by Marja-Leena How fortunate we are to have a clear night to see this total lunar eclipse. NASA calls it a “blood moon” but it’s more like a glowing pumpkin in the sky over the Vancouver area of British Columbia, something like this photo:
On a night like this, I rather like to imagine that the moon is a palace where immortals and fairies live, according to Chinese myth.
by Marja-Leena 
It has been a little while since I visited Arkeo.net**, a Finnish (no English) archaeological web portal written by Marjukka Mäkelä. It is a wonderful resource on the activities and research mainly into Finnish and some Russian and Scandinavian archaeology. The latest news points to a great photo site on Norway’s Rock drawings. Just look at those fabulous details of wonderful Viking-like ships! The text is in Norwegian only, which I can’t read, but there are numerous interesting photos. There are further links to images to explore at the bottom of the page for Denmark and Sweden, like the Tanum site, and still more in Norway. Enjoy!
** Sadly Arkeo.net no longer exists.
by Marja-Leena 
Memory/Dreams III
collagraph, etching, hand-colouring
120 x 80 cm. (47″ x 31.5″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena Anna, in a nice comment on Memory/Dreams II asked “what’s a collagraph”? Googling came up with these results:
“The Collagraph print is best described as a collage printmaking technique, where the image is composed from a variety of textured materials glued to a substrate and printed either in an intaglio or relief fashion.” – from EKU.
“In a collagraph, the plate is built up and manipulated by the artist, using a collage-like process which combines materials as diverse as cardboard, fabric, gesso, glue, string, sand, carborundum grit, and found objects. The artist can also draw lines into the gesso before it hardens. As a result, the plate may print as both relief and intaglio. Collagraph prints are usually pulled on a press.” – from Washington Printmakers, a good site on printmaking techniques.
Back in March, I wrote two posts What is a Print? and More on Prints, which give some links to sites about printmaking techniques. Interesting that they did not include the collagraph.
The Dreams series of prints that I have been putting up recently, are all utilizing the collagraph technique, sometimes in combination with other media. I am currently working with collagraphs again, now in combination with inkjet prints – I will show these when they are done. I usually like using matboard as the plate, and with acrylic medium I glue on textures like string, cloth, tissue paper, as well as utilizing the medium’s painterly textures, and pressing in textures using various objects. It’s a very enjoyable and non-toxic process that gives interesting results!
by Marja-Leena 
Memory/Dreams II
collagraph 96.5 x 79.5 cm. (38″ x 31″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena I’ve been spending far too much time working at the computer with PhotoShop, developing images for a series of prints combining inkjet and collagraph prints in layers. I’ve been in the printmaking studio printing proofs, and back to the “drawing board”, aka my Mac. Tonight I was too tired to even blog, so decided on some rare TV watching.
I was lucky that CBC’s Opening Night was on, for this season’s premiere. Featured was I, Claudia – “Based on the hit Tarragon Theatre play by Kristen Thomson, this extraordinary one-woman acting tour-de-force explores the pre-teen world of Claudia, as she struggles with the divorce of her parents, her father’s remarriage and puberty.” As it happens, Chandrasutra has written a great review of this unique play.
The second half was Vienna, City of My Dreams – “The irrepressible Canadian tenor Michael Schade has been the toast of Vienna since his debut there in 1992. For this Viennese tribute he is joined by his wife, mezzo-soprano Norine Burgess, in a program of operetta favourites.” This lovely romantic music lifted my spirits and energy so much that I was able to do a bit more work in preparation for some more proofing in the studio tomorrow and finish with a quick blog. Good night!
by Marja-Leena Jean Morrison and I have been friends and printmaking colleagues for a long time, working together in the Art Institute printmaking studio. Jean has worked in a wide variety of printmaking media, even venturing recently into digital inkjet printing, yet she is best known here for her wonderful cyanotypes.
Jean says of her work: “My interest is in the forms and processes in the natural world and in the artifacts and ceremonies of humanity.” The Nest Series consists of 28 variable editions using cyanotypes with other media, based on the numerous discarded bird’s nests that she has collected. Shown below are two examples from this series. The etching and inkjet print, though not part of that series, reveal her continuing fascination for nests and eggs.
Images are copyright Jean C. Morrison, used here with her permission.
Nest Series #15
cyanotype, etching & collage
38 x 56 cm.
Nest Series #18
cyanotype, etching & collage
38 x 56 cm.
Nest Egg
etching
56 x 48 cm.
Nest Egg II
inkjet print
21 x 27 cm.
In 2000 Jean was one of twelve artists chosen to be part of the “Visions of the North Shore” Art and Heritage Millennium Project. Read about it in the North Shore News and the Capilano College (now University) website, and have a look at this group photo of the artists.
UPDATE Nov.20: See post about her current exhibition
Edited January 16th, 2013 to show larger images and update links, though some have expired.
by Marja-Leena 
Memory/Dreams I
collagraph and acrylic painting
96.5 x 79.5 cm. (38″ x 31″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena I’ve always been fascinated by Helga, the subject of numerous paintings and drawings by Andrew Wyeth. Now we can see 70 of the more than 240 works he did of his neighbour Helga Testorf, on exhibition at the Mint Museums of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. And thanks to the internet, we can also see them via this excellent virtual tour, consisting of a panorama gallery shot and a slide show of all 70 pieces! Andrew Wyeth (born 1917) created these from 1971 to 1985 in nearly complete privacy without revealing to anyone, even his own wife, the existence of the series, the identity of the model, or the extent of the project.
(Found at Art Daily) More about Andrew Wyeth at artchive.
by Marja-Leena Anna sent me an email suggesting I read and comment on Rachael’s post of Thursday about artists blogging. Go read Rachael’s first, including the comments, then come back here for my response, which I decided to post here:
I’ve been an artist all my life, and professionally for half that life. Artmaking is an important part of my life along with my family, home, friends and many interests. I started blogging almost nine months ago to show my art work, talk about my favourite medium of printmaking and to write about the many things that interest and influence me and make me the person, and therefore, the artist that I am. The blog is a way of recording all these things, somewhat like in a journal but more so because of the joys of linking to other sites. It is a way of sharing these with any readers that care to read them. I really did not know fully at the beginning how passionate I was to become about blogging.
It’s gratifying to note the statistics show that the numbers of readers have been growing and growing. Yet I receive few comments, mostly from a few faithful who have become friends. Sometimes, like Rachael, I wonder how readers feel about my site. I’ve thought about asking “Who are you, dear readers and how did you find me?”, especially those who are scattered around the world, (many in Finland!). Maybe I don’t want to know and really, I’m not about to change, since I’m doing the blog for me as another creative project, as a form of self-publishing. Anyway, if the readers are still there, I must be providing something of interest for them, and so I am very very thankful for this silent encouragement.
Because this blog is in part a professional site about my work and might sometimes be viewed by a gallery or collector (I can hope!), I’ve been keeping really personal stuff out of it, as well as to maintain its focus on art and those interests and influences that I mentioned. I do believe we should feel free to let our blogs be what we want them to be (as long as no one is being hurt by what we say of course).
Rachel, Anna, and readers: Have you noticed that there are not very many blogs by artists about their own art, at least that I have found? Is blogging still such a new phenomenon for visual artists, and why? There are quite a few blogs about art shows and art criticism, and numerous literary blogs.
As I was writing and thinking about this, I was catching up on reading some blogs I like. Synchronicity struck as Keri at Wish Jar Journal mentions Rachel’s blog too and presents this perfect quote:
There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it! It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open… -Martha Graham