KEEPING RECORDS

Multiples of the same image is a common element in printmaking. The group of individual images is called the edition. There is a limit to the number in each edition and each individual print in that edition is numbered. Because of this, it's important to maintain records of each print.

I finally finished organizing the paperwork for the two exhibitions of my work that are taking place this Fall. The Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery (M.A.G.) is having a retrospective of some of my work and it opens October 10. A private gallery, the White Gallery, on Ross St. in downtown Red Deer has an exhibit of my wood engravings that opens September 4. There are 58 pieces to record and take to the M.A.G. (with at least one additional piece that is being borrowed from a collection) and 40 framed wood engravings to take to the White Gallery.

Until organizing these exhibitions, I hadn't worried much about keeping accurate records of my work; it's been something I automatically do.  Oh, I've run into a couple of occasions when I seem to be missing a print or two, but that's been rare. The records I've kept over the years have moved from paper to computer. I'm at a big disadvantage in the computer department, especially when computer companies suddenly decide to eliminate a program I'm using and I can no longer open the document with the old or new program! When I receive word that a gallery has sold a piece and I don't enter that information right away in the correct file, that information is lost. That's when I long for the days of paper notebooks, rotary phones, letters with full sentences and stimulating discussions uninterrupted by Google.

The most traumatic moment in this ordeal came near the end of the list when I noticed that I had given the curator working for M.A.G. the wrong title to a drawing! It happened to be a drawing that was already framed and I had to take the frame apart and look at the back of the drawing to verify the title. (I usually print the title of all my drawings, on the back and luckily, I had done that on this one.) Now, as it turns out, I learned from a note from the curator, that the drawing was dropped from the list and I had forgotten about that change. All that work and stress for nothing!

 It's a relief to have these all recorded, but I can't help but worry that my aging brain cells have screwed something up.

MR. IDIOT RETURNS… AGAIN

I received another call from Mr. Idiot last night (you know, the guy with the Hindi accent) who called me first back in January about a problem "Microsoft" detected I was having with my computer. After stringing him along, back then,  I told him I didn't own a computer and he said "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" and called me an idiot and hung up. Then he called again in May and struggled with the pronunciation of my name. He had forgotten about my lack of computer, I guess, and I let him go on and on until I ran out of ways to keep him going and told him (for the second time) I didn't own a computer.

Last night, when the phone rang and the caller I.D. indicated "unavailable", I answered. There was a noisy racket in the background, as if the caller was in a busy office bull-pen. After saying hello I waited. When Mr. Idiot spoke, I recognized his voice (or maybe it was just his accent I recognized) and I had to ask him to repeat what he said because of the background noise. This time he didn't try to pronounce my name.  He went through the same routine of describing how his technicians had determined my computer had been compromised and he was calling to help me solve the problem. I used pauses and "yes" and "oh" and "what do you mean?" to keep him going. When I finally ran out of ways to stall him and could tell he was getting impatient, I said what I had said before:

"But I don't have a computer!"

Click!

I wonder how long it will be before Mr. Idiot calls again. You would think that if my phone number is known by Mr. Idiot, he would have erased it from his records long ago, having discovered the computer-compromise-scam doesn't work on people who don't own computers.

AYE-AYE

I finally ran the edition of the wood engraving print, "Aye-Aye". This critter is part of my "Aliens of Planet Earth" series. Two main features that have intrigued me for some time are the large round eyes (it's nocturnal) and the incredibly long middle fingers (it pokes into things for food). This block took a little longer (about two and a half months) than most this size (5 X 7 in.) because I kept reaching points where I thought the block was complete, then I saw more that I could do. I kept picking at it, then running a proof and studying it and picking at it, then running a proof and studying it. I couldn't decide whether to remove the negative space completely, or leave it totally black. In order to make the decision to remove all the wood around the figure I needed to see it first. If I removed the wood in the negative space and it didn't work, I would be stuck with that. So, the answer was to shift from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first for a solution. I scanned it digitally and removed the negative space with Photoshop. Of course, I could have used a nineteenth century method and printed an extra proof, waited for the ink to dry and used white opaque paint to remove the black areas. But, by this time I was ready to bring it to a conclusion and tired of indecisions. As they say, either "do it", or get off the pot ("I" didn't say that "they" said that).

The removal of the black did not work as I studied the changed digital image. By then the day was over, so I shut things down and left the studio. The next morning, as I was waking up, without consciously thinking about it (and this happens often), I visualized the jungle surrounding Aye-Aye. There was Aye-Aye in the clutter of leaves and fronds and bushes of Madagascar. The next few days were spent delicately pulling a subtle jungle up from below and beyond Aye-Aye, Then proofing and pondering, proofing and pondering to make sure there was enough, but not too much. Remember, once the wood is removed it can't be put back. I reached the point where a proof showed it was where I wanted it to be and I ran the edition.

Now it was time to come up with a title. All the other "Aliens" have been given their actual names ("Blobfish", "Star-Nosed Mole" etc.) and I was tempted to add something to Aye-Aye's name. I came close to naming it Aye-Aye's Salute, or Aye-Aye Sir, but since the others in the series have their names only, without commentaries, I stuck with that.

Please, allow me to introduce: Aye-Aye:

HE'S BAAAAACK!

I couldn't believe it the other day, when the phone rang and I had a lesson in "day ja voo"! I looked at the caller I.D. and saw that the call was from a State in the U.S. where a wood engraver friend of mine lives. So I picked it up and answered it. It might be my friend.

Me: "Hello!"
Caller: Silence.
I waited a second or two.
Caller, in a Hindi accent: "Am I speaking to, uh, Shgeem Veshrushgugh?"
Me: "Well, maybe, I don't know."
Caller in a Hindi accent: "Sorry, uh, Geem Westegoot"
Me: "Yes" (I'm thinking to myself that this sounds exactly like "Idiot" who called me in January)
Idiot: "We have information that your computer has been attacked by a virus and we want to help you protect your computer."
Me: "I don't have a computer."
(I didn't have the time to string Idiot along this time and I thought, if I said I didn't own a computer, Idiot would remember our longer conversation back in January.)
Idiot: "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Me: "Because you didn't tell me who you were or that you were calling about computers earlier."
And I hung up.

Was there a lesson learned on Idiot's part? I doubt it. But there was on my part. Next time I'll waste more of Idiot's time. He doesn't seem to learn, so it'll be easy.

OK, now to finish messing around on my computer I don't have, to post this. Then back to the next "Alien of Planet Earth" engraving. This one is "Aye-Aye".

PHONE SOLICITOR

I received a phone call a little while ago that absolutely made my day. When the phone rang I looked at the caller ID and it said "unavailable" so I figured it could be a solicitor, or it could be someone I don't get calls from normally. So I answered it.

Me: "Hello"

Slight pause 

Solicitor with accent: "Hello, my name is (I can't remember the name he used but it didn't match the accent) from Microsoft."

Me: silence

Solicitor with accent: "Hello" 

Me: "Yes"

Solicitor with accent: He then goes on and on to say that Microsoft has received reports that my computer has been receiving unwanted sinister things. Then finally after this explanation he pauses.

Me: silence

Solicitor with accent: "Hello, are you there"

Me: "Yes, go on."

Solicitor with accent: He then goes on and on about the dangers of letting these sinister things get onto my computer, then on and on about how Microsoft can help me rid my computer of them. Then he pauses.

Me: silence

Solicitor with accent: silence, only longer this time

Solicitor: "Hello"

Me: "The thing is, I don't own a computer."

Solicitor with accent: "Then why are you wasting my time, you idiot?"

Me: "You're the one who is wasting my time. You told me you had a report that my computer had been infected by something or other. I don't own a computer. Who's the idiot?' Then I paused.

Solicitor with accent: silence

(He probably disconnected after he called me an idiot.)

APOLOGY

I received a phone call yesterday from Art Boards. They have apologized for the quality of the block they sent me and have promised to refund the cost. I appreciate and admire that apology and I feel obligated to let you know of their apology. Mistakes can happen when building things and when restitution is offered for those mistakes it's time to move on.

I recognize now that if I hadn't invested so much time and effort working on that block, only to find the effort was wasted, I probably wouldn't have been so hasty to vent my spleen. So I apologize for jumping the gun and going "public" with this so soon.

THE HUNGRY BEAR IS BACK

"Some days the bear eats you and some days you eat the bear" came to mind again. I was attacked by the bear and I suppose I learned another lesson. I hope so, anyway. I had ordered an engraving block from a block supplier in the US called Art Boards. I don't believe I've ever used their blocks before and thought I would give them a try. I ordered a 5 X 7 inch maple end-grain block from them, which they claim they make for wood engravers. When it arrived and I looked at it, it appeared to be a well made block… Not so!

I stained the block and began to draw on the block, from some sketches I had made for a new print in the series I call "Aliens Of Planet Earth". When I figured I had enough information on the block I began to do some general engraving, to give myself enough to print an early proof. I like to be cautious and print a proof at an early stage before I remove too much of the surface of the block.

I noticed, as I engraved lines that crossed the joints between sections of the block, fine crumbs of glue were coming out of the joint. The joints are supposed to be milled in such a way that there is no space between them, before they are joined with glue. The person making this block had filled the gaps with glue! I was stunned to see the joint opening up as the glue was crumbling out! I had worked on this image for three weeks, including the last three days of engraving and it was obvious that, with these thin white lines running the length of the print, I was going to have to scrap this block. But I decided to print a proof and see what it looked like. I started up the press and printed a proof today and was shocked to see that, not only were the lines VERY evident, but the thickness of the block was inconsistent. Both ends of the block were low! VERY low! This resulted in no image printing from those ends (close-up of the proof below).

I suppose there's no need to mention that I don't recommend wood engravers order blocks from Art Boards.

GIANT ISOPOD EDITION IS FINISHED

The proofing and changes to the block were finished and an edition of Giant Isopod was run on November 2. Here's a photo of a print from the finished edition. There are 36 prints in the edition and 4 artist proofs.

PROOFING GIANT ISOPOD

The process of making a print involves periodically printing the block or plate that's being created. This is very important, especially when creating a wood engraving, because it's difficult to tell what the engraving work on the block is going to look like when printed until a print is pulled from the block. Now that a view of the status is available, decisions are made as to where to engrave further and where to leave it alone. Keeping in mind that once wood has been removed, it can't be replaced. The print can also be drawn upon with white ink to simulate engraving, giving a view of what will happen "if". Then further engraving proceeds.

This is a photograph taken of the Giant Isopod block and the first proof together.

After studying the proof and considering the options, a little more engraving is done until it seems time to see the results of the changes again. Here is the block and second proof together. (Notice that the image pulled from the block is a reversal of the image on the block; harder to notice since the image in this case is somewhat symmetrical.)

Between each proof it's a process of decisions, decisions, decisions. then it's back to engraving the block. The changes that took place between the first and second proof were minor and not easily seen in these two photos. After the first proof, the dark area between the claws on either side was left untouched just in case an idea came as to what might go in there. Probably nothing will go in there and it will be removed. But JUST IN CASE, it's best to wait.

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Another old saying ("waste not, want not") comes to mind. Trashing the Star-Nosed Mole block, that was ruined during engraving, didn't make sense. End grain blocks are too costly to throw away, so, with a little manipulating a new image was laid out on the untouched area of the block and it is now in the process of joining the other Aliens of Planet Earth series as Giant Isopod. Check the website to see the finished Star-Nosed Mole print.

Here are a couple of views of the progress of Giant Isopod so far:

The first is the drawing on the freshly sanded and stained block and the second view is the shortened block after a few days of engraving.

   

SOME DAYS THE BEAR EATS YOU...

As the saying goes, "Some days the bear eats you and some days you eat the bear." It's not often I get to eat the bear and the other day the bear certainly took a bite out of me. I had been starting to engrave a new block (Star-Nosed Mole) by clearing some large areas that I knew were definitely not going to be in the print. Usually I wait to make sure, before removing large areas because once the wood has been removed it can't be put back. Of course, since this was a large area and the Foredom electric engraving tool I use removes wood  quicker and easier than hand tools, that's what I was using. As I was breezing along with my task, something happened. I probably pulled the tool when I should have pushed. The bit went tearing across the wood in the wrong direction! (note the photo)

I've been asked if the electric engraving tool is easier or quicker than the hand tool. The answer is, sometimes, yes. But it also can have a mind of it's own and does what it wants to do. This was one of those moments. It's like any other power tool. It needs to be used with care. But then, so does a hand tool. I've had accidents with hand engraving tools as well.

There's another saying, "If the world hands you lemons, make lemonade". I looked more carefully at the block I had been engraving and could see that it had low areas (which I should have noticed before drawing and starting to engrave). As I looked at what I had drawn on the damaged block and looked back at the sketches I had made prior to starting the block I became dissatisfied with the composition I had chosen from the sketchbook. So, the bottom line was that starting over on a new block was a good thing.

BYE BYE LESLEY

I certainly didn't expect a response from my last appeal, but it arrived this morning and it looks like the Nigerian con artists are dropping their use of cheques and switching to credit cards. That doesn't give me a trophy, and leaves too many chances for them to succeed, so I'm giving up trying to con the con artists who con the artists.

Here is the response I got to that last e-mail I sent:

Hello Jim,

    emailing you my credit card details is my best option as i have explain. My bank advise me not to use Pay Pal for now due to my changing of address/location i did, they told me it need to be re-activate before i can set up a PayPal account.
    So they said i should inform you that the card need to be run through manual terminal charging machine and it will be go through and you will be able to get the payment from there. So i want you to still try and look for any of your colleague or store that will assist on this.Explain to them that i will be willing to pay any extra charge it will cost for the transaction...If not please kindly go ahead and cancel the order.

Thanks,

Lesley.

...and following that, my bye-bye to Lesley:

There doesn't seem to be a way I can arrange that Lesley, so I guess our business is cancelled.

It's been a slice.

Thanks,

Jim

A very sad moment. But maybe I've kept them distracted with my "con" so they were not conning another artist (I doubt that, but it helps). 

ONE LAST ATTEMPT

I decided to see if this con of Ms. Norway's could be resurrected. I've heard nothing from "her" since sending that last e-mail, rejecting payment by credit card.

Dear Lesley Donna From Norway,
There has been an inquiry regarding one of the items you requested. I promised you I would hold it until you let me know if you could arrange payment. I will hold it for one more week and if I don't hear from you I will consider our business terminated.
Please let me know if this is agreeable with you.
Sincerely,
Jim

WILL THIS END IT?

My response yesterday to Lesley Donna From Norway may be the one that brings this con to an end:

Dear Lesley,

I have tried today to arrange for some kind of credit card service but I have been unable to do that.  

I will be very happy to hold the two items you are interested in, until you are able to arrange your PayPal account, or you could very easily send me a cheque for the amount of the two items.

I have tried many different places and it seems that the credit card service is not available for me.

Sincerely,

Jim

I expect they will give up and stop sending e-mails. If this Nigerian con operation had been functioning as the previous ones, I'm sure the phoney cheque would have been in the mail by now. But since they've switched to using a credit card as their means of conducting the fraud, I would not have a "trophy" at the end. And if I can't have a "trophy" to wave in their face, I don't want to play any more. We'll just have to wait and see.

DID THE RAT GIVE UP?

The exchange of e-mails I was having with sweet Leslie was going hot and heavy there for a few days, so, since the last time I'd heard back from "her" was last Friday, I assumed "she" had given up because I had refused to accept a credit card for payment. I was set to post a new entry announcing that another one had slipped through my fingers, when this arrived:

Good Day Jim

      I got your response and I just contact my bank on this and they advise me not to use Pay Pal for now due to my changing of address/location i did, they told me it need to be re-activate before i can set up a PayPal account.
    So they said i should inform you that the card need to be run through manual terminal charging machine and it will be go through and go will be able to get the payment from there. So i want you to still try and look for any of your colleague or store that will assist on this.Explain to them that i will be willing to pay any extra charge it will cost for the transaction... Regards,

Lesley.

So, what do I do? Tell "her" that my bank has advised me not to accept "her" "Master card Detail"? 

Tell "her" that the police have already described the procedures of this Nigerian con to me years ago? 

Not if I want "her" phoney cheque on my wall. 

Somehow I'll need to talk "her" into switching from "Master card Detail" to a huge Lesley Donna From Norway overpayment cheque.

I'll stop engraving the current block for a bit and give it some thought.

NEW RAT'S ADDRESS

A few days ago I was curious about the address of Ms. Norway's "shop" in Oslo. She included it in "her" first e-mail. I used Google Maps and found myself on a quaint street in Oslo, facing a brick wall filled with colourful graffiti.

NEW RAT UPDATE

There have been a number of e-mails, going back and forth, between Ms. Norway and myself since this started, in late April. "She" started the process by saying:
I got your response and i want you to kindly get back to me with some of the available pieces you have right now for sell and their prices so as to list out the ones needed.

I answered the request for prices with a list of 21 drawings and prints (mostly drawings) and their prices. I purposely left out the media and only listed the titles. It still seemed to me that "she" has not seen the work on the website and didn't know what the "items" were.

Ms. Norway responded with a request for Moonrise to Port and Tornado Pilot, and the total price. I answered to let "her" know the total would be $3700.00 and that would translate to 20,055.22 in Norwegian Krone.

"Her" response to that:
      I got the total quote of the order which is ($3,700.00). The shipping company will have the order picked up from your facilities because i have made an arrangement with the shipping agent who will be coming to pickup the items right from your location so as to avoid the shipping responsibilities and difficulties that you might be experienced in shipping to Norway.The Shipping Agent have all the documents and permits required for the exportation of these order.And they will handle all the custom duties and insurance as well because all will be dully paid by me .They have got similar items shipped to me here successfully.So i have discussed with the shipping agent about the nature,quantity of these items and i was charged ($3,380) for the shipping cost,including some of my merchandise i ordered from different countries that is with them which they will be delivering tome here in Norway.I will need you to do me a favor as explained below:
     The shipping agent informed me that as for now they can only receive payment by direct Bank transfer.So i am asking for you to please help me to charge the shipping fee of the shipment which is ($3,380) on my credit card account and then transfer to the shipping agency's office via direct bank transfer and their representative will come for the pick up.I know it's not your responsibility to do this,i just want you to try and understand me and be of assist to me and my next order will be ship by you.Also, I'm compensating you with the sum of ($200) for the transfer fee and for your efforts.So the charges that will be deducted on my credit card will be:

TOTAL COST OF ITEMS BOUGHT:                    ($3,700.00)
SHIPPING FEE GRAND TOTAL  :                      ($3,380)
CREDIT CARD SURCHARGING FEE :               ($80)  (FOR THE SHIPPING FEE)
TRANSFER FEE AND YOUR COMMISSION:     ($200)
THE GRAND TOTAL COST :                             ($7,360)

       Note that my credit card will be charged for the amounts above.Please do get back to me if you are in the office right now so that i can email you my credit card details,then you can charge the full amount and transfer the shipping fee to the shipping company so as to proceed the shipment.And as soon as the shipping company received the shipping fund, they will schedule the time for the pick up and then come to your facility for the pick up.

"She" is using dollars instead of krone and there is no indication that "she" realizes I'm quoting Canadian dollars, not US (I've included my address so "she" knows I'm in Canada). I have indicated on my website that the prices listed are in Canadian dollars. Why "she" would be adding the shipping fee, a credit card surcharge fee and a transfer fee and my "commission" for juggling this extra charges into my invoice is anybody's guess! That nearly doubles my quote. Why not just order twice the number of  "items"? I'm sure I'm going to find out.

I answered that by saying, yes I was in the "office" and that I don't have an arrangement with a bank to take credit cards.

Ms. Norway's response:

   I got your response,presently my best form of payment is via credit card,that is where i put all my money for any international transaction, i suggest you look for a colleague or a store that has a Credit Card  terminal charging machine that will assist you in charge the fund and then get the payment there, i will be willing to pay the surcharge fees, which should be billed to my account, reason with me please.

I responded this morning by saying that I will look into that method, but I prefer to use PayPal and reminded "her" that "she" could use "her" credit card with PayPal and that if "she" didn't want to do that "she" could send a bank draft. I've heard nothing yet. I suppose "she" took the weekend off to celebrate Norway's Mother's Day (if Norway celebrates Mother's Day this weekend).

MEET THE NEW RAT

My suspicion seems to have been correct. That visit to my website, from someone in Nigeria, may very well have been the origin of an e-mail I received today from…. Now, are ready for this?
Lesley Donna From Norway!
See? Same middle name (From), and the last name is a place.  Stan From California, Debbie From New York and Jon From Norway all have that same middle name.  I wonder if Lesley Donna knows Jon?

I know, I know, I probably shouldn't be posting this on the blog until the rat has the cheese, but I just couldn't resist and am excited that I might get another chance to pull this off.  But this one has a different twist. There's no mention of Lesley Donna sending a cheque this time. Instead there's a credit card mentioned. She says she will pay with her "Master card Detail".  Hmmmm? Never heard of a "Master card Detail".  There is one similarity to the others however. There will be a courier who will be picking up the purchase, so no need to send it. She doesn't say which print or drawing she wants. In fact, as you can tell from the content, she doesn't even know what I have to sell, but she likes them and finds them "creative and desirable".  Another difference this time is that her courier, Stanley Braim, is also adding information in the e-mail.  Maybe Stanley and Lesley Donna are an "item".

Here's the content of the e-mail:

Good Day,
   I am Lesley Donna from Norway, i want to inform you that your items are most creative & desirable, so much talent! I am interested in purchasing some of your artwork/items into my shop here in Norway, but before this is done, i want to inform that i will be making the payment with my Master card Detail because presently my best form of payment is via credit card.

 This is where i put all my money for any international transaction, so kindly reconfirm your website/contact details and get back to me with it so as to know if I'm right with the site.
Stanley Braim is typing...
Stanley Braim: Concerning the shipment, my shipping company will be coming to pickup the items because i already have some merchandise with them in which they will be shipping together to me here in Norway, so you don't need to be worried about the shipment nor handling fee.

Lesley-DonnaShop

My concern this time is the "Master card Detail". In the previous ones My goal was to have their cheque framed and on the wall. There will be an overpayment, for sure. That's how the scam works. Then I'll be asked to send a cheque for the overage, but maybe this time there will be a different method of sending a refund. Stay tuned.

I WONDER IF I'LL BE HEARING FROM STAN, JON OR DEBBIE SOON

I checked the statistics on my website counter this morning and noticed there were two separate visits from two separate computers in Nigeria earlier today. Each of them had followed a link from two other different wood engraver's websites. That might be a coincidence, but I'm interested to see if there will be an e-mail arriving soon, requesting a large purchase. This suspicion is raised after the experience I had in 2010 through 1012 (see my blog entries of March 2010, to November 2012).

If I've guessed correctly I'm hoping to receive a message from "Juan Gomez From Madrid", or "Hans Weiss From Hannover". Whomever it will be from will be wanting a large order and I will be instructed to not send the prints or drawings, but for me to wait for Juan's or Hans's courier (they are very well-to-do and have their own private couriers!) to pick up the work. The money will arrive but the courier will not. The payment will be far too much and I'll be instructed to send a bank draft to Mr. Madrid or Mr. Hannover (their last names are always a city and one of their middle names are always From) for the overage.

My goal during these exchanges was to receive that hefty payment and frame it, to hang on my studio wall. But I was having so much fun stringing "Stan", "Jon" and "Debbie" along, I think they recognized I was on to them and they stopped corresponding. This time, if this is another of those Nigerian scams, it's either members of the Nigerian gang who are new, or they don't have very good memories.

Here's hoping I don't scare them off this time.

THE WINTER FROM HELL

For me, this has been the Winter From Hell. It began with the usual plummeting temperature and heavy snow sometime in October, and has not let up until this past week (it's April 11 today). The forecast on the local radio is calling for two or three centimetres of snow tomorrow, but then it's supposed to stop and the temperature will rise back above zero (32 degrees, for those in the States). At the beginning of the Winter From Hell (October), the snow was beautiful and created interesting formations. We have a round glass-top table near the entry to my studio where, during the few weeks of warm weather, we sit and have breakfast in the morning or enjoy a gin and tonic in the afternoon. We always leave this table out all year and I enjoy watching the snow grow higher and higher. I call it a snow-cake.  I took a picture of it back in January (1).

Shortly after taking that photo the snow-cake began to shift (2). But the odd thing was, even though the grade of the concrete sloped downward slightly, to the left, the snow-cake was shifting to the right. Then a few days later, as I was going from the house to the studio I noticed the snow-cake had shattered the glass and had fallen through the table. Those little blue shards beneath the table (3) are what's left of the glass table top. Looks like the snow-cake exploded the table top.

1-

2- 

                                    3-

This snow-cake disaster illustrates the nature of this 2013-14 winter we've just survived. In mid January, about the time the snow-cake was shifting to the right, Carol was admitted to hospital and has been there, recovering, since. There are encouraging signs that Carol will soon be coming home and that Spring just might be arriving (hopefully after tomorrow's predicted snow). 

I've learned many new things during this Winter From Hell, such as: how to set the washing machine to wash dirty clothes and which frozen single meals I like from the supermarket and which ones to avoid. Between January and today I've tried to get work done in the studio but it's been hard to concentrate and my mind wanders. 

I owe a great debt to my family and many friends for their support and encouragement and for the wonderful home-cooked meals I've been invited to share with them. I admire their incredible patience and ability to avoid falling asleep as I go on and on, repeating stories I've forgotten I've already told them numerous times before.

MODERN BRITISH WOOD ENGRAVING

The Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) and Tin Films released a new DVD last year titled MODERN BRITISH WOOD ENGRAVING A New Look at a Traditional Medium. I recommend it highly. It is produced and directed by Leonie Bradley and David Robertson who introduce us to contemporary wood engravers in Britain. The main film runs for 45 minutes and there are also 10 minute conversations with each of the ten wood engravers featured in the film. The wood engravers include: Neil Bousfield, Simon Brett, Harry Brockway, Chris Daunt, Anne Desmet, Edwina Ellis, John Lawrence, Peter Lawrence, Miriam Macgregor and Hilary Paynter.

The exceptional value in this DVD, I believe, is how we are introduced to the individual artists. We see their studio environments and we listen and watch as they describe not only their working methods but what motivates and inspires them to create these fascinating wood engravings. I have met a few of the artists who are interviewed in this production and their generous and sharing nature comes across in the film just as it did when we met face-to-face. Of course, that should be no surprise. One of the consistencies of wood engravers is their open and willing nature, to share what they do and how they do it. I suppose it comes with the territory of working in an antiquated medium. There's a compelling desire to share it, in the hopes that it will be picked up and will continue on to the next generation.

The British DVD system is different from the system in North America. There are different systems throughout the world. Britain's is a number 2 and North America is a number 1. If you have a DVD player that gives you an option of 1 or 2, you can play the disk in Canada or the US, but if you have an old and simple DVD player like mine, you can play the disk on your computer. That's what I do, I'm in Canada (and yes, it's bloody cold here).

The SWE website has a page that includes information about how to order MODERN BRITISH WOOD ENGRAVING:
http://www.woodengravers.co.uk/news.html#dvd

SOCIAL MEDIA

I'm not a fan of those "social media" bandwagons everyone is jumping on. Their structures and functions confuse me and I find them intrusive. This blog is simple and as close as I get to participating in social media. The publisher of The Fly on the Wall asked me to get a Facebook account when the book was released. I thought it was for some kind of live internet interview with the publisher's customers (my internet savvy is showing). So I did. Someone I know "invited" me to "join" Linkedin. I didn't want to offend him, so I did. Those were the only social media wagons I've jumped on. I've finally cancelled my accounts at both of them.

Just before I cancelled Facebook, a notice arrived from Facebook, letting me know that someone had sent me a message (I can't remember the term Facebook uses for that; "poke" or "pinch" or "chat", or some silly term). I went to my Facebook page and found it. It was a message from a person who asked if I was the artist who had created a print he had. He included an image of the print. It shocked me because it was a multi-block colour relief print I had created in the late '60s or early '70s. I believe, from information on his Facebook page, this individual lives in the central US somewhere. I answered the message (to the whole world, of course, because I can't figure out how to send a direct e-mail in Facebook) and told him, yes, I was the person who created it. I mentioned that I was very curious as to how he had come in possession of the print. I mentioned my distaste for Facebook and asked him to go to my website and contact me via my e-mail address listed there. I cancelled my account the day after that.

A couple of weeks have passed and there has been no e-mail from this individual. This would be a good opportunity for one of the con-artists-conning-artists, like "Stan From California", "Jon From Norway" or "Debbie From New York". They could contact me, pretending to be that individual and use that as a means of trying another con. C'mon, "Wei From Shanghai" or "Victor From Nigeria", give it your best shot!

THE PUBLIC OF RED DEER SPOKE

The results of yesterday's voting have been announced and I'm happy to report that the citizens of Red Deer have remembered after all and have NOT given a city council seat to Dennis Moffat. Kudos to the citizens of Red Deer!

POLITICS, PUBLIC OPINION & PUBLIC ART IN RED DEER

It was 1980, the 75^th anniversary of the Province of Alberta. The Province set aside funds for each city to create something to commemorate that anniversary. The city of Red Deer chose to commission a series of public sculptures, as one of its projects. Dennis Moffat got himself onto the committee to select the sculptures. Dennis was a teacher in the local school district, and eventually ended up taking over an art class in the high school. He was also involved in city politics and served on city council for 27 years. The committee’s task was to run a competition and choose sculptors. Some of the finalists worked in the abstract constructivist manner. The sculptures were created in the city, where everyone was invited to watch if they were interested (I don’t think very many were interested), then the sculptures were placed in various locations on city property. Venomous letters to the editor spiked regarding the sculptures, especially the abstract metal ones. One idiot suggested shooting at them (no shortage of NRA sympathizers here!). A group of seniors named one of the steel sculptures, located near the senior centre, “Rusty Ridiculous”.  In 1982 one of the sculptures that had been placed on a grassy hill between two directions of a main thoroughfare was vandalized with paint. The city was forced to spend taxpayers’ money to sandblast and refinishing the sculpture.

Ten years later, Dennis (high school teacher, member of the city council, the committee to select the sculptures) decided to admit that he had led a group of his high school students to vandalize the sculpture.  Here is a portion of the interview he gave to the paper.

“The night before graduation I told my (high school) art class if they wanted to go down in history, they should paint it, said Mr. Moffat recently at his downtown studio. I gave them some money and sent each one to a different paint store. We were very careful to spread out so no one could trace it back to us. Mr. Moffat told the group to meet at the old Beaver Lumber store at Parkland Mall that night and to wear black. They worked in pairs, one painting while the other watched for police. It was a real operation, he laughs now, remembering.”  Red Deer Advocate by staff writer Michelle Jarvie, Dec. 23, 1992

(Notice how he admitted not only organizing the vandalism and paying for it, but also thoroughly instructing the teenagers how to escape detection? A dedicated teacher, don’t you think?) Very few people condemned Dennis’ criminal act and their opinions fell on deaf ears. The school board didn’t care, the Minister of Education didn’t care, the justice system didn’t care, and the majority of the voters didn’t care (maybe because it happened ten years before and the statute of limitation had run out on destroying public property and contributing to the delinquency of a minor). Dennis continues to enjoy his status as a revered Red Deer artist, the owner of the Red Deer Farmer’s market, a retired school teacher on full pension and now, after losing an attempt to be re-elected a few years ago he is running for city council again. That’s politics! We’ll see if the voters of Red Deer remember any of this, or if it matters to them, on Monday.

A CASE FOR ENGRAVING ON WOOD

I've always preferred to engrave on wood. I've tried Resingrave, Corian and other synthetics for various reasons, including curiosity and cost (creating a large wood engraving on end-grain wood can be quite expensive).  Each time I've used synthetics I've been dissatisfied with them. The chipping of the Resingrave, when using hand tools was my main objection to it. When I heard that the formula for Resingrave had been changed to eliminate the chipping problem I tried it again.  I use a power engraver (Foredom Micromotor) for the majority of the engraving I do.  Resingrave is basically a plastic and when the engraver bit is cutting through the plastic it creates a powder that clings to everything and is impossible to clean up. Have you ever tried to dispose of those foam "packing peanuts"? It's like that. Despite the change in formula, the static electricity remained a problem. So, I have a few synthetic blocks that sit on the shelf year after year.

I'm currently working on a series of small portraits. I'm calling the series "The Quotables" and these include, so far, Mark Twain, George Carlin and W.C.Fields. They're "The Quotables" because I'm also using the images on my line of letterpress printed cards, where I'm including some of the things these people have said that have been quoted and passed down to us. A week or so ago I decided to start a portrait of Groucho Marx and when I went to my storage of small blocks I noticed a couple of lonesome synthetics sitting there. I decided to try a Corian block that someone had given me to try out. Corian is a material manufactured primarily for counter tops, I believe. This 2 X 3 inch block of Corian was mounted to a piece of plywood to bring it to near type high. When I started running trial proofs of Groucho there were some low areas that weren't inking evenly and I added pieces of paper to the back of the block as make-ready to bring it level. This is common, even on end-grain blocks. I proof and print on a Vandercook SP-15 proofing press and I added a piece of paper to add pressure before doing some more engraving. I reached a point where I made the final decision that enough work had been done on the block and it was time to print an edition. One small little area at the bottom of the block needed a narrow slip of paper added to the back of the block and it was "good to go"!

I placed another sheet of print paper in the press and rolled the carriage over the block and ... "POP!"  I was stunned. This was one of those "S**T!" moments. I knew that sound and I knew the block had cracked! (I had heard that sound years ago when I was a guest artist at Wake Forest University and a graduate student and I were printing a block of mine on an intaglio press. The rollers on the press had been set too low.) My press is made for printing from this thickness. The block only had three or four thin pieces of paper added to the back and it was not too high for the setting of .918 of an inch. That crack shouldn't have occurred. But it did.

You can see the crack in the photo here, running horizontally through Groucho's moustache.

I'm not going to mess around, trying to figure out how to fill a crack in Corian. So, as they say: "Back to the drawing board". Only this time, on wood.