Sunday, December 11, 2011

Skinny Man in Japan Series.....

Here is something a bit different from the past few months and probably the first in a good long time... old fashioned prints on paper. I decided to take a break from the flags and go back to the basics for this set of prints. I found some great handmade paper, 10" x 10" and ran some screen prints on them. This set is called, "Skinny Man in Japan."


Please pardon the strange cuts on the paper. These are on handmade paper, which was a big draw. The initial premise is the same as the flags. Using the least amount of "parts" (images) to create a new scene. There were only 6 images placed on the screen. They are, of course, images from my first trip to Japan. Temples, buddhas, tanukiis, and large dense bamboo fields. This set has 14 finished prints in all and each one different. By printing the images over repeatedly in different sequences these thingees cam alive.


The first trip over in 2008 was a very confusing bewildering experience. None the less, a wonderful experience. Brian P. and I were there for a month with very little experience. We did not know the language, rented a house so we would have to commute to work, do our grocery shopping and some other adventures. This was our life for the month... and guide students around this new place witha bit of help from some great people. The idea of these images is to give that sense of what it was like. Is that Buddhist temple or Shinto Shrine? Is that dish soap or laundry detergent? What is that huge bell for? A tanuki!!!!! It was strange and wonderful and ????


Perhaps this is coming out of nostalgia, perhaps not. With each trip over it is always different. With this set I kept to the idea of a bit of humor and solitude and confusion. How on earth does one find a tanuki near a Buddhist temple. The large swaths of the bamboo landscape was and still is inspiring. In short these fine little prints recall that fun trip in 2008 and the weirdness of it all. I must say that it was fun to return to old fashioned prints on paper for a bit. So what should I do with these? I have no idea. Perhaps they will become funky postcard art? Eh? Maybe?


And yes, these were made in The Blue Think Box! Drop on by and see us at some point. It is turning into a very nice treasure. Having a good collaborative space has been well. Being able to drop in and see a few different faces and print at the same time has been good. drop by and see us some time at 29 Cabot Street. I think over the next few months I'll be considering how to expand Velvet Pelican Projects and the Blue Think Box. I'll tell you when I figure it out. Being a mid career artist is proving to be fun!


That is us above. Oh yeah... another set of flags! Perhaps next time. And until next time....