this year's new years card
For those of you who have received my holiday cards in the past, you're probably surprised to see I used the computer to make this year's edition. In the last few years - thanks to Brett's knowledge and Wacom tablet - I have been using Photoshop and my Silhouette Cameo printer to make all sort of projects. The meeting of these two outlets and my mind and hands has made me very happy, and I have been amazed at how much my creativity and studio power has expanded simply by getting into digital illustration and then using those drawings in conjuction with the Cameo cutting printer. So I was excited to take a stab at this edition (of 50!) using all of the tools in my toolbox.
My first real artistic love was printmaking, and in many ways my work as a bookmaker is simply an extension of that initial path. Most years bring a handful of silkscreening projects, but it's rare that I actually carve a stamp or block of any kind anymore. This year, though, I felt the need to balance out all of that digital work while still being able to comfortably and cleanly mass produce the cards. Making my own little stamps was an easy means to that end - even though I had to re-carve our dear little Rattfink as half way through his leg and tail fell off! Damn that soft linoleum, but still I think it's better to lose a stamp than a chunk of your palm. Friends who have spent hours reheating old hard linoleum sheets will know what I mean - won't you. |
Many of you watched as Rattfink went from a name I liked to call myself to a character I started scribbling on people's walls (and arms, and counters, and windows...). For a long time I kept Rattfink to myself, and I think I didn't realize that he wasn't really mine to keep. After crocheting the very first Rattfink stuffie for my dear niece Haley's 1st birthday - I managed to complete the very first Finky the Ratt book, entitled Finky the Ratt Goes to Bed. I hope it proves to be the first book in a long and lovely series, and that it may be available for consumption in 2017. Needless to say, it was quite a momentous occasion for Rattfink and I to meet head on and finally discover the path we have been linked together so clearly to find, and that energy and clarity has been inspiring and pushing me ever since.
So - I guess you could say I've had Rattfink on the mind, or perhaps it's more appropriate to just admit that I'm finally giving dear old Finky his due. It's funny how easy it can be to overlook the extensions we create of ourselves, thereby neglecting little bits of ourselves, isn't it? By connecting to Rattfink - my dear figmented friend - I have connected to a part of myself that I haven't shined enough light on. And so, here you have this video, this year's card - and this little attempt to get my work out there and be true to Rattfink, for he has always been true to me. |
Before I made the first Rattfink stuffie, Kami asked me WHO RATTFINK IS. It was the first time in my life I had ever been asked that, and it stopped me rather dead in my tracks.
"Well," I said curiously, "He likes to keep his hands in his pockets and just sort of put one foot in front of the other. Mostly he tries to keep moving forward, trying to figure out the world one step at a time. He tries to help people smile, too. But mostly he tends to keep to himself." She returned my answer with a grin and quietly observed, "So basically, he's you." And by the smile on my face you could tell that was true. |
Interested in custom cards or illustrations? Want a vinyl cutout or stencils made? How about your own process video?
Please feel free to contact me for more info!
Please feel free to contact me for more info!