Lupine Aligned, Reverse the Curse

Hello Dear Reader. It’s been some time since our last collaboration in our print experiment was posted. Cara LP and I began this print pre-pandemic. Sadly, we didn’t get to finish the project together in person. I finished the print on my own at Sunset Paperworks and went up to Petaluma to sign them with her. Thanks to everyone following along, and Thank you to Cara LP and all the collaborators so far for their contributions and great company.

Here’s the scoop on the latest print in our collaborative print experiment with Cara LP.

We began with a small stamp reduction print. We drew our images and transferred the images to safety cut stamp material. First we carved our what we wanted to be paper white. Then we printed our first color, Pink. After printing about 20 papers with stamp ink. We went back to the same safety cut stamp block and carved out what we wished to remain pink, leaving in tact what we wished to print Green. We eye balled the registration and printed the second color Green over the pink.

Can you tell us a little about your experience creating the “Lupine-Aligned, Reverse the Curse” woodcut reduction print at Sunset Paperworks?   What is it about to you? How did you come to this visual?  What were some things happening that influenced this print? We started working on the print pre-pandemic, so it felt like daytime vacations for workshopping art and seeing friends. I was in the midst of writing song lyrics more or less about accepting the shadow self through the experience of werewolf transformation.  So naturally, with loving to explore a theme through different mediums, that’s the subject that was on my mind. But we also narrowed it down so quickly because you already had your own longtime thoughts about female werewolves. It was so effortless for us to riff on that concept, and visually I was excited to tie some thread to your world of past creatures and female figures that appear in your work. I had first started the song lyrics to work through some negative feelings, and the print, to me, represents the end of the story segment: it turns into something positive and beautiful. There’s some duality going on in my head when I look at the finished image. I see it as two sides to one being internally at peace, but also externally in harmony with nature and the animal world. 

Once we completed our small stamp reduction print, we began collaborating on the image for our woodcut reduction print. We talked, drew, ate, drew, and drew until an image fully formed based on our ideas which we continued to discuss as we went along.

What are your thoughts on collaboration?   Are there things that came out of the collaborative process that would not have happened working alone? Collaboration can be really expansive by exploring new perspectives and utilizing skills outside your own range. That definitely rang true with this print. To start, I had zero exposure working in the woodcut reduction medium, so how lucky to utilize all your years of experience. I wasn’t limited to my carving skills, and composition ideas were vetted in real time by all your hands-on knowledge. Then design-wise, it was really fun to see the artwork take shape through a melding of our interpretations and styles. There were lots of texture ideas I wouldn’t have thought of. And it would have taken me longer to give our werewolf face the right grit… my first sketches kept coming out so cuddly haha. 

How do you benefit from collaborating with others? Aside from hopefully arriving at a better place together and getting to expand my skill set, collaborating tends to provide a sense of safety-in-numbers. The validation of ideas builds confidence in what I’m working on. And then the finished project has built-in buy-in, which helps alleviate natural moments of self-doubt. It’s also fun to widen my world and associate with someone or something I really believe in.

When we had our image finalized, we transferred the graphite drawing on tracing paper to the wood block and began carving out when we wanted to be paper white, leaving in tack the wood parts that would take ink to print our first color, a pink red gradient or rainbow roll.

What is the significance of the pink color...what were you thinking about...or what does it signify to you? We got the inspiration for the pink color during our very first get-together to create the rubber stamp reduction test prints. We were exploring vintage magic imagery, and a 1925 poster in one of my magic books really jumped out at us. The poster features a red winged devil lifting a dangling ghostly figure above a pink starry sky. The red and pink are bold but muted, and it’s striking to see pink used in such a dark themed way. So we were interested in the color scheme first, and it stuck with us once we had our subject. Historically, pink wouldn’t have been considered feminine at the time of the magic poster. It was considered a strong color linked to red. I like thinking about it as a shade of red, always representing strength, but with associations from each end of the spectrum, from love to war. It seemed like the perfect color for our theme. 

Can you tell us a little more ....  Surprises? Highlights? Lowlights? Thoughts on the woodcut reduction process, printmaking or Sunset Paperworks? It’s fun to create in a workspace with amazing energy reflective of the artist, and that makes Sunset Paperworks a special place to be. Chill vibes at the bottom of a sunset stairway with a workbench perched under a sunny window. And we got to be under cat buddy Kiriko’s watch, which feels important when making art about transcendence into animal worlds.

The reduction process could be a bit of a brain puzzle rethinking positive and negative space, so it was fun to ease into it with the rubber stamp test prints first. Carving away the design in wood is an experienced job. Cutting into the rubber stamp felt similar to paper crafting and more familiar, but the density of wood actually felt more similar to cutting into metal with a hacksaw for jewelry making. Been a while since I’ve honed those skills. I think there’s a lot of nuances to learn with how the wood reacts to angles and pressure and specific tools.

The highlight was the excitement of collaborative creation that saw our ideas transpire with each session. Other highlights were great company, great food breaks, and walking around the coyote grounds of San Francisco. Lowlights were the pandemic & wildfires interfering with our workflow and momentum right as we were on a roll. Surprises were when I realized I left my bag on a SF street bench AFTER we returned back to the studio, but by some miracle it camouflaged itself and we were able to go back and retrieve it haha! THANK GOODNESS! What a relief that was.

After printing more than our goal of 28 prints of the first pink color, I began carving into our block for the next color. I removed any part that I wished to remain pink and left in tact the wood to take the ink for our second and final color, a dark purple. Finally I printed that over the pink and our image was complete.

This print was unique, in that it was happening in tandem with multiple Northern California wildfires and a pandemic, so we didn’t get to work on the carving much or the printing at all together.  Do you have any questions for me regarding what I did without you? Thankfully I have experience with other various printmaking techniques and have been to quite a few of your art shows hosted at your past studios, so the process wasn’t a complete mystery. But I definitely would love to see you do a print run and learn how you register the colors. I know you’ve worked with rolling color variants for a long time, so it’d been fun to see you working the ink roller again too.  I really wish we could have carved more and printed these together. I hope we can do another print together post pandemic. Thank you again for participating in our Sunset Paperworks experiment …I miss you guys.🖤

"Lupine Aligned, Reverse the Curse" Woodcut reduction print. Image 7" X 7". Paper 10" x 10". Edition of 28.  Carved and printed by Cara LP and Nathalie Roland in San Francisco, CA.  Available for purchase here. Read more about Cara LP here.

Collaborator n. 5 : Cara LP

What is your name? Where are you based? Cara LP. Sonoma County, CA.

What roles do Art and Music play in your life? I’m a graphic designer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Thankfully I’m in a creative collaboration in my personal life as well, so art & music manifest in most everything we do. Art and music are life.

What are your current projects? MOGGS is my longstanding music and art collaboration with my husband, Justin. We also have a sub-project under MOGGS called Miss Minor that’s still collaborative, but I wrote the songs on piano and played the instruments. And my other project is playing drums in Night School.

MOGGS in 2002

What are you working on now? I’ve been writing and recording drums remotely with my Night School friends for a new release sometime this year. I’m fortunate to have a full recording studio and Justin’s engineering to make this work so seamlessly. We’ve also been writing and doing collaborations with various people. I’ve designed some logos for friends’ projects I’m really excited are coming out this year, too.

When does the CaraLP album come out? The Miss Minor album finally comes out sometime in the first half of this year! It’s been in various stages for a very long time, but we’ve finally had time to focus and get all the supporting pieces together. Just finished printing a full-color lyric booklet for the insert, which was an entire art project on it’s own. *UPDATE* Album release date April 20, 2021 and is available for preorder now at Moggs.com

New Miss Minor record “Dreamland" album cover

I know a bit about your music life, but not much about your visual Art life.  What is your history with Art making?  What is it like to work on an Art vs Music? I definitely always gravitated towards visual art, but I had such a DIY mentality towards it, I never even took a single art class until halfway through college. Then I switched majors and got a Fine Arts degree at an art school. My focus was Interdisciplinary Art, so I made a wide range of hands-on art: archaic photography, lithography, silkscreening, film-making, sculpture, jewelry making, painting, etc. Then on my first job, I happened to fall into graphic design where there was a need and I taught myself. I’ve been a graphic designer ever since.

Luckily art and music have always been so intertwined for me. Even in a literal sense, my first graphic design job was for a musical supply company. The appeal of Interdisciplinary Art was getting to explore a concept in various mediums. The core is creativity, and music and art are just different mediums to express it. I’m grateful I accidentally specialized in graphic design because I don’t think I could fully bring all my musical ideas to life without it.

Miss Minor Lyric Booklet sneak peak for “Grey Gardens” song page

What are some things you are really into right now? (Shows, books, ideas, rituals, places, foods, a thing that is getting you through? ) Downsizing, exercise, creative hour, giant easel pads, our wonderfully weird dog Rose, frozen chocolate & peanut covered bananas, gemmed natural makeup, crystal drinking glasses, hiking sparsely populated spaces, off-leash beaches, flower arrangements, staying at home with Justin, tv shows set in the past, music & art collabs, elderberry gummies, silk lined masks, motor-free quiet, yogurt with berries & honey, wellness, tree sap drinks, incredible friends, dreaming up our next adventure.

Anything else you would like our readers to know? Just that we have a special connection and history to your printmaking. We were just rediscovering the silk screened covers you made for MOGGS’ super limited 2005 test pressings, and years earlier you made a special limited edition print of us in silhouette playing live in San Francisco. We’ve always been such huge fans of your artwork, and it’s so fun to be a part of this new print project with you. It has been my pleasure to participate in any of your musical projects! And this collaboration project functions partly as a way to spend more time with friends like you, I am so glad you are here. Thank you!

Learn more about Cara LP's work here.  Learn more about "Lupine Aligned, Reverse the Curse" here. Purchase the print here.

Happy New Year of the OX

Happy lunar new year. May the year of the ox bring growth and progress.

Baby Ox Listening to music. Woodcut print carved and printed by Nathalie Roland at Sunset Paperworks in San Francisco.

Brain Swimmers

This online zine is a sampling of ideas, notes and images culled from my notebooks.  Make your own Zine by following this simplified ‘Make a Zine’ prompt. 

1. Gather your ideas

2. Draw your pages

3. Make a cover and share

For a more detailed ‘Make A Zine’ Instructional - Check out Jay Howell’s How To here.

The Brain Swimmers pages are painted with acrylic shades of white and light blue on RISO color test scraps, then finished with lines in red gouache paint.  All the images and text are redrawn from my notebooks, ideas that have been swimming around my brain.

1. Brain Swimmers Cover. Painted over a rubber stamp I carved and printed.

2. Off brand Snoopy, Slowy, contemplating Quarantine time.

3. Snail Mail.  A snail brings a tiny letter to ...

4. The smallest mail box.   Will we still have a Postal Service going forward?  I sure hope so.

5. I often wonder, what relationship Octavia Butler and Stevie Wonder had to each other.  Did he read her book, “Parable or the Sower”? Did she hear his song, “A Seed’s A Star”?

6. I can’t stop thinking about that book and that song.

7. Stevie Wonder is love. Painted over a rubber stamp I carved and printed.

8. This quote by Herb Caen has been echoing in my mind for over a year.  I think of it in the context of recent decade of evictions and widening of sociology-economic divides... San Francisco has gone through so many cycles of downturn and renewal, what will the next glory days look like...

9. It takes on a whole new meaning as we quarantine and wonder what life will be like on the other side.

10. I draw the ‘tiger’ as a native mountain lion.  I believe in San Francisco and in San Franciscans.  These last two months have brought forth the city’s leaders, essential workers, health heroes and problem solvers, working hard for the health and safety of the collective.  I❤️SF.

Swipe through below to see images 1-10.

Works In Progress

Prompted by an encouraging inquiry from Pauline, here’s a peak into the current works in progress.

Hi Pauline!

SOEX Artist in Education. A couple months ago I began participating in Southern Exposure‘s Artists in Education youth Mentorship program.  Having our face to face meetings with Mentees paused by the Covid-19 situation, we have been working together virtually to adapt and transform our efforts into something, (exactly what? We are still figuring it out) That we can share with the public in May. We are exploring the creative process and social justice in Art.

Collaborative Print Project at Sunset Paperworks. Continuing alone for now on the 5th collaborative woodcut reduction print with Miss Minor - The first color has been printed and I am carving for the second color. We are exploring the themes of duality and lunar time.

Growth Paintings. I have started these paintings very long ago, what is time anyway? I have been working on them lately. I am very eager to finish them, and at the same time, I find it daunting to continue. Maybe I can finish them this year? One is about growth potential set in the press room of the Arion Press where I used to work and the other is about cultivating the light within.

Backdrops - A while back, Myleen and I discussed making backdrops. I was really excited by the idea but I didn’t get started til recently, when I got a welcome motivation from a mentee in the AIE program. Im using a mountain lion and the San Francisco Flag as visual points of reference along with a quote by Herb Caen. And am currently exploring solutions which are mailable or easy to transport and set up…

Daily Drawing. I’ve been trying to draw every day. Below are some digital sketches on the iPad Paper App and regular paper drawings…

That’s all for now. Thanks for asking!

Dan Lee: Magpies Of Seoul

About a year ago, Dan Lee of Scrabbel embarked on an ambitious creative project called “Magpies of Seoul”. (See trailer above). Dan enlisted a large group of musicians and artists to help him tell his version of Chilseok, a Korean Folktale, in which he interlaced historical references to the Korean War.

The project featured Art by Rochelle Youk, Hellen Jo, Joseph To and Nathalie Roland. Dan wrote to 8 songs which were performed live by 9 musicians in front of a large screen movie projection movie featuring all the Art works on May 12th, 2019 at the Kabuki Theatre in San Francisco as part of the CAAM fest. The Art and Music was also collected into a storybook and CD.

Almost a year after the live performance of Dan Lee’s project “The Magpies of Seoul”, we catch up about the creative journey he took to bring it all together. From the first spark to the live performance at the Kabuki Theatre, we hope to bring you into his creative process. How did his idea first begin and transform into the resulting collection of songs, images and performance. Read on to find out!

Dan Lee of Scrabbel in the Richmond. Photo by Nathalie Roland.

At what point would you say the seed for this project was planted?  I think that I’m always trying to explore my Korean roots in some way or another, but I didn’t have this particular story idea until I started writing the grant proposal. In some ways it was very last minute, but I think it was always in me and I just needed the pressure of a deadline to bring it out. Blending musical traditions was always a desire. The story to base it around came from my wedding date and the folktale associated with it (Chilseok), as well as my family history. I’ve always had a fascination with the DMZ and North Korea, so the idea of doing my own take on that folktale seemed very obvious to me. Trump and his border wall and the separation of those families also fueled the idea of writing something about 2 people being separated by the Korean War and finding a way to be reunited.

What activated you to begin the work? I was actually on vacation in Japan when I was notified I would get the grant. It was very exciting and frightening at the same time. Suddenly the idea was very real. I had never applied for a grant (sort of). I had thrown so much into the application to beef it up and now I was suddenly being committed to follow through!

Still from “Little Bird Finds Her Sister” in “Magpies of Seoul” performance video by Dan Lee.

What were your first steps? My first step was to re-read my grant proposal!!! Ha ha! In my defense though, there is a 6-7 month gap between turning it in and then hearing about any decisions. My daughter was 3 at the time, and I was about to change jobs, so I had more immediate things going on. After that, I made an outline of my story and how I wanted to write songs for the key moments in it. Then I did a mad scramble to find korean drummers to collaborate with. I reached out to a drummer friend (James Kim) and he pointed me in the direction of Dohee Lee. She became a crucial collaborator for my project: supplying drumming, singing, and knowledge of korean culture that shaped the story. Connecting with UC Berkeley’s EGO (korean drumming group) was the last piece to the musical puzzle. 

What questions were you trying to answer for yourself through the project?  The biggest thing for me was finding out whether I could make music blending traditional Korean drumming with my western music sensibilities. Could I make something that I was proud of and excited about? I like to challenge myself musically. I didn’t know if I could make music with instruments and traditions I am unfamiliar with. In my head there was a musical spectrum where I would write songs based on korean drumming, write songs and add korean drumming, and all of the in between. I was very conscious of exploring those avenues and not just forcing korean drums into what I normally do.

This video features the evolution of a watercolor done by Hellen Jo, photos of the Korean War that influenced her work, and footage of the recording sessions...

What were some decisions you had to make a long the way? Maybe the toughest decision was that I didn’t have the time to fix certain mistakes, so I have to just accept that they are on the final recordings.  Also, we had to do the live performance without Dohee and with less korean drummers because of scheduling conflicts. Rather than keep searching for a date, I chose to perform at CAAMfest because I felt like it would reach a wider audience. It was a sold out show, so that was a good decision!

On the art side, I waffled between working with multiple people or with just one artist. The pros for 1 artist is that the final look would have been consistent (and also 3 less people to manage/schedule etc). The cons for 1 artist would have been more work for that person, which didn’t seem possible when I asked, given the time constraints. I ultimately chose to divide up the workload. That, theoretically, gave them more time to work on their stuff, so it was great for quality over quantity. Having different artists also added to the diversity in styles and ideas, which also broadened the audience.

JuYeon on the left, Monica on right playing the janggu- for “little bird finds her sister “ Photo by Dan Lee.

What were some of the problems you had to solve? When recording Warren playing a western drum kit over a traditional korean drumming piece (North Invades The South) there were issues with the timing and tempo. Korean drumming is more free and guided by the lead drum (kkwaengwari played by Ju Yeon) so it can speed up and slow down, which made it difficult to follow. I also hadn’t worked out all the music for the song so I believe Warren had only the korean drums and a bass line to work from. We recorded it in segments and I had to explain what I wanted in each section. It’s like acting with a green screen. In some ways he was playing blindfolded, and so was I. As a result, there was some post-production magic that I used to line up his drums at certain moments, but the end result is fantastic. The two songs he plays on are my favorites because they really capture what is possible when combining different styles.

What were some of the tools you used to make it all happen? I recorded it all myself- mostly in my apartment, except the loud drum ensembles (in my parent’s living room) and Warren (in his practice space). It was mixed and mastered in San Antonio with Chris Cline in his house. - all on a computer.  The artists used their arty tools, and I just peeked in at different stages when I could. The video projections were shot on my phone and made in iMovie.

What was happening during the process in the background?   A 3 year old, a wife, a 40hr/week job, and not much sleep.

What influenced the project? The old photo of my mom and her friend inspired the basic story idea, as well as my family history during the Korean War.  There were so many things that happened during the process that added, altered, and advanced the project: buying a kalimba inspired the opening track, seeing an old video on YouTube of Dohee inspired a song (Reunification, I Wish) and led to me recruiting her, and researching the Korean War led to adding sound FX and voiceover samples on the centerpiece song (The North Invades The South)

What role did San Francisco play? A direct result would be that the cover of the book (as well as the artwork for Little Bird Finds Her Sister) was a photo taken on the cliffs near Baker Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Some footage used in the video projections were also shot at various SF locations (Sutro baths, Baker Beach, etc)

What was it like to work with so many people on one thing?  It was really great to have different ideas brought in that I would never have thought of on my own. For instance- having the climax of the story happen on the two mountains (Hallasan and Paektusan) was Dohee’s idea. Her knowledge of Korea placed my ideas into a physical space that really solidified the story. Subtle details like having the title art piece be outlined by the shape of a hibiscus flower (korean national flower) was my friend’s idea (Julia Kim). I dabble in a lot of instruments, but I could never do the drumming that Warren added to the songs he played on (North Invades The South and Little Bird Finds Her Sister). I also couldn’t do the type of art that the visual artists made for the project. 

On the other side, it was also a logistical nightmare to have so many people involved. Scheduling rehearsals, finding a performance date that everyone could do, and trying to coordinate and track everyone’s work to make sure they meet their deadlines.....that was the painful side.

How many people were involved? From UC Berkeley - 6 drummers recorded with me, 4 played the live show. 4 others (myself included) recorded songs (me, Aya, Sadie,  and Warren). Mom did voiceover work. Ami did voiceover and video work. Lucia was also in one of the videos. Chris Cline helped mix and master. Han played the live show with us. Pauline did the book layout. Myleen helped with the book cover layout. Nathalie, Helen, Rouchelle, and Joe were the visual artists. Beatrice (and her team) helped me write the grant. The live show had the sound guys and stage managers, and festival staff (I don’t know those numbers).

What did you learn about collaboration? I think that it works well and sometimes it’s difficult. The end result was very satisfying and beautiful, but maybe it was a rough process at times- depending on the collaborator and the particular situation....and who you ask! 

I’m not sure how they might feel. I tried to be open and free about letting others do and create how they create, yet I had to find that balance between guiding them to my project goals/vision as well. Everyone is different: some folks wanted to be told what I wanted and others didn’t, and sometimes their work altered where I thought I was going, so I had to switch up my side because of what they did to take the project in a different direction...etc. 

What kind of support did you get for the project? I got grant money from SF Arts Commission. That made it all possible and I got a lot of quality work from the people involved. For me, it was a labor of love, but I don’t know what it was for the others. 

What were things that happened in order to finish it?  Who was essential in bringing the whole thing to the finish line? Everyone. But if we are talking specifically about the finish line, then Pauline Choi and Joe To were the last ones to carry the baton. Pauline helped me layout the book (which was a last minute addition in itself) and Joe helped with that, plus he was a last minute artist who came up with the piece for “Magpies in the Sky”. 

How did you know when it was finished? There were 3 moments - in this order: I flew to San Antonio for a long weekend to mix the music. When I left, it was done (except for the mastering). On the other side, when I sent the pdf to the printers, then I knew it was out of my hands. And then when we played the final note and the house lights came up. Those were the 3 exhale moments for me.

What will you take away from the experience? It started as a small musical idea and grew into a very large project. It became incredibly personal to me because of the story and  involvement of my mom, and daughter, and wife. It’s a time capsule for my family.

Do you have any visual relics of the process, like notes or sketches or random visual mementos of the experience?  Tons. The videos that accompanied the songs at the live performance are their own little documentaries for how the art was made, songs were recorded, and what I could convince my daughter to do to “act out” some of the narrative.

What would you like to see in the future for this project? I wish we could do it live at least once more. It’s a shame to have put so much work into something and only perform it once.  As a story, I think it could be expanded into something very unique. I’m not sure I’m the one to do that though. That’s another collaboration...

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About the Magpies woodcuts…. Following prompts from Dan, I created four woodcut prints, one to illustrate each of the four songs I was assigned. The prompts were varied combinations of written story, parts of or completed songs and sometimes reference photos. For in-depth process documentation, please check out my Magpies IG Highlight. Swipe through below to see all four finished woodcut prints.

Mother and Child, Keep Families Together

This project came from brainstorming with Jullia Kim-Biddle about how we could protest the US government’s separation and detention of immigrant families. What I still can not accept is how the perpetrators of this cruel trauma claim to be Christians. I draw upon the Catholic religion of my family and grade schooling, to bring an image of Mother and Child. I made this woodcut and inked with Red and Blue ink on white paper. We then assembled the prints with wooden auction paddles to create mini protest signs, which we distributed to children and their mothers at the “Keep Families Together” March.

Glad I did, Grateful for the Internet

Sketch book page by Nathalie Roland

Hello. Here are some things I watched, listened to, tried etc that I was glad I did.

Listened to Adrienne Maree Brown on Joy in Corona times - Here

Tried tapping for the first time with guided Tapping exercise by Elise Entzenberger Here

Listened to The first ep. of “Deeply Rooted” with Brontë Veliz on For the Wild. Here

Listened to “Lowrider Sundays” on Dublab. Here

Tried Ryan Heffington’s Dance party SweatFest Here

Watched this Documentary on Swoon : Fearless Here

Feeling so grateful for all these wonderful resources to access via the web.

SOEX AIE Session Virtual

Last week’s session got me thinking about Artists whose work I love and in particular, Artists depicting bodies.

Here are a few…

Lynnea Holland Weiss

M. Florine Demosthene

Ines Longevial

Kerry James Marshall

Os Gemeos

We also discussed having a daily drawing practice. Lynda Barry is a very inspiring source for me, of drawing inspiration and motivation, check out her IG, TheNearsightedMonkey for more. I also really enjoy the daily practice by Mogu Takahashi.

SOEX AIE Session Notes

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Mentorship program at SOEX. Here are some links to topics mentioned or discussed in the last session…

SOEX - Artists in Education program

Mentors’ works : Simon Tran : Brea Weinreb : Felix Quintana: Rochelle Youk : Nathalie Roland

Artists Mentioned * : Jose Guadalupe Posada : Julie Mehretu : Enrique Chagoya : Betye Saar : Luchita Hurtado : Terri Friedman

*I have surely forgotten some

Places to engage with Art : Guerrero Gallery : LACMA : SFMOMA : Asian Art Museum : Chandran Gallery : Hashimoto Contemporary : DeYoung : Arion Press : Minnesota Street Project : Painting Salon events : Catherine Clark : Hosfelt :

We also briefly discussed “frustration”. What do you do when you are frustrated with your Art process? How do you know when to power through or let go of a project? How do you start when you are overwhelmed by your ideas? What do you do when you don’t like how something you are working on is turning out, follow through or quit? These are important questions that will come up for most Artists. While I don’t have any universal answers or magic potions to offer, I can tell you some of the things that help me along with frustration in my own Art practice. I hope we can exchange more about this and other topics in our next session.

Aïcha Idelcadi: Collaborator No. 4

What is your name? Where are you based?  I am Aïcha Idelcadi and I am based in San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley.

What is one of your favorite places or things about San Francisco or the Bay Area? There are so many things I like about this city... For example, the fact that you can be yourself. Just that is enough for me to love this place.
When it comes to favorite places, the first place that comes to my mind is El Rio because I feel like it’s so welcoming to everyone; it’s truly diverse in many ways. The MOMA on an empty Thursday night is one of my favorites hang out. Bernal Hill, day or night, for the views and more recently McLaren park for the same reason! 

Photo by Aicha Idelcadi

What is your San Francisco story? When did you come here, from where and what brought you here? I moved here from Paris in 2007 for many good reasons :) And I plan to stay!

Could you tell us a little about Temoins d’ailleurs? What was this project? Did this project influence you long term and if so how? Years later what are some of the lasting keys from this experience? Wow… this seems so far away and at the same time it changed my whole life! My childhood friend Julia and I traveled the world for a year. We wanted this trip to be meaningful and to share our experience so the point of this journey was to meet children all over the world, share things with them about French kids and ask them the same questions about money, poverty, dreams, hopes… We shared their answers with many elementary school students who were following our adventures online with their teachers. It was an incredible adventure that led me to meet you 13 years ago! 

What role do the Arts play in your life?  Art affects all parts of my life. I teach art everyday to kids, I make art with my own kids and after all that, when I find the time and energy, I make art on my own exploring different forms and media. I use art as catharsis or just for fun. I also love to explore art museums and galleries and see live music and performance as much as I can. I find that both inspiring and therapeutic! 

Photo by Aicha Idelcadi

What is the significance of Oum Kalthoum to you? Why did you want to do a print of her? This Egyptian singer’s story is incredible and her talent was unbelievable. She is a true icon in the Arabic world.  She was a strong woman who made her path in a very masculine world in the 40’s and 50’s. Her father had to dress her up as a boy when she was a child for her to be able to sing with his group. I grew up listening to her music and other artists like her on vinyl and to me she still has this magical status. I also love the aesthetics of the old photos of her!

What are your thoughts on collaboration?  How do you benefit from collaborating with others?  Can you tell us a little about your experience creating the Oum Kalthoum print at Sunset Paperworks?  Working collaboratively really gives my creativity and motivation a boost. I learn so many new things and I really love it. In connecting through art, I felt like my personal connection to you grew a lot, and during each session, our conversations went deeper. I learned about you but also about myself in this process. Also, I adored the printmaking process and I would love to do more.

Photo by Aicha Idelcadi

If you could curate an exhibition and musical program anywhere in the city where would you do it, what would be an ideal place and what would you include? There is this huge, wonderful amphitheater in McLaren Park, the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, that I would love to see more happen with. The few musical and community events that I’ve seen there have been great but didn’t have the turnout and promotion that they deserved. Let’s do something there!

What are you working on now?  Right now I am getting ready for an art exhibition with my 350 art students on the theme of the City. The kids worked on all sorts of projects including lino prints, painting, collage, graphic arts, etc. I’m working on making a short movie with a friend as well, and I’m looking forward to making another print with you!

We will be thrilled to have you back in the studio anytime. To learn more about Aïcha Idelcadi’s Art adventures, please check out her Instagram at ArtExtracted.

Kawkab al-Sharq, Oum Kalthoum

We have the musical Artist, Camille and a mutual friend to thank for bringing us together 13 some years ago. Camille’s concert at Bimbos in San Francisco is where I first met Aïcha Idelcadi. In the years that followed we shared a mutual love and curiosity for Art, Music and the city of San Francisco.

Here is the story of our studio adventures in creating a woodcut reduction print of Egyptian singing legend, Oum Kalthoum. We began with an introduction to the reduction process through two color small rubber stamp prints. The whites of the pyramid are carved out first and the orange or green (we experimented with colors) first of two colors is printed. Once we have our goal of copies plus extras, we can carve out the previously printed base or first color (orange/green in our case). what remains on our rubber block is the relief (ink accepting surface) of the second/final color which in our case is green and blue.

Rubber Stamp reduction prints by Aicha Idelcadi and Nathalie Roland

Once we had a basic understanding of the reduction process, we began imagining our 7”x7” woodcut reduction print. Idelcadi brought the idea of an Oum Kalthoum image to the studio. (Read more about her idea- will link to interview here) We did some research of Egyptian motifs and exchanged more about the extraordinary life of Oum Kalthoum. Eventually we came up with this drawing that incorporated an Egyptian floral motif and a geometric star which appears in the decorative patterns of the Middle East as a nod to one of her many titles, “The Star of the East” or “L'étoile de l'Orient”. We used an old photo as reference and the sphinx by her side for her homeland and additional title “The Voice of Egypt”

Our line drawing, our draft of color separation, some drawing ideas and previous drafts.

Once we established our line drawing and image goal, transferred the drawing to wood and began carving out the white parts including highlights on her face and the star band behind her. After the highlight areas were carved out , we could print the first yellow gradation color. After we had printed more than 28 (our target goal for the edition) we carved away the yellow parts of the same block of wood. Thus, leaving the raised wood surface to be inked with the final green color.

“Kawkab al-Sharq, Oum Kalthoum” Woodcut reduction print. Carved and printed by Aïcha Idelcadi and Nathalie Roland in San Francisco, California. Image 7”x7” on 10”x10” paper. Edition of 28. Available for purchase here.

Rochelle Youk: Collaborator No. 3

Q&A with Sunset Paperworks collaborator, Rochelle Youk.

What is your name? Where are you based? My name is Rochelle Youk, and I am an Asian American visual artist living in Berkeley, CA. Although, I work mainly out of my studio in San Francisco, with the Dogpatch Collective. 

What role do Korean Folk crafts play in your work? Having been born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles, the daughter of immigrants from Korea and Japan, my ethnic, cultural heritage was always a big part of my life. Yet at the same time, in many instances in conflict with my understanding of what it means to be ‘American’. Because of that dynamic, I grew up often rejecting that which was so important to my parents. 

My investigation into the folk crafts of Korea has been a way to rediscover and embrace the history of my ancestors. One thing that I have really enjoyed in the process is the discovery of threads and ideas that are still deeply woven into the cultural landscape of Korea, and in turn also inherited by my own family in some way or another. Also important is the idea that these threads do not always hold up in today’s modern context, yet they can be easily accepted under the guise of tradition. In my work, I try to quietly point to these areas of inconsistency, while also making the space to appreciate a specific craft tradition or idea for what it is as a visual art form.

Chaekgeori by Rochelle Youk. Gouache on panel 24” x 24” 2018

What is a Moon Jar and what is its significance to you? A moon jar is a large ceramic vessel, unique to Korea, meant to mimic the moon with its shape and color. Often assembled from two separate pieces, they were extremely difficult to make, and as a result not many of the oldest versions survive to this day. 

I have been thinking a lot about the history of ceramics in East Asia and how there was so much exchange of technique and decorative ideas between China, Japan, and Korea. Unfortunately, this exchange happened mainly through the tools of Imperialism, yet it still resulted in separate traditions, with a lot of overlap, but still unique to their own national border. I think it struck me that this jar, the moon jar, is only a part of Korea’s tradition. Why isn’t there a Japanese version of the same thing? How did it become unique to Korea? Given the history between the three countries, it doesn’t seem possible that the moon jar’s uniqueness could be accidental. 

Gat Weave Study No. 2 by Rochelle Youk. Gouache on gesso panel. 6”x6” 2017

What can you tell us about horse hair hats? Well, first off, I am kind of obsessed with them. 

Secondly, in Korea during the Choseon era, woven horse hair hats called Gat were worn by the male aristocracy. They look a little like pointier top hats with a wider brim. Although there are other versions with different shapes to designate scholarship or different positions in the government. They were extremely labor intensive to make, woven by hand using a four strand braided weave, and very beautiful. You can see them in real life at the Asian art museum, which has a few in their collection. 

For the past several years, I’ve been making my own versions out of my own hair. I thought it would be fun to explore the same craft tradition, with the hair of a woman and see what happened. So far it has been a very slow but enjoyable process. I’ve been told that Gats are no longer being made in Korea, so it has been difficult to find information about the actual techniques and processes that were used. 

The Original by Rochelle Youk and Cathy Lu. Ramen bar installation at Root Division SF. 2011

What are your thoughts on collaboration?  How do you benefit from collaborating with others?  The collaborative process with Sunset Paperworks was really great. The resultant moon jar print is something that I could never have made on my own. Not only because I know very little about woodblock printing, but also because of the exchange of ideas and creativity that happens in collaboration with others. I enjoyed how both Nathalie and I could work on the same idea, yet bring our own unique experiences to the project. At certain points we saw the project very differently and it was so eye-opening and helpful to talk through those things and come to consensus. 

Korean Official, Sekdong by Rochelle Youk. Gouache on panel 8”x10” 2016

Can you tell us a little about your experience creating the Moon Jar print at Sunset Paperworks?  Thoughts on the woodcut printmaking process?  Do you think you will do more printmaking in the future? Outside of the collaborative process, it was really great to work with Nathalie again on a creative project in a totally different environment than our previous work together at Arion Press. The Sunset Paperworks studio has really nice natural light and is generally a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon working. 

It was very satisfying to spend time carving an image into a piece of wood and then have a printed image that comes from it. The character that the wood brings to the print in texture is also something that I would have never thought about on my own. I definitely hope to make another woodcut in the future. 

Sekdong by Rochelle Youk. Oil and fabric on panel 42”x42” 2010

What is your favorite thing to eat in the Sunset? Dumplings! There are so many different dumplings to choose from in the Sunset. 

What are you working on now?  I’ve got a few different things going on in the studio right now. A larger gouache painting on the history of ceramics in East Asia. A small painting based on the weave pattern of Gats. A painting to accompany a modern music album using traditional Korean instruments, based on the Korean folk tale, Chilseok. Sketches for a sculptural project based on wooden window screen patterns. And of course, the hair hats. 

If you could display your work or do an installation of some kind any where in the Bay area, what would be an ideal place?  I have a lot of dream show spaces. It would be a lot of fun to put together a large installation in a really nice space, somewhere like Ratio 3 or Altman Siegel. But I also like the idea of putting a show together in one of the numerous small/tiny spaces in this city. I think my work does better in small spaces anyway. Sometimes I also fantasize about making a huge mural outside somewhere that incorporates the Korean Sekdong or rainbow stripe pattern. 

Still Life, Sekdong (diptych) by Rochelle Youk. Gouache on panel 18”x12” 2016

Where can people learn more about your work? You can see more of my work on my website www.rochelleyouk.com or follow me on instagram @roachyface. 

Thank you Rochelle Youk for your participation in our Collaborative Print project. We look forward to seeing your new work to come and please come back to Sunset Paperworks anytime.

Moon Jar

After working together closely 5 days a week, for 3 years on books at the Arion Press, it was pretty exciting to work with Artist Rochelle Youk on a collaborative print in a whole new environment at Sunset Paperworks. We share an affinity for repetitive tasks and eating good food. Her beautifully crafted work explores identity through modern examinations of Korean folk Art. See more of her work on her website here.

We began our collaboration with an introduction to the reduction process via a small three color stamp reduction pictured below.  After the initial white areas are carved out from the stamp, the first yellow color is printed. From that same stamp the yellow is carved out and the orange is printed, followed by removal of the orange and printing the deep green.

As we contemplated plans for our woodcut print it became clear that we would deviate from the reduction model and do a single pass with a gradation ink roll and paint in the second color. Carving out so much of the block for such a tiny print area wasn't efficient and we could get more variation in the colored lines by painting them in with acrylic gouache.

Here is our finished print “Moon Jar” woodcut with hand coloring. Image 7" X 7". Paper 10" x 10". Edition of 28.  Carved and printed by Rochelle Youk and Nathalie Roland in San Francisco, CA. Available for purchase here. 

“Moon Jar” Woodcut by Rochelle Youk and Nathalie Roland

Thank you very much to Rochelle for participating in our ongoing collaborative print series. We look forward to seeing more of your work and hope you will return to Sunset Paperworks for more printmaking experiments in the future.

Jeana Hadley: Collaborator n. 2

What is your name? Where are you based?
My name is Jeana Hadley, I’m a graphic designer & illustrator based in the Outer Sunset Neighbourhood of San Francisco, right in the corner where the Golden Gate Park meets the Pacific Ocean.

When did you come to San Francisco and from where?  I moved here with my husband from Zurich, Switzerland almost 6 years ago.

What is one of your favorite places or things about San Francisco or the Bay Area? I really love the neighborhood I live in. Even though it’s part of the city it feels more like a sleepy beach town. There are numerous locally run cafes, restaurants and shops and the beach and park are nearby.  

Please tell us a little about your work for el Lokal in Zurich.  How long have you been contributing to that space, what role(s) have you played there over the years and what role do you play for them currently?  Before moving here I was managing a restaurant/bar/concert venue called el Lokal in Zurich. I started out part-time behind the bar and waitressing in 2005, then joined their management in 2007 where my  responsibilities ranged from daily business to booking and promoting music shows and designing show posters and other promotional material including the venue’s website. I also designed, produced and published multiple R.E.S.P.E.C.T. magazines themed on the venue, it’s artists, employees and regular guests. 

After moving to San Francisco I continued to do design work, booking and concert organization for el Lokal from here, and as of today I’ve created about 100 posters and put on well over 900 live shows for the 250 capacity venue. 

What are some of your favorite music venue(s) here and what do you like about them? If you could book bands for anywhere in the city once a month where would you do it (real life place or made up fantasy place). Basically what’s your dream situation for your booking skills? There are a lot of amazing venues in San Francisco, I’m still discovering them all. The Chapel, The Bottom of the Hill and The Great American Music Hall are at the top of my list, but my absolute favorite venue by far is the Lost Church. With it’s 50 odd seats it’s quite small and I really love the intimacy. That would definitely be the spot I would want to book for. 

You are the designer at Sealevel studio and a lot of your illustration work has a nautical theme.  What’s your relationship to the ocean?  What draws you to this theme? I’ve always been drawn to water, especially the ocean. There’s just something fascinating about its vast and unknown depths. 

Water can overcome any obstacle by taking on whatever form necessary, from a steady drip or a gentle trickle to a powerful tidal wave. It can’t be stopped. I find this incredibly inspiring. To me, water is the ultimate symbol of creativity. 

The nautical theme is inspired by el Lokal, which is also affectionately called «the last island by the Sihl», referring to the river which runs out back. The venue is filled to the brim with maritime trinkets and tidbits and serves as a port where regulars, travelers and all sorts of sailors and lost souls are welcome. There’s a certain melancholy attached to the sea and all things nautical, something nostalgic, a longing for the unknown. I try to weave these sentiments into my work, especially as it pertains to my monthly posters for el Lokal.

What are your thoughts on collaboration?  How do you benefit from collaborating with others?I’ve been working mostly independently over the last decade, developing and refining my personal visual language on my own terms. But in the times I do collaborate, I have always found it to be an exciting and enriching experience, especially when new mediums and techniques are involved. Being exposed to someone else’s perspective and approach encourages me to look at things from angles I may not have considered on my own. This, in turn, has a positive influence on my approach to new ideas and future work.

Can you tell us a little about your experience creating the “Whale Magic” woodcut reduction print at Sunset Paperworks?  Surprises? Highlights? Lowlights? Thoughts on the woodcut reduction process, printmaking or Sunset Paperworks? Initially, I was a little intimidated transitioning from digital illustration to working with material and tools that were way more stubborn and unforgiving. Also, the fact that with this technique there is no going back once something is carved was a kind of scary. I’m used to having complete control over every little detail of my art, so this was a great learning experience for me  in letting go of that control a little and embracing perceived mistakes. Nathalie is an extremely talented, knowledgeable and patient teacher, and I feel very fortunate to have had her to show me  the ropes on Woodcut reduction. There were a few instances where something didn’t go quite as intended, but I think in the end these slight deviations really added to the character of the design and I’m very pleased with the final results. I had a fantastic time during the whole process, and on a personal note: I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend a concentrated amount of time with  Nathalie, getting to know her better while working on the print and deepening our friendship.

What are you working on now? And/Or What projects are you preparing for coming up? And/Or what project would like to do next?  I just finished up the October show poster for el Lokal, and am preparing to work on an album cover for a musician friend Hank Shizzoe which I’m very excited about. 

I also hope to work on many more prints at Sunset Paperworks in the near future :)

We are excited to see what music and art projects you get into in the future and we’d love to have you back!

Learn more about Jeana Hadley's work at sea Level Studio here.  Learn more about "Whale Magic" print here. Purchase the print here.

Whale Magic

We have Anthony Skirvin of Ape Do Good screen printing to thank for introducing us to Jeana Hadley.  We are fans of the nautical themes in her music posters and design work at Sea Level Studio, as well as the fantastic music shows she organized at 3 fish studios.  

We share an appreciation for our Sunset neighborhood, the music of Farallons, and Fort Funston.

We began our studio collaboration with an introduction to the reduction process via tiny stamp prints.  Below you see the first of three colors in Hadley's HighFive Stamp along side the finished image.  The final stamp print is a three color reduction, with each color carved from the same small stamp block. 

"High Five" Stamp reduction print by Jeana Hadley.

Next, we embarked on our woodcut reduction print.  Pictures below document the process in which we worked out some ideas and colors in paint, began carving the first color, printed the first color.  After printing more than we needed of the first color, we carved out the second color from the same block and printed.

"Whale Magic" woodcut reduction print by Jeana Hadley and Nathalie Roland

"Whale Magic" Woodcut reduction print. Image 7" X 7". Paper 10" x 10". Edition of 28.  Carved and printed by Jeana Hadley and Nathalie Roland in San Francisco, CA.  Available for purchase here.  All profits from this print sale will be donated to Surfrider foundation.

A big high Five and Thank you to Jeana for being our second collaborator in this print series experiment.  We look forward to seeing more of her work and in design and music events.

Maija Peebles-Bright Studio Visit

It was a delightful trip to the Sacramento studio of Maija Peebles-Bright organized by the Painting Salon and Guerrero Gallery on April 8, 2018.

The textured verdant hues of this green mountain engage my eyes to reveal upon further inspection, spectral green felines playfully surrounding a trio of exotic birds...

... Line work within skin tones creating more texture, indigo armadillos within a blue heart, penguins parading in lines, all these layers on top of layers create, for me, a dizzying sense of infinity in her work.

Read more about Maija Peebles-Bright on her website.  Thank you very much to Maija for welcoming us into your home studio.  Thank you to The Painting Salon and Guerrero Gallery for organizing this wonderful visit.

Ria Rajan: Collaborator n. 1

Q&A with Sunset Paperworks collaborator, Ria Rajan.

What is your name? Where are you based?  My name is Ria Rajan. Based is a funny word as I move around a lot. I suppose I could say Oakland has been base, this last quarter. 

You transition from place to place through out the year, where are the places you have been working most over the last few years?  Bangalore / Goa / NY / SF / Oakland

As you move back and forth from India and the United States, from Bangalore to San Francisco and beyond. What do you notice about these places, how they are the same, different, how they are for you and your work?  I like transitioning from one place to the next. It breaks the monotony, keeps my brain active and has me living light. Instantly, I tend to notice things like the quality of air, the nature of light, and have become more and more aware of how the change of place effects my sleep, my eating habits and my general well being. I have also, over the years, become better at my own self care rituals which keeps me grounded and tapped into my happy place.  Most importantly, regardless of where I am geographically, as soon as I can set up an art/work dock for myself, armed with tunes and some greens, I can tap into my creative flow. This has taken time and effort, and after a lot of trial and error, I'm quite pleased with myself that I've finally unlocked it. 

What can you tell us about Ladies Only?  In December 2016, I took to the streets, armed with freshly printed posters titled LADIES ONLY, (a playful take on the signs found inside Indian buses) featuring a piece of art that was born and grew wings in the garden city of Bangalore. The idea and intention was simple, I felt like women needed to be more visible on the streets.  Cities belong to the people, and this was my way of claiming spaces within them. Aside from postering them myself, I released them online making them available to anyone who would like to print them out and put them up. The Ladies ( as I like to call them :) ) have shown up in over 6 cities in India, have travelled to London and two of them now live in NY. 

Did you encounter people as you distributed the posters around?  The first time I went out with them, was kind of guerrilla style.  I enlisted the help of a friend on a motorcycle who was more than happy to cruise around with me, early in the morning, before the streets woke up. I put them up at bus stops, outside stores, on poles, anywhere I thought they would be most visible.  Subsequently, there have been times when I've encountered people (funnily enough, mostly men) who have had all have a positive response to them.  These posters are still available online and I hope to see more of them on the streets! Maybe I'll bring them to California this summer.  You can most definitely have one! :)

What are your thoughts on collaboration?  I've always had an affinity towards collaborative work, right from when I was studying in design school. I found the occasions that allowed me the opportunity to work with others left me feeling like I had created something bigger and beyond just myself.  Over the last few years, collaboration has taken on a significant role in my own art practice.  I'm one half of Spectra, which is an ongoing international collaboration with Sofy Yuditskaya, who is based in NY.  We've been creating work together through art residencies and for festivals.  Our creative process has so much synergy, is full of feminine creativity and just keeps getting better. 

Detail from SunMoonSunMoonSunMoon installation by Ria Rajan and Sofy Yuditskaya. Bangalore 2016

How do you benefit from collaborating with others?  Collaboration isn't always easy. One needs to come in with an open mind and be open to ideas changing and evolving. For me personally, I find myself learning so much when working with another person. Everyone has their own unique lens through which they see the world and when you combine these unique perspectives and insights, one arrives at something that is richer and hopefully more evocative.  Also, I find being able to bounce ideas of another person while creating to be so much better than going around in circles in my own head.

Can you tell us a little about your experience creating the Bloody Blue Moon woodcut reduction print at Sunset Paperworks? Why the moon?  How did you come to this visual?  Thoughts on the woodcut reduction process or Sunset Paperworks?  To me, the Bloody Blue Moon feels like a natural extension of all the many art talks and exchanges over the last 7 years.  Also, timing has been key in making it happen : ) For the first time, we've been able to spend concentrated time working on a piece together. The moon seemed like an obvious choice. Both of us have been going through the Many Moons work book and obsessing about the moon on many levels.  I feel incredibly grateful for being this side of the planet and able to witness the epic lunar eclipse in all its glory.  As soon as I had experienced it, I knew that I wanted to create something that would celebrate and crystallize the memory of it.  Soon after, when we got talking about what our print would be, instinctively, it felt right.  The whole process was fantastic.   I feel fortunate to have had the best introduction to the woodcut reduction method. You did such a good job with making it feel accessible and enabling a smooth process. High five!  Plus the studio is super rad and I absolutely loved spending time in it. We had a great productive vibe and were able to jam on tasks and get stuff done.    Learn more about this print. 

What are you working on now? I'm currently illustrating a children's book about Indian women scientists, which hopefully will be out later this year. Fingers crossed!

Detail from The Moonbox collection by Ria Rajan. Goa 2017

What good books are you reading / recently read?  Anything you would like to share from those? Aside from the Many Moons 2018 workbook by Sarah Gottesdiener, which is full of insight, I recently tore through Drawing Blood, an autobiography by artist/writer Molly Crabapple. I love reading about other women artists, how they navigate life in general and art life in particular. My biggest take away from her story is to trust in the journey. Even when its bleak and grey. Everything leads up to the next. It's important to keep on creating and putting yourself out there. Her book also served as a reminder to myself that writing is an important tool in finding my own artistic expression.

Anything else you would like our readers to know? I'll be back in the summer and can't wait to get my hands dirty with our next collaboration! Thank you all for reading <3

Learn more about Ria Rajan's work here.  Learn more about "The Bloody Blue Moon Print" here. Purchase the print here.

The Bloody Blue Moon

After many years of exchanging Art via the mail and seeing each other in person for brief moments here and there, Ria Rajan and I finally had some time in San Francisco to work on a print together.  She is an Artist working in Bangalore, New York, Oakland and San Francisco. Her ability to embrace digital technologies as easily as analog methods has always impressed me.  She is unburdened by conventions and always eager to learn new things.  

We share a love for the moon and an interest in sorcery.  We have been bonding over the exercises in Sarah Faith Gottesdiener's Many Moons Workbook.  After an enthusiastic exchange of our lunar eclipse experiences, it seemed quite natural for us to agree upon the Moon as the subject of our print together.

We began by introducing Rajan to the reduction process through small rubber stamping experiments.  From there we began carving the first color from the woodblock, printing, then carving the second color from the same woodblock and printing until we had completed our print. (See slideshow below)

This is the first collaborative woodcut print produced by Sunset Paperworks. It is our hope, as Damon and I continue to build this space, that this will be the first of many collaborations to come.  Thank you to Ria Rajan for being the first Artist to embark upon this experiment, it was a pleasure working with you.  I look forward to our continued Bangalore and San Francisco exchange - #BLR_SFO

"The Bloody Blue Moon" Woodcut reduction print. Image 7" X 7". Paper 10" x 10". Edition of 28.  Carved and printed by Nathalie Roland and Ria Rajan in San Francisco, CA. 

The print is available for purchase here.  Read an interview with Ria Rajan here.   -Nathalie Roland