Oomphasis

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2009-05-24T13:04:00.004-04:00

Because Oomphasis is moving up!

Keith helped me set up and migrate the Oomphasis blog over to Wordpress a little while ago, and all that's left (short of some tweaking and refining here and there) is to send you there instead of here.

Here's the new URL: www.oomphasisdesign.com

And here's the new RSS feed: http://oomphasisdesign.com/feed

Enjoy!

Oh snap!

2009-05-13T16:09:00.006-04:00

When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, Keith told me that (besides a peach pie and a viewing of Wolverine) all he wanted from me was to print something, preferably using my new etching press. So from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon I had managed to go from design on paper, to linoleum block (and only stabbed myself once! On the elbow. Please don't ask.), to proof. I'll clean up the cut lines around the design, and then separate the center diamond from the floral design so that I can print with two colors.

I came very close to one-upping that, but didn't have time, what with Mother's Day celebrations and all. I've got two three-day weekends coming up, so I'm looking forward to having some luxurious, guilt-free productive art time. And then I'll show you what else I started last weekend. Yeah, man.

So sweet, it makes my teeth hurt

2009-04-06T20:04:00.008-04:00

This week I've decided to dedicate I Misunderstand! to pursuing the art of invitation miscommunication.

I never thought I'd ever create anything this sugary sweet-looking willingly and for free.

Sarcastic, yes. Sugary, no. I continue to surprise myself, all in the name of academics.

The dot pattern was inspired by a J.Crew dress I bought last year. The script typeface is called Giddyup, and it uses a little star to dot each "i" (I added one to the exclamation point; it seemed fitting). So, naturally, it seemed like the perfect cutesy typeface to underscore the sweet color scheme.

There's probably someone out there who'll love the design. But me? I just about gag. And then I laugh at myself.

On the other hand, Gilda and William sure are cute, if I do say so myself.

Pressed

2009-03-24T19:24:00.013-04:00

I'm down to the last month or so of my master's thesis project, and so until my semester ends on May 3, there's nothing, nothing I tell you, coming out of this lady's studio. But I did get something new.

It's a small etching press: a Blick Econo Etch Model II. Nothing fancy, nothing fancy at all, but it should enable me to pull prints faster and more consistently. Plus this style of press is so fun to use. It's cathartic. I'm itching to use it, but have yet to make the time.

I'm also itching to finish a block I started around Christmastime. It's been on my dining room table -- linoleum shavings and all -- for months now. MONTHS! If all goes well, I'll have it done in time to make this year's Christmas cards -- and mail them out! It would be a first. A Christmas miracle.

And see? I even shed blood while carving it.

So remember, when you receive that little piece of Christmas cheer in your mailbox this December, remember the pain and sacrifice I endured. It required two Bob the Tomato band-aids.*

What am I DOING thinking about Christmas?! I want to think about warmer weather. I want to think about May 4.

May 4, please hurry. I have printing to do.

--------

* Note: Regular band-aids are not conducive to doing anything when taped over your index finger like this; liquid band-aid is far more convenient. Just remember that when you see the kind labeled "NON-STINGING!" it may be more expensive, but it's labeled that way for a reason. A very good reason. (Yowch.)

Back

2009-01-09T15:39:00.004-05:00

If you're one of the three people who keeps up with my blogging, you'll see that I'm having a bit of a blogfest today. And I had a great post idea for this one blooming in my brain a mere half-hour ago while I was in the shower; alas, I forgot. Sorry I haven't been around. I've been a bad, bad Oomphasizer.

So here I am dipping my toes in again, trying to get back into the habit of working with paper and writing about it, too. I've been doing a lot of crocheting though.

In the spirit of January, my goals for this year includes one of my goals from last year, which is to open up shop on Etsy. I know, seriously, it's not that hard. But I have a list of stuff I feel like needs to be accomplished before I'm ready. I don't think it's going to happen until after I finish my master's in May. So there you go.

Until next time, or whenever I remember my original thought.

What I did this summer

2008-10-16T19:26:00.004-04:00

While there's not much happenin' here on my side of the Internet -- I take that back, there's a lot happening, but not much of it's fun. However, I took some time today to photograph a few finished projects that have been piling up and collecting dust since the summer.

Here is the wedding invitation I designed for my friend Jen's friend, Amy. It was a challenge, as they had a complicated list of dos and don'ts, a challenging color scheme, and other than that, no really clear idea of what they wanted (ack!). So it required pulling out the big mind-reading, type-selecting, color-balancing, layout-designing, invitation-wording guns. Incidentally, the design in the lower left corner is a modified version of the embroidery that was on her wedding gown. It's simplified a bit, and I incorporated two figure-eight knots, one of their wedding motifs (the groom is one of those sailing-types). Puuuurdy.

She asked me to do the escort cards/favor box tags, thank you notes, and programs too. Altogether, the job was a challenge, to say the least. But everything turned out well -- no rampaging groom or murderous bride. Most importantly, the guests seem to have understood the date and time, made their way to the wedding, followed the order of the ceremony, and found their tables just fine. It's good to know that my work is helping make the world a better place.

THIS one was more of a collaboration with Jen, the production dynamo, who was struggling with designing an invitation for Amy's Bridal Shower tea. In case you haven't noticed, we make a good team: I like to design but dislike tedious production work; she dislikes design but likes tedious production work. The result is always something delightful.

This, that and the other

2008-09-25T16:09:00.011-04:00

This
Here's a look at some programs I finished just today. These were a bit of a last-minute job for a cousin's wedding, but it was fun as they gave me a lot of freedom design-wise, and so I got to do some work that's closer to my own preferred style. I love it when that happens. Now they are happily on their way through the good old US mail. :)

**MAD PROPS ALERT** Major thanks to Jen: if not for her love of all things tedious and repetitive, and her crazy mad collating, folding, hole-punching, and ribbon-tying skills, I would probably still be working on these. In fact, I realized today that I've never had to hole-punch a single wedding program in my life, thanks to her. Thanks, Jen! **END MAD PROPS ALERT**

That
Also, Keith has started his own blog about woodturning, called Wood for Brains. He's just starting out, but he seems to have a talent for it, as he's turned out (HA! Ha? Ahem.) some very nice pens already. You can also see some more of my design work on the WfB masthead -- another recent design I'm very happy about! It will be easily adaptable to business cards and product tags. Now if only I could come up with a killer new design for Oomphasis...

The Other
This past weekend we (barely) made it to Artsfest in Solomons. It was a good show this year. We happily bought 3 photographs from Joseph Campell, who is a great photographer and was really fun to talk to. Still trying to decide where they'll go, but I can't wait to see them on the wall!

Wood for brains

2008-09-14T08:16:00.004-04:00

There's been quite a lot to distract me lately from doing paperlicious things, sadly. I have lots of projects I want to do, but I can't seem to work fast enough!

Keith, however, bought a new lathe and is learning how to turn pens. Pens are paperlicious, right?! His first one came out so good, I had to share:

It's made of walnut, which is one of my favorite woods, personally. I really like the little flare he made at the end, so your fingers don't slide down, and yet it doesn't scream "FINGER GRIP!" It just looks sexy.

He might just have a knack for this!

J'adore

2008-08-04T10:44:00.004-04:00

I love carving linoleum.

It's so soothing. I could carve, and carve, and carve, and carve all day long, until there was no linoleum left.

But that would be silly. And so eventually it comes time to pull a proof. You know, to see where all that carving has gotten me.

And as much as I love printing -- the smell of the ink, the sound of the brayer -- I also love having clean hands when it's all over with.

I love the simple tools.

And I love the first inking. My love for the first inking is second only to my love of carving linoleum.

Most of all, I love it when all my love pays off with a good proof. Even though I don't think the image is exactly perfect, if you pronouce the words just right, you should get it anyway. (I love puns, too.)

A sneaky peak

2008-07-29T15:21:00.004-04:00

Ready?
That's all you get to see for now. The idea hit me while I was in the shower -- exhausted after a long day, an even longer weekend, and a challenging face-off with the treadmill. After a two or three-month hiatus, I'm working on another linoleum block, for another hand-printed greeting. Why didn't I think of it before?! Augh! All this time, the idea's been right in front of my nose!

It's live!

2008-07-16T17:22:00.003-04:00

I've been working on it for some time. I've even alluded to it briefly here. But now it's finished. Well, finished enough to go live. Behold, my Digifolio.

I've been thinking, and it wasn't pretty

2008-07-08T16:32:00.003-04:00

Custom design is a good challenge, but it takes up a lot of time. I think most artists agree that commissions tend to take the fun out of the process. Even though you love the work, it becomes just that -- work -- and it gets tough to be excited about it when there's half a dozen other projects you want to work on.

I once thought I might enjoy doing custom invitations, announcements, etc. full time. And although I think I would certainly prefer it over my current employment, could I handle it 24-7? I don't know. One of the things I like least about design is the need -- nay, the requirement to try to make everyone happy. This is despite the fact that I am naturally inclined to want to please people; I tend to gauge my self-worth based on my perception of others' satisfaction with me. So, ironically, that problem-solving aspect of intuiting many points of view and making them all work is also the thing that draws me in. Mind reader + diplomat + magician. That's me.

So we'll see. I'd love to take time to build up a body of current work, enter some shows, get into some galleries. Unfortunately I don't see any time for it in the near future: I'm working on A&R's wedding through the end of August, marathon training through October, plus I'm hoping to start the last of my grad studies classes this fall and finish my master's thesis project in the spring. I'll then probably allow myself to be a bit lazy for, like, a month after that, which brings me until right about this time next year before I'll be free to do whatever the heck I want with my spare time.

That said I'd rather design invitations until my mouse bleeds than be a bridesmaid. Un-bridesmaid? Anyway...

On the WAAAAY UP side I finished A&R's invitations, as one of several accomplishments and/or significant strides achieved over the long weekend. We even saw WALL-E. I feel very productive.

So I'll get to take a very short break from A&R's wedding, after delivering 65 invitations -- printed, trimmed, wrapped and tied -- yesterday afternoon. Between cutouts, linoleum and crochet, I almost don't know what to do. Really, I should just get working on a design for the programs.

This rare photo of me is brought to you courtesy of Keith, who was kind enough to visit my messy, messy studio and play with my camera while I was cutting lengths of cord. He is suffering from DSLR withdrawl while ours is being serviced. I should clean. I should also get to the gym. Look at that. Can't even tell she's training for a marathon. Yeesh.

The dirty secret they don't want to tell you in art school

2008-06-27T09:53:00.011-04:00

Alright kids -- all of you aspiring graphic designers -- it's time for a dose of cold, hard reality, the ugly, dirty truth that nobody in art school speaks of except in hushed tones and Voldemortesque "That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named" euphemistic language.

You really *do* need algebra.

Settle down! Don't panic! The good news is that you don't need all of algebra: none of the matrices or imaginary numbers or polynomials or anything much beyond solving for x really. Algebra 1 is plenty more than you'll need to get you through life as a graphic designer.

But the bad news is that you'll use it mainly to figure out proportions, say, for paper size and whatnot: so you'll need to get cozy with fractions and converting fractions to decimals and decimals to percentages and percentages to measurements you can use. You'll probably also need to know how to convert between units, feet to inches for example.

You'll also need to know how to set up an equation from a question, see? Like a word problem. Allow me to illustrate.

Today, I started printing reply cards for A&R's wedding invitations. However, Neville, being new and wanting to impress, was enlarging the cards, so that (a) they would not fit into the reply envelopes properly -- bad -- and (b) the cards were not being printed entirely, getting cut off at the very end -- extra bad.

Hoping against all hope for a quick, easy fix, I selected the "fit to page" option, but then they printed too small. Oh bother, I sighed, where's that measuring tape?

It turns out that left to his own devices, Neville printed the cards a full eighth-inch too big. I would have to calculate the percentage by which Neville was enlarging the cards, and figure the percentage by which to reduce the print size.

So I drank some coffee, and did some early-morning That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named to figure out at what percentage of the original size I needed to tell Neville to print in order to compensate for his "bigger is better!" philosophy. I'll spare you the gory details (unless you really *want* to know).

I know it's not perfect, and it probably took me way longer than it should have, but I FIGURED IT OUT, and now the cards print at exactly the right size. Hooray! Algebra isn't so useless after all.

And the really good news is that, aside from the basic critical thinking and arithmetic skills required, the most advanced stuff you'll need should be covered in the unit on proportions/ratios, whatever those math people call them. So after that, you can go on doodling in your notebook margins.

Just don't say it was me who told you.

Mystery of the box labeled "misc"

2008-06-23T19:46:00.003-04:00

Since the addition of a new printer, I've been slowly reorganizing my workspace. Slowly.

As I'm reorganizing, I'm coming across all kinds of things I'd almost forgotten about: mainly supplies for various projects I'd intended to start. I have a growing pile of fabric I had bought for some sewing projects that were never started (although when you see this, you'll know why it's probably better that way). I have boxes and wood, yarn and canvas boards, and of course lots and lots and lots of paper. And then I came across this:

It's a box labeled "Misc" full of greeting cards I'd saved from our wedding. This in and of itself is odd because (a) I don't save cards unless they're really, REALLY good, (b) the box is purple with butterflies and glitter (someone gave it to me, I do not buy purple glittery butterfly things), and (c) I don't label things "misc" unless I'm in a really desperate organizational pinch and must, against my better judgement, create a box of actual miscellanea. So what I'm wondering is, why didn't I label it "cards from wedding" or even just "cards"? Besides, I had another box half-full of other wedding-related paraphernalia: a few favors, returned RSVP cards, announcements, calendar pages, et cetera that had been intended for photographing at the very least; based on the sketches and notes included in the box, I had intended to make some sort of artist's book. (Incidentally, *that* box was labeled "wedding stuff.") Why would I not include the cards with these other items? Clearly they were intended for a very separate, very special project of their very own.

I can't for the life of me remember what in heaven's name I had planned on doing with these cards, but I *know* I didn't save them for sentimental reasons; I specifically remember editing from the collection the cards that I had deemed -- to put it delicately -- aesthetically lacking. Knowing me, this means I had intended them for some greater visual purpose. Maybe I thought we'd just frame them up and hang them in the hallway or something, which is weird but I don't put it past me. Stranger things have ended up on my walls.

But at this point, when attractive storage space in my studio/guest room is at a premium, it boils down to two options: (a) throw the cards away, or (b) turn them into a new cutout project at a larger scale, like 11 x 14 or 16 x 20, and maybe in a series of three (or a triptych! -- oooooohhhh).

Which one, I wonder, will I choose?

It's getting printerlicious in this studio

2008-06-12T21:25:00.006-04:00

Listening to Lily Allen right now via Pandora. Her music never fails to put me in a sarcastically upbeat mood. Writing this intermittently as I'm trying to find an unobtrusive spot in my ever-evolving home studio for the newest electro-mechanical device to be inducted into my service.

The benefit of being forced to turn my workstation/closet inside-out to make room for printer is that I can maybe probably finally figure out what organizational tools, exactly, I need to--well--organize my crap. Dude! Ace of Base totally just started playing--"Don't Turn Around," to be specific. It almost brings me back to my twelfth year of life, seventh grade. And The Sign was, like, the first CD I ever owned. Still have it, in fact. Not really feeling the need to use first-person subject pronouns.

Back to my crap: I have lots of it, and despite my natural inclination toward neatly containing stuff, it is all simply stacked and stashed in makeshift organizational tools, like a disused dish drainer and one of those monitor-elevating/ CDs-and-other-crap-holding/ keyboard-stashing devices, turned upside down--for what reason I chose to turn it upside-down, I cannot say.

Anyway, making room for Neville--as I have christened my brand-spankin' new printer--is just the thing I have been needing to do for a long time, but would prefer to avoid, as it will inevitably mean having to go out and purchase folders, and sorters and boxes, which means going into the section with all the organizational thingies. This is generally bad for my pocketbook and very boring for Keith, who usually gets dragged along, because--being a neurotic perfectionist--I am a little obsessed with organizational thingies, and tend to shop the organizational thingies aisle the same way I shop the ice cream aisle: First, I'll walk up and down the entire section, taking quick mental inventory of the size and scope of the stock. I usually have an idea of what I'm looking for, so I'll check out what's available that will suit my specific momentary need. And then I'll scan everything again, more carefully, just in case there's something else that might work better. Or might be useful in the future. Or looks delicious. And, as I say, it always takes too long and costs too much. But it feels sooooo gooooood.

That's what came out of my closet. Amazing, right?! And yet there's still more. I think I might need help. Or a hip 30' x 20' attic studio.

So, while we're waiting for Neville's drivers to finish installing, why don't we take a look at what other pretty things arrived at my doorstep today?!

First, I received these awesome screen printed napkins by Michelle Brusegaard, which I purchased from her Etsy shop. I wish I could screen print. Well, okay, I have all the tools to screen print, or at least to get started--silk screen, ink, drawing fluid, diazo, squeegee, et cetera; I'm just too chicken to do it. Can't explain why. I was planning to give the green set away as a gift (the yellow ones are MINE ALL MINE), although when I took them out of the envelope I was inevitably seduced and thought about keeping them, but thought I'd be good anyway and give them as I'd originally intended. But then Keith saw them and was also seduced and demanded that we keep them for ourselves. And then The Lord chased the man and woman out of the garden.

She also included her super-cool business card, which I'm going to keep forever and ever and ever in my inspiration file. Because I dig that design element in the top right corner. And I'm really, really into yellow and gray right now. And yellow/beige/brown/black. Who else out there puts together color schemes for fun and enjoyment? Please? Anyone?

I also received this Stockholm Floral Apron from Anthropologie, which I've been coveting for a while, and since I was ordering a wedding gift from them anyway... It looks good on me, non?

And though he may shake his head at my semi-impulsiveness and weak justification, I'm certain Keith will attest to the fact that I seriously need the apron. And not just to ease my insatiable lust for all things beautiful, or yellow, or beautiful *and* yellow. I need it because I'm like a flour magnet in the kitchen, particularly when I have the misfortune of wearing a black sweater or jeans. And if I'm wearing both black sweater and jeans, pfff, just go ahead and dump the bag over my head. In reality, I really probably need something with a bit more coverage, like this:

But the apron'll do for now. (I also wear an apron, albeit not as pretty--but wait 'til I bust out with the serigraphy--when I'm printing because, yes, I make a mess of myself doing that, too. And painting.)
* * * * *
Another busy weekend ahead, and unfortunately--once again--none of it involves anything paperlicious, although it does involve driving to Baltimore and back twice (gasalicious), crocheting a blanket (yarnalicious), a 50th birthday (birthdaylicious), Father's Day (dadtastic), and a 5K run for the American Red Cross (runalicious). They call it the "Out for Blood" run. Which has nothing to do with why I signed up. Nothing. at. all.

Looks like Neville's all set with his software and registration and all. Ahh, Norah Jones duetting with Ray Charles. What a lovely way to finish. I'll start hazing Neville tomorrow morning perhaps, you know, testing his mettle before officially inducting him into the studio. A printer's gotta earn his place.

And with that, I bid you adieu.

This, that and the other

2008-06-07T21:09:00.006-04:00

Things have been kind of busy around here. I had hoped to get some new work done to submit to a juried show for artists whose primary medium is paper; alas, trying to clean and pack for a road trip to Savannah, Georgia, for a friend's wedding proved all-consuming over the last few weeks and I watched sadly as the June 1 deadline came and went. Plus, you know, work really gets in the way of everything, too.

We were in Savannah last weekend. The trip itself was alright; one of the main highlights, however was discovering a lovely little stationery shop called Le Paperie. Alas, they have no web site (at least not that I could find), but I did find a nice little write-up over at Decor8. Against my impulse, I bought only one set of cards by R. Nichols for the lovely Jen A.

So the only thing I've been *really* working on is a wedding, which started as invitations but has since grown to include programs, escort cards, table numbers and thank-you cards. Currently, my major hurdle is trying to get the right lime green...

It's not a lot of fun though, as I'm a little oversaturated on weddings at the moment. I've got some great ideas for non-wedding stuff, and I have no doubt that once I crank out a few Whatever-I-Want things, my mojo will come groovin' on back.

Fighting the gray

2008-05-20T06:44:00.007-04:00

Spring has been in full swing here for a while now. But since we've had such a string of gloomy, cool and rainy days here, I thought I'd cheer us all up with some photos of a few spring-time things that have been inspiring me with color, shape and pattern.

Crazy mad skills

2008-05-13T14:29:00.007-04:00

Every now and then I receive a card that totally knocks my socks off, and reminds me in no uncertain terms that we live in a country full of brilliantly creative and funny people. This one, in particular, is from Jen.

I kind of want it enlarged to poster size and framed to hang on my wall, not only for a daily dose of self-esteem, but because it uses one of my favorite visual humor techniques: using type and imagery that is completely inappropriate for or unrelated to the meaning of the text. Keeps you on your toes. Anyway, it also reminded me of a project I did for one of my graduate courses a while back; wouldn't it be cool to finally use it for something? (Fathers' Day IS coming up...)

It just goes to show that in design, as with all creative pursuits, there's always a way to break the rules to your advantage. All rules -- that is -- save one: form follows function.

The pursuit of paperliciousness

2008-05-09T11:18:00.013-04:00

I have quite a few projects going on lately. Most are self-imposed. Well, I guess all are self-imposed, except for my job, which -- I'll grant you -- I chose over say, fast-food or retail, but only because I like to eat. My numero uno choice is to stay at home and draw and print and cut paper all day.

Speaking of cut paper, it's been a while since I've done any of that -- paper cutouts I mean. Currently my studio is taken up with a queen-sized air mattress guest bed. My sister-in-law stayed overnight a few weeks ago when we ran a 10K together, and I just left it up because I knew we'd be having guests again relatively soon (next weekend). Plus it's been a good spot to spread out all of the laundry as we switch from winter to summer wardrobes.

You haven't seen any of my paper cutouts here because I haven't done any since I started this blog. But this is what some of them look like hanging in my hallway:

From the top, they are Stratalicious, Swiss Miss (Friendship liquefied and piping hot), and Sweet 100. Last October all three were hung in a show called "Fresh Produce" in Cumberland, in which all the artwork used food as either subject or medium. Which is why mine are all about food, although food is a constant source of inspiration anyway. Some day I'll start doing the potato prints I keep talking about and will complete the circle: food as medium, food as subject. Food in my belly.

I have ideas and sketches for a few more: one inspired by the sailboats I keep seeing out on the Chesapeake Bay, and another inspired by the reading I'm going to do at my friend's wedding this month in Savannah, Georgia. Maybe I'll be inspired by Savannah, too. And, what with summer well on its way, I'll no doubt have tons of inspiration for all sorts of new projects, right in my own backyard -- literally -- in the form of herbs, fruit/vegetables, flower and birds. Maybe even bugs; I'm not really much of a butterfly or dragonfly kind of girl, but honey bees and ladybugs are some comely garden friends!

But this weekend -- ahh, this weekend -- besides meeting with A&R about their wedding invitations, and traveling to Baltimore with Jen A to visit our wonderful, wonderful graduate English professor, and cooking birthday dinner for Keith on Sunday (yes, Mothers' Day), I'll be crocheting like mad to finish up two projects I'm giving as gifts (yes, for our mothers). No paper. No cutting. But soon. Soon I will be paperlicious again.

Another little joy (or two!)

2008-05-02T16:09:00.007-04:00

My apologies for my absence from the Oomphasis blog...HAS IT REALLY BEEN (almost) TWO WEEKS?!?

I won't try to make any excuses because I honestly can't remember what I've been up to that's kept me away. I've been working on designing a wedding invitation for a friend of a friend; I think it looks pretty good, but the proof I printed out isn't one hundred percent right -- as in my printer seems to want to print the file out a few percent larger than its actual size. So some of the elements are closer together than they should be and it's just making me a little crazy. You'll see soon.

I was also helping the same friend design a bridal shower invitation for the aforementioned friend of a friend. After some trial-and-error with the printer (always the darn printer!) we printed them out and put all the pieces together, tied it all up with a ribbon and voila! Beautiful bridal shower invitation. You'll see that soon, too.

What you *can* see now are two greeting cards I designed. One I made specifically for my father-in-law, who was oh-so generous in donating an ENTIRE Sunday to installing light fixtures to drastically improve the lighting in our house, helping fix a pipe that froze and cracked over that HARSH (sarcasm here) winter we had (*rolling eyes*), and installing and setting up a programmable thermostat (now I can see the temperature I'm setting! It's no longer above my eye level!). Even though I made it with a specific purpose, I think it could still function metaphorically and be given out as a thank-you for other things too. The other is something I've had in my sketchbook for a while, and since I was in the card-making mood I figured I'd go ahead and make that one too.

Enjoy! :)

(I just had a thought: this might make a nice postcard, no? Who doesn't love receiving a postcard?!)

Digifolio

2008-04-20T22:00:00.007-04:00

I didn't work (much) on any prints or designs or anything really this weekend. I was a little preoccupied with running my first 10K and all of the post-10K activity, in addition to getting not one, not two, not three, NOT EVEN FOUR, but FIVE (5!) lights installed at my house. My world is literally brighter and better-looking, thanks to the wonder team of Keith and Greg (my father-in-law).

Nevertheless, while they were busy hooking up wires, crawling through the attic, and cutting holes in wall and ceilings, I spent some time using the light box/macro studio I made (out of a cardboard box, packing tape and tissue paper) to photograph some of my previous invitation/announcement/greeting design work. I'm working on developing a Web site digifolio for myself, but in the meantime you can enjoy looking at what Oomphasis is all about.

This was my wedding invitation -- the first invitation I designed. As always, when I look back on a project, there are a few things I might change, especially having learned a lot about good design and good invitation design in the last 4 years. Plus, I think I have a better sense of our personal styles. Maybe I'll do a redesign when I have time or need some creative exercise.

That said, overall I think it's still a good reflection of the philosophy that governs the mail I create (invitations in particular) and the unifying element of my design work, where a cohesive visual style is lacking: opening a letter, a card, an invitation, is a total experience -- interactive, intimate -- that should be a tactile treat, a visual respite, enveloping its recipient in visual-kinesthetic delight.

This was the invitation for my sister-in-law's wedding. The floral design element (lower left photo) is used on each piece and is actually the embroidery pattern on her wedding gown.

I think this invitation for Christmas dinner at our house is my favorite so far. I only had to send out 5, so I was willing to do something a little more labor-intensive (and costly!). There's just a single card, wrapped in a piece of lovely red paper -- each had a different pattern or texture -- and tied with a gold and red ribbon. They were mailed inside boxes made of the most beautiful red, red paper I have ever seen (from Paper Source). I especially like that the text sort of makes a Christmas tree shape. And because everyone inevitably calls to ask, "What can I bring?!" I included the line at the bottom ("Please bring your famous [blank]") for both practicality and flattery.

You guessed it! This was for a poker party hosted by my friend, Jen A. Every now and then, she throws a little design challenge my way, and this was one of them. Each invitation set (invite and directions) was hand-delivered, so there was no need for envelopes, and -- again -- the quantity was small so tying the twine around the cards and the chips to the ends of the twine was no big deal (plus I had help from the production ace, Jen!).

Finally, here's just a small group of three different items: a "feel better" greeting (another design challenge from Jen), the invitation to Kelly's bridal shower, and the postcard I designed for my undergrad senior graphic design group show.

Ahh, and now I think I'm finally ready to start rewriting my artist statement. We're moving right along.

When life hands you lemons

2008-04-14T20:10:00.005-04:00

I wanted to print a good lemon slice this weekend, dagnabit! So I busted out the Wonder-Cut and started carving with my brand-new linoleum cutter (no rust!). But while the Wonder-Cut carves like buttah, I can't get some of the tight little lines and details that I like, AND I've encountered some problems printing designs that are more open (as you'll see below) because it's just not as sturdy under pressure. However, it only took me an hour or two to carve out this block, start to finish, on Saturday morning -- determined to make up for my lousy print session Friday.

The beauty of a newly inked block never gets old. *sigh* And it printed SO MUCH BETTER than the screen thing! And it looks more like a lemon, less like an eye! Glory is mine.

I was feeling so confident, I decided to pull a few more proofs of the goldfinch I'd carved out a couple weeks ago. The goldfinch previously did not print well -- and here is where the softness of the Wonder-Cut was a problem. I had essentially created the outline of the goldfinch; there is a second block, for printing the yellow. The yellow block printed fine (except for the expired yellow ink, which has since been replaced), but because there isn't anything in the middle to keep it steady, the black block kept smooshing and sliding a bit, allowing the ink to squish out of the edges.

The print on the left shows the ink squishing. The print on the right shows the ink NOT squishing, because I figured out how to fix it!

Can this day get any better?! Maybe with a little more yellow.

Live and learn

2008-04-13T07:21:00.002-04:00

I received a shipment of printmaking supplies on Friday, so I got to do some printing this weekend! Included in the shipment was a product I'd never tried before, called Scratch-A-Print 2, and decided to try it as an alternative to screen printing. It started with a sketch of a lemon slice:

And a screen, which is -- to quote the product description -- "a special red-coated tissue" (although you can see that it is really blue) mounted to a card frame.

Since the tissue is translucent, I was able to use the lightbox to transfer my design to the screen.

Here's the cool part: the coating on the tissue is pressure-sensitive, so that when you trace over the design, the tissue is exposed where you traced -- the area to be printed. (There is a sheet of clear film that protects the tissue from tearing when you are drawing.) If you hold it up to the light, you can see the opened areas.

So this was all very exciting, and -- since you can't use oil-based inks to print with the Scratch-A-Print screen -- I pulled out some acrylics to print with, and loaded up my foam roller with a lovely cadmium yellow.

Then, with my paper underneath, I flooded the screen with paint and held my breath for the DRAMATIC REVELATION of my BEAUTIFUL LEMON SCREEN PRINT...

Yeh, not so much.

I tried a few more times with more paint, watered down paint, more pressure, and while I got some better results, they were all still crap. I finally tried flooding the screen with ink on the foam roller, placing another piece of paper on top and applying MORE pressure with a brayer, hoping that would force the paint through.

Really it just made the top paper stick to the screen. I managed to peel it off, and ended up with an accidental print from the blue tissue residue. It was probably the best print of the night.

However, it did open up the screen.

I gave the screen a rinse, and tried printing one more time. The result wasn't bad, but still not quite good enough, and you can see that there was still blue crap and graphite residue on the screen. Eww.

So I rinsed it out again and tried printing with black, because at least you wouldn't be able to see all the crap getting into the paint. But that still didn't turn out any better than a really bad photocopy of a fax of a photocopied fax.

And by this point, my screen started to fall apart.

Generally, it was a very disappointing night of printmaking, and I'm not really excited about this Scratch-A-Print stuff anymore, although with nine more screens, I'm not about to give up on it totally either. Some simpler line art might work better, and I'll have to do some Googling to see if I can find any better tips or instructions on printing with the stuff.

Stay tuned. :)

New addition

2008-04-04T13:26:00.005-04:00

It's here.

It arrived yesterday, and to my delight set up in less than, what? Thirty minutes? There's not much I can really say about my new iMac, except that I love it without exception.

IS IT NOT BEAUTIFUL?!?!

When I turned it on, it started playing music and animation and welcomed me in a dozen different languages, and then after asking me a few questions, it popped up with this:

Oh, I will, Apple geniuses. (And so will Vincent.)

Run, Sarah, run

2008-04-03T18:06:00.005-04:00

Over the past weekend I made time to get in the studio and finish off the block I've been working on for the past few weeks.

I carved out a few more elements to tie the whole design together: a box to enclose the donkey and grass, and the text, which helps drive the punch line home. For ease of printing, I mounted all of the pieces on a 4 x 6 inch piece of project plywood.

And the proofs turned out so gosh-darned GOOD, I decided to go for it and do a run of 15 cards on some A6 folded stock I had in a light gray ("Cement") from Paper Source.

I gave one of the proofs to my friend Jen. As the muse behind the whole idea, I thought she'd certainly earned it!

I'll probably match them up with Moss envelopes. Or should I try a darker gray? Chocolate? I had thought I'd like Curry, a golden-ish yellow, but the contrast just wasn't enough to look good. The bold linocut print makes the yellow envelopes look a little wimpy, and I don't want no wimpy-looking envelopes.

Get it?

Ah well, I also made time to start on another design, which didn't proof very well, and I need to buy new inks. I'll try again when I've got some new yellow. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with him yet, but I'm thinking he might be a perfect little Curry companion.

Found

2008-03-27T11:19:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, while digging out my inks and brayers and stuff, I discovered some old linoleum blocks that I made four-plus years ago. I found a sunflower block that I'd carved and proofed -- intended for our wedding invitations -- but never ended up using. So despite the fact that it's completely dried out and super-rigid, I thought I'd try printing it (since I already had everything out anyway).

It came out alright, except that it was meant to be printed with light ink on dark paper and I'll need to use a bit more pressure to get solid coverage. I'll play around with it later on. Still, it could become part of something fun and summery, no?

The proof is in the printing

2008-03-26T21:23:00.009-04:00

Today I decided to take a break from everything to pull some proofs. I got, like, one really nice print out of it, but more importantly I got the taste of printing back in my mouth. And I like it.

I decided to document some of the block printing process for those who don't know much about it, and because I find it unusually exciting. Block printing starts with a block (see my previous post) of wood, linoleum, potato -- whatever -- into which you carve a relief design, with the raised area being the printed area.

On an inking plate (a big sheet of glass or metal), I mix my ink colors and ink the brayer by pulling out a bit of the ink with the brayer and rolling the brayer in the ink, first one direction and then perpendicular to the first direction to get a nice, even coat. Inking is my favorite part of the printing process, and here's why: when you do this, it makes a nice sticky sound, not dissimilar from that of latex paint being rolled onto a wall, and thus -- to me -- it is the sound of impending color. Ahhhh.

Once I've got a nice coating of ink on my brayer, I ink the block using a similar technique as for inking the brayer. The first inking of the block is an exciting moment, when I get to see beyond the pencil lines and cuts, and for the first time get a true idea of what my print is really going to look like (only in mirror).

And now we're ready for some press action.

Now don't laugh. This particular press is all I could afford, and although now I could start saving for a magnificent letter or intaglio press, I don't have anywhere to put it. So while it may seem like glorified stamping (or maybe it's just me and my printing press inferiority complex), it still makes a nice print.

This part is like making a sandwich, and even outside of my persnickety sandwich-making/eating universe, there IS a particular way to stack it. In my little Speedball press there is a foam pad built into the bottom (in a traditional press you would use a thick blanket, and the stack would be reversed); I position the paper on top of the foam, then place the block on top of the paper -- ink side down -- being very careful NOT TO BUMP IT once it's made contact with the paper. Then we press it -- HARD!

Finally, the moment of truth: lifting the block away from the paper (using a sort of slow peeling action so as to avoid smudging) to reveal The Print.

Now these first prints I made are proofs, so over the next few days I'll go back and forth and tweak the block a little, pull some more proofs, maybe do more tweaking -- all until I'm pleased with the printed result. Then I'll be ready to run an edition of final prints, in this case, cards.

Wonder-cut

2008-03-19T16:32:00.007-04:00

Here's a sneak peak at a new card design, currently in production.

I'm using a piece of Blick Wonder-Cut linoleum that I've had sitting on the shelf for at least two years. Amazingly enough, it's still flexible and soft, and cuts like it's brand-new -- MUCH easier than regular linoleum. (I could use a new set of linoleum cutters, however. My 6-year-old Speedball handle is getting a little too rusty for changing cutters. Oh, add a brayer to the list, too.) I feel like it's hardly any work at all and can see why this is a great medium for block printing with students (and the artist who get a little overzealous when carving and has a tendency to stab herself with the V-gouge). I haven't tried printing with it yet, so I'm not sure whether the line quality will be as crisp as traditional linoleum. Hopefully I'll finish carving it this week enough to pull a proof over the weekend.

It's going to be busy, but I'm also hoping to try doing some potato prints over the weekend too! Maybe for an Easter card?! (Or the Vernal Equinox!)

Mail enhancement

2008-03-12T09:09:00.000-04:00

There is a fine line between simple and uninspired.

The difference is in the details — the little personal touches that make just one invitation, letter or greeting stand out against the nondescript hodgepodge of — well — mail. Whether it slips gracefully out of its envelope and whispers sweetly, or audaciously enters the room and proclaims unabashedly, “YOU are invited!” an exceptional invitation (or letter, or greeting), in its own way, exudes specialness.

I'm starting Oomphasis with two goals: to emphasize the meaning, message and significance of every day communications, big and small, and to add the oomph — that extra little punch of character — to invitations, announcements, greetings, salutations and whatever other horizons are out there.

In an era of ready-made solutions, it’s the touch of a human hand that leaves the greatest impression.