Printmaking Workshop

Hello! I have a snow day here in CT, so I thought I'd post some prints I did in my workshop that I taught on Sunday for the Stonington Printmaker's Society. I explained how reduction cuts work, such as linoleum and soft- rubber cuts. We focused on using e-z cut printmaking blocks and water soluble ink. I think everyone did great work! I hope everyone enjoyed learning about this technique! I had fun teaching.

I made a few prints myself as well. I did a rainbow-roll first with minimal cuts and then did more cutting and printing. I think what is so interesting about these prints (aside from the fact that they are not my usual style, being so abstract) is that they look cool at all different angles! Decide for yourself which orientation you like better!

"The River & the Bridge" 2013. Soft-rubber cut print.

"The Lake and the Sky" 2013. Soft-rubber cut print.

EDIT: Funny story, due to a mishap at a show, this work has been renamed "Luminescence."

New Pastel

"The Marsh" 2013. Soft pastels.

A work in progress.

And just because, here is an adorable picture of my dog, Chase. :)

New Pen & Ink

"The Mannequin" 2013. Crow quill pen & ink.

"In the Pink" Exhibit

Tonight was the Opening Reception/Meet the Artists for the October exhibit at the Norwich Arts Center, "In The Pink" where 50% of the sales of the pieces went to a breast cancer foundation.

"Ava" 2013. Ink.

"Eleanor" 2013. Ink.

The show is up until October 26th, 2013. Go take a look!

Ink Women Drawings

I am submitting these ink drawings into the Norwich Art Center's October exhibit "In The Pink," where 50% the sales of the work sold goes to the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation. Thinking about this theme, I wanted to create artwork that depicted strong, defiant and expressive women.

"Eleanor" 2013. Ink on paper.

"Ava" 2013. Ink on paper.

I hope you like them! The exhibition dates for "In The Pink" are October 2nd to October 26th at the Norwich Art Center at 60 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. Opening reception/ Meet the artists is First Friday October 6th from 6-8 pm. 

Solar Plate Etching Printmaking

I spent today learning about Solar Plate Etching with the wonderful artist Carol Dunn and a friend. Solar Plate Etching is a less hazardous and toxic printmaking method where no chemicals are used, we even cleaned our plates with vegetable oil, not paint thinner. A nice change from some of the other printmaking methods I've tried. These are my best prints from today.

"Speckled Lilies" 2013. Solar plate etching. 

30 Under 30 Exhibit

I have three pieces featured in the Norwich Arts Center's current exhibit "30 Under 30."

I went to the opening reception last night and was very happy to see my selfie has a prime spot under the show's title in the gallery!

"Liza Basks" 2013. Soft pastels.

"The Horn" 2013. Soft pastels.

"The Orchid" 2011. Photolithograph.

The show is on display September 4th- September 28th, 2013 at the Norwich Arts Center located in downtown Norwich at 60 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. Hours are Wednesday- Saturday 12-4 pm.

Also- I am listed on the Norwich Art Center's website! Just my name along with all the other artist members. However, I am listed as Elizabeth, just in case you're wondering, my full name is Elizabeth, but I do not go by that name on the whole, I prefer to be called Liza, as I'm sure you can guess by the name of this blog. You can see my name listed on this page under Meet The Artists, I am the first one listed. 

Go see the show anytime this month, lots of young artists from across Connecticut with very interesting work are featured!

Happy Birthday Liza's Studio!

Today I am celebrating the birthday of Liza's Studio, my blog turned 1 year old today! Thanks to everyone who has viewed my blog over the past year! Yesterday I had an amazing 274 page views, wow! I hope everyone has enjoyed my art and to continue the celebration, I am going to share with you watercolor paintings I made the summer I was 13. Take a look!

Framing in Action Shots!

Hello! My boyfriend Jon took some photos when my Dad and I were recently framing a "Buddha with Flowers" print. It was one of two Buddhas that sold recently at the GLP Art Show. I haven't taken any of my works to be professionally framed, as I'm sure that would be very expensive, but I like to think my Dad and I do a pretty good job! Thanks for your help, Dad! And thanks for taking the photos, Jon! Enjoy the framing process!

You have to trim off the beveled edge (raw edge) of the paper, as it is too large to fit in the frame. All of the very nice printmaking paper I have used comes with a beveled edge and I had to trim some of it, even before I printed, so it would fit neatly in the press.

Attaching a wire to hang!

I'm attaching my art business card to the back of the frame.

The finished product!

GLP Art Show

The Groton Long Point Art Show today was super successful! Very excited that people liked my art enough to buy it. I'm especially thankful to the people who bought two more of the "Buddha with Flowers!" Also happy that many of my sets of notecards sold as well! Always a fun time at the GLP Casino. Have a great rest of your weekend everyone!

Gearing Up for Upcoming Art Show

Hello! I have been busy preparing for my next art show, the Groton Long Point Art Show at the Casino (Community Building) at Groton Long Point, CT. Everyone should stop by my table on Sunday August 4, 2013 from 1-4 pm. It's always a lot of fun!

Something new I'm excited to show and sell are handmade original printmaking cards. I have several different designs for sale. I am also selling one of each framed. I hope you like them!

"Flip flops on the Beach" 2013. This is a rainbow-roll print, because I used two different colors without it being a reductive cut, I rolled on two colors onto the same plate at the same time to print once.

"Purple Flowers" 2013. I think this has a vintage feel to it, with the specks of paper showing through.

"Coral Flowers" 2013. I was told this has a tropical feel to it. 

"Crabbing" 2008. A big thing for kids in the summer at Groton Long Point is to go crabbing. I've found the best bait for crabs is hot dogs!

"Sailboat Spinnakers" 2013. This one is my favorite. You can feel the rolling waves. I love colorful spinnaker sails when sailboats are going downwind. They can be tricky to manage.

This was my table as I was printing one night this week!

I'm hoping to sell them framed as well. I think they look nice like this. 

Come visit me at the art show this Sunday! I will also have a Buddha for sale in a nice frame with wire attached, ready to hang! I will also be showing a few of my soft pastels as well. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Printmaking Demonstration!

I gave a printmaking demonstration on linoleum-cut and soft rubber-cut, also known as e-z cut on Sunday July 14th at Slater Memorial Museum as a part of the Stonington Printmaker's Society's juried exhibit "Journey: Processes in Print." I explained how reductive cuts work for multiple colors, that you cut away what colors you want to keep. I rolled out the water soluble ink and printed two small soft rubber-cut prints of flowers. I hope people enjoyed learning about printmaking!

These are the finished products of the printmaking demonstration:

Stone Lithography Photos

I was looking through some old photos and found some of my stone lithography "Sailboat with Buoy" of the lithography crayon still on the stone. According to my professor of Offset Printmaking II, the only stones you can do printmaking on are Bavarian Limestones, and Smith College is lucky enough to have a collection of them! In order for me to do the second color, I had to literally grind away the whole picture and redraw just what I wanted in red, it had to line up exactly, and then I used red ink to print on top of the litho crayon. If you notice, the picture is in reverse of how it printed. Below is the result. Enjoy!

"Sailboat with Buoy" 2011. Stone lithography. 

This print is currently on display at Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, CT as part of the Stonington Printmaker's Society's juried show "Journey: Processes in Print." Go check it out! It's up until August 18, 2013.