New typographic inks

The final part of my work for the Print Day in May envisaged testing the newly acquired typographic inks: Van Eyck brown and red ocher. I have thus returned to my favorite manner of applying the ink (roller+fingers) and printed small successive series, with or without interventions, of some of my favorite lino plates. The new colors are definitely worth it, not to mention the combination with the old black ink that has gone bad - and is so good! :))
Looking forward to Print Day in May 2017! I got to discover wonderful artists and join very specialized online groups. Happy printmaking!

 

"The Hintz House" - 3 successive prints, original linocut

"The Tailors' Bastion" - 3 successive prints, original linocut

"Ovo - the hatching dragon" - Épreuve d'Artiste, original lincout

Alchemical linocut

For the first part of the Print Day in May 2016 I've been printing a narrow lino strip with alchemical signs. The end project is to decorated cardboard boxes with it.

The selected symbols are inspired by those used on medieval apothecary jars, as evidence of the common experiment period of both pharmacy and alchemy.

The paper I am using is lighter than the typical print paper I normally employ, and it is also textured (imitating the structure of canvas).

Stay tuned for the second part of the printing project, as in the afternoon I intended to try out the new typographic colors I've recently bought.

 

Night of museums 2016

This already established yearly event, held internationally by numerous museums, is to be held in 2016 on May 21st. Our museum shall join in, as usual, and I will be in charge at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca from seven PM till midnight!

The museum can be visited free of charge - including the temporary exhibition "Harry Potter and the real history of pharmacy" and the exhibit of the month which is ZIBETHUM.
If you plan to visit, be prepared to rub elbows with hundreds of other visitors, wait in a queue and skip the lab which is on display in the basement (access to this area will be blocked due to the narrow stairway). In order to see everything at ease, you can consider visiting the collection during regular hours, as the entry fee is just 6 lei (half price for students) and explanations available in English as well.

Read more about the event in Romanian HERE or join the dedicated Facebook event HERE.

Preparations for the Print Day in May

As the 7th of May is fast approaching, I have started the preparations for this online feast of printmaking. The chosen lino plate is Apothecary jars from Transylvania, inspired by my daily work with museum items at the History of Pharmacy Collection in Cluj-Napoca. For previous color variants of this print see my website gallery HERE. This year's prints will use newly acquired typographic inks (very excited about trying them out!) and experiments in applying them (sponge, fingers, plastic wrapping).

Ready for the Print Day in May! 

Crepundia

Ancient Roman girls and boys wore jewelry to keep them safe from harm (of both the natural and supernatural kinds). Besides the more famous bulla, there were also necklaces called crepundia, combining various miniatures, jingles, toys and dispersed elements. I find them fascinating and inspiring artifacts, attempting to created contemporary arty variants. Here are some of my Crepundia (available on my Etsy shop).

Crepundia, amulet necklace inspired by ancient Roman models, charm bracelet

 

Newly added - Ancient charm - unique necklace CREPUNDIA

Amulet necklace CREPUNDIA inspired by Ancient Rome, unique charm

 

 

Prepairing a new exhibition

This is one of the times I enjoy my work. A new temporary exhibition will be opened in the end of this month at the History of Pharmacy Collection, so I am doing  research on a new topic - the history of poison - along the following questions: what is the connection between pharmacists and poisons? how could cures become poisons? how were poisonous drugs kept and sold in Transylvanian apothecaries? At the same time I am selecting the artifacts to be displayed and preparing the visual materials for the poster. Here are, for now, some of the latter:

Collections

There is a certain charm and strangeness about collections - i.e. the psychology behind ordering the universe or a certain portion of it anyway - but there is also a fascination about the visual beauty of collections. My "Collections" Etsy treasury collects in itself examples of sample sets and item hoards (fossils, beetles, leaves, feathers) but also of art depictions of such collects in various mediums (tattooed leather, photography).

Testing the ancient bread oven

Now that the bread oven replica at Camp Virtus has dried in the sun, we wanted to go to the next level. The first step was to correct the cracks that had appeared in the body of clay - as the composition was certainly uneven [see the entry on how it was built] and the exposure to the sun one sided. After these have dried as well, the Roman-inspired oven was fired, noting some persistent cracks where smoke escaped.

The final step was to actually try and bake some bread, to see if the heat was indeed enough for the process. Due to bad weather conditions, we used aluminum foil instead of cabbage leafs or anything more antique. We were also short of the appropriate wooden tools, thus the embedded cord that we used to pull the bread out of the oven.

The result was not bad, the bread loaf a bit undone in the center, but that can be easily fixed with a bit of experience in baking times and procedure. We'll be having practical workshops soon!

 

Easter eggs project

Easter time again! This means a new art project, as every Orthodox housewife must produce traditional painted eggs, preferably according to the eco trend of dying with onion peel. As I am Orthodox only in name and far from a proper housewife, my project this year is minimalist, no color and simple graphic with black marker :) Enjoy the holidays!

For comparison, here is the 2014 project - still decorative and graphic, but with color and golden leaf as well:

Handmade oxidized silver jewelry

For me, the very definition of jewelry includes elements made of silver with strong patina. Thus my most recent Etsy treasury, and in my opinion the best I've made so far, reunites jewelry pieces design d'autore, handmade, with oxidized silver. The idea was to show examples of possible gifts for Mother's Day, but the artifacts go beyond the mentioned occasion to be universals.

 

Print Day in May

I'm all in! Print Day in May sounds like a fun way to promote printmaking and tie the net of a wide community of artists and art lovers. This year, the seventh edition, has been rightfully set for the 7th of May - my printing press is ready and I am artist with a plan! Do join in, print and share on that date, join the Facebook Community, and even win printmaking products!

My studio is all prepared for the event and the printing press ready to do what is required of it :) Not sure if Cluj-Napoca / Romania is on the map for this occasion, but I'd love to add it!