Printerlude

I thought I'd give you a little update on my the screenprinting course I've been taking.  I've had 4 classes, and my final class is this weekend.  (I have to rush home after the class to get cleaned up for my student piano recital, in the afternoon!)

            The first week we made a print of just some normal shape (for me it was red toast).  The second week, we added to our prints with another image (yellow, then orange, tomatoes - which ended up, of course, looking like lemons and oranges - don't know why that didn't occur to me before I did it).

            The third week we all brought in a black and white transparency, photocopied from an image we liked.  I decided to trace/draw my own version of Hokusai's Waves.

We set to work cleaning off our screens from our first prints (toast), then applied the emulsion and exposed the prints on the light table.  All of that took up most of the 3-hour class, so I came back for the Sunday open studio time with my printing buddy Brittany to make many many prints of it in dark blue, then teal, then both.

            Last week, I added a few little purple birds to my waves.  This week, maybe a sun, or some clouds?  We shall see.

            Oh and here's one of Brittany's prints - I'm such a fan!

Open, Sesame

Today I taught 6 piano lessons at 4 different houses and at each house, one of my students opened the door for me before I even got to ring the doorbell.  I guess those kids just can't wait an extra minute for their lessons!

Thanks, Michael's

Yesterday I stopped in at Michael's craft store before teaching, because I had some extra time and a 40% off coupon.  To think, after a walk around the store I almost left empty handed, but at the last moment I saw a little desktop organizer that looked like it would hold my craft stuff (scissors, pens, etc.) so much better than the family reunion mug I had been using.  Of course, it was on sale, so I was already getting a deal.  But then, at the register, the lady gave me a whole bag of free stuff that had been on clearance for a while, but was being taken off the shelves.  It was a collection of stuff by Who's There, Inc, and it's the kind of stuff I always thought was cute but never bothered to buy (apparently I'm not the only one) - but, as free stuff goes, this is pretty cool.  Sticky notes, file folders, etc.  Thanks, Michael's!

Cousin Gabe's Paris Apt.

My super stylish cousin is being featured on a blog with pics of his swanky Parisian apartment.
Check it out!

Printroduction

Yesterday morning, I had the first class of a 5-class Introduction to Screenprinting at the Lillstreet Art Center.  It had been a while since I'd been in an actual art class, so I was a little nervous about what to expect the first day, etc.  It was a small group of students - mostly women - and certainly some crafty individuals, like me.  My teacher, Thomas Lucas, showed us some prints from previous classes, which intimidated me at first because they all seemed so clever and clean, but really got my creative juices flowing.

            He also told us about a few Print exhibits going on downtown right now.  Nate and I were headed downtown to the CSO for the evening (to hear Pavel Gomziakov play the Haydn Cello Concerto in C Major - it was fabulous!) so we decided to go down a few hours early to check out these exhibits.  It was lucky we got down there this weekend because the Printervention exhibit is closing in just a few days.  This was a really neat collection of old fashioned-type political/propaganda posters that were all made recently, regarding issues of today, with a sense of humor.

            The other exhibit, at the Chicago Cultural Center, was "graphic works" by Romare Bearden.  These prints looked a lot less like what you would expect of "prints" and more of what you would call a collage.  And they are definitely a lot more advanced than what I can accomplish any time soon, but it was a really great introduction to what printing can be - so much more than I had thought.  The print I'm showing here (one of my favorites for obvious reasons) is actually a lot more of a traditional print - many of them had great textures that just made you wonder . . . "how?"

New Restaurant Review: Pizzeria Serio

On Belmont Avenue, the street I drove to and from work on every day, I've noticed some new business popping up - a good sign of the times.  One place I couldn't wait to try out was Pizzeria Serio, which opened last week.  For our little Friday night date, Nate the Great and I braved the threatening weather and walked the 3/4 mile over to the new pizza place.
            They are clearly still in the beginning stages of opening - no liquor license yet, a few oversights with the service (we never got any water) - but the food was good.  The menu was very basic.  The 2 appetizers offered were flatbread and mini calzones, both of which sounded good, but a little too much like pizza for us to order them.  We had a caprese salad (like an uncooked, crustless pizza!) and then a "sausage and peppas" pizza.  It was a a very usual choice for us, but the pizza options were also a little limited and it seemed like a good way to judge.  The pizza was yummy and very thin crust.  That's actually a plus for us, since (not true Chicagoans) we prefer thin crust, unless we're at Pequod's.  The kitchen was open so we got to see them take our pizza out of the brick oven, which was pretty cool.
          In the end, we may stick with our neighborhood fave Sapori di Napoli (which has more exotic toppings) but Nate did enjoy drinking Mexican coke with real sugar in it.  Also, the location of Pizzeria Serio is pretty great, because after dinner we hopped less than 1/2 block over to get frozen custard at Scooter's.  A fine Friday evening.