INprint Exhibitions in Irvington

I am participating in the two INprint exhibitions at the Bona Thompson Memorial Center at 5350 E. University Drive in Irvington on Indy’s eastside. The exhibitions will run from August 14 to October 2. INprint is a regional group of fine art printmakers. The artistic focus of INprint is on original hand-pulled prints including etching, silkscreen, monotype, woodcut, linocut, mezzotint, and lithography.

The first exhibition is "IN Irvington" which includes prints that convey a variety of interpretations of the neighborhood of Irvington. This exhibit includes my print, The Irving, which is the first in my Bits and Pieces of Irvington series. The second exhibition includes various prints and drawings by the "Artists of INprint" and I have several prints included in that exhibition as well.

Artists participating in the exhibitions include Cynthia Blasingham, Jill Chambers, Keith Dull, Gloria Fischer, Glenna Heath, Marti Icenogle, Laurie Kemp, Andrea Ondish, Ginny Taylor Rosner, and Anders Sandstrom.

The opening receptions for the exhibitions are:

• Saturday, August 14 – 5:30 to 8:00 pm
• Sunday, August 15 – 2:00 to 4:00 pm

If you aren’t able to make it to the receptions, I hope you will stop by later to see this outstanding display of fine art prints. The hours for Bona Thompson are Wed 1-3 pm, Sat and Sun 1-4 pm or by appointment by calling 317-353-2662.

Moving Sale at Blooming Dragon Emporium

Friday, June 25, noon - 6 pm and
Saturday, June 26, noon - 6

Miranda and Marti will be moving out of the Blooming Dragon Emporium as of the end of June and they have some items that they don’t want to move with them. So what are they selling? Some of the items are for show artists, such as Gridwall panels, Gridwall accessories—shelving, acrylic hanging bars and earring displays--and various jewelry display items. Additionally, there will be store fixtures, bookcases, set of 4 folding chairs, some lampwork supplies (including lampworking instructional videos, COE 96 frit and a Carlisle Mini CC Torch), books, and lots of miscellaneous. Mark your calendar for June 25 and 26 to stop by Blooming Dragon Emporium at 5620 E. Washington Street in Irvington on Indy’s east side and check out this moving sale.

Moving to Murphy Art Center

I wanted to give you an update on what is happening with Magickal Dragon Designs. I have been at the Blooming Dragon Emporium in Irvington on Indy's eastside for the last year and a half. And, we have been fortunate to have had great support from our customers, clients, and artists, but due to these difficult economic times we are unable to sustain our current business model. Blooming Dragon Emporium will be closing at the end of June.

So, what am I going to do?

I am moving Magickal Dragon Designs studio to the Murphy Art Center in Fountain Square at 1043 Virginia Avenue. I will be joing Moon and Bob Stumpp (Mixed Media Jewelry) in Studio 204. This move will allow meto focus on my art and expand my offering of jewelry making classes. And, although I am moving out of Irvington, I will continue as a Board member of the Irvington Guild of Artists and in this role will continue to actively support the arts in Irvington.

So, THANK YOU for all your support over the last 1 ½ years at the Blooming Dragon. And I hope to see you at Murphy on a First Friday at Studio 204.

It's Spring and It's a Sale - APRIL 17th

April 17th is the Irvington Environmental Fair and it is a perfect time for spring cleaning at my studio. Moon Stump of Mixed Media Jewelry is also joining the clean up. We are clearing out our excess gemstone and glass beads, assorted seed beads, jewelry findings, gold and sterling wire, glass beadmaking supplies, and lots of wonderful miscellaneous items. There will also be some deeply discounted jewelry items. This is one sale you don’t want to miss!!! Mark your calendar for APRIL 17, NOON to 6 PM, to stop by Blooming Dragon Emporium at 5620 E. Washington Street in Irvington on Indy’s east side and check out this sale in my Magickal Dragon Designs studio.

And be sure to check out the other events that are going on. Bookmamas, our fabulous Irvington bookstore at 9 S. Johnson Avenue, is hosting their Environmental Fair from noon-4 pm. They will have exhibits and displays from: Farm Fresh Foods, Greenway Supply, Hoosier Rails to Trails, Irvington Garden Club, Irvington Green Initiative, Living Green MagazinePogue's Run Grocery, Rejuvenation Station, and Work Force, Inc. And these authors will also be participating: Tajuana L. Common (Ten-aciously Green), John O. Whitaker (Mammals of Indiana, Bats of Indiana) and Robert E. Dittmer and Julie A. Vincent (Shades of Green).

And this would also be a great time to check out the bargains available at many of our other Irvington businesses including: Annie's Apparel Resale Shop, Jack & Jill's Antiques, & Tiqueables

So, join us in Irvington on April 17--spend a couple of hours or stay all afternoon and add a stop for lunch or dinner at one of our wonderful restaurants.

Artist's Reception at Bookmamas

Bookmamas at 9 S. Johnson Avenue in the heart of historic Irvington on Indy's east side is hosting an artist's reception this Friday, April 9th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. The reception is open to anyone that would like to stop by to see some of my latest prints and browse their awesome selection of books. Hope to see you there.

If you aren't able to make it to the reception, you can still stop by Bookmamas and see my work. This exhibit continues till the end of April.

Poetry in Paint at Garfield Art Center

Poetry in Paint opened at the Garfield Park Art Center on March 13th. In this show, each artist was paired with a poet and the artist was tasked with creating a visual interpretation of the poet's poem. I had the pleasure of working with Richard Pflum and developing my interpretation of his poem "The Swamp" into a woodcut print.

Unfortunately a broken leg kept me from attending the opening reception, but I was told that their was a good turnout for the reception and that the work has been well received.

If you get a chance, please stop by and visit the show which runs thru May 2.

Moku Hanga Class with Mary Brodbeck

I started trying to make arrangements to take a moku hanga class with Mary Brodbeck in Kalamazoo, Michigan, over a year ago. For those that don't know, moku hanga is the Japanese term for woodblock print (moku means wood and hanga means print). This technique involves the use of water based ink (or paint) rice past (known as Nori). You mix the pigment directly on your wood block with a little rice paste. Then. you use special brushes to spread it across the block, and final you print on damp paper. If you are familiar with the Western style of printing wood block prints, you know that this is a very different technique.

Finally, in late January, Cynthia Blasingham and I headed to Kalamazoo for a weekend class with Mary. Here is Mary showing us one of her latest prints.

And below you see Cynthia at work on her moku hanga print.

I am really excited about all of things that we learned and hope to start trying some of these techniques in own studio soon. But, unfortunately, I am battling tendonitis in my wrist and currently need to wear brace on my wrist when I am active. But, hopefully that will clear up soon and I will be able to make my own moku hanga prints.