Golden Moth Giveaway + Shop Sale Through December 14th!

Finally, finally... After much poking and prodding of digital files and discussions with my printer, James River Press, the second printing of The Golden Moth Illumination Deck has arrived! This time, I had the cards printed digitally on a smooth cardstock and they were corner-rounded by the printer (taking the strain off my shoulders!) For those of you who haven't been following its progress, The Golden Moth Illumination Deck is a set of symbolic cards that I self-published in 2012 with the help of lovely people who backed my Kickstarter campaign. You can read about the whole sage here. They are oracle cards (kind of like tarot cards), meant to be used for divination or any creative purpose you can think of! Take a look:

I just finished listing them in my Etsy shop, Sprout Head, and this time around there are a few different purchasing options. You can now buy the deck separately from the handbook. If you buy just the deck, it comes with a brief fold-out information guide to get you started on using the cards. This guide gives advice on how to give a reading and interpret the cards and shows you one spread layout. It does not include individual symbol interpretations.

If you want that, you'll have to purchase the handbook. It contains all the information from the first handbook that I published, but it is updated with individual card interpretations. It comes as a hard copy and a PDF version. If you purchase the hard copy of the handbook alone or with the deck, you will also receive the PDF version as a FREE bonus! But note that this offer cannot be used retroactively if you purchase the PDF version first and the hard copy later. Sorry, no refunds.

You can see the listings for all the different Golden Moth products here. I hope you are as excited about it as I am. In celebration, I'm offering two cool things: a giveaway and a shop sale! Read on:

GOLDEN MOTH GIVEAWAY

I'm giving away Golden Moth Illumination Decks + Handbooks to TWO lucky winners! Giveaway ends on the evening (Eastern Standard Time) of Sunday, December 14th.

How to enter:
1. Leave a comment on the blog about why this deck should be yours (or gifted to a friend, if you so desire).
2. Check this blog on the evening (EST) of Monday, December 15th to find out if you've won. If you aren't subscribed to my blog or might forget to check back, please leave your e-mail address in your comment, but put some spaces between the words so the spam-bots don't steal it. I need a way to reach you if you win - VERY IMPORTANT!
3. If you know of someone who would be interested in this giveaway, please SHARE! I will be sharing this giveaway on my Golden Moth Blog, Sprout Head Facebook Page, Golden Moth Facebook Page, and Instagram. Pick your favorite social media link!

SPROUT HEAD SHOP SALE

If you don't want to take your chances with the giveaway, how about taking 15% off your total purchase in my online shop, Sprout Head? Through Sunday, December 14th, use coupon code HOLIDAY2014  HAPPY2014 upon checkout to receive your discount. (The HOLIDAY code had a minimum order requirement, the HAPPY one does not!) You must enter the coupon upon checkout or you won't get your discount - it does not happen automatically.

Enjoy!

Unmotivation, Gustave Baumann Woodcuts, and the "Bloom" Giveaway Winner!

I must admit that I've been lazy for the last week or so. I hate the word lazy. Okay, I've been in a rut. But that's not exactly true. It's not artist block. I have ideas, I have some direction, I have materials ready.

Unmotivated. That's the word. Whenever I feel lazy or unmotivated it's usually because I feel tired out (probably from travelling to Philly a week ago to do the Punk Rock Flea), or I'm in limbo because I need to decide on something but I'm afraid to or not ready to yet. Also, recently I spent a lot of my time cleaning and organizing my studio and finishing up older projects. I wanted my physical space and my head space to be clear and ready for new things. Now I'm ready but still feel unmotivated. Argh! I blame it on the heat.

Aspen Money, 1929 / 1946, Color woodcut,12 7/8 x 12 13/16" by Gustave Baumann

I have an art show coming up in November, and I've been trying to plan on what I want to create for it. I have two threads of ideas that I'm not sure will mix well in one show, so I tried to choose between them because I only have so much time to work. It was really hard for me to decide! For now, I'm going with the theme of landscapes and city scenes. I've taken lots of photos in the last few years and I want to translate those into linocut prints to reflect the beauty, spaciousness, and colors of the places I've seen.

Plum and Peach Bloom, 1912, Color woodcut, 19 3/4 x 26 5/8" by Gustave Baumann

It feels a bit scary to me because most of what I've created in the past has been infused with more of my own imagination. I wonder if my landscapes will seem devoid of my artistic personality (ha ha, there's my ego creeping in!) I am also feeling a bit daunted by producing this body of work because I will be working with more colors which will take more time and planning. I have to find ways to simplify the images if I'm to finish enough work for my show! I want to get the right amount of detail but also capture the essence of the image. All of these are challenges, but I think that they will stretch my artistic muscles. I'm taking a lot of inspiration from the woodcuts of Gustave Baumann, one of my favorite printmakers. When I look at his work, I am reminded that it doesn't matter whether the image came from my imagination or not - it just matters if it has life in it. An artist's job is choosing what and how to depict something in order to give it that special life. Baumann's work is very recognizable as his own, even though there are lots of landscape artists out there.

Tom A'Hunting, no date, color woodcut, 11" x 13 1/2" by Gustave Baumann

I love the way he captures light, and his subtle overlays of color. I tried to count how many colors he uses, and it's usually at least 7 different colors. Whew! 7 colors in one linocut print is a lot for me. I'm going to try to simplify down to 4 or 5 if I can. But we'll see.

Cherry Bloom, 1917, Color woodcut, 9 5/8 x 11 1/4" by Gustave Baumann

His landscapes are so spacious. They make me feel calm, like I have infinite space to breathe within them.

White Desert, 1930, color woodcut, 9.5 x 11.125" by Gustave Baumann

I also love his artist's seal - the open hand on a heart in the middle of his signature. So cute! Man, I need a seal.

According to my Pomegranate book of Baumann postcards, Gustave Baumann (1881-1971) was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States when he was 10. When he was 16, his dad left and it was his responsibility to support his entire family! He began full-time work at a commercial engraving house and took night classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. If I think I have it hard sometimes, it's good to remember that some artists had it WAY harder. I'm also thinking of artist and illustrator Wanda Gag, who was put in a similar position when she was young. I'm just plain wimpy compared to them. Baumann later worked at an advertising studio, and also travelled to Munich to study at the School of Arts and Crafts. In his mid-thirties, he moved to multiple cities on the East coast and then finally settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lived for more than 50 years. I love that even though Baumann had a hard start, he really took his life into his own hands by making a living as an artist, attending school, travelling, and finding the place he could truly call home as an artist and person. And his work is AMAZING.

A Lilac Year, 1949, Color woodcut, 12 1/4" x 13 3/16" by Gustave Baumann 

One of my favorites!

I can only strive for my landscapes to possess a bit of the magic that Baumann's did. It's time for me to get back to work!

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And sorry I took forever with this, but I would like to announce the winner of the "Bloom" print giveaway:

Angela! 

You've won my "Bloom" linocut print! 

Please get in touch with me and let me know which color scheme you prefer: good_old_fashioned_smell (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Thanks everyone for leaving comments. I was inspired and encouraged by all of you, and will take your suggestions into consideration. I already have plans to print on tote bags, make more zines, and do some black and white linocuts! Actually, most of your suggestions were ideas I was considering anyway, but you all gave me a push. Thanks so much!

Introducing Mr. "Bloom"... and a Giveaway!

My latest linocut is of a slightly apprehensive broccoli guy encountering a bee. It comes in two different color schemes. I call the print "Bloom." Personally I think of him as "Mr. Bloom," But I don't want to be too gender-specific with a plant in case some people perceive him as a "she" or an "it." Maybe I'm overthinking it.

Anyway, back in 2012 after I successfully launched my Kickstarter campaign to produce The Golden Moth Illumination Deck, I had promised to create 96 small original artworks for backers who chose it in their reward levels. Here are some examples of artwork I created. You can see another vegetable-ish creature in the bottom right corner that looks like an asparagus!

I kept the paintings simple. Most started out with me just putting blobs of watercolor onto several papers at once, and then I decided what each blob should become. I kept some of my favorites, including this broccoli guy. Recently I decided to make him into a linocut, because I hadn't done any personal printmaking work in awhile.

He looked silly to me because he was so serious-looking. I added the bee to give him more of a relationship with the outside world.

For this print, I created a stencil for the green/pink portion of the print and rolled the ink with a brayer directly onto the paper. I made the stencil by taking a piece of computer paper and varnishing it on both sides so it was waterproof and I could re-use it. I chose computer paper because I thought that if I rolled the brayer of ink over something thicker like cardstock, the ink might not lay down close enough inside the edges of the stencil. 

I took this picture after I had already cleaned the stencil, so you can't see the mess of ink on the stencil itself. Also, the border part was printing weird, so I just blocked it out with tape and didn't use it at all. I cut out little right-angle triangles on the corners of the stencil so I could see through to my printing paper underneath and it would line up correctly.

It took me a couple proofing sessions to figure out the greenish-blue I wanted for the linocut. Then I took it to the etching press and printed the linocut on top of the stencilled part.

Ta-da! I also added the yellow to the bee with colored pencil.

If you like Mr. (or Ms.) Bloom and want him/her to be part of your world, please enter my giveaway!

"BLOOM" GIVEAWAY RULES:

I'm giving away one version of this print (either pink or green, winner decides) to one randomly-selected person who enters the giveaway. You must do the following THREE things to enter the giveaway:

1. Please visit my online shop, Sprout Head, and leave a comment on this post telling me both what your favorite item/s are in the shop and why, AND what you'd like to see more of (either something similar to what you see already or an entirely new product that you want me to make).

IMPORTANT: You must either adjust your settings to receive e-mails about replies to your comments, or send me your e-mail address - or else I can't contact you if you win! You may e-mail me at: good_old_fashioned_smell ( at ) hotmail (dot) com. You may also private message me on my Sprout Head Facebook page. In fact, head on over there anyway because you also need to do the following:

2. "Like" my Facebook page! If you want to be the first to get notifications on the Sprout Head page, also make sure that after you "like" my page, click on "liked" and scroll the drop-down menu to click on "Get notifications." Otherwise, you may not always see updates from my page on your news feed.

3. Share this giveaway with other people on Facebook by posting it on your page and/or sharing it on your friends' timelines. Here's the link: http://aijungkim.blogspot.com/2014/05/introducing-mr-bloom-and-giveaway.html

OPTIONAL: Your name gets thrown in the hat for each additional OPTIONAL thing that you do. Make sure to let me know in your comment if you do the following things:

- Follow my blog - you can find options to do so on the right-hand side of the blog - Subscribe to my E-Newsletter here (I only send out updates 1-2 times a month)
- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway
- Blog about the giveaway on your blog.
- Pin an image of "Bloom" on an appropriate board on your Pinterest page. You may pin from this blog post, or from the Etsy listings here: pink and green versions.

REMEMBER, you must do only the FIRST THREE of these things to have your name entered once into the giveaway!

GIVEAWAY CLOSES ON MONDAY, MAY 26th AT MIDNIGHT EST.

* P.S. Don't forget to contact me with your e-mail address or I cannot contact you if you win! *

Good luck!

Vote on Notecard Images - Get a Shop Discount & Enter into the Giveaway!

Hi Everyone!

I am in the process of launching my next business venture: the creation of greeting cards using my artwork. I've compiled a bunch of possibilities, but I need your help in deciding which make the cut. Here are 48 images to choose from. I know that's a lot to look at, but I wanted to include a diverse array of images. I will ultimately choose from 20 - 30 designs. Please let me know which images YOU would choose if you were picking out a notecard. Keep in mind who you might be shopping for and for what occasion. Some occasions might be very specific, such as holiday cards or for graduation, birthday, etc. Some might just be to say hello to a friend, or maybe you would buy the card for yourself just because you like it! Please write your choices in the comments section, 10 - 30 images would be helpful. You may write just the number of the image and/or the title I've given each image.

As a Thank-You, for anyone who leaves a comment I'm offering 15% off your total purchase in my Etsy shop, Sprout Head. Please leave your e-mail address if you're interested, or you can e-mail me directly with your e-mail address: good_old_fashioned_smell@hotmail.com so that I can send you the 15% Coupon Code. If you don't leave your e-mail, I'll assume you're just being helpful and don't want to take advantage of this offer. Also, everyone who leaves their e-mail address will automatically be entered into a Giveaway for a set of 12 of their favorite notecards. This won't happen until I get the notecards printed, which hopefully will be by the end of October. I'll probably make my decisions on notecard designs once I get at least 20 comments.

Thanks so much for your input!

Sprout Head Sale and GIVEAWAY!

After taking a couple of weeks to relax from the project, I have finally listed "The Golden Moth Illumination Deck" and other related products in my Etsy shop, Sprout Head! In celebration of my 5-year anniversary, I am offering a 10% discount on all items in my shop through the end of July! Simply use Coupon Code: 5YEARS upon checkout to receive your discount.

As part of the celebration of my shop anniversary and the official release of the deck, I am also offering a GIVEAWAY of:
- One Golden Moth Illumination Deck (includes the deck, handbook, and spread sheet) with one free Intuitive Card Reading
- One Intuitive Card Reading to another lucky winner!

In order to enter, head on over to my new blog, which is all about "The Golden Moth Illumination Deck" and read all about it in this post.

Thanks everyone!

Zines PikaPackage Giveaway!

hey everyone!

head on over to Pikaland, a blog featuring up-and-coming artists and illustrators, and read the post on the Zines PikaPackage Giveaway. Every so often, Pikaland organizes a group of artists to contribute art and crafts based on a particular theme. These goodies are bundled into packages that people can purchase in the shop, and a couple of the packages are included in a free giveaway to anyone who leaves a comment. you could win your own!

for the zines pack, i contributed a variety of zines and each comes with 1 zine, a notecard+envelope, and a little screenprinted art card. I have looked at the other contributors and it is a really exciting collection of talented artists. luckily, being a contributor I get one free package for myself :) i can't wait for mine to arrive in the mail!