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PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST HAVING A VERY BAD DAY

My memory is such that I don’t recall exactly what else happened the day I printed this piece in the fall of 2019, but I do remember thinking when it came off the press: “Oh, that’s not what I wanted”, and “Well, that’s pretty much how this day has gone.” In retrospect as I practice staying at home and trying to clean and reorganize my studio, I’m starting to think that maybe that day wasn’t so bad after all. PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST HAVING A VERY BAD DAYis a dark field monotype matted and framed to 14” x 11”. (2019) ($125)

Loss

LOSS is a monotype in the “Cognitive Emotions” Series that attempts to express what you feel in that moment when you get sudden, unexpected and devastating news. It tries to capture the brief instant before your emotional and intellectual coping mechanisms kick in and you start going through however many steps it takes to deal with it and move on. (2020) (22” x 12”) ($215)

Abstracting Emotions #5

ABSTRACTING EMOTIONS #5 is the fifth in my “Abstracting Emotions” Series which uses two different types of my handmade paper. The printing, a hand inked and hand pulled monotype, was done on paper made from scrap watercolor, BFK, and business correspondence paper which were shredded, boiled together, sheeted and Plexiglas dried to create a white/off white relatively monochromatic and smooth printing paper. The print was then mounted on a different sheet of my handmade paper which was made from an old pair of blue jeans. (16” x 16”) (2019) ($250.00)

Abstracting Emotions #4

ABSTRACTING EMOTIONS #4 is the fourth in my “Abstracting Emotions” Series which uses two different types of my handmade paper. The printing, a hand inked and hand pulled dark field monotype, was done on paper made from scrap watercolor, BFK, and business correspondence paper which were shredded, boiled together, sheeted and Plexiglas dried to create a white/off white relatively monochromatic and smooth printing paper. The print was then mounted on a different sheet of my handmade paper which was made from abaca, cotton linter and dryer lint in order to create a patterned and textured counterpoint to the print. (16” x 16”) (2019) ($250.00)

ABSTRACTING EMOTIONS #3

ABSTRACTING EMOTIONS #3 is the third in my “Abstracting Emotions” Series which uses two different types of my handmade paper. The printing, a hand inked and hand pulled monotype, was done on paper made from scrap watercolor, BFK, and business correspondence paper which are shredded, boiled together, sheeted and Plexiglas dried to create a white/off white relatively monochromatic and smooth printing paper. The print was then mounted on a different sheet of my handmade paper which was made from corn husks, and pineapple leaves, together with abaca in order to create a patterned and textured counterpoint to the print.(16” x 16”) (2019) ($250.00)

Appalachia #2

APPALACHIA #2, a companion print to APPALACHIA #1, uses the same technique and palette to convey essentially the same impression but with a focus on the trees and landscape rather than the coal mines. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”.

SANTA MUERTE: PATRON SAINT OF WALL BUILDERS

One of the more intriguing developments in contemporary religion is the rapid, almost explosive, rise of the Santa Muerte (literally – Saint Death) cult in Mexico which bizarrely incorporates elements of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, with certain aspects of the Aztec belief system. Given that it is hard to think about Mexico these days without considering “The Wall” and given that virtually every activity has its patron saint, it just seemed appropriate to create SANTA MUERTE: PATRON SAINT OF WALL BUILDERS. Hand built paper clay, underglazed and glazed. 9” x 7” x 7”.

Papermaking

I’ve been thinking for awhile about using hand made paper in my print making and collage work, and while I have made paper before, I hadn’t for several years. So I just finished taking a 3 hour workshop entitled “Plant Fibers for Paper Making” from Winnie Radolan at the Abington Art Center, which proved to be a very good introductory and/or review workshop. The pieces shown above, using Ginko leaves and milkweed are a couple of my workshop pieces. I’m going to continue working with using fibers such as day lilies, daffodils, hosta, corn husks, et al, and incorporating those papers in my print making and collage work.

Contours of Flight #2

Contours of Flight # 2 is part of a series of abstract hand inked and hand pulled collograph monoprints which draws on my stained glass and mosaic work to create images that appear to be in motion, engaged in some aspect of flight. Printed on 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. Matted and framed to 11″ x 14″.

Cauldron #1

Cauldron # 1 is part of my series “Crucibles, Cauldrons and Calderas” which explores firing stained glass and paper clay together in sculptural forms using a red/yellow/orange/black and metallic palette. Composed of paper clay, stained glass, underglazes, and low fire and cone 6 glazes fired to over 2000 degrees. 6 1/4″ x 7″ x 6″

John Fansmith

Artist