Lauren Miko: My Own Reality

Impromptu Mosaics and Other Last Minute Gifts

2011-12-17T20:32:00.016-05:00

This December I'm finishing up a huge home improvement project which bled over from November and will be completed possibly two days before Christmas. I'm also packing and organizing for a five week trip which commences Christmas Day. I have plenty to keep me busy... but it just doesn't feel like the holidays unless I'm making a few gifts for someone. I don't know if secretly my hand made gifts are met with groans or simply tolerance but for some reason I just have to do it, so if you happen to be the lucky recipient, just take it out when I visit you and pretend it's out all year.

I decided to make something for my fiddle teacher, Beanie O'Dell, who is a fabulous instructor and gifted fiddler. I happened to find these unfinished wooden violin gift plaques on the Shar Music Website ( http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-Shar/Gifts/Other/Misc/Violin-Gift-Plaque-with-purfling.axd ) and thought they were a good starting point. They were advertised as something that you could sign or draw on and give as a teacher gift. I decided to take a different approach.

I dug out all my pieces of tile and glass, ordered a few little extra tiles, and then lined up my three violin faces, grabbed my Weldbond glue, and started gluing! Each plaque began to take on a personality all its own. By the time I had finished, the three of them were very different.

The glue took about a day to dry and then I mixed up some sanded black grout and grouted them all. I had to do each one individually because the sponging step was laborious with all those little tiny tiles! Once the grout was set, I sealed it with a grout and tile sealer.

Tomorrow I will attach a sawtooth to the back and wrap two of the three plaques. The second one is for my neighbor, another awesome fiddler and the last one is for me to keep so that I can remember how well my anti-stress, "mosaic therapy" worked this holiday season.

And Beanie, you don't have to hang it. Really.

Bahamian Rhapsody

2011-03-06T11:16:00.011-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had a delightful mid-winter escape to Andros Island in the Bahamas. It was my first visit and I was amazed at how few people were on Andros, compared with the bustle of the Nassau area. Andros is the largest but one of the least populated island in the Bahamas. There were days when I walked for an hour on an expanse of beautiful tropical beach and never saw another soul.

While there, I was adopted by lovely residents of the area where we were staying. One of our adventures was a trip to a local batik factory in Fresh Creek called Androsia. http://www.androsia.com/ I was so enthralled watching the batik process that we arranged to go back and take a class there. This 'factory' was a big warehouse-type building surrounded by scrub vegetation, where 20 yards of freshly batiked fabric hung next to someone's laundry.

One man who works there has over many years created the most wonderful stamps for making the fabric by developing his own stamping method. He designs and cuts a stamp out of heavy foam rubber and mounts it on a wire frame. The stamp is then dipped into the hot wax and printed onto the long lengths of white cotton fabric. Once it's all stamped, the fabric is dyed in old bathtubs. Then the wax is removed and the fabric hung out to dry. The ladies at the factory make wonderful clothing out of the fabric or you can buy it by the yard and bring it home to make your own.

In our batik lesson, we were given a practice strip and then one yard of fabric on which to make our own Bahamian inspired designs. We were given stamps to use and also a 'tjanting' pen, with which we could write or draw our own pictures. This turned out to be much more difficult than it looked in the demonstration! The ladies I was with then let me choose a color for all our pieces to be dyed, and I chose "Turtle Green", which was as close as I could find to the color of that beautiful Caribbean water.

As a thank you to my kind hosts, I came home and used some of my fabric to make bags, which I will send back to them to remind them of the fun we had one steamy day in the beautiful tropical paradise that is Andros.

Scratching a New Itch

2011-03-06T11:04:00.004-05:00

In my constant quest to fight creative boredom, I tried some scratchboard. Instead of planning a design, I sat down with a nice piece of black board and a scratching tool and just started scratching whatever came into my head (as usual, it had to do with food!). There's something much less intimidating about a plain black surface than a plain white page. I also discovered that if you do happen to scratch too much, you can always dab a little black india ink on the spot and scratch again. Once it was all scratched, I used a little watercolor to add the finishing touches.

This piece was really just an experiment but I'm still rather proud of the result. It inspired me to think about illustrating a book or writing my own Zine. I'll explore those ideas more after I go get something to eat!

It Takes a Village

2010-10-06T15:09:00.008-04:00

Every time I come across a great idea in a magazine that I want to try, I set it aside for a "rainy day". The other day, I was down in my studio and the house was all torn apart from renovating, the weather was terrible, and there wasn't a darn thing going on and I just decided to pull out some of those rainy day ideas. I came across one from Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine. A printmaker was looking for inspiration and got the idea to make these little houses. Hey, I'm a printmaker, my house renovations are creating lots of 2 x 4" scraps..this could work! A few quick cuts with a miter saw and some rough sanding later, and I had made myself a little wooden village. I then stained each little house with some water based stains. The next step was to take out old linoleum blocks and some wood engravings, and make a few new patterned blocks from EZ cut. I was ready to print. I found some lightweight Japanese printing paper and had a heyday printing all sorts of things on each page. These had to dry overnight. (Luckily, it rained for four days straight! Who'd have thought that would be a good thing?) When the prints dried, I painted them with watercolors and then began the fun part - cutting out pieces and gluing them onto the blocks with matte medium. The process was kind of like decoupage, only quicker. The final step was to seal all the little houses with an acrylic varnish. This project was so much fun that I ended up making a whole little village of houses. Now if anyone can think of a use for a whole village of printed houses, could you please let me know before the next rainy day?

Memory Palaces

2010-09-22T10:00:00.006-04:00

I just entered my first show in Asheville. Asheville Bookworks is having its wonderful Bookopolis event this weekend. The theme this year is "Memory Palaces" and I entered my print "Quitting Time". It made it into the extended show and will be displayed until December.

For those of you not familiar with Asheville Bookworks, it is a community studio, school and gallery that is a gathering place for people interested in book arts, letterpress, printmaking, and papermaking. Bookopolis includes an exhibit with 100+ handmade books and prints from artists all over the country, plus letterpress and printing demonstrations. Anyone with an interest in things printed, bound, or otherwise book related should check out this event and this great resource.

New Beginnings

2010-09-22T09:46:00.008-04:00

It's a new season (my favorite of the year!) and I'm in a new city, in a new (old) house, and looking for some new inspiration. Between moving (ourselves!) and a daughter and two grandkids into the house, my time for creative outlets has been limited these last few months. Hopefully, that is about to change.

My first opportunity to make something just for fun came this summer when my friend Linda and I decided to make some mosaic birdbaths. I have so much old glass, tile and assorted doo dads to work with that there was no shortage of materials. This project is not for the weak backed person, though, as those birdbaths are heavy and get even heavier when you add ten pounds of glass, tile and cement. The finished products were worth the heavy lifting!

P.S. The glass I used in my birdbath has a reflective quality when filled with water. Birds flee in terror when they get near it. I guess it makes a lovely garden decoration.

A Collagraph is Born

2009-10-12T19:50:00.007-04:00

Today I printed my charming little collagraph blocks. I smeared a dull grey glob of etching ink all over those pretty colors, wiping them down with tarlatan (a stiff kind of cheesecloth), rubbing them with my palm, wiping them again with newsprint, and finally running them through an etching press with damp paper. The prints came out looking something like blurry fossils on a rock. I let the prints dry and then painted them with watercolors and they came alive again. I also enhanced the prints with a graphite pencil and a grey colored pencil to make the images stand out. And in the end, I even managed to clean most of the grey ink off the blocks and they are almost as good as new.

Mini-malism

2009-10-08T16:42:00.004-04:00

I'm getting ready for our small works show at the studio, which normally falls around the holiday season. This year, we are calling it Mini-Malism. Each artist in my studio is making 4 3" x 3" prints with a subject and technique of her own choosing. I've been playing around with collagraphs. My first few attempts at collagraphs were quite successful so I though I would revisit the medium. The problem is that the blocks are so pretty that I'm hesitant to smear a bunch of black etching ink on them now. I may just have to keep them for a while and look at them!

Don't miss Mini-Malism at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Studio 325, from November 1-December 31, 2009. We're open from 11-6 most days.

A Day in the 'ville

2009-10-07T12:48:00.010-04:00

I just got back from a week in Asheville, NC. Everything about that city inspires me. One day it was a trip to the farmer's market, which is the most amazing place to visit, especially in October. This time of year, there's so much color and texture, I didn't know where to look first. The pumpkins, peppers and squash created a riot of color. It was an artist's dream.

One evening, I went to a book signing for my favorite author in the whole world, Diana Gabaldon, who has just written a new book in her Outlander series, entitled An Echo in the Bone. She was fantastic - funny, witty, earthy and a bit bawdy, exactly what I'd hoped she would be like. The crowd in the theater was entranced by her, me included.

On Friday night, we went into town. The sounds of African style drumming echoed down the streets of Asheville because it turns out that every Friday night there's a drumming circle in Pritchard Park at 7 p.m. You don't even have to BYOD as there are extra bongos there for those who need them. There were dozens of drummers and many more spectators. Adults and children were dancing with abandon. It was liberating to watch.

I can't wait to go back and see what new discoveries and inspirations await me there.

Going on an Art Safari

2009-10-06T16:58:00.009-04:00

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Fox 5 News in Washington about the Alexandria Arts Safari, which is coming up this Saturday, October 10th. I'll be doing a fun blockprinting activity with kids that is similar to what I've done at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We got to do a trial run with the TV crew and had a great time. The Arts Safari, a festival of hands-on arts and crafts activities for kids and their families, will take place from noon to 4 PM and is being hosted by a number of different groups with 11 activities taking place. Bring the kids down! It's free and should be a great day.

Do Not Adjust Your Sets!

2009-10-06T16:44:00.006-04:00

Butterflies were free...

2009-09-14T15:32:00.012-04:00

...if you came to my latest workshop at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. On Saturday's Fiesta de las Americas Family Day, we printed rainforest butterflies by the hundreds, while tapping our feet to the wonderful music of Panama. Lots of people showed up and beading, gluing molas and dancing abounded.

Look what swam into my studio today!

2009-08-23T12:26:00.006-04:00

It was a beautiful anglerfish on the arm of my friend, Katie. I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to Kris Dilworth of Tough Luck Tattoos in Lewes, DE, who donated the entire time that he took doing this incredible work of body art to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He also waited a couple of extra hours for Katie after her car broke down on the way to the shop!

The tattoo work is absolutely superb. Looks great on Katie, too! Thanks, Katie, for such a fun project. This one's going in my portfolio. It could be a new direction for me...who knows?

The Deep is only Skin Beauty

2009-08-06T20:23:00.009-04:00

Today I finished one of the most fun projects I've worked on - a tattoo design for my new friend Katie, who is a Marine Biologist down in Florida (Go Gators!) Katie requested an anglerfish, a fierce looking deep sea fish that has a long fillament sprouting from its head which acts as a lure to attract prey within reach of its toothy mouth. Some of their lures even glow, making them irresistable in the darkness of the ocean depths.

Katie is having her tattoo put on her shoulder in Lewes, DE on August 20th. I get to see it around the 21st. On the 22nd, her mother is coming here to kick my butt! (only kidding!)

One Good Tern (and other reasons to have a party)

2009-08-06T20:01:00.016-04:00

Our show, One Good Tern and other birds and fish of the sea is finally up at the studio. Phyllis and I had a fantastic opening reception, with wall to wall enthusiastic art loving people (or maybe they just heard there was free food.) Whatever the reason, they showed up in droves and we fed them happily. My dear friend Hilary surprised me from Massachusetts and my cousin Greg showed up after a twenty year hiatus from my life! So many old friends and new ones, cousins, brothers, spouses, kids, two trays of sushi, a case of wine, and plenty of fun made for a great party.

What rhymes with Uruguay?

2009-05-14T12:24:00.011-04:00

Phyllis Cohen is the only person I know who can find a rhyme that works with Uruguay. The woman has talent!
Behold the second in the series of limerick prints for our show One Good Tern and other birds and fish of the sea, which opens July 1, 2009 at Studio 325, Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria. The opening reception will be July 19th from 3-6 pm and is open to the public. For more information, contact the studio at 703.683.1342.

Family Day at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

2009-05-14T12:06:00.008-04:00

We had a very successful printing activity at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Saturday! Thanks to my helpers who were invaluable, we completed an entire 'community quilt' and began another one. Kids and adults alike made quilt prints with us and enjoyed the music, swing dancing, and other displays. I made my own stamps for the quilt patterns using cut out craft foam shapes which I had glued to foam board shapes. The ink was water based block printing ink and the paper was acid free colored paper, cut into squares. Some people tried my traditional 1930's quilt patterns but most designed their own patterns. We even had one small footprint and a few hand prints.

If you're looking for something fun to do on the weekend, check out this wonderful museum and the current display, 1934: A New Deal for Artists, which will close on January 3, 2010.

Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Tournament

2009-04-06T15:29:00.023-04:00

This past weekend I was honored to participate in the Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Tournament to raise money for a non-profit organization called Project Healing Waters Flyfishing. Twelve Wounded Warriors from units and hospitals around Virginia came down to Bridgewater, VA to fly fish with twelve fishing partners and a whole bunch of volunteers and local folks.
My Wounded Warrior/fishing partner was 1st Sgt. Sonja Elzy from Ft. Lee, VA. As soon as we realized we were not only the same age but the same diminutive height, we knew it was a great match!! We had a fantastic day out on the water and ended up catching 5 trout and missing first place by only 1" of fish! Sonja caught the first fish of the day, a 14.5" brown. Later in the day she caught two beautiful rainbows. I got the trophy for the biggest trout caught all day at 19 3/4". That's my amazing brown with our monitor, Gary Collins, who measured it and helped to release it .What an epic day and one that I will never forget.
The tournament raised over $100,000 for PHWFF. To check out a wonderful video of last year's tournament, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfUIg1GxVvU
Look out for new trout prints inspired by an incredible day at Mossy Creek.
(Thank you, G. Henry Bowser and Dennis for the great photos!)

I felt something!

2009-03-25T13:15:00.012-04:00

A while ago my friend Marianne and I discovered the world of felting. We figured out how to knit something and then wash it in boiling hot water to shrink it down and create masterpieces. We spent one cold winter cheerfully making eyeglass cases out of beautiful wool yarns. Marianne very patiently taught me how to knit. She was not the first one to teach me. Knitting is my nemesis. I can do just about any other type of art or craft there is but when it comes to knitting, well...I'm unbelievably clumsy.

Recently, though, I discovered a whole new world of felting, and, much to my delight, it doesn't require knitting! It only requires wool roving (which is unspun wool), a special barbed needle, and a block of foam. The constant stabbing of the wool roving with the needle tangles it up until it eventually becomes a sort of felt fabric. You can wind the roving around foam shapes and stab it and it will conform around the foam into a lovely felt shape. You can even make fish! And whales...

Remembering the 1930's

2009-03-25T08:44:00.014-04:00

No, I don't remember the 1930's but I've been invited to give another workshop at the Smithsonian American Art Museum for their Family Day: Remembering the 1930's on May 9th, from 12 - 4 in the Kogod Courtyard. http://americanart.si.edu/calendar/exhibition/ This event coincides with a current show at the museum and will be lots of fun for the whole family. The one I did last year related to an Ansel Adams/ Georgia O'Keeffe show. I helped kids of all ages make prints of everything from cactus leaves to feathers. There was also live music and a photo safari. This year, we will be printing quilt squares. Quilting was very popular in the Depression years. People were looking for comfort in an uncertain time and for a return to the skills of the past to cope with the realities of their present. Come join me on the day and bring the kids!

Eel said...

2009-03-18T11:21:00.009-04:00

My studio mate, Phyllis Cohen, and I are having a show in July and August at Printmakers, Inc. at the Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA called One Good Tern. She has written some amusing limericks which we are illustrating in our own styles. Mine will be linoleum block prints, hand painted with watercolor and hers will be woodcuts.

This is my first of six prints, entitled Eel said...Watch for more on the date of the opening reception (open to the public) which will take place in mid July.

Ladies and Gentlemen, place your bets.

2009-03-14T12:27:00.031-04:00

When I told my husband I was taking a bookmaking class, he asked if I was studying to be a Bookie! Perhaps "bookbinding class" would have been more accurate. The instructor of this class is Melissa Hackmann, who is a wonderful, energetic and inspiring artist and teacher. Check her out at http://mphackmann.blogspot.com/
For my final project in bookbinding class, I made this crazy field journal. The cover is made from polymer clay which I rolled out in a pasta machine and stamped with a linoleum block that I had carved. I then painted it with a copper paint and put a patina wash on it. It's bound in the coptic style and incorporates my fossil collagraphs that were printed with and without ink. The story is of two paleontologists on a hunt for Therizinosaurus dinosaur bones. As you can see, the author is unfortunately eaten at the end of the story. My classmates looked at me with a new respect (or was that fear in their eyes?)after I presented this book!

Entering the Land of Blog

2009-03-03T18:45:00.006-05:00

Welcome to My Own Reality, a place where I hope to showcase what's currently running through my press and through my head. I'm hoping that by having a place to show my art, I'll be inspired to make more.

This picture is a small piece of a linocut that I did a couple of years ago for my O'Sushi show, entitled Sashimi.

To see more of my work, visit:

http://www.torpedofactory.org/artists/miko_l.htm

or better still, come visit me at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, Studio #325.