3 posts tagged “shonen knife”
Our friends often ask, "Hey, what's Kiki like when she drinks?"
"Drinks what?" I ask.
"Drinks DRINKS," they counter.
"You don't want to know. She is extremely sensitive to alcohol, or caffeine, for that matter. They have the same effect." I parry.
"Sounds FUN!" they implore.
"Her last hot chocolate lasted over 40 hours...with no sleep," I warn.
"Ohohohoo...WOW." (stepping backward)
"Cupcakes and cookies work pretty well, too...energy lots to run 20 tots."
Cookie Day
Shonen Knife ~ Happy Hour
Repeat this song continuously for two days.
FUN. Really.
I've been walking on clouds since completing this print.
Last post, I showed you the nearly completed key block. That photo was taken during a brief intermission before transferring the image to the other side to carve a color block (basically remove everything that needed to remain white). Rather than segmenting the colors into separate blocks, I opted for the most bang for the buck and did a 'rainbow' roll to define color.
I pulled an all-nighter Friday to complete it Saturday morning for delivery. Aimie had a good question about the amount of time required to carve a block. Each one is different, depending on the level of detail, negative space, etc. So I'll just sum up this one. The key block shown was the result of 16 hours of carving time over the course of two days. The color block required another 4. This one required special care because of specific dogs, specific motorcycle (Vincent Rapide with Steib sidecar), and specific rider. With woodblock, once it's gone, IT'S GONE! Decisions are irreversable.
Printing is done in two stages, color first, key last. Each printing is registered and pressed by rubbing the back of the paper with a baren (wide cabinet knobs in my case). Each stage of this print required about 5-10 minutes for proper application and transfer. Oddly, the most time-consuming part of the printing/proofing stage is mixing the inks to get the desired color and transparency. That alone can take hours to get right, and requires meticulous recording of ink mixtures/placement so it can be matched in the ensuing edition.
These images were all carved in cherry, which is extraordinarily dense, but preferable if you have a great deal of detail and/or need the image to hold up over a very long edition. My primary reason is the prior, though if necessary, the block would hold up with no loss of quality for several thousand printings. I doubt I would fare as well.
Here's the deal. The initial edition is 10 prints for the current show at Space Gallery. They sell for $200, archivally matted 11"x14" ready for your favorite frame. For each print sold, $50 goes directly to Rocket Dog Rescue. A tee is in the works, hopefully available in time for the T-shirt exhibit that follows the Yelp Collective @ Space.
Top of the World
Shonen Knife ~ The Birds and the B-sides
Today's song is dedicated to the one week countdown to Kristina's Birthday Party.
One Week
Shonen Knife ~ Let's Knife!
The buildup this week is going to be great.
Good Lord in heaven above! This weekend was good, mostly due to loving every single thing I ate amid great company and beautiful weather. For the real blow-by-blow, there are Yelp reviews for most of these. Here are the Cliffs Notes:
Friday dinner at PlumpJack Cafe, courtesy some dear classroom parents. Best scallops I've ever had in my life, and a dessert accented strongly by ELDERBERRIES! These are the #2 thing I miss most about Ohio, right after lake Erie Perch. This is the first place that I've had them since moving to SF 16 years ago.
D'jever like something so much that you have the same thing for lunch AND dinner? And not just out of convenience, either. I got to mack on Bakesale Betty's amazing Fried Chicken sammitches for both meals on Saturday. These things are otherworldly, with two crisp, perfectly seasoned fillets on a bed of jalapeno/ cabbage slaw between a sweet roll. Afterward, we used the excuse of going to the huge comic store in Berkeley to load up on gelato. Comics as an excuse to get food...twisted.
Sunday started off with some delicious cornmeal waffles. I grabbed a few boxes of slushy-sake at True Sake and visited Miette Confecie. The same outfit that has the yummy little pastry shop in the Ferry building compiled an amazing selection of chocolates, nougats, and candies from local chocolatiers and Europe. This place is candy heaven.
We then met up with Mimi and Eric at Salon Bella Linda where I reluctantly got my first pedicure. Heaven help the brave soul who tackled my hooves. The closest effect prior was from constant sand exfoliation in Hawaii. I look forward to sleeping without shredding the bottom of the sheets. Oh, yeah. I also got my eyebrow waxed into two. Ixnay!
After a fruitless attempt to find Kiki's birthday present, we ended up having a delicious dinner at Out The Door, on the cheap. We had a Niman beef/leeks on green onion rice and some delicious Petrale Sole on rice vermicelli. It was fantastic, largely due to football fans staying home.
The perfect finish to the day was the Miette Grapefruit Cream Cake that I finished, just....now!
