ArtPages Zine No1

 When you get a new toy you think of fun things to do with it. So having a galley press and some sets of wooden letters sent me off towards my own newspaper. A tabloid. All headlines and pictures. So this one, more or less inspired by my town's creeping decay, and whether anything can be done about it. Most of the linocuts have been reused from elsewhere, so I don't have to think about charging too much. Though it is a time-consuming process nonetheless.

I'm thinking about changing the name to ArtAngel in honour of Grieshaber's Angel of History. I was halfway through printing before that occurred, so this'll do for now.

Sail on Silverbird (sic)

 I Know now that the 3rd verse of Bridge Over Troubled Water says, "Sail on Silver Girl" - but I spent a lifetime mishearing it. I only found out after I made this card for my wife's 70th birthday. So for me, Silverbird it is. Also because I was keeping it under wraps until the day, I forgot to post about it at the time (end of April). If you know the song and you know my wife, that's all the explanation you need.

Vitruvian Dance

 Last night was an "Art Showdown" I got talked into. Six artists challenged to produce something in two hours. This one was my effort.

Of course the two hours is a bit of a fiction, in that I'd got the drawing done, I'd cut the paper to size and I'd prepared the blocks in advance. And we all know the first two hours of any art is spent staring into space. So hardly a spectator sport.

Anyway I did manage to cut and print a rough copy in the time available. Then I got up this morning and tidied it up and printed the obligatory 10.

As you can see, the "concept", such as it is, is not deep. It takes Leonardo's drawing (often called "Vitruvian Man") and applied the idea to the "Naomi" pictures I'd done in recent months. And then channelling a bit of De Stijl to add another layer of ideal proportion to the thing. Finally it became Vitruvian Dance because Naomi is a dancer, and it looks like that's what she's doing here.