today in the studio
January 19, 2012
Progress on the bird drawing:
Start of a new drawing:
The second drawing is inspired in part by this one, from Aldrovandi; I was originally going to put a headdress on the deer (I was thinking of an octopus for a headdress, actually), but once the antler was in there it felt like too much. Somebody in one of these drawings is definitely going to be wearing an octopus on their head, though.
Posted by jodi on January 19, 2012 at 6.21pm
progress in the studio
January 16, 2012
This bird’s head is way too big, but whatever. Also hand-bird is bothering me, it’s too much knobbly neck. Perhaps it needs to be wearing a nice frilly ruff.
Posted by jodi on January 16, 2012 at 10.34pm
new drawing in progress
January 14, 2012
For an upcoming (date TBA) solo show of tattoo flash drawings at rEvolution gallery & studio in Kingsville.
For inspiration I am looking at: early printed books about animals and mythological creatures, in particular my old favourites, Edward Topsell*’s The Historie of The Foure-Footed Beastes (1607) and The Historie of Serpents (1608), and Ulisse Aldrovandi**’s Monstrorum historia cum Paralipomenis historiae omnium animalium (1642); old botanical engravings of weeds and mushrooms; various danse macabres of different eras; renaissance manuscript illuminations of fantastic animals, demons, hellmouths and the like; early 20th century ex libris plates***; old lace pattern books; typeface catalogues; old engravings of insects and cephalopods and who knows what else.
*I’ve been scanning images from facsimile editions of the Topsell, but you can find images of the plates at this link.
**Aldrovandi’s History of Monsters can be seen in full at this link (a warning: while this book is full of strange and funny imaginary creatures it also presents a variety of birth defects and disabilities as equally “monstrous”, so, that’s disturbing).
***Pratt Libraries has a wonderful collection of over a thousand ex libris plates in this flickr set.
Posted by jodi on January 14, 2012 at 8.24am
some things i’m working on
January 11, 2012
Carving a new woodblock so that I can print some stripes on fabric.
And doing some production sewing for an upcoming installation by Broken City Lab.
Posted by jodi on January 11, 2012 at 6.13pm
new printing
December 14, 2011
This new batch of bandannas in progress has printing from some familiar old woodblocks and a fun letterpress block, recently acquired, that says BINGO on it. Everybody loves to shout BINGO!, right?
They’re now all edged and washed and only need to be ironed and photographed before they make their way into the shop. If this grey rainy weather can offer up enough light to get some pictures. . .
Posted by jodi on December 14, 2011 at 9.40am
five colours of the same fabric
November 21, 2011
Because I love it so much. I want to have this fabric in all the colours. You can’t see it here, but the pinstripes in the metallic gold version are white. Love! Lots of amazing new bandannas coming soon soon soon, y’all.
Posted by jodi on November 21, 2011 at 11.40pm
future heirloom
November 16, 2011
This ugly old wedding dress is the raw material for a new project prototype: creating new and useful items out of what would otherwise sit folded in tissue forever, slowly fading, creases setting in permanently. You spent thousands on this dress, and possibly even dreamed of wearing it your whole entire life. Don’t store it under the bed where it’ll get knocked around every time you sweep the floor. Don’t store it in the basement where it’ll get ruined the first time you have a sewage flood! Instead carry the memory of your special day with you always, in the form of such practical items as: grocery totes. Placemats. A laptop case. Diaper soakers! (because after marriage comes the baby carriage, amirite?).
Any suggestions for practical and irreverent items (that people ACTUALLY USE) to add to the list will be welcomed and considered. I am especially excited about the grocery totes, but there must be something that can be done with all that lace. Kitchen curtains? Car rags? Ooh, car seat covers. Do people still use those?
Posted by jodi on November 16, 2011 at 1.56pm
our new baby
November 10, 2011
An Adana 8×5 tabletop platen press. It’s in good working condition and has been well cared for, with a refurbished roller that looks new. With it we got a case and a half of large wood type (two different point sizes), a kilogram or so of various lead type ornaments and initial caps, four boxes of new lead type (mostly weird script typefaces but there’s one nice 8pt caps type I can see us getting a lot of use out of), half a dozen composing sticks, at least fifteen speed quoins, three quoin keys (I AM ESPECIALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE THREE QUOIN KEYS, YOU GUYS), plenty of gauge pins, the wooden block that you use to gently tamp down the type before locking up a form (I can’t remember what this is called), a slug cutter, a Lassco corner rounder (so now I can have two, with different blade sizes, instead of having to switch the blades out all the time!). And when we had it all loaded into the car, the fellow we bought it from handed me a Bostitch saddle stapler and said, here, you can have this too. That gift with purchase alone will revolutionize my life, y’all. SO EXCITED.
Posted by jodi on November 10, 2011 at 8.21am
october 29 studio video: this is maybe gross?
October 29, 2011
Here is a video of some fabric squares I printed and hemmed up for bandannas:
Some of the squares are cut from yardage of new-but-vintage fabrics from The Fabric Store That Time Forgot. Others are cut from reclaimed fabrics, some pieces of unused yardage from someone else’s sewing room that ended up in a thrift store, and some from secondhand bedsheets and duvet covers. I’m pretty picky when choosing secondhand fabrics to use, and they get washed both before and after printing so there aren’t any traces of other-people-guck in them. But a Skype chat I had with Peter last night (he’s out of town for work) got me wondering if other people maybe aren’t as okay as I am with repurposing fabrics that others have slept against into items to be worn on such intimate areas as head and neck. Here’s the relevant excerpt from our chat:
jodichartreuse: are you coming to the bazaar after you get home? i will have the car
jodichartreuse: weird eh
Peter Zimmerman: yes, i will come
Peter Zimmerman: unless it’s totally raining
jodichartreuse: okay! bring otisfamily!*
jodichartreuse: no rain in the forecast, i’m not even gonna bother with the tent i don’t think
Peter Zimmerman: it’s not like your stuff is made of paper or anything!
Peter Zimmerman: or cotton candy
jodichartreuse: yeah well the tent is in a bundle on the back porch with puddles in it. that will fall on my paper too
Peter Zimmerman: or witches
jodichartreuse: my work might contain a couple of witches
jodichartreuse: new bandannas fucking rock by the way
jodichartreuse: better than the old ones
Peter Zimmerman: poor selinda**
jodichartreuse: i told her she can trade up
Peter Zimmerman: no!
jodichartreuse: hah why not
Peter Zimmerman: ugh, nobody wants second head bandanas!
jodichartreuse: nah, i can print more on them for her though
jodichartreuse: look some of these bandannas are made from old bedsheets
jodichartreuse: thrice washed
jodichartreuse: people have to start thinking about the fucking environment
jodichartreuse: says the lady who stunk up The House with ink off-gassing today
Peter Zimmerman: it’s the fucking environment of someone else’s head!
jodichartreuse: thrice. washed.
Peter Zimmerman: it’s like shoes, or underwear
Peter Zimmerman: i mean i’m all about the environment, but
jodichartreuse: also some are dyed, that’s like an extra wash because of all the heat and salt.
jodichartreuse: well we shall see. if people are creeped out they can just be unfashionable i don’t give a shit.
Peter Zimmerman: i suppose i bought a used toque once
Peter Zimmerman: got me there!
jodichartreuse: some are new fabric, i will be quite open about it all. especially the thrice washed part.
jodichartreuse: used bras.
jodichartreuse: HE HAS PLACED HIS NIPPLES WHERE I HAVE RESTED MINE***
I really hope people aren’t creeped out, because I lied: I DO want those people to look fashionable. Thrice washed, people. That is a lot of washes. With Borax, even. Am I setting myself up for everyone thinking my work is gross?
*otisfamily are picking Peter up at the airport, because even though I have the car! and my licence! now, I’ll be busy at the Midtown Bazaar. Selling lovingly hand printed and THRICE WASHED bandannas, I hope.
**selinda is a friend of ours, a member of otisfamily and a great supporter of my work, and she bought two bandannas from me last week. They’re the older ones, which do rock, just maybe not quite as hard as the new ones. Like, the old ones are Judas Priest and the new ones are Motörhead.
***What Connie Marble said when she found out that Channing the manservant had been wearing her brassieres. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a video clip on the internet with that scene in it, so you’ll just have to go watch this one instead.
Posted by jodi on October 29, 2011 at 8.00pm
midtown bazaar, this sunday!
October 28, 2011
This fun event is brought to you by The House, where I have my office-slash-studio. I’ll be there selling my hand bound books and block printed clothing. Please come and buy my stuff so I can take that cash directly across the parking lot and spend it all at the used record vendor’s table (this is the bane of all artists who sell at craft shows, amirite? There’s always something there that you want, just as soon as you make some scratch!). There’s also going to be pumpkin carving, live music, trick-or-treating, derby girls, awesomeness, poets, face painting and who knows what else. And an after party at Rino’s! My artwork is still up on the walls inside The House so if you missed the studio opening last week, here’s another chance to check it out.
As vendors are encouraged to come in costume, I’ve been waffling between 16th century Russian lady (my default, no-inspiration costume of choice), Ottoman empire dancer, or roller derby girl. Because those are the things that I have clothes for already. I was kind of leaning towards the knee socks, skates and war paint approach but it’s going to be a bit chilly, so Russian lady will probably win out. She’s got the most layers, as well as a big warm shuba (that’s a longass coat with extremely long sleeves and fur trim). Maybe I’ll find time on Saturday to make a spectacular kokoshnik to go with. Which will be exciting to nobody but me.
Here’s a sneak peek of what I’ll be selling: these are some fabric squares I’m printing for bandannas, drying in the window with their first layer of ink:
And some of my block printed skirts (photo by Sanja Frkovic for Our Windsor).
Links: the event on Windsorite.ca
Midtown Bazaar event on facebook
Posted by jodi on October 28, 2011 at 9.07am
