the black. After defining the white, blue and black areas on paper, I transferred the line drawing onto the plate and then drew in the black and white areas. Then I carved away what I want to preserve as white.  Brent printed the first color Saturday, shown here.
Ttoday, I carved away what I want to preserve as blue and then used a Sharpie to color what was left.  Brent will print the black on the first set printed in blue, this coming Saturday.

Carved plate ready for second color

RELIEF-A-RAMA

NEW MATERIALS 
I am teaching a relief printmaking class at the Phoenix Center for the Arts.  In preparation, I ordered some relief supplies from Dick Blick that I had never used before.  One was a new item - a clear soft plastic like plate about 1/8" thick in a 12 x 12 size.  I taped a drawing under it and cut it for a black and white print.  It was weird, really hard to see what was left as I cut it away.  But I kept plugging away and ended up with the plate and print shown in the photos.  I used Flexcut tools and it cut more easily than linoleum.  But I think I still prefer Gomuban (available from imcclains.com).  

COME PRINT WITH US! 
Tomorrow is week 2 of 5 and then we start all over again with another 5 week session.  If anyone is interested sign up is available now for this relief class and solarplate etching too starting the middle of February.  Here's a link to registration.  Just click on Printmaking to see what's available and when.

September 11, 2011

Having participated in the exhibition "Discrepancy:  living between war and peace" now showing at the Napa Valley Museum, and having done so much research on the people who fell from the World Trade Center, I feel very connected to all that is being done to mark the anniversary.  I just watched (on dvr) a special pre-game celebration of the 2001 Baseball World Series before tonight's Diamondbacks game with almost the entire team coming back to our ballpark.  Our old pitchers, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, threw out the first pitch.  It seems like the antithesis to all the pain and sadness, to remember how happy and surprised we were to win such an impossible feat at such an emotional time.

 As good as those memories are, it is still so sad.  The sadness is staying with me because I learned recently that our soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, don't understand how much the American people support and respect them.  My sister, Nancy Willis, who conceived and curated the exhibition, took a group of veterans from the Pathway Home program through the show where they could see how all the artists expressed their individual points of view about the events of that time.   Pathway Home is one of the rare places where soldiers coming home the war can go to get help with post traumatic stress.  One of the therapeutic art projects in the program is the creation of masks, where they paint what they feel people see of them on the outside and what they feel about themselves on the inside.  Some of the masks were hung in an installation as part of the Discrepancy exhibition.  There were quotes from the men on  the walls near where the masks were hung.  It was a very moving display.  Some of the veterans came anonymously to the opening, to see how their masks were viewed, how people reacted to them.   This is what Nancy later wrote about the private viewing she shared with the veterans from the program.

One of the most recurring comments from them was, they didn't think people actually cared. so this had a big impact on them. THat people would stop and read, and look. They felt seen and heard.  It is a BIG issue. Whether it is the mliitary environment, home, work or community, they are taught to tough it out and deal. not ask for help or show vulnerability.  They acknowledged that serves a soldier well for the job he is asked to do, but what about when they come back? For those with "invisible injuries"  like PTSD, they have little release, or tools to let go or expose their feelings. It is equated with weakness.  

One of the vets said to me, "when I walked around the room and read the artists statement, I understood, that we are not so far apart. We feel the same way. " and that was BIG revelation for him. Others agreed.  They said, they were a little anxious about what they were going to find when they came in. They expected something more political or divisive because that is what they see everywhere else. 

Before they left, I headed back to the masks to the one guy who had a mask in the show but hadn't said anything. I said, "what do you think?". he extended his hand, and said "Thank you, ma'am for doing this.  I really didn't think people cared.".   He said low morale is one of the leading causes of death when they are over there. I think they see the divisive left/right nature of the media as overall non support. As we walked out, he told me he had been in Iraq for 2 1/2 years. He told me the exact date of when he went in and when he got out, as if each day was counted and lasted an eternity. He said, he lost so many friends who were married with families.He said, " I only have my parents. they had wives and kids. it just isn't right.  I would trade my place today with any one of them if I could. ". I got a glimpse and only a glimpse of how it is different for each one of them. Collective injury, but specific personal trauma. 

 

There is something so wrong with a country that asks the men and women who volunteer, to fight for our country but ignore their needs and the damage that they endure, when they come home.  We just aren't doing enough.   Here is a link to the Pathway Home website.

REGISTRATION is now open!

I am teaching two PRINTMAKING classes this Fall at the Phoenix Center for the Arts:

8 Saturdays

9 AM to 12 PM

September 17 – November 12

$171

WHAT A RELIEF!

Forget linoleum!  Discover new and wonderful relief printmaking surfaces:  Gomuban, Borco Board and Sintra.  They cut easier than traditional lino and each have their charm.  Explore these new materials and expand your mark-making tool box.

6 Mondays

10 AM to 2 PM

September 19 to October 24

$170

BEGINNING SOLARPLATE ETCHING

Turn those photos into artistic masterpieces!  Learn how take a photo you have taken and turn it into a fine art etching.  You will learn the solarplate process and how to put the artist's "hand" into your image. 

Here is a link to register for my classes.

PHOENIX CENTER FOR THE ARTS

1202 N. Third St. Phoenix, AZ 85004

(602) 262-4627

Fall Printmaking Classes at the Phoenix Center for the Arts

REGISTRATION OPENS AUGUST 22^ND 2011

I am teaching two PRINTMAKING classes this Fall at the Phoenix Center for the Arts:

8 Saturdays

9 AM to 12 PM

September 17 – November 12

WHAT A RELIEF!

Forget linoleum!  Discover new and wonderful relief printmaking surfaces:  Gomuban, Borco Board and Sintra.  They cut easier than traditional lino and each have their charm.  Explore these new materials and expand your mark-making tool box.

6 Mondays

10 AM to 2 PM

September 19 to October 24

BEGINNING SOLARPLATE ETCHING

Turn those photos into artistic masterpieces!  Learn how take a photo you have taken and turn it into a fine art etching.  You will learn the solarplate process and how to put the artist's "hand" into your image. 

I haven’t seen the catalog yet but both classes should be under or at $200.  Online registration is not yet available but I will post when it is ready.

PHOENIX CENTER FOR THE ARTS

1202 N. Third St. Phoenix, AZ 85004

(602) 262-4627

Friends Born of the Internet

I was just explaining to my husband how I became friends with Candace Nicol.  We were lucky to spend a couple hours with her yesterday at her studio, Oxboo Press in Reno, NV.  My excuse for visiting was to see the 2.5 x 2.5 Print Exchange Exhibition. 

2.5 x 2.5 Print Exchange Exhibition

I first saw her work on Inkteraction, not so very long after it started.  I loved her prints and wrote comments about them.  She then, checked out my work and liked what she saw too...and an internet relationship was born.  I followed her work and one day Kathryn Polk in Tucson invited me to participate in Candace's project "6 Sides to Every Story" where 6 artists each carved one side of a cube based on a topic from the news. (100 cubes were sent out.)  I was thrilled to be "playing with the big kids" even though I hadn't done a woodcut in 30 years.

Candace Nicol, 6 Sides to Every Story in background

Then I was invited by Candace to participate in a print exchange - "Naughty, Taboo, Just Plain Wrong" - the title alone reflects on joy and fun she often puts into her printmaking practice.   She was going to exhibit the print exchange during Nada Dada Motel (where downtown motel rooms are turned into gallery spaces for a weekend) - and I decided I wanted to see it!  She invited me to teach a 2 day linocut workshop and again I said yes.   I finally met her face to face!  I had never taught before but have many times since.  So she has inspired me to grow just by inviting me to participate in stuff.
Yesterday we plotted a plan to bring her to Phoenix (it will be her first time!) and I am looking forward to sharing some AZ print time and hospitality with her.

Solarplate Workshop Deli June 20-25 2011 and Open Studio in July/Aug

"I've Got You"

THE SOLARPLATE WORKSHOP DELI AT BILANCIA

This is a reminder that there is still space available for the Solarplate Workshop Deli at my studio, Bilancia, in Phoenix. Class size is small and there will be lots to learn in a friendly and encouraging environment. Come for a day or two or five...From $100-400. I refer you to a detailed blogpost from March here with more details about the workshop. Please be aware I have changed the order of menu items, reversing working from a drawing to Monday and from photos on Tuesday.

Contact me at wendy.willis.art@gmail.com to reserve your space soon.

Takach Press

OPEN STUDIO THIS SUMMER

With Marlys away for 7-8 weeks, I am offering open studio time for those of you who need access to a press. From $25-40 for 4 hours, depending on how much assistance you will need, plus materials for the following dates:

 

FRIDAY July 8th

SATURDAY July 9th

SUNDAY July 10^th
MONDAY July 11th

 

FRIDAY July 15th

SATURDAY July 16th

SUNDAY July 17^th

MONDAY July 18th

 

FRIDAY July 22nd

SATURDAY July 23rd

SUNDAY July 24th

MONDAY July 25^th

FRIDAY August 12th

SATURDAY August 13th

SUNDAY August 14^th

MONDAY August 15th

Availability may change.  Contact me to schedule a session at wendy.willis.art@gmail.com.

Weeklong Solarplate Workshop Deli at Bilancia, June 20-25 2011

I have finally worked out the details for the weeklong Solarplate workshop that has been percolating for over a year.  It is set up to focus on a particular topic per day so that all attendees can concentrate without distraction.  I believe all will learn from each other as we pursue each topic.  Since it is at our home studio, Bilancia, we can only take 8 participants, so it will be an intimate community of printmakers.  My favorite people!  I am calling the event a workshop deli - here is a sample of what will be served:

Select the parts and pieces that interest you to make a 1 to 5 day sandwich of delicious solarplate activities.  Each day will concentrate on a specific topic to achieve successful solarplate prints.  Whether working from a light box or exposing in the sun, you will be given the ingredients to creating a great print.

SUNDAY – OVERVIEW/DEMO  2-4:30pm

This is a preview day, mandatory for the newcomer or old-timer who needs to see the process in action.  Not hands on, but today’s session will open the door to many of the possibilities solarplate can perform. 

MONDAY – THE TRANSPARENCY  10-4:00pm

The key to successful prints is a good transparency.  This session will cover making transparencies from a copy machine and computer printer.  We will have a computer (HP laptop) with photoshop, and a printer (HP)available to make transparencies in the studio.  Size matters, how black does it need to be, and which products work in my printer will be subjects of the day.  No tweaking or experimenting can make up for a bad transparency.  You will learn to identify what works and what doesn’t.  For those who don’t have printers available, a side trip to Kinko’s will cover the necessities of copier created transparencies.

TUESDAY – DRAWING  10-4:00pm

The real art of solarplate comes when the artist’s hand is clearly seen.  This session will cover drawing directly on a transparency – one sided frosted mylar or on a transparency with an image you wish to modify, enhance or reduce; and creating a frosted glass surface on which you can draw.  You will learn which tools create great blacks, like stabilo pencils and a wonderfully weird tusche you will love.

WEDNESDAY – RELIEF  10-4:00pm

Getting one’s brain around “what’s black is white” is the goal today.  Solarplates are great for relief printing and this session will cover creating plates from transparency - and working directly on the plate.  Look Ma, no transparency!  Also covered will be tips on modifying images with photoshop filters which will enhance your success.  Working directly on the plate can result in either relief or intaglio, depending on your timing.  The variety of artistic effects will be expanded in this session.

THURSDAY – MIXED MEDIA  10-4:00pm

Combining relief and intaglio or combining two or more plates are the goals for this session.  Having created  your plates doesn’t end the creative process.  What else can you do, how far can you go, what if you tried this…This session will help you grow beyond the basics and help you learn to think outside of what is.  Chine colle, alternative papers and mixing it up will be encouraged.

FRIDAY – FREE PRINT  10-4:00pm

Take the day to print up a fury.  Etch that last plate you wanted to squeeze in, continue the work you didn’t get to in a previous session.  And show off the work you made with a critique of the week’s effort.

Contact me for pricing and registration information.

Printmaking Classes in April and May

I am teaching 7 and 8 week classes in Solarplate Etching and Reduction Linocut at the Phoenix Center for the Arts starting in April.  Registration is open now.  Click here for a link to the online registration site.

SOLARPLATE ETCHING
April 9 - May 24 (7 weeks/$185)
Saturdays from 9 am to Noon

REDUCTION LINOCUT - Phoenix
April 4 - May 23 (8 weeks/$200)
Mondays from 9 am - 1 pm 
$200
  
Phoenix Center for the Arts
1202 N. Third St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 262-4627


Call me at 602 750 3845 if you have any questions or concerns, or problems registering.

Merry Christmas

These two little dogs are among the blessings I am counting this holiday season.  They continue to make my heart light go on.  Maddie is so loving and Bear, who is getting older and a little slower, also snores so sweetly. 

I am also blessed with a wonderful family who has learned to laugh together and love each other in good times and bad.  And friends who have come to define unconditional love.

I am grateful for my students, who have listened and questioned and tried and appreciated learning.  I have learned so much from them and feel lucky to have shared such excellent time in the studio.  

I also want to acknowledge my new friends who I have yet to meet.  Most are artists whose work I found on the internet, who I have reached out to and who have welcomed me into their worlds with open arms.  Printmakers are the best!

So Merry Christmas to all. 

CATCHING UP

Jo Andersen, Marika Szabo and Marlys

Joe Marshall touching up his relief plate

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY?
It has been too long since I have posted!
MK and I have been spending lots of time on the Southern Graphics Council conference project we are curating for the Arizona Print Group.  Dan Welden donated solarplates to our 26 members last year to do a group project.  We envisioned all now 30 members' prints collaged together in one long print joined by a common theme and a horizontal line running through each print (at varying orientations).  The theme we chose was Reality/Distortion to fit in with the conference theme of Equilibrium.  We submitted the proposal to SGC and were accepted as one of 11 exchanges which will be on view during the conference March 16-19 2011 in St Louis.  Since many of the print group members had little to no experience with solarplates we have been having some really fun studio sessions helping them achieve their visions.  We had two sessions in Tucson hosted by the generous and talented Jo Andersen and have had several sessions at our studio, Bilancia.  It has cemented the vision Marlys and I have of a working print studio with collaborations and teaching...sigh.  Happy sigh!

THANKSGIVING IN BISBEE

Copper Queen Hotel

Heather Green

We also got out of town for a quickie trip to Tucson and Bisbee for Thanksgiving, staying at La Paloma and the Copper Queen.  We had the wonderful CQ Thanksgiving dinner - what a treat!  Delicious and so reasonably priced.  The day after Thanksgiving, we stopped in on Heather Green in her new studio/gallery and hit many of the great little shops on Main Street.  I learned a lot about turquoise from the jewelers there and regret there isn't any being mined any longer.  I had never been to Bisbee before but hope to return for what might be a new Tradition every November. 

MESA CONTEMPORARY ARTS NEW 2011 CALENDAR AND CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Two new exhibitions opened Friday night, coinciding with the unveiling of the new fundraising calendar.  Each calendar has 12 original prints and sells for $200.  29 artists participated, including me (see earlier post here.)  It's really easy way to start art collecting.  And the work is quite good. 

"Grand Tour" by Corinne Geertsen

MK and I really loved the new exhibitions - "Nice Words", with Utah artist Brian Kershisnik - great paintings that were easy to look at but then you discover little surprises and bits of humor...and an exhibition of digitally manipulated photos by Arizona artist, Corinne Geertsen.  Some of her photographs made me laugh out loud; some were just beautiful.  Great transfixing of old family photos in wondrous new settings. 

BILANCIA Reception

We celebrated our new studio venture with old and new friends last night.  Some guests have seen each other so often at Marlys' parties over the years, that they feel like friends outside of the party circuit.  I love it. 
 The conversion of Ed Knochel's house (Marlys' Dad) to this studio space took a long time.  After Ed's passing, Marlys worked hard to find homes for the family treasures, to salvage the useable stuff and find worthy recipients and to let go of the rest.  It was an emotional journey for her and for those who knew him; it was amazing to see the transformation of his home into a working and thriving art studio.  You will often hear us saying "Thank you, Ed/Dad" at any given moment.  He would be so happy to see his house being used and loved.

We actually have been working in the space for a couple months.  It feels good.  Lots of room, lots of light.  Lots of storage.  It is great to print alone and it is great to print together.  We collaborate well, discussing our ideas and processes.  We learn from each other, we admire each other's strengths and we realize how much we balance each other out.  That's why we decided to name our new collaboration Bilancia, which is vulgar Latin for balance.
We intend to have art soirees during the year, showcasing our new work and the prints from one of the print exchanges in which we participated.  This time we are showing "Passport Required" the print exchange of Arizona Print Group members.
Thanks to everyone who came by to share our excitement and the beginning of the Bilancia journey.  Thanks too, to Diana Hartley for hanging most of the art you see on the walls and to Fay Willis for her food and beverage assistance.  Photos from the party can be seen here on my flickr site.

BILANCIA Opening Reception

Tonight is the opening celebration for Bilancia, the expanded studio space Marlys Kubicek and I will share.  After Marlys' father died last year, she decided to open the whole house to artmaking and teaching.  Our collaboration is now called Bilancia and we will be printing (and Marlys will be painting) in our now spacious studio.  We have established Independent Study, Print Studio Rental and Printing with Assistance rates and will be offering small classes and workshops.  The location is in Phoenix, 5841 N. 21st Avenue (the southeast corner of 21st Avenue and Bethany Home Road).  Come by tonight 7-9pm and see what we've done to the place!

Last Call for Classes at Phoenix Center

I spoke with the good folks at the Phoenix Center and I still need a few more solarplate and  reduction linocut students for the classes to make.  If you have been procrastinating, sign up soon.  Reduction Linocut starts October 2nd (9 to noon) and Solarplate starts October 4th 6-8:30pm, and both run for 6 weeks.  Click here for the class link.

Saturday Reduction Linocut Classes

Saturday Morning REDUCTION LINOCUT

I will be teaching a 6 week reduction linocut workshop at the Phoenix Center for the Arts beginning Saturday, October 2nd from 9 am to noon.  Registration is open now until the end of August.  Learn how to make the complicated simple as you print 4 colors from one plate. 

Monday Night SOLARPLATE ETCHING
Beginning Monday, October 4th I will be teaching a 6 week solarplate etching workshop from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. Beginners are welcome or come brush up on the process if you've been working in other media. 

The Phoenix Center is located at 1202 N. 3rd St, Phoenix AZ 85004.   Register online or call 602 262-4627.  Classes are limited to 7 students.


NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY FIFTH BIENNIAL PRINT EXHIBITION
I had a print juried in to the NAU Biennial this year.  The exhibition is in the NAU Art Museum in Old Main, a great old building and wonderful place to see some fabulous printmaking.  The exhibition opens August 24th and goes until September 25th.  They are having a reception on Thursday, September 2nd from 5 to 7 pm and I will be there.  I can't wait to see the other work in this show.  And I am happy to be escaping the heat of Phoenix for a couple days!