I'm excited to be working as the new Marketing Manager & Education Coordinator at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto. I'm also thrilled to be kicking off the Fall quarter by teaching a monotype workshop starting this Sept! Please join me in the studio!

On Feb 23 & 24, I assisted guest artist Michelle Wilson with her Linoleum Block Extravaganza workshop at the ICA Print Center. The weekend was fabulous fun! Michelle is not only an amazing artist, but a wonderful teacher. Read more about Michelle on her blog Rocinante Press, and be sure to check out her website!

Check out the very successful linocuts made during the weekend workshop, all by first timers!

Know an artistic teen who is looking for something fun and rewarding to do this  summer? Try printmaking, learn art concepts, create an art portfolio, and most importantly have fun! I'll teach you printmaking, and Camp Director Colin  King Bailey will teach you art concepts and help bring your ideas to paper. This week long summer intensive at the ICA Print Center  (located inside the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art), is geared towards teens who love art. No printmaking experience is needed. The workshop is structured to give students the  opportunity to work on individually meaningful projects, to allow for exploration of the medium, and to strengthen or begin a student's art portfolio. Participation is limited to only 6 students so all will receive individual attention.

To register and for detailed info go to: http://ckingbailey.com/summercamps/intro-printmaking/

The Print Center @ The San Jose Institute of Contemporaty Art is located at:
560 South First St.
San Jose, Ca, 95113

Day one of Rockin' Mezzotint, a weekend workshop at the ICA Print Center, taught by special guest and visiting artist, Judith Rothchild. (See previous blog entry to learn more about Judith and the mezzotint process). After a brief history about mezzotint, developed in the 1640's and mostly practiced by engravers until the mid 20th century, Judith demonstrated how to "rock" a plate. She supplied everyone with a 2.5" rocker, a specific tool used in mezzotint to pit the copper. The tool has very fine teeth positioned along a curved edge. When rocked back and forth, the teeth pit the copper. We spent about 3 hours rocking our 3"x3" plates. Judith said it takes her about 5-6 hours to rock a 4"x6" plate.  By the end of the day, we had rocked and burnished most of our images. We will print our first proofs tomorrow morning, and then continue to pull the light values from the dark, as we burnish more tomorrow. It was a fabulous day, and a real treat to be able to learn from one of the few Mezzotint Masters in the world. 

Here is a taste of her gorgeous work! If you want to see more, be sure to visit the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, to see Judith Rothchild's mezzotint exhibition, "Black Magic", Feb 23 - Mar 18, 2013.

Make Art! “20 for 20” is back, this Friday, Feb 1st at the San Jose ICA Print Center. Stop by the Print Center between 6-9pm to make monotype (one-of-a-kind) greeting cards. Make Valentines for friends & family.

Details: $20. 20 minutes. 3 cards with envelopes. All materials and instruction provided. Pay at the door. All ages, children must be supervised.

Make the ICA your first stop on First Fridays! Free docent tours of the gallery between 6pm-7pm, and Cash bar serving beer and wine from 5pm-7pm.  Make art in the Print Center from 6pm-9pm. Then continue your gallery walk down First St.

The ICA Print Center is located within the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art.
560 South First Street San Jose, CA 95113
408.283.8155

Interested in mezzotints? Like to draw? Consider taking this specially offered workshop at the ICA Print Center, taught by internationally renowned mezzotint artist Judith Rothchild. 

Mezzotint is a method of intaglio printmaking, done without the use of acids or etchants. It is a dry point technique. A copper plate is first "rocked" with a special hand tool (a rocker) to evenly pit the entire surface. If inked and printed, these small, fine pits, create a solid print of a uniform black. After rocking, the plate is worked with a burnisher and a scraper, to remove and smooth areas of the copper so when inked and wiped, they print with lighter values than the black areas of the rocked and pitted surface.  Thus, it becomes a reductive process, where the light values of the image are scraped and smoothed from the background. The design principle is similar to that of reductive charcoal drawing; Where one starts with a black background and creates an image by removing and erasing charcoal pigment.

The ICA Print Center is proud to host Rockin' Mezzotint, Judith's weekend workshop, Feb 2 & 3, 2013, 10am-5pm.  Don't miss the opportunity to learn from Judith, a master of the mezzotint, before she heads back to France. The workshop is limited to 6.

For more info and to sign up click here: http://bit.ly/RFLRSq

Interested in reading more about the history of mezzotint? Check out this informative site from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Try printmaking! "20 for 20" at the ICA Print Center. Every First Friday of the month from 6pm to 9pm. $20 at the door. Last group admitted at 9pm.

Click here for more details: http://bit.ly/Zsw9Br

The first of many 20x20 events kicked off last Friday at the SJICA Print Center. For $20, participants had the chance to try printmaking in a professional studio, with instruction and all supplies provided. They tried their hand at monotype (one-of-a-kind prints). Each person was able to make 3 unique monotype cards, just in time for the holidays.  People of all ages and artistic backgrounds participated, with many being entirely new to printmaking.

The event aims to make printmaking more accessible to the community, to introduce printmaking to the public, and foster a greater understanding about this often misunderstood fine art medium. The event also strives to highlight the resources the SJICA has to offer. 

I am delighted to announce that I am the new Print Center Manager at the San Jose Institute of contemporary Art! The SJICA is a nonprofit, contemporary art space located in downtown San Jose, CA. The Print Center at the SJICA is a fine art printmaking studio that offers year round educational programming and access to professional printmaking facilities to both novices and experienced artists. 

Please visit the SJICA website to see a complete list of current and upcoming workshops! Below are two classes I am teaching this fall. You may sign up by clicking through to the SJICA Print Center workshop page.