On strange bedfellows

What do these three people have in common, starting with stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen above?

Then me:

And finally Hugh Hefner, seen below posing with some attention-seeking blonde woman:

Answer: our names are listed consecutively in the 'Acknowledgements' section of Sam Weller's Ray Bradbury biography.

I happen to know Sam, and this in no way influences my opinion that he wrote an exceptionally good book about Bradbury's life, and his influence on American culture. I'm a bit mystified as to why I am in that list (for it is indeed I to whom he is referring to). But by coincidence, Sam linked together two very important people in my early teenage life. I was a huge fan of the stop-motion animations of Ray Harryhausen, particularly the Sinbad films. This might have been at the back of my mind when I made my own stop-motion animations as part of an installation a few years ago. And I, let us say, 'put to good use' my stolen copies of Playboy magazine - stolen because no local newsagent would have sold them to a minor, and also because I couldn't have afforded to buy them anyway.

Thank you, Sam, for bringing back the sweet times . . .

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Restoring my Printing Press

I've just finished restoring and assembling my large etching press -- a six week process involving lots of rust removal, scrubbing with steel wool, and repainting. Here is a photo of the same kind of press from the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: And here is a short YouTube video of me testing the press, making sure the motor still works after nearly seven years of lying in storage:

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Brancusi in Plastic

Artist Mary Ellen Croteau is showing these columns made from recycled plastic cartons and lids in the window of the Columbia College bookstore on Michigan Avenue. They are a playful homage to Brancusi's "Endless Columns", with a serious environmental message for our times: Image copyright Inhabitat.com and Mary Ellen Croteau Mary Ellen also runs a wonderful experimental art gallery in a window space in west Chicago, called Art on Armitage . I will be exhibiting a mixed media piece there during August 2012.

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How to etch a linoleum block

Linoleum as a material for printmaking has been used for nearly a hundred years now. Normally, you cut an image out using special gouges similar to woodcut tools, cutting away the lino around the image you want to print. This is called relief printmaking, because if you look at the block from the side, the material that remains stands up in relief from the backing material. You then roll ink with a brayer over the surface of the block, place paper over it, and either print by hand or run it through a press. You can do complex things this way (for example, reduction linocuts), but the beauty of the process is that it is quick, simple, and direct. Incised lino block, from me.redith.com Etched lino block, from Steve Edwards A few years ago, I saw some prints that were classified as coming from etched linoleum blocks, and I loved the textures I saw in them. In the last few months, I've been trying to use this technique in my own studio, learning about it as one does these d...

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