Relief in Relief

I had started this woodcut before my brother died; working on it afterward helped a lot. I was doing something creative, but, as I had already started it, the work was mostly craft. This woodcut, titled New Dawn, is one of 60 by different artists that have been created as a fundraiser for the victims of the Japan tsunami. Barbara Mason, of the Baren Forum (http://www.barenforum.org/), an on-line, relief-technique print forum, started the ball rolling. The prints will be sold both in portfolios and singly. There will be several exhibitions of the prints, the first at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon August 4-18. You can see the other prints here: http://www.barenforum.org/japan/index.html. The title of the exhibition is Relief in Relief, which applied to my making the print as well as to the focus on Japan.

I took some photos of the work in progress; I'll post them later. The size of the image is 8.5" x 6" and is printed in 5 colors on Rives lightweight paper.

Another Goodbye

This morning, my dear brother Jack died. We fought a lot as kids (he was a tease; I was crabby), but became the best of friends in our teenage years. He was a fabulous cook, a cabinetmaker, an organ builder and art lover, but most of all he was a great family man. Anne, his wife of 46 years and their three kids were the center of his life. I loved him and will miss him like crazy. Here's a picture of Jack as a kid in Alaska; he had just picked a bunch of weeds for our Mom.