Journal Postings: Karrie Swanson
| (10/14/08): Anderson Ranch, CO |  While attending this final workshop through the Windgate foundation, I feel that this was the best one I attended and the best to provide me with the upmost information. This workshop brought new ideas about my thesis that I'm creating right now and the professor was extremely knowledgeable and helped me with so many ideas and prints throughout the week. What made this workshop even better was the fact that we are still keeping in touch. My professor Karen Kunc keeps me posted on shows and up coming work and workshops. This was an amazing experience and would recommend it to anyone Anderson Ranch was the best workshop I have even been to hands down. |
| (10/14/08): Anderson Ranch, CO |  Last final thought- I wanted to include a photo of all of the prints that I made during that one week workshop. The ink and colors were amazing, I don't know if the photos really do it justice. Enjoy and thank you again to the windgate fellowship for such a wonderful opportunity that they gave me, it has enriched my art and the creation's in which I make. |
| (10/14/08): Anderson Ranch- location |  Here is an image of what the outside of the printmaking studio looks like- and look and the beautiful surroundings! |
| (07/23/08): Anderson Ranch Workshop! |  Anderson Ranch, located in Snowmass, CO was the most amazing experience I could have ever had as an artist. I took a woodcut workshop with Karen Kunc. Her knowledge and experience, made my life and thoughts as an artist a totally new experience. The arrival of Snowmass itself was amazing, the beautiful surroundings also brought great inspiration to my "nature like" artwork that I create. The first day was the basic getting to know the area and the teacher and what she was going to teach me in the next week. The idea of woodcut and a non-toxic oil ink was a new experience for me and let me say a successful one! There will be other entries that will describe the work that I did and the ideas that I got from the workshop for my up coming thesis. Here is a photo of me working on the block of wood, creating a new layer to print. |
| (07/23/08): Anderson Ranch, CO | | Located in Snowmass, CO- they offer ceramics, photography, sculpture, writing, painting and printmaking for there classes. Everyone should check it out! |
| (04/21/08): Southern Graphics Council @ VCU |  Attending Virginia Common Wealth University was amazing for the Southern Graphics Council. There was so many workshops, demos and talks plus open portfolio's and tons of Gallery openings as well, the whole time I was down there. In the following entries will show the things I learned the places I went and the new ideas and techniques that I learned. |
| (04/21/08): Southern Graphics @ VCU |  I was able to take part in the portfolio exchange which allowed me to make 12 8X10 prints to exchange with other artists, which is a great networking experience. Here is a photo of me with my print. |
| (03/19/08): Here it goes again |  I'm really trying to get this image to come through- so I'm trying again! |
| (03/18/08): The Month of March |  This month has been a week of time off and trying to piece together shows, prints and the next adventure out west this summer. Busy with school, using my wonderful new camera and playing with inks keeps me busy and making art. |
| (03/18/08): The photo |  I was attempting to send a photo of my current work and was not successful so here I try again! |
| (01/18/08): Photos | | Here are some photos that I'm hoping will upload- there from the Armory Art Center where I was able to spend three days doing a printmaking workshop. |
| (01/18/08): Photos |  I'm hoping that the photos are finally able to be posted- here is the beginning- The Armory Art Center located in FL. I was able to do a three day printmaking workshop there. |
| (01/18/08): More! |  More photos that were to be in the first posting |
| (01/18/08): Even more! |  The art center had great banyan trees located outside of the center. This is the start of my thesis show- Some of the photos I was able to take were amazing- thanks to the camera that I was able to get with some of the fellowship money. It's a canon 40SD digital SLR. Thanks! |
| (01/18/08): Public Art |  Here is the public art that was located outside of the center |
| (01/18/08): Amazing! |  Banyan Tree- |
| (01/18/08): Miami |  While I was in Miami I was able to go to the University of Miami there and show some printmaking demos to the students and teachers. I was able to show them mono printing with Akua Kolor. This lasted for two days and then after I was able to move on to the art center with some of the same people, like Susan Rostow. |
| (01/18/08): Ocean! | | For some of the day I was able to go and see the art deco that is apart of south beach. Then go back and print, along with some demos at the University. |
| (01/18/08): Ocean II | 
Ok going to try the photo one more time! |
| (01/18/08): Just for fun! |  Here is a photo of me I'm using for a self portrait here at school, that was of course taken with my new camera. I'm laying on the press here- it's pretty cool. |
| (01/18/08): FUN |  for fun- and I hope not fuzzy! |
| (12/04/07): Florida Part I |  Venturing into Florida it was extremely exciting to be able to have an experience such as this. I was able to visit the Armory, which is located in West Palm Beach. Before the workshop even started, which was going to in tall three different days and techniques, I started to walk around the grounds. Thanks to my instructor for suggesting getting a digital SLR camera with some of the scholarship, I was able to take tons of tree photos that were located around the Armory. The trees I found out were Banyan trees located only in Florida, Hawaii and India. There were amazing and this is for sure the start of my thesis show. Making four-color prints with some of the great photos I was able to get I am sure to see in the near future. After this great excitement of the wonderful trees outside of the Armory it was time to venture into the center and start to learn about the workshop. |
| (12/04/07): Florida Part I |  Venturing into Florida it was extremely exciting to be able to have an experience such as this. I was able to visit the Armory, which is located in West Palm Beach. Before the workshop even started, which was going to in tall three different days and techniques, I started to walk around the grounds. Thanks to my instructor for suggesting getting a digital SLR camera with some of the scholarship, I was able to take tons of tree photos that were located around the Armory. The trees I found out were Banyan trees located only in Florida, Hawaii and India. There were amazing and this is for sure the start of my thesis show. Making four-color prints with some of the great photos I was able to get I am sure to see in the near future. After this great excitement of the wonderful trees outside of the Armory it was time to venture into the center and start to learn about the workshop. |
| (12/04/07): Florida Part I | | Venturing into Florida it was extremely exciting to be able to have an experience such as this. I was able to visit the Armory, which is located in West Palm Beach. Before the workshop even started, which was going to in tall three different days and techniques, I started to walk around the grounds. Thanks to my instructor for suggesting getting a digital SLR camera with some of the scholarship, I was able to take tons of tree photos that were located around the Armory. The trees I found out were Banyan trees located only in Florida, Hawaii and India. There were amazing and this is for sure the start of my thesis show. Making four-color prints with some of the great photos I was able to get I am sure to see in the near future. After this great excitement of the wonderful trees outside of the Armory it was time to venture into the center and start to learn about the workshop. |
| (12/04/07): Florida Part I | | Venturing into Florida it was extremely exciting to be able to have an experience such as this. I was able to visit the Armory, which is located in West Palm Beach. Before the workshop even started, which was going to in tall three different days and techniques, I started to walk around the grounds. Thanks to my instructor for suggesting getting a digital SLR camera with some of the scholarship, I was able to take tons of tree photos that were located around the Armory. The trees I found out were Banyan trees located only in Florida, Hawaii and India. There were amazing and this is for sure the start of my thesis show. Making four-color prints with some of the great photos I was able to get I am sure to see in the near future. After this great excitement of the wonderful trees outside of the Armory it was time to venture into the center and start to learn about the workshop.
A photo will come as soon as I can understand how to decrease the size of my very large photos! |
| (12/04/07): Sorry! | | Sorry for all of the postings- I don't know what happened!! I was trying to put the photo in and since they are so large is wasn't working. So as soon as I can figure it out there will be photos. |
| (11/05/07): Monthly Report |  Printmaking as a graduate student is bringing about its many challenges. I continue to use the pin press and inks that I was able to buy with the fellowship. In fact, I just taught two mono-print classes last week and was able to use the inks and press for the demo. I look forward to the upcoming posts that you will be seeing from me- which will include from the sunny state of Florida. I'll be attending a printmaking workshop there in Miami. Until then I'll be printing for my final critiques with the great supplies that I have been able to get. |
| (10/03/07): Supplies |  I wanted to keep you all posted on what else I was able to get with the windgate offer. The pin press is a press that I'm using in the mono print that I'm doing in school and also the inks I was able to get as well and I'm using in all of my prints. |
| (10/03/07): Print in RIT presidents |  A print that I made when I was out in Santa Fe is now on display at my school's president's house. I just wanted to share the print's photo that is now being enjoyed by all. |
| (08/27/07): Sunday in Santa Fe |  Sunday brought another day of off-site printmaking. This time we were in the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, which is located outside of Santa Fe and about 50 miles north of Albuquerque. Guessing by the name the rocks are cone shaped which resembles tents. To find out more information on this National Monument visit this website: http://www.discovernlcs.org/TheNLCS/Monuments/KashaKatuweTentRocks.cfm
Within these archeological sites the groups set up our printmaking supplies and press on a picnic table and then took our trusted stools out into the sand to make sketches of the area to produce more prints. The site here was amazing, and the prints turned out wonderful. The best experience however was the large thunderstorm that we watch approach us over the mountaintops. I had never seen hail, rain or wind come in as fast as this did. This did however “dampen” the printmaking and we quickly covered everything up and tried to keep as dry as possible under this picnic area. This was a unique experience because it forced all of us to learn how to pack up the printmaking supplies quickly and effectively so the water damaged nothing.
This was however the last day of this weekend workshop that I did. The best part about it though that no one was leaving that was taking the workshop, including the instructor. This meant that I would be able to have the same experience now in the coming week, with my week -long mono-print workshop. This will begin on Monday, and this is a new technique also that I have never learned, so more printing and skill building will be occurring.
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| (08/27/07): Week Long Workshop in Santa Fe |  I knew right from the beginning that I was going to love this weeklong workshop, working with mono-print type printmaking, new inks, instructor and people. Being that this is a week -long program there were a lot of technical aspects that I learned along with new techniques, viscosity, and mediums. The instructors name is Susan Rostow who is the great inventor of the Akua water-based inks that I have been using in school and now out at this workshop. I had always wanted to meet her and now to have the opportunity of learned her process of printmaking was a joy. The next few entries I’m going to be placing shows the progression that I did while working on the prints, most using the methods of viscosity and multi-plate printing along with Magnesium Carbonate. |
| (08/27/07): Week Long Workshop in Santa Fe |  Here is the process of me creating a print- |
| (08/27/07): Week Long Workshop in Santa Fe |  Second step to the print- this is where you start to take-away the ink that was just rolled on the plate to create your design you desire. |
| (08/27/07): Week Long Workshop in Santa Fe |  Third step-which included adding various colors, textures and my our hand to the print to create the color balance I want to achieve. |
| (08/27/07): Week Long Workshop in Santa Fe |  Forth step in the printing process includes, placing the finished plate on the press and then begin running the roller back and forth. |
| (08/27/07): Week Long Workshop in Santa Fe |  The final finished product of my mono-print piece. |
| (07/17/07): Santa Fe Workshop Weekend Course |  When entering Santa Fe, I knew that it was going to be an amazing experience. Leaving early Thursday morning from Buffalo, NY, then landing in New Mexico that night waiting for the new printmaking experiences that were ahead. Friday morning essentially I helped out my RIT professor Keith Howard with his non-toxic printmaking class, and then met my new instructor for the weekend, Hugh Bryden. He is from Scotland and will be teaching me a new technique using dry point. This was not going to be your usual dry point workshop however, this workshop is going to be a weekend long, out on location. We are going to be taking a travel press to different locations, drawing and scratching the onsite landscapes and then printing while we are there.
As soon as I met Hugh I knew that it was going to be a great workshop, between his knowledge and kind spirit (also I have to mention his great cooking skills!) It will be a wonderful weekend of new printmaking experiences. After meeting people and understanding the IAIA campus, we all went down to downtown Santa Fe for dinner and gallery opening hopping. The morning to come will be the start of the dry point landscape experience.
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| (07/17/07): On-Site Printmaking Weekend |  On the first day of workshops in Santa Fe, we learned how to use the Uber Press, which is the portable press that will be used when going to the various locations. Our first site that we went to was a side road, located on the top of the countryside of Santa Fe. You were able to see the mountains and desert landscape beautifully. I took my little stool, plastic, scratching tools and went to work on various dry point lines to make a black and white landscape using this technique. It turned out very detailed and enjoyed the results. Using the press on the side of a road next to cattle crossing area was a unique experience for the artistic at heart. Understanding the process of using a press outdoors was also unique and one that us five students learned to perfect near the end, it did however take a lot of practice to understand the best technique and “wind shields” to use. |
| (07/17/07): On-Site Printmaking Weekend |  In the afternoon on the same day we went to a spa, called Sunrise Springs. This was a beautiful location, between the pond encrusted with lilly pads, to the fountains and delicious food we had for lunch, it was a very spiritual and unique experience. By then the weather was getting very hot and being along side a pond for me was wonderful, the print turned out well and was one of my favorites. It has quite a Monet feel to it. Having the different locations to learn how to print and draw was something totally new for me and having it be right one site made it easier to go back and fix your mistakes and therefore make a better print. Ending the night we were in Madrid, a small hippie town where they were having a gypsy festival, which really brought out the colorful people of the town. That was certainly a fun time, being in an old mine bar eating with the locals. Tomorrow will bring another site and day of dry point printing. |
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