Katie Argyle at The Studios Key West

 

I’ve been feeling nervous as a hen, waiting for Katie’s exhibition to begin. Every day I would ask her, “Are you up to date? Have you done a print today?”  What I Found at the End of the Road is an eccentric and personal chronicle of Katie’s Key West experience,  created on the fly.

 

Here’s Katie’s fabu digs  – TSKW’s – the first resident in the Ashe Street cottage.

Katie on the porch.

 

This process is intensive and messy low tech and very eccentric. Relief printing (done on the surface).

 

Oil based ink rolled out on a mirror.

 

Linoleum block that becomes a linoblock or a linocut once carved. These are small 4X5 inches.

Here’s a close up of a finished block that has been carved and proofed (finished).

Here the finished relief print – obviously the reverse.

 

Just to put this in perspective, these images are small and composition, value, must be planned in advance. Bear in mind that you cannot make gray so value must be depicted using texture or line. What to leave out is as important (sometimes more so) as what to include.

 

Components of Katie’s experience are detailed,

Friendly cat, loves to be patted!

Workmen fixing Katie’s heater – temps were low, 62ish. Brrrr . . . .

 

Equipment is low-tech – working in the negative.

Each toolmark progressively destroys the surface of the block to create the image.

Here’s Katie’s wooden spoon – essential for any self-respecting artist who celebrates their Hungarian ancestry.

This photo gives perspective, showing how small the prints are, how detailed the process.

 

She had a few color prints.

 

some veering into the abstract

 

Wash Over Me is a 12 X 12 six-color woodblock reduction print (edition of 3) of fellow resident – now friend – Michael Haykin, painter of water.

 

Each daily print is available in a limited edition of 29 at which point the block will be retired or destroyed. These are specially priced at $35 each – available until the end of Katie’s residency on February 29th 2012.

Finally, the event was upon us, Katie’s name above the door. Guest, Katie, Me & painter Ted celebrating the event.

Lucy and sis, dressed most appropriately.

Lucy & the remarkable Michael Philip, the subject of a previous blog. When are you putting together another exhibition, Michael?

Friend Sharon, a woman of exquisite taste, came to visit.

Fantasyfest photographer and fellow Hungarian spoke to my sister in this astonishing tongue. Obviously he was drawn to the wooden spoon in the exhibit.

Here it is again.

Katie explaining the process to a fan.

This exhibition is on for the rest of the month. More images will be added as the month progresses. Hope you get a chance to visit.

What I Found at the End of the Road *  TSKW Space 2 * February 16-26, 2012