tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41732725613803342072024-03-13T12:45:03.288-04:00Lauren Miko: My Own Reality"They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality." ~Frida KahloLauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-54197719076765842672017-01-18T17:01:00.002-05:002017-01-18T17:01:57.940-05:00I feel a need... a need to bead!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVgsK9qqe4gyk3IddbXOFCyjFa215LpKiOUWjzE8qy6ddE1tc3WnCXj92rr249cRsZKGrskMiEap8HRoqvnfqGgyKcITzpFvDol07aenhXdA9b2U2uL3TxJqBu622Ck9K4P1CoSAn_y0R/s1600/IMG_8627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVgsK9qqe4gyk3IddbXOFCyjFa215LpKiOUWjzE8qy6ddE1tc3WnCXj92rr249cRsZKGrskMiEap8HRoqvnfqGgyKcITzpFvDol07aenhXdA9b2U2uL3TxJqBu622Ck9K4P1CoSAn_y0R/s200/IMG_8627.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
About a week ago, we had six inches of snow fall. Usually, our snow goes away in a day or two, but this time it arrived with an arctic blast of cold air and hung around for a while.<br />
<br />
There are two things I like to do when I'm snowed in for a few days, BAKE and BEAD. Baking didn't fit in well with my New Year's Resolutions so I dragged out the bead loom and spent a glorious few days laying out colors and trying different ideas and patterns. I have a pretty decent collection of Delica beads, size 11, which work great my loom and give me a wonderful palette from which to choose.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItAHuOpxNHTL8CLMwgqMwOQ1xFRHik2IOcZei-xUSjRCNjFyPOtqF1QmTRlwVOMB_-5z0BbxvYKyHm0PTjQroqkQGRofvQ0-5X9Z6WOWZuQ1_kDnnn9jhHyeNbyIy4s7R1ihcBLYhxDFo/s1600/IMG_8630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItAHuOpxNHTL8CLMwgqMwOQ1xFRHik2IOcZei-xUSjRCNjFyPOtqF1QmTRlwVOMB_-5z0BbxvYKyHm0PTjQroqkQGRofvQ0-5X9Z6WOWZuQ1_kDnnn9jhHyeNbyIy4s7R1ihcBLYhxDFo/s200/IMG_8630.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
The catch for these two bracelets is a new idea that was inspired by something I saw on Etsy. It's made of 14 gauge copper wire and two copper beads which I had on hand. It slides through pockets which I created on the ends of the bracelet and it appears to function well. I like that it's a little different from everything else I've been trying.<br />
<br />
The snow has since melted and it's quite spring-like outside, prompting me to put away my bead loom now for another day. Come back, winter. I was just starting to enjoy you!<br />
<br />Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-87354363573130441702016-02-23T14:25:00.000-05:002016-02-23T14:25:26.208-05:00Light me up!I'm getting so excited for the class that I'm teaching this weekend at <a href="http://ashevillebookworks.com/ai1ec_event/hand-coloring-techniques-in-linoleum-block-printmaking/?instance_id=265" target="_blank">Asheville Bookworks.</a> It's advertised as a Linoleum block class with hand coloring techniques but I have a surprise in store for my students. I've just finished the prototype for a lamp project that I've been thinking about for a while. Thanks to my sweet husband who has put countless hours into building these things, I have made this more than cool linocut covered shoji lamp. The paper is real Japanese shoji screen paper so it will never yellow. It was easy to print on and took the watercolor well, too. You can actually mist it with water when you're finished and it will shrink onto the wooden frame but I don't want to risk smearing my watercolor. The wood is repurposed cherry that came off our wall and was original to our house so it's about 75 years old. The light fixture and cord is courtesy of Home Depot. <br />
Tomorrow I will clean up the week long mess that we have made trying to get these little gems ready but for now, I think I'll just turn off all the lights and bask in the glow of my little lamp.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNU0t3Ku0-9UP8kzMNhf2tA1eEEXaytwPd8T6ZBW0vT0WcsMinOtkVIuZD79ouv8Zi4MILBYbjGPVV7EOpXQc8riBVAnqDEI-vtryxn1Vgu6JPphyYVhSD7dvycebc5-DOgzSKnX6GwtU/s1600/IMG_4457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNU0t3Ku0-9UP8kzMNhf2tA1eEEXaytwPd8T6ZBW0vT0WcsMinOtkVIuZD79ouv8Zi4MILBYbjGPVV7EOpXQc8riBVAnqDEI-vtryxn1Vgu6JPphyYVhSD7dvycebc5-DOgzSKnX6GwtU/s320/IMG_4457.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDE4QQSfVEUNGO5V0jEKLunEmV2exgEVoDEXd1AyQDVL8jeOlhmOvNpeYZbTYoBVOiUFww7ONKA2CK4jD4XVk9SkbLtoHQRBh6Rs05i40XpaE6vAj6uN7jVVzEAA2UilecVKfonClA5e4/s1600/IMG_4458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDE4QQSfVEUNGO5V0jEKLunEmV2exgEVoDEXd1AyQDVL8jeOlhmOvNpeYZbTYoBVOiUFww7ONKA2CK4jD4XVk9SkbLtoHQRBh6Rs05i40XpaE6vAj6uN7jVVzEAA2UilecVKfonClA5e4/s320/IMG_4458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VI_JboZJ0cMOkEcZkeISFCEfQ4VdsusD5P-12LcCILxdw3NsdhKEumM_cwvP7xHep7FXti1Y48rinW9P3IYQLxrCdN9Pm0rRdONt7-VbAK-6vUEVdEnkkiCZv3N5MnQeugzetJKqR5zR/s1600/IMG_4466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VI_JboZJ0cMOkEcZkeISFCEfQ4VdsusD5P-12LcCILxdw3NsdhKEumM_cwvP7xHep7FXti1Y48rinW9P3IYQLxrCdN9Pm0rRdONt7-VbAK-6vUEVdEnkkiCZv3N5MnQeugzetJKqR5zR/s320/IMG_4466.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-poUr34ddylOhxFItidu-fR0O6yFQIS4blSW87aBv3bmqBKX526etV0dXnu87gUEWO3T8r2yI-8WauRDniBSZfJ5t6iQ7sb-_9v0kBZsrUJTLalYnm8Iay93Qi116LEaoP0XoB_WNoT6/s1600/IMG_4472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-poUr34ddylOhxFItidu-fR0O6yFQIS4blSW87aBv3bmqBKX526etV0dXnu87gUEWO3T8r2yI-8WauRDniBSZfJ5t6iQ7sb-_9v0kBZsrUJTLalYnm8Iay93Qi116LEaoP0XoB_WNoT6/s320/IMG_4472.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68jcEUPdGMpJ8f3zKoDZMj09qtV5G3nasSqbVTjblicW6teYP5GtMQvVdSyBBFZW9BKk_nPeNlPlJEoP5pAfbaMxDBNeCafhWNKTwpGl96hKlO7kWQU2K_Nwrclp4diRHIjXPx_HzG1aI/s1600/IMG_4473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68jcEUPdGMpJ8f3zKoDZMj09qtV5G3nasSqbVTjblicW6teYP5GtMQvVdSyBBFZW9BKk_nPeNlPlJEoP5pAfbaMxDBNeCafhWNKTwpGl96hKlO7kWQU2K_Nwrclp4diRHIjXPx_HzG1aI/s320/IMG_4473.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96meobjq0zuFzVOKsSG5vrgvv6gU0avzqPjqhyphenhyphenmvwLgRPg2rLfDE-u1ciZBAxZCFXTXUCVQCFHHJJYhjMjxrNHGlb3kjOj4IBE_EBgn4L8O7CEoudY4lhhb1MtE2Uj20DRMlVAliJc0La/s1600/IMG_4475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96meobjq0zuFzVOKsSG5vrgvv6gU0avzqPjqhyphenhyphenmvwLgRPg2rLfDE-u1ciZBAxZCFXTXUCVQCFHHJJYhjMjxrNHGlb3kjOj4IBE_EBgn4L8O7CEoudY4lhhb1MtE2Uj20DRMlVAliJc0La/s320/IMG_4475.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xhxj4dv-qzEuOp4HhHA8s7leiqTZE2jO5Af0asNfBql3dShoGgPCBV-EQCRQrYkIex5IYtmxrSmzCCWl-M74ew92NtjnRt_cbEhNy7Gdx1CoTagLFjyqn6EDBtUTkDNUwgF0HgsrhQzH/s1600/IMG_4477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xhxj4dv-qzEuOp4HhHA8s7leiqTZE2jO5Af0asNfBql3dShoGgPCBV-EQCRQrYkIex5IYtmxrSmzCCWl-M74ew92NtjnRt_cbEhNy7Gdx1CoTagLFjyqn6EDBtUTkDNUwgF0HgsrhQzH/s320/IMG_4477.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-27178675470135694612016-02-23T14:19:00.002-05:002016-02-23T14:19:35.925-05:00Bead you to it<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMv3O36BYtXlYhCI5kd7mSK51nZj4EhWJvGZZqSJwABMCh4aHxyJG0oHghlyLP0M74Y4_NNFoIMkNrhyTgMzKrKnXpj4jHPDIi5nhomrxo-4Yr6CGjBoHq2oYsrkd0oUGosZIYBm_NFJx/s1600/IMG_5209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMv3O36BYtXlYhCI5kd7mSK51nZj4EhWJvGZZqSJwABMCh4aHxyJG0oHghlyLP0M74Y4_NNFoIMkNrhyTgMzKrKnXpj4jHPDIi5nhomrxo-4Yr6CGjBoHq2oYsrkd0oUGosZIYBm_NFJx/s320/IMG_5209.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
My new toy is bead loom, built by yours truly, my dear husband. It's just another form of painting for me, tiny little colorful beads which you can string together to make beautiful patterns. You can even get carried away and start trying to reproduce famous works of art. Not that I would let that happen to me.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91lgPYKHS1SRZgwjjXCXDAfSa46dcwNKMqzMpbKaUtNBUOI_EdcUTEJG6ACRVcQI_j3mOkZYNJyFhdSj_uT6YZMlM7Z0nwRDZsHuUW9aZAuz_pNE0UHpVVfgwl8ovWCPJIYGEIFpIp4om/s1600/IMG_5212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91lgPYKHS1SRZgwjjXCXDAfSa46dcwNKMqzMpbKaUtNBUOI_EdcUTEJG6ACRVcQI_j3mOkZYNJyFhdSj_uT6YZMlM7Z0nwRDZsHuUW9aZAuz_pNE0UHpVVfgwl8ovWCPJIYGEIFpIp4om/s400/IMG_5212.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-75018508229190117912016-02-23T14:03:00.000-05:002016-02-23T14:03:58.384-05:00Gyotaku, anyone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s320/IMG_5635.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1"><span style="clear: left; color: black; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></a><span style="clear: left; color: #0b5394; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">I like fish in any form. I love to catch and release them, eat them, decorate with their likenesses, and I especially enjoy printing them. I was a natural fit to teach a Gyotaku class at Asheville Bookworks. </a></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1"><span style="clear: left; color: #0b5394; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Collecting specimens for my class was not particularly difficult, except for the day that I was out on a few mile walk with a friend and we happened to spot this large bluefish on sale at the local market. I had them wrap it extra carefully with ice (which is heavy, I discovered) but carrying it home, dripping fish smell all through my neighborhood which is frequented by black bears in the summer, I must say I was a little nervous. My plan of action in my mind was to throw the fish at the bear and run! I'm sure it would have worked.</span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeS4FfsbqqaHrNzgCfY8vBPgmYozFck1qvZ7IrdnFH8LU9Y2Nd_A1PO-EcGcunFDYT-T39Xf-K3EpX2Hyiwgi4SH7Cq8KMm3SIZDrqZTUYXwjY3J1rl8XlXIxWXUFcxFRPct3hpa8fPzf/s1600/IMG_5352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="clear: right; color: black; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeS4FfsbqqaHrNzgCfY8vBPgmYozFck1qvZ7IrdnFH8LU9Y2Nd_A1PO-EcGcunFDYT-T39Xf-K3EpX2Hyiwgi4SH7Cq8KMm3SIZDrqZTUYXwjY3J1rl8XlXIxWXUFcxFRPct3hpa8fPzf/s320/IMG_5352.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><br />
<div style="color: black; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; color: #0b5394; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">The class was a great success. Who would have guessed that the favorite printing object was not a fish but a small octopus. The prints were fantastic. We also each carved our own chop to add to our prints and the chops were absolutely beautiful. </a></span></div>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8BAxM5xfLduMCcxcQgDpiIEYBCBXdkVl_ak5tPaegaiE6Oc8sUxZDJotidPU_3JbQL6B_ibYgHYaD9pJRb-s4pC7NXA2LVgMbh3rEDpkWZXOTtqcVPlbnHNGv6kJRrOczmjivQws61WL/s1600/IMG_5356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8BAxM5xfLduMCcxcQgDpiIEYBCBXdkVl_ak5tPaegaiE6Oc8sUxZDJotidPU_3JbQL6B_ibYgHYaD9pJRb-s4pC7NXA2LVgMbh3rEDpkWZXOTtqcVPlbnHNGv6kJRrOczmjivQws61WL/s200/IMG_5356.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTz-CJEQSQQYdOVVVJ5hYOa1RIN7dW6KLpsGhb9Gd0nn9YA_Ex0ID3diYOAEVgBKkgSue9Rz36tuAuHJJjsBfJailTWvXXMuXr__v3KH6jS4_MhaMU4Bz89Kfuebeam1YBzos0Smlht5Z/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCskTNvzXO4QHxfn2VldLNNY02sa-AK0uXXtyxu20mWzr1xWdaf1jXbeOp55_ayDAJmH6askEiza1yBsdVzOqkdM07bXf1qa9sbnlq_4OQ4jTvHcfeVda39GoYC8mPu3NyxHKhaJqxsRy7/s1600/IMG_5358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCskTNvzXO4QHxfn2VldLNNY02sa-AK0uXXtyxu20mWzr1xWdaf1jXbeOp55_ayDAJmH6askEiza1yBsdVzOqkdM07bXf1qa9sbnlq_4OQ4jTvHcfeVda39GoYC8mPu3NyxHKhaJqxsRy7/s200/IMG_5358.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQtj54C8RMaZKz1fncy5bvRzC-5LKDPvD19cs-0bdG8oCXRwTwOiOlxKTCoNDhKOcG43TcolMwCMOauayqtSrAVvWOtcBFnRmy6FNRpzu22eFH-ZDhVePMGEmwllRLztvLwFS5rjPTu4C/s1600/IMG_5351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQtj54C8RMaZKz1fncy5bvRzC-5LKDPvD19cs-0bdG8oCXRwTwOiOlxKTCoNDhKOcG43TcolMwCMOauayqtSrAVvWOtcBFnRmy6FNRpzu22eFH-ZDhVePMGEmwllRLztvLwFS5rjPTu4C/s400/IMG_5351.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Thanks to Asheville Bookworks and the creative wonderful people in my class who weren't afraid to get a little slimy that day!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfOGqSlpORJZYHp4Lig3SnJRtXvkPaqOU8libNrVN5UMbo8TE7JuuJMwNiaGYEm-qtQ5USVjlvQv9fSjcyTcoijBISRhYd29fYJJF6z5GgVCZVyn_JG4j8kbPzDSX4MeRCmQWQ78Bp9N6/s1600/IMG_5360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfOGqSlpORJZYHp4Lig3SnJRtXvkPaqOU8libNrVN5UMbo8TE7JuuJMwNiaGYEm-qtQ5USVjlvQv9fSjcyTcoijBISRhYd29fYJJF6z5GgVCZVyn_JG4j8kbPzDSX4MeRCmQWQ78Bp9N6/s400/IMG_5360.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-89958459284796021362016-02-23T13:34:00.002-05:002016-02-23T13:34:54.023-05:00Johnny in full technicolor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXoUZcFcfyfccuS9lvGr_KeQKfjUcPJV8AERXWYz8BJd3zE3geejCDfBb-Yk8P9xk9Xj7do5tLVCk1119-ePXr3HHrnlzihdlYJs-xWucQ5vCDoH8_-bpE8hULw2-iDc9NLHiY-R0SVK9/s1600/IMG_6182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXoUZcFcfyfccuS9lvGr_KeQKfjUcPJV8AERXWYz8BJd3zE3geejCDfBb-Yk8P9xk9Xj7do5tLVCk1119-ePXr3HHrnlzihdlYJs-xWucQ5vCDoH8_-bpE8hULw2-iDc9NLHiY-R0SVK9/s320/IMG_6182.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
True to my usual style, I had to try painting my steamroller print just to give it that extra pop. When, I designed and cut it, I really did it with the color in mind. Here is the finished print, hanging in Asheville Bookworks. Can't be Irish without a little bit of green.Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-73142898381876565552016-02-23T13:31:00.000-05:002016-02-23T13:31:21.346-05:00Johnny, we hardly knew you...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3QU51wWkhn97PGvo39QUO9LRrv8RcSX6fpvKB0lxNSJXkRlWllzGtPAbbS_aEyQ_GOr-jIXQB-TIC1Vr6YP7ia0ByRRgzFEkqb0F7yX7SKS9aZZo9hyphenhyphen6U5Pn06pFlVPo5alxHkEJxw8Y/s1600/IMG_6190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3QU51wWkhn97PGvo39QUO9LRrv8RcSX6fpvKB0lxNSJXkRlWllzGtPAbbS_aEyQ_GOr-jIXQB-TIC1Vr6YP7ia0ByRRgzFEkqb0F7yX7SKS9aZZo9hyphenhyphen6U5Pn06pFlVPo5alxHkEJxw8Y/s400/IMG_6190.JPG" width="400" /></a>Odd's Cafe in Asheville graciously offered to let us show our recent Steamroller/Toyota prints in their coffee shop. John and I made the sign. He cut it out of masonite and thanks to the fantastic ideas from Pinterest, I figured out how to make it look old and rusty. It worked a charm.<br />
Hanging the show was a bit of a challenge. We had to temporarily relocate the faithful laptop clientele who were sucking up some free wi-fi with their coffee but they were very understanding. The show was beautiful in that space and the opening, complete with peanuts, slim jims and PBR was a bit hit.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVkLqxnKpP91I3pkEHEgPxQZEUUfHTZTMgAlkOyIC_sZ0gY-gd34o49TMnV4TI7I-J91R4XOUe1HPT1dzwXoZBLOmSvTRuOx6STiW25wa2_j2XstuZc_Nvf5X1F5XwhAHFwbGCycW4-Wh5/s1600/IMG_6189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVkLqxnKpP91I3pkEHEgPxQZEUUfHTZTMgAlkOyIC_sZ0gY-gd34o49TMnV4TI7I-J91R4XOUe1HPT1dzwXoZBLOmSvTRuOx6STiW25wa2_j2XstuZc_Nvf5X1F5XwhAHFwbGCycW4-Wh5/s400/IMG_6189.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTc782wfTSKg2uIXBxf620kWYTBYpSJCiTJJpDPx91h_-ezr34HyNeIShf8BwazwnSoPQoKpJH7QKVCn0EIvdw46dbucwq3FZV-mrOH_tYIiL_geH5HjEaqyYDhIdlAjIDSoRnY_Tt7Arh/s1600/IMG_6192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTc782wfTSKg2uIXBxf620kWYTBYpSJCiTJJpDPx91h_-ezr34HyNeIShf8BwazwnSoPQoKpJH7QKVCn0EIvdw46dbucwq3FZV-mrOH_tYIiL_geH5HjEaqyYDhIdlAjIDSoRnY_Tt7Arh/s400/IMG_6192.JPG" width="400" /></a>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-65876274082040467772016-02-23T13:18:00.000-05:002016-02-23T13:18:11.976-05:00"You don't eat meat? I make lamb."<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbV15iwdP92z-LEzBsSq4e6i_UpTKCURMZam98pqZFOsD_yMZB96K0mCrp_j4i6ce8HyP3Cr7oPm61U3JPq4UhxWh9d0w0z-6B5h0S0pLA39keaSrNAkM6R1GxltMVzkS1-GDdooOA2dtm/s1600/IMG_3250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbV15iwdP92z-LEzBsSq4e6i_UpTKCURMZam98pqZFOsD_yMZB96K0mCrp_j4i6ce8HyP3Cr7oPm61U3JPq4UhxWh9d0w0z-6B5h0S0pLA39keaSrNAkM6R1GxltMVzkS1-GDdooOA2dtm/s320/IMG_3250.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how we do it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What happens when your steamroller breaks down just as you are beginning to make giant prints at your public "Colossal Prints" event? You use your Toyota, of course!<br />
<br />
That's what happened at our most recent steamroller event at Asheville Bookworks. Thanks to the quick thinking of my sweet husband who also ended up driving for about 8 straight hours at five miles per hour, we were able to make all our prints and the event was a smashing success.<br />
<br />
Anyone who asks about our gas mileage now is told that we get about 8 prints to the gallon.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghN2DqpjL_7F6r3zWEzJKkbWiCJZVkzZoWLc6fYpC4Ikqvgvt7exq0iTzy9cZHx4AyRkC2USwAIIebGhWwElR4NzIjB7QT4DBfYPesGHz8_66soRZlyG2Y_mTXmg7GTmRjXBh8UoeCM_mM/s1600/IMG_3248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghN2DqpjL_7F6r3zWEzJKkbWiCJZVkzZoWLc6fYpC4Ikqvgvt7exq0iTzy9cZHx4AyRkC2USwAIIebGhWwElR4NzIjB7QT4DBfYPesGHz8_66soRZlyG2Y_mTXmg7GTmRjXBh8UoeCM_mM/s200/IMG_3248.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laurie Corral, inking her block</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfoo9DCCrvbuBj64sUTxbzo0vHDkaPbL8Kg-T9DyndehKMLe3wduPlBmcTZ_5rM-NSzT-2AQNrmEOSmLYLV3tXO38PnKzR7bstspiKwpwaKKphmXAQIW680x4cpn2LW6CQx3jCQtULtlb/s1600/IMG_3245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfoo9DCCrvbuBj64sUTxbzo0vHDkaPbL8Kg-T9DyndehKMLe3wduPlBmcTZ_5rM-NSzT-2AQNrmEOSmLYLV3tXO38PnKzR7bstspiKwpwaKKphmXAQIW680x4cpn2LW6CQx3jCQtULtlb/s400/IMG_3245.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason Krekel's wonderful print</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc-BpreiyHiHXey7vZiqI0DwHBFbcvRQNPmF3SIAcppVfhgJCgpp179tF-zMGb3Z_wHFCklkWpHcKiYB_lGlNxzdz4scnkVuqQ4-QTUjYX3ZQGrCTf-jD_nzHE-aa3z3nGlNLJVP_WUcm/s1600/IMG_3236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc-BpreiyHiHXey7vZiqI0DwHBFbcvRQNPmF3SIAcppVfhgJCgpp179tF-zMGb3Z_wHFCklkWpHcKiYB_lGlNxzdz4scnkVuqQ4-QTUjYX3ZQGrCTf-jD_nzHE-aa3z3nGlNLJVP_WUcm/s400/IMG_3236.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny Patterson (this one's mine)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-76676361465637351112013-08-22T16:09:00.002-04:002013-08-22T16:21:39.965-04:00Printing bandanas!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jdoqi1I4uPY/UhZsngvNFwI/AAAAAAAAAfE/46-bkLirHYM/s1600/Camino+bandana+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jdoqi1I4uPY/UhZsngvNFwI/AAAAAAAAAfE/46-bkLirHYM/s200/Camino+bandana+-+1" width="200" /></a><br />
I finally finished carving my giant steamroller block today. I cut out the middle 20" of it and have used it to print my first ever bandanas.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-854zPy1ucDJAWycJk-8pw_9eFAhwD1nvCxXINwcLt98GhiZ9q_I5wGiu_8rcDKTA4Fr38RKz4Cse51jzw6m1POBULvjbjXQCzP0JAdXVet3o9LRek_F0tj5NWRrdhjEf2d7mNkSITXv/s1600/bandanas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-854zPy1ucDJAWycJk-8pw_9eFAhwD1nvCxXINwcLt98GhiZ9q_I5wGiu_8rcDKTA4Fr38RKz4Cse51jzw6m1POBULvjbjXQCzP0JAdXVet3o9LRek_F0tj5NWRrdhjEf2d7mNkSITXv/s200/bandanas.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
It took some trial and error with inks and pressure to get a good print on the fabric. I'm still not sure that the ink I chose will ever dry and if it does, will it be stiff or soft? Will I be able to wash these things? All the answers will come in time. Meanwhile, I have this cool clothesline strung the length of my studio with some very colorful bandanas on it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-51401956860549746662013-08-19T15:51:00.000-04:002013-08-19T21:27:04.863-04:00I'm a Steamroller, Baby!Today I'm carving a three foot by three foot linoleum block for a steamroller project. That's right. We are going to print giant blocks on the street using a steamroller. This crazy event is being hosted by <a href="http://www.ashevillebookworks.com/">Asheville Bookworks</a> on August 31st, 2013 from 1-5. Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-86848807489837751082013-04-15T14:13:00.000-04:002013-04-15T14:13:14.909-04:00Back on my press again!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally today I had an excuse to crank the old etching press and it was glorious! I'm doing a design for a buff (that weird tubular piece of clothing that keeps fishermen and sportspeople from burning the heck out of the backs of their necks). This will be a giveaway item for Wounded Warriors at the Mossy Creek Invitational fishing tournament in June. For me, it's a chance to try out an idea to make a buff later in the year for something else. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NUEeth-xGkCh70WKfF8Hjp_2ddJEoxyfTgxzIjv2gYtyg86qRQxadVS6Y_yql6UjToB3x5gUC5HOcQvbMlqy3jOBqldk9I-0yxkHGpW4iJKLmGskEN_q7_7g-fUodkJTtwurE0dHIGAy/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NUEeth-xGkCh70WKfF8Hjp_2ddJEoxyfTgxzIjv2gYtyg86qRQxadVS6Y_yql6UjToB3x5gUC5HOcQvbMlqy3jOBqldk9I-0yxkHGpW4iJKLmGskEN_q7_7g-fUodkJTtwurE0dHIGAy/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjZX2SdTkrwuXcWrpiV6I8VnB5d0zeXo648UoNpd_NuKsrfVUYKvKj3P6L1kmzJJ2_jrLj7aRQXoYta5u4vWjx8pYyzuCNj1OphxW0ZiSt29Ud4gUO0i5N8RzPkHkWut5n29CzJfJcbrx/s1600/closeupfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dua="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjZX2SdTkrwuXcWrpiV6I8VnB5d0zeXo648UoNpd_NuKsrfVUYKvKj3P6L1kmzJJ2_jrLj7aRQXoYta5u4vWjx8pYyzuCNj1OphxW0ZiSt29Ud4gUO0i5N8RzPkHkWut5n29CzJfJcbrx/s320/closeupfish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am really pleased with the design. It's supposed to look 'bad-ass', according to my customer, who is also my husband so I have even more incentive to make sure that he's happy with it. Next, I will ship it off to the Buff company so that they can print it. Stay tuned for pictures of the final product later this spring!</span></div>
<br />
Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-14243477235181969302012-09-18T09:52:00.000-04:002012-09-18T09:52:20.799-04:00Coming soon to a gallery near you!It's almost time for the annual Bookopolis Show at Asheville Bookworks. This is one of my favorite events. It's a book and print show with a theme and there's usually an adjunct project that a few brave artists participate in to raise some money for the scholarships at Bookworks. <br />
This year, the Wood Engravers Network has partnered with printmakers in the Asheville area to do a project called Beer City Prints. The engravers (from all over the world) designed and printed beer labels and then the printmakers responded by designing and printing backgrounds. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSKNBli3YA4KSQfGWE71T1u2joUZ87X28mM0seLTsPTXyzFSv_VwlWFswZrR5Hdnj1ILmrKWMiUxLGpgfPtQkwktgw9-ms3BDA_dCtCOdMmrhKEX0x3CE1PXVTlZZDpakGoPIV0hD0nJf/s1600/Aegir+Blonde+Ale-LM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSKNBli3YA4KSQfGWE71T1u2joUZ87X28mM0seLTsPTXyzFSv_VwlWFswZrR5Hdnj1ILmrKWMiUxLGpgfPtQkwktgw9-ms3BDA_dCtCOdMmrhKEX0x3CE1PXVTlZZDpakGoPIV0hD0nJf/s320/Aegir+Blonde+Ale-LM.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
I did two editions of prints for the project. In the first, I collaborated with Joanne Price from Minneapolis, who designed this wonderful Aegir Blonde Ale label. My background was done in two linoleum cuts and is entitled "Valhalla". <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIF7PfLPx7LSqXfwQsHxVGWdOCPelMSEzfghUIXroFjnwvYb4Hzmq4PiPEpZUbkqE0LS5MRQ6wzNCdOfgi-Vc1g3o5CDg_OOegsmVz8CiEfwLRYocYfSXlZHpToC14_pw6tS4S2WOGEffl/s1600/Jurgen+Way-LM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIF7PfLPx7LSqXfwQsHxVGWdOCPelMSEzfghUIXroFjnwvYb4Hzmq4PiPEpZUbkqE0LS5MRQ6wzNCdOfgi-Vc1g3o5CDg_OOegsmVz8CiEfwLRYocYfSXlZHpToC14_pw6tS4S2WOGEffl/s320/Jurgen+Way-LM.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
My second edition was also a two color linoleum cut, in which I partnered with Johanna Mueller from Centennial, Colorado. She did the charming Jurgen Way Brown Ale Label and my corresponding background is called "Foam on the Range". <br />
<br />
All the prints can be seen in this weekend hanging at Asheville Bookworks. There's also a raffle and you can win a complete set of these prints, which come in a beautiful hand printed portfolio. <a href="http://www.ashevillebookworks.com/store/">http://www.ashevillebookworks.com/store/</a><br />
To see other prints in the project, check out this link: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/108681744921560423176/BeerCityPrintPortfolio?locked=true&feat=email">https://picasaweb.google.com/108681744921560423176/BeerCityPrintPortfolio?locked=true&feat=email</a><br />
<br />
If you're in the area, don't miss the opening of the whole show, including 75 artists' books, this Friday, September 21 from 6-9 or Saturday, the 22nd from 1-5.<br />
Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-42099519219903915442011-12-17T20:32:00.016-05:002011-12-17T21:08:38.368-05:00Impromptu Mosaics and Other Last Minute GiftsThis December I'm finishing up a huge home improvement project which bled over from November and will be completed possibly two days before Christmas. I'm also packing and organizing for a five week trip which commences Christmas Day. I have plenty to keep me busy... but it just doesn't feel like the holidays unless I'm making a few gifts for someone. I don't know if secretly my hand made gifts are met with groans or simply tolerance but for some reason I just have to do it, so if you happen to be the lucky recipient, just take it out when I visit you and pretend it's out all year. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmAVqCbxa355H_5dqL8lAJjrV5hLjBVEq25AIyPOB10CV2IvQYPZmz50QfxhQJXfMMxr6TW_J5N4YHoloFOsU7EuZ5xQhPS2T-qXHTBgg_tqZbMImgL6MbH6vpyfA7ZimUEOfcY1hJxu6/s1600/mosaic+fiddle3.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687279581838362642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmAVqCbxa355H_5dqL8lAJjrV5hLjBVEq25AIyPOB10CV2IvQYPZmz50QfxhQJXfMMxr6TW_J5N4YHoloFOsU7EuZ5xQhPS2T-qXHTBgg_tqZbMImgL6MbH6vpyfA7ZimUEOfcY1hJxu6/s320/mosaic+fiddle3.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div>I decided to make something for my fiddle teacher, Beanie O'Dell, who is a fabulous instructor and gifted fiddler. I happened to find these unfinished wooden violin gift plaques on the Shar Music Website ( <a href="http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-Shar/Gifts/Other/Misc/Violin-Gift-Plaque-with-purfling.axd">http://www.sharmusic.com/Shop-Shar/Gifts/Other/Misc/Violin-Gift-Plaque-with-purfling.axd</a> ) and thought they were a good starting point. They were advertised as something that you could sign or draw on and give as a teacher gift. I decided to take a different approach.</div><br /><div>I dug out all my pieces of tile and glass, ordered a few little extra tiles, and then lined up my three violin faces, grabbed my Weldbond glue, and started gluing! Each plaque began to take on a personality all its own. By the time I had finished, the three of them were very different.</div><br /><div>The glue took about a day to dry and then I mixed up some sanded black grout and grouted them all. I had to do each one individually because the sponging step was laborious with all those little tiny tiles! Once the grout was set, I sealed it with a grout and tile sealer. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXq_mUlqMZlOOZm8bP4D_7myXPg3AoiMA-_1Ot5wAR4b2OjHuLfoDFmx5HtaUr0op828tFVBrv9YCicRaaLwUhrfGhcPb_FDeqQrCaJXTcqIg2ZyMvdZ9IkE94RiUt5JEWX90_0SdGjqA/s1600/mosaic+fiddle2.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687280004290243906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXq_mUlqMZlOOZm8bP4D_7myXPg3AoiMA-_1Ot5wAR4b2OjHuLfoDFmx5HtaUr0op828tFVBrv9YCicRaaLwUhrfGhcPb_FDeqQrCaJXTcqIg2ZyMvdZ9IkE94RiUt5JEWX90_0SdGjqA/s320/mosaic+fiddle2.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><div>Tomorrow I will attach a sawtooth to the back and wrap two of the three plaques. The second one is for my neighbor, another awesome fiddler and the last one is for me to keep so that I can remember how well my anti-stress, "mosaic therapy" worked this holiday season.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdTgCOKcprPXMDb6tFmq4eJCeL_zzAF3-7pPvspOpyFaZy5Lv9vN-cGU-xVqaWZ_PZKUwyqcic9m_htiQP8P4D0qE8tBob8-hKHQr5EdD-fx4_zcyztLVLtMnx_pLLDydL7WIYPpQSnkg/s1600/mosaic+fiddle1.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687281185763374530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdTgCOKcprPXMDb6tFmq4eJCeL_zzAF3-7pPvspOpyFaZy5Lv9vN-cGU-xVqaWZ_PZKUwyqcic9m_htiQP8P4D0qE8tBob8-hKHQr5EdD-fx4_zcyztLVLtMnx_pLLDydL7WIYPpQSnkg/s200/mosaic+fiddle1.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>And Beanie, you don't have to hang it. Really.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-3931848384651563212011-03-06T11:16:00.011-05:002011-03-06T12:03:56.688-05:00Bahamian Rhapsody<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDsaaueFEkTKhC2KSYoIuvJ6S7lSSd9ioMXiYRObxMSa5K3B3Xvsa87iA15nxB2-_rGveQIjUEHL1GRA3oRzbMPGJg5JahE8Qw6X9fq7tB_y8u76a4y1Y-jsdb9wZj3ZXBxrQvvzn5VG_/s1600/P2060037.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581005513278893170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDsaaueFEkTKhC2KSYoIuvJ6S7lSSd9ioMXiYRObxMSa5K3B3Xvsa87iA15nxB2-_rGveQIjUEHL1GRA3oRzbMPGJg5JahE8Qw6X9fq7tB_y8u76a4y1Y-jsdb9wZj3ZXBxrQvvzn5VG_/s200/P2060037.JPG" /></a> A few weeks ago, I had a delightful mid-winter escape to Andros Island in the Bahamas. It was my first visit and I was amazed at how few people were on Andros, compared with the bustle of the Nassau area. Andros is the largest but one of the least populated island in the Bahamas. There were days when I walked for an hour on an expanse of beautiful tropical beach and never saw another soul.<br /><br /><div><div>While there, I was adopted by lovely residents of the area where we were staying. One of our adventures was a trip to a local batik factory in Fresh Creek called Androsia. <a href="http://www.androsia.com/">http://www.androsia.com/</a> I was so enthralled watching the batik process that we arranged to go back and take a class there. This 'factory' was a big warehouse-type building surrounded by scrub vegetation, where 20 yards of freshly batiked fabric hung next to someone's laundry. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aUJpHoNkzXL-AHaLPvUiHatsyflP84v-hVWqkUPhOOfSm7pe8i41QJzro7wGmbPN-SziEDK33JsRhNpvFr8mALaenEcv7LuV72wbdzgcdvZSjDUXiDCAaPEEcCtKD-3WDnSKAcDW6Ewt/s1600/P2070042.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581009848009478498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aUJpHoNkzXL-AHaLPvUiHatsyflP84v-hVWqkUPhOOfSm7pe8i41QJzro7wGmbPN-SziEDK33JsRhNpvFr8mALaenEcv7LuV72wbdzgcdvZSjDUXiDCAaPEEcCtKD-3WDnSKAcDW6Ewt/s200/P2070042.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div>One man who works there has over many years created the most wonderful stamps for making the fabric by developing his own stamping method. He designs and cuts a stamp out of heavy foam rubber and mounts it on a wire frame.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMNkNCdDdtQeQ7cXwTA_v05UpoKEuvaJ2IFq7KnxMuwXwll59rGYfp3cygsrBm8fsMoVRr2PGZAZp0al7So1ftIclCMDOjCJEW7Uo6zYCI0WKHuuVgc1A87n9w_NcOy41_fkLx88FVGwA/s1600/P2070048.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581006143135960258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMNkNCdDdtQeQ7cXwTA_v05UpoKEuvaJ2IFq7KnxMuwXwll59rGYfp3cygsrBm8fsMoVRr2PGZAZp0al7So1ftIclCMDOjCJEW7Uo6zYCI0WKHuuVgc1A87n9w_NcOy41_fkLx88FVGwA/s200/P2070048.JPG" /></a> The stamp is then dipped into the hot wax and printed onto the long lengths of white cotton fabric. Once it's all stamped, the fabric is dyed in old bathtubs. Then the wax is removed and the fabric hung out to dry. The ladies at the factory make wonderful clothing out of the fabric or you can buy it by the yard and bring it home to make your own. </div><br /><div></div><div>In our batik lesson, we were given a practice strip and then one yard of fabric on which to make our own Bahamian inspired designs. We were given stamps to use and also a 'tjanting' pen, with which we could write or draw our own pictures. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh325mdQzOEvRWsG5M6qy6mFopRuzoARKqWU9j-1zn026Z8JxqQr5XB13gpuAwCEYQdqCSzYCKMVppJa-twPV8oZZIHxzKTBEh2XOKV2xFvBRrCSTVAa0_JSgv881H-15maZoRJoix-gwhc/s1600/P2070047.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581010606558227074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh325mdQzOEvRWsG5M6qy6mFopRuzoARKqWU9j-1zn026Z8JxqQr5XB13gpuAwCEYQdqCSzYCKMVppJa-twPV8oZZIHxzKTBEh2XOKV2xFvBRrCSTVAa0_JSgv881H-15maZoRJoix-gwhc/s200/P2070047.JPG" /></a>This turned out to be much more difficult than it looked in the demonstration! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotPd6IxuXncp0ow48ezqtkD3uPcYNl4OhE7i45jgQVz2wI4Rh7em1JQywDbwMNHaRzxgVwpUdQDH4CU_zXSwb7DeuVblojq9CQAr7Qwf3VJE7mh2f_ZzIe804PF7c_e_pZ9PwtmEb9EQh/s1600/P2070046.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581011455147090482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotPd6IxuXncp0ow48ezqtkD3uPcYNl4OhE7i45jgQVz2wI4Rh7em1JQywDbwMNHaRzxgVwpUdQDH4CU_zXSwb7DeuVblojq9CQAr7Qwf3VJE7mh2f_ZzIe804PF7c_e_pZ9PwtmEb9EQh/s200/P2070046.JPG" /></a>The ladies I was with then let me choose a color for all our pieces to be dyed, and I chose "Turtle Green", which was as close as I could find to the color of that beautiful Caribbean water.<br /><br />As a thank you to my kind hosts, I came home and used some of my fabric to make bags, which I will send back to them to remind them of the fun we had one steamy day in the beautiful tropical paradise that is Andros. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581007753482965490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkUox9tx8Eq7Gg_XN3K74upcttGv8sQuXGvflLndVAu4X0sC2UtqeKveNDH-cIAjXs14JTD2nfkUnfW8-L48HpshVS2Z1jjO1g1eLLBPj1BKZ42Y_Hu9r4loOazjC9WEKC8dCDVlIE1DQ/s200/P3050102.JPG" /></div></div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-63461444552211197142011-03-06T11:04:00.004-05:002011-03-06T11:14:54.183-05:00Scratching a New Itch<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcuet40WHCGsZoSIcKt4EVovz2QUBFTxm6xOXu0U0ENXXvRQbAON9fNhZek5_Sg2HLT42jZDVIH8eJNtwwckZIUMe7BgqUF6IK1au5izpxGEjGbfN4exgJpTkkMykB0FOi8ccAdYWLos5/s1600/P1310009.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581000067739067282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcuet40WHCGsZoSIcKt4EVovz2QUBFTxm6xOXu0U0ENXXvRQbAON9fNhZek5_Sg2HLT42jZDVIH8eJNtwwckZIUMe7BgqUF6IK1au5izpxGEjGbfN4exgJpTkkMykB0FOi8ccAdYWLos5/s400/P1310009.JPG" /></a><br /><div>In my constant quest to fight creative boredom, I tried some scratchboard. Instead of planning a design, I sat down with a nice piece of black board and a scratching tool and just started scratching whatever came into my head (as usual, it had to do with food!). There's something much less intimidating about a plain black surface than a plain white page. I also discovered that if you do happen to scratch too much, you can always dab a little black india ink on the spot and scratch again. Once it was all scratched, I used a little watercolor to add the finishing touches. </div><div>This piece was really just an experiment but I'm still rather proud of the result. It inspired me to think about illustrating a book or writing my own Zine. I'll explore those ideas more after I go get something to eat!</div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-21261651289976410262010-10-06T15:09:00.008-04:002010-10-06T15:34:25.174-04:00It Takes a Village<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8YlFETE39iPzreugI9Lqy4yLSMnyGLmhYmn5SNetNup8V9JucpRBv9iV_K28YOTUK-G_OPV_m1YXkmwE3P4Jjvx9l_2lXECDsOGe_htofnKCjlvAbQCTunVuCrNOZp_-roDcnsn9gQtH/s1600/PA060014.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 228px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 185px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525017624039251954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8YlFETE39iPzreugI9Lqy4yLSMnyGLmhYmn5SNetNup8V9JucpRBv9iV_K28YOTUK-G_OPV_m1YXkmwE3P4Jjvx9l_2lXECDsOGe_htofnKCjlvAbQCTunVuCrNOZp_-roDcnsn9gQtH/s200/PA060014.JPG" /></a> Every time I come across a great idea in a magazine that I want to try, I set it aside for a "rainy day". The other day, I was down in my studio and the house was all torn apart from renovating, the weather was terrible, and there wasn't a darn thing going on and I just decided to pull out some of those rainy day ideas. I came across one from <a href="http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/">Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine</a>. A printmaker was looking for inspiration and got the idea to make these little houses. Hey, I'm a printmaker, my house renovations are creating lots of 2 x 4" scraps..this could work! A few quick cuts with a miter saw and some rough sanding later, and I had made myself a little wooden village. I then stained each little house with some water based stains. The next step was to take out old linoleum blocks and some wood engravings, and make a few new patterned blocks from EZ cut. I was ready to print. I found some lightweight Japanese printing paper and had a heyday printing all sorts of things on each page. These had to dry overnight. (Luckily, it rained for four days straight! Who'd have thought that would be a good thing?) When the prints dried, I painted them with watercolors and then began the fun part - cutting out pieces and gluing them onto the blocks with matte medium. The process was kind of like decoupage, only quicker. The final step was to seal all the little houses with an acrylic varnish. This project was so much fun that I ended up making a whole little village of houses. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyDFWulNFoeLY38nGBvZpT_TDj7nHjcOr_F1tVOvZLV7pc_Pc1DdmyYYXIjvBnn-eLRMyFPgjohbYo7BM5istIxIhBVk5NnO5ueh-9HzDhar4xLC86e-rJwsHTeZJPO4i3iUgENSM98v5/s1600/PA060016.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 231px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 173px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525015611394380690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyDFWulNFoeLY38nGBvZpT_TDj7nHjcOr_F1tVOvZLV7pc_Pc1DdmyYYXIjvBnn-eLRMyFPgjohbYo7BM5istIxIhBVk5NnO5ueh-9HzDhar4xLC86e-rJwsHTeZJPO4i3iUgENSM98v5/s320/PA060016.JPG" /></a>Now if anyone can think of a use for a whole village of printed houses, could you please let me know before the next rainy day?Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-76617813627443052272010-09-22T10:00:00.006-04:002010-09-22T10:14:29.255-04:00Memory Palaces<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkq4IVxTclEpcJ7iUFnMLqTIq78tyHNW7kVL8AwMWdNSfcRkc3cbShMe7JxGFzMBmtrXoOBjVPgSGCdRqN4LSMQiHFB1KUZvb02UwWpBdfQv3Fn0ASZ_PAV-gAP5jHl9PRnrYFU5VbRvE0/s1600/Quitting+Time.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 227px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519739903158125602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkq4IVxTclEpcJ7iUFnMLqTIq78tyHNW7kVL8AwMWdNSfcRkc3cbShMe7JxGFzMBmtrXoOBjVPgSGCdRqN4LSMQiHFB1KUZvb02UwWpBdfQv3Fn0ASZ_PAV-gAP5jHl9PRnrYFU5VbRvE0/s320/Quitting+Time.jpg" /></a>I just entered my first show in Asheville. <a href="http://ashevillebookworks.com/">Asheville Bookworks </a>is having its wonderful <em><strong>Bookopolis</strong></em> event this weekend. The theme this year is "Memory Palaces" and I entered my print "Quitting Time". It made it into the extended show and will be displayed until December.<br /><div>For those of you not familiar with Asheville Bookworks, it is a community studio, school and gallery that is a gathering place for people interested in book arts, letterpress, printmaking, and papermaking. <em><strong>Bookopolis</strong></em> includes an exhibit with 100+ handmade books and prints from artists all over the country, plus letterpress and printing demonstrations. Anyone with an interest in things printed, bound, or otherwise book related should check out this event and this great resource.</div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-83277367634127815232010-09-22T09:46:00.008-04:002010-10-08T11:37:21.769-04:00New Beginnings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01HyY860wkl5hTBxH1ijzlP5awp2LMJjiAWblYP0qmEyuZhxX8RAIrvSw6lAHBaoMqypFTLmBfVjjWAnmALyEqVFQkO1gJUGmkX4NnW-AHXWjJl_VYdTbjN9zmtrxoJNBJEt_J3uH3rBJ/s1600/birdbath.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519735438103397730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01HyY860wkl5hTBxH1ijzlP5awp2LMJjiAWblYP0qmEyuZhxX8RAIrvSw6lAHBaoMqypFTLmBfVjjWAnmALyEqVFQkO1gJUGmkX4NnW-AHXWjJl_VYdTbjN9zmtrxoJNBJEt_J3uH3rBJ/s400/birdbath.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>It's a new season (my favorite of the year!) and I'm in a new city, in a new (old) house, and looking for some new inspiration. Between moving (ourselves!) and a daughter and two grandkids into the house, my time for creative outlets has been limited these last few months. Hopefully, that is about to change. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEseoZPCo8wneQHEBRlXkj_naI24MsXSbCs2rkqBd8XcOcjNwh4dZlMNfgbOsFYdBz9RZClZuU2S5Xh-_kX2EnccnBn_tDbV9Tvb1A-hrRgaMayq1mkb2qkxyXY4Irn4FQFRqFfMMEmRC_/s1600/mosaics.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525699413723192370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEseoZPCo8wneQHEBRlXkj_naI24MsXSbCs2rkqBd8XcOcjNwh4dZlMNfgbOsFYdBz9RZClZuU2S5Xh-_kX2EnccnBn_tDbV9Tvb1A-hrRgaMayq1mkb2qkxyXY4Irn4FQFRqFfMMEmRC_/s200/mosaics.JPG" /></a></div><div>My first opportunity to make something just for fun came this summer when my friend Linda and I decided to make some mosaic birdbaths. I have so much old glass, tile and assorted doo dads to work with that there was no shortage of materials. This project is not for the weak backed person, though, as those birdbaths are heavy and get even heavier when you add ten pounds of glass, tile and cement. The finished products were worth the heavy lifting!</div><br /><div>P.S. The glass I used in my birdbath has a reflective quality when filled with water. Birds flee in terror when they get near it. I guess it makes a lovely garden decoration. </div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-87809298101071141082009-10-12T19:50:00.007-04:002009-10-12T20:11:14.482-04:00A Collagraph is Born<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAvZnsH6I_wRvreQBoJU7lWT1AVseDT0a3p9UG6nNKfaJGN7VvQihSRD98K8Pvoyzrn666W4yGc5t1xYC7TIW6ds-h5BRHsBGLM78UtebYQF3u52N8L8GwdnmEwu0T4SLu78LczDOHGCN/s1600-h/collagraphblock.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391869244931086642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAvZnsH6I_wRvreQBoJU7lWT1AVseDT0a3p9UG6nNKfaJGN7VvQihSRD98K8Pvoyzrn666W4yGc5t1xYC7TIW6ds-h5BRHsBGLM78UtebYQF3u52N8L8GwdnmEwu0T4SLu78LczDOHGCN/s200/collagraphblock.jpg" border="0" /></a>Today I printed my charming little collagraph blocks. I smeared a dull grey glob of etching ink all over those pretty colors, wiping them down with tarlatan (a stiff kind of cheesecloth), rubbing them with my palm, wiping them again with newsprint, and finally running them through an etching press with damp paper. The prints came out looking something like blurry fossils on a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2xKDkQEfFKndXtd-zGRE4UKAL8VbQQ4O84hxNkPD_-IRO7FvIERmUbKQ_lIsJChbmvEzdmJtovpFSbTtUx87bsNpHVAkSM5BhbAhN5KCDfUjq3j_w9B5fPpsmDcKOXlVyoLnGa1h7Qr1/s1600-h/collagraphb&w.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391869473638059410" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2xKDkQEfFKndXtd-zGRE4UKAL8VbQQ4O84hxNkPD_-IRO7FvIERmUbKQ_lIsJChbmvEzdmJtovpFSbTtUx87bsNpHVAkSM5BhbAhN5KCDfUjq3j_w9B5fPpsmDcKOXlVyoLnGa1h7Qr1/s200/collagraphb&w.jpg" border="0" /></a>rock. I let the prints dry and then painted them with watercolors and they came alive again. I also enhanced the prints with a graphite pencil and a grey colored pencil to make the images stand out. And in the end, I even managed to clean most of the grey ink off the blocks and they are almost as good as new.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOPO4p1RoKCaLtTq20MdGWHz6Uh892m5hDYi3plcUz0xBbOsnY3A9lByh264jjqiZ8BnyN0gwBLobDY9bOsDcpfjAOqC762IO5u3jbtdJIw5GGoHNpFgT-qfIjyBfGuQUx668WC-23Wjy/s1600-h/collagraph1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391869671112031874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOPO4p1RoKCaLtTq20MdGWHz6Uh892m5hDYi3plcUz0xBbOsnY3A9lByh264jjqiZ8BnyN0gwBLobDY9bOsDcpfjAOqC762IO5u3jbtdJIw5GGoHNpFgT-qfIjyBfGuQUx668WC-23Wjy/s400/collagraph1.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-11752491672158119042009-10-08T16:42:00.004-04:002009-10-08T16:56:07.494-04:00Mini-malism<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeimMKLqb8Wm7MFVC9aU31_9Uw7KBZ9VVEUFOAZGKhoK-uiuR21eVc-9rVaHWIHHzRrIRCmTxIGhsyDxH7hqx_l7CbYCn45Gnm1XFML68ulLDWIZAHyPPIKuCbemhBArRJd9IPVOEolVHG/s1600-h/photo2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390334568645909282" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeimMKLqb8Wm7MFVC9aU31_9Uw7KBZ9VVEUFOAZGKhoK-uiuR21eVc-9rVaHWIHHzRrIRCmTxIGhsyDxH7hqx_l7CbYCn45Gnm1XFML68ulLDWIZAHyPPIKuCbemhBArRJd9IPVOEolVHG/s400/photo2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I'm getting ready for our small works show at the studio, which normally falls around the holiday season. This year, we are calling it <em>Mini-Malism</em>. Each artist in my studio is making 4 3" x 3" prints with a subject and technique of her own choosing. I've been playing around with collagraphs. My first few attempts at collagraphs were quite successful so I though I would revisit the medium. The problem is that the blocks are so pretty that I'm hesitant to smear a bunch of black etching ink on them now. I may just have to keep them for a while and look at them!</div><div>Don't miss <em>Mini-Malism</em> at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Studio 325, from November 1-December 31, 2009. We're open from 11-6 most days.</div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-12352321444446658462009-10-07T12:48:00.010-04:002009-10-07T13:24:22.909-04:00A Day in the 'ville<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4zPA1lG9_lMdM5hchPCxvT-ntpVJn91kmkQ3void_uSCnOfS93BajtEZz-YRyOmyRjfK4Zkj1-dAhwwyMnLP6bDqji2i2haO7c_LVgWmKfNd-iDa61cnjkXoe8L-8TT06WNI-Q2ikOw4/s1600-h/ashevilleveg.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389908409476372210" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4zPA1lG9_lMdM5hchPCxvT-ntpVJn91kmkQ3void_uSCnOfS93BajtEZz-YRyOmyRjfK4Zkj1-dAhwwyMnLP6bDqji2i2haO7c_LVgWmKfNd-iDa61cnjkXoe8L-8TT06WNI-Q2ikOw4/s320/ashevilleveg.jpg" border="0" /></a>I just got back from a week in Asheville, NC. Everything about that city inspires me. One day it was a trip to the farmer's market, which is the most amazing place to visit, especially in October. This time of year, there's so much color and texture, I didn't know where to look first. The pumpkins, peppers and squash created a riot of color. It was an artist's dream.<br /><div><div><div><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389904441350411474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 119px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobr9GRPsx_EntcGaVDpgEP_jHe2HFnepqX__f-YIU-kopVJ41os2I10Gq0IXisZsFYm9gM_OPOsjlvmoRz0ZH4h5Pxs-wFGBOKZf89aK180TmJSTuXVauMVvw2WYVy5sV7QuTR5Ja3miC/s200/dianasign.jpg" border="0" />One evening, I went to a book signing for my favorite author in the whole world, Diana Gabaldon, who has just written a new book in her Outlander series, entitled <em>An Echo in the Bone</em>. She was fantastic - funny, witty, earthy and a bit bawdy, exactly what I'd hoped she would be like. The crowd in the theater was entranced by her, me included. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPKG0GfTL4ofb9t43l1FqXvLPgQuyCY_RHqbl6A8ZMuWOWRNY6YYeF4VpnzaJ7hGzBS9TY_a4DMpgA42GLKh0e13i8SD3bpf9KR009RNlJK2q_5upgjCWGaLRNvRcFZwdY5OEnzP_GvIk7/s1600-h/dianasmile.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389907558355634642" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPKG0GfTL4ofb9t43l1FqXvLPgQuyCY_RHqbl6A8ZMuWOWRNY6YYeF4VpnzaJ7hGzBS9TY_a4DMpgA42GLKh0e13i8SD3bpf9KR009RNlJK2q_5upgjCWGaLRNvRcFZwdY5OEnzP_GvIk7/s320/dianasmile.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div>On Friday night, we went into town. The sounds of African style drumming echoed down the streets of Asheville because it turns out that every Friday night there's a drumming circle in Pritchard Park at 7 p.m. You don't even have to BYOD as there are extra bongos there for those who need them. There were dozens of drummers and many more spectators. Adults and children were dancing with abandon. It was liberating to watch.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPknOKaAis3KlB2G1u5U9K2QVV8pMYy3YHEaLI15sWAGT09aF_Aj4Z9K9NG9b6VLPASzCqphuy8p92wzw55_EymjwBidaSCveERHymirbwJ9nMJtDG_eeR7jn5mcMrKL1OJLOaw9-CwCNT/s1600-h/photo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389905838482506130" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 157px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPknOKaAis3KlB2G1u5U9K2QVV8pMYy3YHEaLI15sWAGT09aF_Aj4Z9K9NG9b6VLPASzCqphuy8p92wzw55_EymjwBidaSCveERHymirbwJ9nMJtDG_eeR7jn5mcMrKL1OJLOaw9-CwCNT/s320/photo.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div>I can't wait to go back and see what new discoveries and inspirations await me there. </div></div></div></div></div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-37588348802672214492009-10-06T16:58:00.009-04:002009-10-06T17:19:21.248-04:00Going on an Art Safari<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hdgT9ifuqc7ZvVyQx4dSit8iw0_E83gc0lOwbtwQibsJXzgK5dn2UEa9fFaGVUf6mQj9feZCM8PVH5Ahi12gLR9aa1Joi4-ZtlZrTwQzKUaZC0DZgqOjv_eACGYUPJ8Gmmhwcfb3J50b/s1600-h/artsafari3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389599028621964178" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3hdgT9ifuqc7ZvVyQx4dSit8iw0_E83gc0lOwbtwQibsJXzgK5dn2UEa9fFaGVUf6mQj9feZCM8PVH5Ahi12gLR9aa1Joi4-ZtlZrTwQzKUaZC0DZgqOjv_eACGYUPJ8Gmmhwcfb3J50b/s320/artsafari3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Yesterday, I was interviewed by Fox 5 News in Washington about the Alexandria Arts Safari, which is coming up this Saturday, October 10th. I'll be doing a fun blockprinting activity with kids that is similar to what I've done at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We got to do a trial run with the TV crew and had a great time. The Arts Safari, a festival of hands-on arts and crafts activities for kids and their families, will take place from noon to 4 PM and is being hosted by a number of different groups with 11 activities taking place. Bring the kids down! It's free and should be a great day. </div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-25442933354431069322009-10-06T16:44:00.006-04:002009-10-06T17:13:00.308-04:00Do Not Adjust Your Sets!<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="video" width="320" height="280" data="http://www.myfoxdc.com/video/videoplayer.swf"><param value="http://www.myfoxdc.com/video/videoplayer.swf" name="movie"/><param value="&skin=MP1ExternalAll-MFL.swf&embed=true&adSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fad%2Edoubleclick%2Enet%2Fadx%2Ftsg%2Ewttg%2Fwildcard%5F1%2Fwildcard%5F01%2Fdetail%3Bdcmt%3Dtext%2Fxml%3Bpos%3D%3Btile%3D2%3Bfname%3D100509%5Fholly%5Fmorris%5Falexandria%5Farts%5Fsafari%3Bsz%3D320x240%3Bord%3D942301263829856600%3Frand%3D0%2E3718554135598061&flv=%2Ffeeds%2FoutboundFeed%3FobfType%3DVIDEO%5FPLAYER%5FSMIL%5FFEED%26componentId%3D130736307&img=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia2%2Emyfoxdc%2Ecom%2F%2Fphoto%2F2009%2F10%2F05%2F9amMorrisArtsSafari%2Emov%5Ftmb0000%5F20091005101207%5F640%5F480%2EJPG&story=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emyfoxdc%2Ecom%2Fdpp%2Fmornings%2Fholly%5Flive%2F100509%5Fholly%5Fmorris%5Falexandria%5Farts%5Fsafari" name="FlashVars"/><param value="all" name="allowNetworking"/><param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"/></object>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-2768276195914712732009-09-14T15:32:00.012-04:002009-09-14T16:29:35.376-04:00Butterflies were free...<div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381409967429686146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztFPfe1z02nkMlt94e0zlIh4pAsSsVR20y9B_lM6DgB2c5JF2l8344enjcz4fBV54_f2W3r3O17i5itMYGST9weHg4n4iEDVr9g9pgKaqmJSy7OrEdrIrqTZ2Y9hednu4bKQdaTchTsI6/s320/SAAMdancers.jpg" border="0" />...if you came to my latest workshop at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. On Saturday's Fiesta de las Americas Family Day, we printed rainforest butterflies by the hundreds, while tapping our feet to the wonderful music of Panama. Lots of people showed up and beading, gluing molas and dancing abounded.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvs_XfQiCmWc_EOz34M_SMtDZeqBQL4wiGeh9b7g1stdLhX-i-ENJZJCybUV-S7oKmalEEMJxa0TCmSQ8cl0KyHo2AfvBMhySNRytkYcSoqz-bKL9bjjYxRm7jZYj8y5n76QGR2TOE6of/s1600-h/dadprinting.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381422176688688306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvs_XfQiCmWc_EOz34M_SMtDZeqBQL4wiGeh9b7g1stdLhX-i-ENJZJCybUV-S7oKmalEEMJxa0TCmSQ8cl0KyHo2AfvBMhySNRytkYcSoqz-bKL9bjjYxRm7jZYj8y5n76QGR2TOE6of/s200/dadprinting.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UiDV3d45fCaKUHVy2E-y-_A5jO4Ym1R-NUEAvyQgej3Edc-IjLs53BVpBi2OIBFq0nfThBH-8yitEkfb1UNjEiZxgOrOojFr7KLYXzMEpPCJPdBxI2L0d3Yz8CUuFBVuVA_-24rp4cvn/s1600-h/butterfly.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381422575506951842" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UiDV3d45fCaKUHVy2E-y-_A5jO4Ym1R-NUEAvyQgej3Edc-IjLs53BVpBi2OIBFq0nfThBH-8yitEkfb1UNjEiZxgOrOojFr7KLYXzMEpPCJPdBxI2L0d3Yz8CUuFBVuVA_-24rp4cvn/s200/butterfly.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgMh3Z74iXcF2KeFBH1Gsb1jwj1mEnMglGw5F7qi-F0TfehGUbPtqVVQrSdHQY995-N7O5anSGOf-TUnnCthfxgtNznWp9KT9jRerWkFuzGrt5r8p1iliwDf0WsaqseInzOG1qPxKz1b-v/s1600-h/dadprinting.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkmRM4y-0v6NkioCfq1b4nsdWIWMhhYVfdSdjxcbWl48d5cqVJE9hAz2GINN96JlWgjQJRIDV12NPeZEAvEQorrHB621uBnC0lvYJyrxGmAenEVT8Ox7PUPYhK7KSsi8UVIIAkp7D7m8K/s1600-h/butterfly.jpg"></a></div></div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-44735483209694984072009-08-23T12:26:00.006-04:002009-08-23T12:45:55.009-04:00Look what swam into my studio today!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjpRrtVSfRbrjulyONTwWvezIhG-OiPn62YmKKQtv1uRO_8EZOHKs0XdJegvp4rXd3wQ6b3j2USkjGe2Kqw4CICVnpB5W3uWb4APeILqkM2BYBFtfT6UsqfdrKXViznBySe9OlK7Z6D5C/s1600-h/photo.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdMB0YauACSVJct3EzlmoOnq3DhmZ1Bw0WU8N9Q9MBsWmFL8YamXroVKjM9C7ewcJUYUoTwkiW-U-DNbC0e03yB-_prIn2n5qVphp3S6YlHxEaI_jriwaq0cMja2zswfhQXo8DQn32hOB/s1600-h/anglerfishtattoo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373197596893756530" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 224px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdMB0YauACSVJct3EzlmoOnq3DhmZ1Bw0WU8N9Q9MBsWmFL8YamXroVKjM9C7ewcJUYUoTwkiW-U-DNbC0e03yB-_prIn2n5qVphp3S6YlHxEaI_jriwaq0cMja2zswfhQXo8DQn32hOB/s320/anglerfishtattoo.jpg" border="0" /></a> It was a beautiful anglerfish on the arm of my friend, Katie. I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to Kris Dilworth of Tough Luck Tattoos in Lewes, DE, who donated the entire time that he took doing this incredible work of body art to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He also waited a couple of extra hours for Katie after her car broke down on the way to the shop! <div></div><div>The tattoo work is absolutely superb. Looks great on Katie, too! Thanks, Katie, for such a fun project. This one's going in my portfolio. It could be a new direction for me...who knows?</div></div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4173272561380334207.post-3078773838608358082009-08-06T20:23:00.009-04:002009-08-23T12:26:14.821-04:00The Deep is only Skin Beauty<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Gtiqz4XVN105gvpE5vPCnO8udIxkFMSQbqzLAuEOWwW5sVvfMD4Q8tVsyh2ZrgNeTSG9emv45W8N3PiGf5j1G6OY1TMTkkMfT4iVNSZhUIfLiLrr7_Wf0paH-qnEicifN4_1SGoDX8jO/s1600-h/anglerfish.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367016483823619794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Gtiqz4XVN105gvpE5vPCnO8udIxkFMSQbqzLAuEOWwW5sVvfMD4Q8tVsyh2ZrgNeTSG9emv45W8N3PiGf5j1G6OY1TMTkkMfT4iVNSZhUIfLiLrr7_Wf0paH-qnEicifN4_1SGoDX8jO/s400/anglerfish.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Today I finished one of the most fun projects I've worked on - a tattoo design for my new friend Katie, who is a Marine Biologist down in Florida <span style="color:#33cc00;"><span style="color:#ff6600;">(Go</span> </span><span style="color:#3333ff;">Gators!) <span style="color:#000000;">Katie requested an anglerfish, a fierce looking deep sea</span> </span><span style="color:#000000;">fish that has a long fillament sprouting from its head which acts as a lure to attract prey within reach of its toothy mouth. Some of their lures even glow, making them irresistable in the darkness of the ocean depths.</span></div><div>Katie is having her tattoo put on her shoulder in Lewes, DE on August 20th. I get to see it around the 21st. On the 22nd, her mother is coming here to kick my butt! (only kidding!) </div>Lauren Mikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07105947495133279545noreply@blogger.com0