Block printing into existence

Now that I work for Blick Art Materials, I've been getting the hands-on bug again! Art is my therapy, my catharsis. My coworker was working on a catalog page and asked me if I had any block prints. I remembered a linocut I had done in college and dug it up. Today I rummaged around in the cage (our affectionate term for where we keep all of the supplies, and no joke it's a big wired cage in the warehouse!) and I found some really nice violet and turquoise inks to try out. This is the result. Feels good to be making things again, it reminds me that I exist. What did you do today to prove your existence?

A night out and welcome to October!

 

Music is the outpouring of the soul and hearing it live is an experience like none other. The other night I went out on the town and listened to the Peoria Symphony Orchestra at the Civic Center in Peoria. It was gorgeous, I was gifted a box seat in exchange for promoting the performance on Twitter. It is a new and amusing marketing strategy to have a group that discusses the key points and interesting details of each season's performance.

 

Tonight we were delighted by Wagner, Rachmaninoff, Strauss, and Debussy. Olga Kern, award winning pianist, brought down the house and nearly set off the fire alarm with her smoking hot key moves. Personally I think her gorgeous gown alone deserved a standing ovation, it looked like something straight out of a couture collection. I sat next to a long time concert going couple, aka cute and classy old people, she was all decked out with her sparkly clip on earrings and matching necklaces. Yes I said necklaces. And her husband sat behind her listening attentively. The only slightly annoying thing that happened occurred during the up tempo movements of the Rachmaninoff piece, a woman in front of me had particularly loud fingernails and enjoyed tapping them. Thankfully she moved after the intermission. After the concert I ran into some old friends and left smiling inside and out!