Golden Moth Sneak Peeks!

In terms of The Golden Moth Illumination Deck project, the past few weeks have been a time of waiting and recuperation. But now it's time to get busy again! Here is the latest progress:

A couple weeks ago, I visited the Archaic Mess studio to do a press check. Taylor Ball (right) of Parcell Press and Travis Robertson (left) are the duo behind the Mess. Taylor mostly handles the printing and Travis mostly handles the finishing (paper trimming, stapling, etc), though I'm sure both help out in either realm.

A glimpse of the workspace where the magic happens.

Taylor wrote a detailed printing task list!

Out of the contraption and into the stacks - hundreds of golden moths!

Keeping in mind that we are but human individuals with varying schedules working on this project, Travis delivered most of the cards to me a few days ago. "Most" - meaning that there are still some cards that need to be trimmed due to the fact that he needs to get the guillotine blade re-sharpened, but it shouldn't be too long before he can deliver the rest. Check it out some of the cards!
May 21st Update: Everything is now trimmed and ready for me to get crackin' on it!

 

Some of you may notice that I changed the design of the border slightly. I was going to use blue in the border, but decided that it looked too busy.

In the meantime, there is still some work for me to do to get these cards into the hands of my Kickstarter backers, and then to the general public. I have to corner-round the cards:

And I have to hand-cut the boxes and assemble them - this is the step that I think will be the most time-consuming!

Then the cards need to be collated into numbered order for each deck. All of this goes into a package with the Arrow Spread Sheet:

and Handbook!

The Handbook looks really cute, don't you think? For some reason, I was almost more excited about seeing the Handbook than I was with the actual card deck, maybe because I still have to work on the deck but the Handbook was delivered all finished and pretty by Archaic Mess.

I was so worried about writing the book, but once I finally got into it everything flowed well. My aunt and older sister helped a lot with editing. I hope that the Handbook will be helpful and informative to others.

Oh, almost forgot - I also have been working on the mini-art that goes to Kickstarter backers who pledged $30 or more. Here is a sampling of some of the art I have finished:

So now I need to get back to the drawing board and chug away at all the details. I also need to finish the notecard and poster designs, and I will hand screenprint the poster. I am hoping to start sending packages near the end of this month, with the goal of having everything delivered by June. Thanks everyone for your patience! And if anyone in Richmond is interested in helping me out with some of these finishing touches, give me a holler. I can compensate your time with food and artwork!

With the extra money I raised from my Kickstarter campaign (I raised $4,800 when the original goal was $4,000) I decided to up the quantity of decks, spread sheets, and handbook from 250 to 300. I was also able to order a larger variety of postcards.

Thanks everyone who cast their vote on the postcard and bookplate designs. If you are a Kickstarter backer, here is the choice you will get if you ordered postcards:

 And here are the bookplate designs:

For those of you who weren't able to get in on the Kickstarter campaign but would like to order a deck or related products, I will be listing them for sale in my etsy shop, Sprout Head, after I have shipped out orders to my Kickstarter backers.

Until then, you'll just have to wait a little longer!

love,
aijung

More Completed Symbols!

Here are 15 completed symbols for The Golden Moth Illumination Deck. I've drawn more, but this should give you a better idea of what the finished deck will look like.

I can't believe the fundraiser will be over in 6 days!!! I HAVE UNTIL SATURDAY, MARCH 10TH TO RAISE THE REST OF THE FUNDS - $190 to go before I'm completely funded for this project! So if you want to pledge but still haven't yet, by all means GO TO THE KICKSTARTER PAGE NOW!

it has been very exciting to check my inbox and see that someone has made a pledge. i'm bowled over by everyone's generosity to the project, and i truly hope that everyone will be happy with it once it gets into their hands. it has been fun but also a bit stressful to be simultaneously creating the artwork while also trying to promote my fundraiser. but it's a neat way to show people my progress on this project.

I should be posting more artwork in the coming days, so keep an eye out. and what are you waiting for? make your pledge now and get some cool rewards like the card deck, notecards, postcards, bookplates, posters, and original artwork! Thanks!

NON SENSE poetry chapbook

okay, here it is: my first chapbook-length book of poems! 17 of them - about dreams, the frailty and strength of human existence, non-being, mystery, and renewal. it's hard for me to describe. but it means a lot to be able to share something that came from the more raw and tender parts of my heart with friends, family, and the world. I pulled together glimpes of my last few years in words and arranged them in four parts: "Non," "Sense," Promise," and "Return."

Excerpt from the poem "Chrysalis":

wet one finger to the wind &
follow the cold on your skin
your weathered face says much
& little
to one who needs to know
where to begin & end
when to follow & when to sing

This book was lovingly handbound by myself using sturdy yellow thread on an apple green gatefold cover. I typed the poems using a Tower Challenger typewriter, laid out every page by hand using the classic cut-&-paste technique, then photocopied it all onto a very pale chartreuse recycled paper. Each cover is also inset with an original cyanotype image in deep prussian blue and white.

"Non Sense" is printed in an edition of 75 copies. Each is numbered and signed by me. you can buy your own copy in my shop.

here are some photos of the process of making each cyanotype:

 

i arranged string and words i cut out of paper onto a pre-coated cyanotype paper (I used Tedco Sun Art Paper), then exposed the paper to UV light using a UV light unit (if you do this at home, you can just expose the paper to sunlight).

This is how the paper looks after being exposed to light.

then i rinsed the paper in water. you can see how the color reverses once water hits it. i had to repeat the process for each piece of paper, so they are all just a little bit different.

the making of each book is time-consuming, but i feel like it adds to the special handmade character of the chapbook.

Okra Process

Here is the original drawing of the okra, done in pen and ink with a rapidograph pen (my favorite kind of pen!) I love how sculptural the okra looked, and the repetition and slight variation of its shapes. It was also such a fresh shade of green.

Gelatin Printmaking Process

This is an extremely fun printmaking process that you can do at home. You mix up a thick batch of gelatin and pour it into a flat pan. I used a piece of plexiglass with modeling clay around the edges to create a wall. You pour in the jello, scrape off the air bubbles, and let set. You can visit here for a more detailed tutorial on making the plates.

Then comes the fun part - printing! Using water-based inks (I used Akua inks for this experiment), you just roll the ink on with a rubber brayer and then place hand-cut paper shapes, plant matter, string, stencils, and anything fairly flat on top. Place your paper over the jello plate and gently rub, then lift it up. You can experiment with using negative and positive shapes by laying objects and stencils down, directly painting strokes of ink on the jello slab, and layering colors and textures.

This jello print was made in layers. i rolled up ink and placed plastic netting over it to create some texture, then printed it. Then I inked up an orange color and placed leaves on top. The result is shown here - the leaves acted as stencils by blocking the ink transfer, and remained as white shapes. The great part about using jello is that it has a bit of natural suction when you press your paper down on it, so that ink lifts up very easily. There is no need to apply a lot of pressure. You can re-use your jello slab, even if it gets moldy! Just rinse it a bit, blot out the excess moisture and make use of the interesting holes and cracks in the jello.

How to Make a Collagraph

I want to post more info about different printmaking techniques. it's a shame that printmaking is so undervalued as an art form because not that many people understand what it is. it has gotten to be a "secret art" unless you have studied it.

These photos don't quite show the entire process, but i will post more at a later time.

How I made "Flower Girl":

This print is a collagraph, which is basically a collaged printmaking plate. You can use any materials you want, provided they are fairly flat. If an object is too bulky, it will not print well and may also damage your paper and the rollers of the press. My collagraph plate was made using a base of cardboard. I cut layers of cardboard away, and added tape, sandpaper, plastic netting, Brita filter carbon grains, and cut paper shapes. I also cut little marks into the shoes and grass area with my razor blade. The whole thing was then covered with a few layers of acrylic medium to seal the added elements and to waterproof the plate so that I could ink it. I used Akua waterbased inks for this print. I will do another post later about the process of printing. As you can see, the print comes out as the reverse of the plate. Most printmaking techniques besides screenprinting will make a reverse image. Collagraph is a really fun technique, and you can do it on the cheap (which is great if you want to make big plates or simply experiment.)