Ahhhh!!!

Time just goes too fast. I feel like I never get any time in the studio, and this week when I would have had time, I am busy cleaning and doing improvements in the basement, since our Open Studio/Art Show is on Saturday, and I still have a lot to do. We still haven't set up the darkroom, which bothers me. A lot. And I haven't pulled out all the art I have squirrelled away yet. And I still have more cleaning to do. I don't like this. I just want to shut the world away and play in my studio, but life keeps getting in the way. So I dropped the class I was taking this term (yay, no more papers), decided against taking class next term, and told my boss I want to reduce my hours to 4 days a week instead of 5. So hopefully with all that, I should be able to actually clear up some projects very very soon. As soon as exams are over and all the kids go home for the holidays our restaurant will be a wasteland and I should not feel overworked and cranky and actually have time and energy to get some plates done. YAY!

More Steps Back

I have been loving and hating the studio. Mostly hating. I am easily frustrated, and that tends to cause a lot of problems for me. I also do a lot of things I shouldn't, which tends to cause even more problems for me. So when I use whatever random paper in my press that I want because it is pretty and my prints don't turn out, I tend to freak out and just not go near the studio for a while. So you can imagine what's going on here right about now...

However, I did set a date for an open studio date so that people can come by and check out the space and hopefully buy stuff. So I will have to get my press issues sorted out before then. I also decided not to take classes next term so I can hopefully spend more time in the studio. Since it will be winter which makes me all around miserable, I won't want to go outside anyway, so this is a good opportunity for me to get some projects cleared up and re-organize and store my prints properly for when we have to ship them out west next summer. Hopefully...

Studio Update

So things have been crazy. I was sick for a while, then the laptop fiasco, then all sorts of shit at work, then finally the move. I don't have the studio up and running yet, which makes me really sad. However, I have pictures! They are crappy, since they are from my phone (my camera died too...) but you can see how things are shaping up, and even better, what the space looked like before. My father-in-law was using the room as a sort of shop and catch-all. I'm really not sure how he found anything in there, though he always seemed to know where everything was.





See what I mean? before I moved the rest of the things in (read: before it became messy again) it was starting to look like this:






I am hoping to get in to work on it a bit later today, since now my old pantry is assembled, and my bookcase. So that should help with storage of books, rags, and frames. Wish me luck!

Another Update

So, we went and picked up my laptop last night. Only to discover that the Best Buy Geek Squad are a bunch of total f**king morons. They apparently decided that I didn't want my data, and THREW AWAY MY HARD DRIVE. I don't really want to get into it right now, but I have spent the entire evening emailing everyone I know to track down print information, which of all the things I lost, is the most important. Why? Because instead of printing a huge edition at once, I tend to do a bunch of smaller editions. Now, to keep them cool, fresh and original, I do chine collé on tons of different papers. And of course I keep track of which papers I use, to make sure I'm not editioning something for the 2nd time and gipping you fine people who buy my prints. And, I keep track of all that on my laptop. The one that crashed. Thanks Geek Squad!

I'm trying to think of this as a new opportunity for starting fresh and trying new ways to organize my print info, but that will only work until the shock wears off, I'm sure. I'm just thankful we haven't had the chance to put the website up, so I have only sold work to people I know that I can still contact. So, wish me luck!

Laptop update

So Armand just called me to tell me that my laptop is back and ready for pick up. Yay! But then he tells me that they were unable to recover ANY data. At all. After they said there was a "very good chance" they would be able to recover "up to 70%". I'm not mad they couldn't recover anything; I'm sure they tried their best, and I'm sure they didn't mean to "lie". Given the information about how my laptop failed and their success rate, I'm going to assume they told me the truth as they saw it. I, however, don't want the truth. I want something that doesn't get my hopes up, even if it is a bit of a lie. Something more to the tune of "often we are able recover a large amount of data, however, sometimes we inexplicably get nothing at all". That sounds like a good company line that won't make you overly hopeful, unless you are an uber-hopeful retard, which is what I became after hearing the line they actually gave us. So, after the shock wears off and I'm done crying over my own bloody stupidity, I will be scouring the Internet/area for data recovery specialists, and preparing myself for the inevitable financial butt-raping that will occur as a result.

Grrr...

So, last week when I discovered I wad going to have three whole days off, I was pretty excited. I figured I could pack, plan some new plates, whatever. Then, my computer crashed. Oh well, right? I can still pack, or whatever. Yeah, about that. I got the bloody Genghis Khan of all colds. The kind of cold so bad that you get up to go to the bathroom, and then you need to nap. So, while I have tried to at least get some source images together for some new plates, I am finding it a lot more difficult without my laptop. Armand has been kind enough to lend me the iPad until I get the laptop back, but it just isn't the same. It is such a fun toy that all I want to do with it is watch YouTube videos and read Cracked, which makes it hard to get real work done, as anyone familiar with Cracked can attest. Also, incase you all live under a rock, Apple hates flash, so that means a lot of cool stuff can't be viewed on the iPad. I also discovered that whatever software Blogger uses to make Blogging for Dummies so quick and easy to use doesn't work on the iPad either.

That's right. I have to try and remember good old fashioned HTML to blog. And do it without a real keyboard. Good times!

Anyway, printmaking. I managed to sharpen my scrapers in anticipation of doing a small mezzotint test plate, and I purchased a copy of The Complete Printmaker a few weeks ago, so I am attempting to read that in my more lucid moments. For anyone who is starting out, this bold is an invaluable guide to printmaking techniques, and is full of ways to save money by building your own acid trays and mixing your own hard ground. It isn't available in hardcover anymore (at least not for a reasonable price) but you can buy softcover copies, and it is also available as an ebook, so that's pretty cool. I'm going to one up them a bit here though. They had nothing to say really about building paper drawers. But I'm going to. I'm working on the measurements so I can make my own 6 drawer paper chest for about $120. Say what? Yeah, we all know I'm crazy, but when I work it out I'll be laughing all the way to the bank, and then sharing it with all you fine folks. Something g to look forward to...

One step forward, two steps back

So, the last few days have sucked some serious balls. I'll save you all the little annoying things that have been going on, and skip right to the good stuff. My laptop, my lifeline, upon which every shred of my artistic information is stored, CRASHED. And burned. We don't know what is wrong with it. I do know what is wrong with me though. I, am stupid. So stupid in fact, that I have never backed up anything. So, yeah. I think I'll go hide in the closet and cry now.