Slowly But Surely. Its Essentially A Self Portrait, So Refining The Physical Form Has Been Good. The

Slowly but surely. It’s essentially a self portrait, so refining the physical form has been good. The next thing to come is more flame, more details, and more eyeballs.

Prototypes finished. The resin has been cast with copper and silver powders and finished with black shoe polish and clear topcoat. What kind of colors and finishes should I try?

Studio stuff is suspended for a while, and has been. I got another bad infection right as soon as finals were finished, and after that, a serious family emergency came up. A member of my extended family has stage-four lung cancer and is, in all likelihood, going to die sometime within the next year. Things have been a bit chaotic here. 

I’m trying to get back to it, but in some ways, I also need a mental vacation. I started making Japanese ricebran pickles, nukazuke. They are delicious and healthy. I’m planning a post saying that I am open for portrait commissions. Been reading books, that sort of thing. As artists, we don’t always have to be going full-on, especially when there’s other things going on in our lives. 

When I was in Denver recently, I had the name of my studio put onto a wooden plaque in calligraphy. The name, Atelier Myousa, comes from a Japanese aesthetic term in the first place (妙), so it’s something that I have wanted to have done. It feels official now.

Here’s some development for a print in progress. This is the sketch. It is subject to change. The actual print is going to be sized 24 inches by 48 inches and it’s going to be woodcut.

Working on an idea for a painting.