The last of the summer’s visitors are gone but this late summer heat wave still slows me down. My thoughts are swinging to my return to the printmaking studio after the Labour Day long weekend in September. Many ideas have been incubating over the summer but now I need to try to see what comes together in new printworks. It’s always a slow process for me to restart that engine, turning ideas into action and getting into a regular smooth and productive flow. It’s rather like the annual back-to-school change in rhythm which we have all grown up with, and which continued for me through art school and teaching, then sending my own children to school and me to the print studio each fall.

It helps me to begin with some play with images, even if unrelated to the print projects. I am doing a series of scans with my hands and objects (for an online project that I may tell you about later). This image seems timely for me right now.

after hands, come feet…

studying hands
reading about hands
inspired by hands
pressing hands into medium
scanning hand

(Later: See the hand prints that followed)

Here’s another self-portrait, one that turned out rather Andy Warhol-ish, don’t you agree? Maybe it’s also a reflection of my overheated mind and body as the temperatures continue to be HOT here!

Here are the other ones that I’ve contributed to the self-portrait marathon: the first self-portrait, the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth.

And the super slide-show of the participants’ portraits. There are a few days left to join in as it ends on July 8th.

Here’s my latest contribution to the self-portrait marathon.

In case you missed the earlier ones in my series, here is the the first self-portrait, the second, the third, the fourth.

View the fantastic slide-show of the participants’ portraits, for which we must give Sparky a huge thank you! And, the marathon is still going strong until July 8th so it’s not too late to join in the fun!