Pornographic Inspiration

It's the end of the semester, and I'm way overdue for a post on this blog. Luckily, I've got a very intriguing topic on my mind right now:

Porn.

I'm working on a new series (that I eventually hope to parlay into my graduation show in December) about the presentation of pleasure, specifically in the areas of pornography and tourism.  Both of these topics are presented to consumers in a carefully edited way, showing us people "doing" pleasure correctly, flashing absurd smiles and leaving us with unrealistic expectations of what our lives' leisure times should look like.

http://www.bransontourismcenter.com

Tittie Time

Now just look at those faces side-by-side and tell me you don't see a connection!  What I find so fascinating about all this is that these industries are selling us activities and attitudes, in realms of real life, but in the most unrealistic manner.

This is what fun looks like.

So the new series I'm working on highlights the absurd way pleasure is presented to us, purging the humanness from these real life activities (sex and leisure). Here's a shot of my works in progress... it's going to be a busy summer, with a lot to think about and even more to art about. Wish me luck.

Porn/Tourism silkscreens and mannequin, in progress, by Nikki Rice (2013)

Suicide Print Step-By-Step

Last Saturday, I was in a science-themed show at The Yetee Gallery in Aurora, IL. It was called "Billions & Billions," so I decided to make a print of Carl Sagan with one of my favorite quotes of his. It's another suicide woodcut, and once again I documented the color layers as I put them down. I've had a lot of people ask me about the process, so here is the step-by-step:

Color 1

1. Carved out the parts of block I wanted to remain the same color as the paper (white, in this case), and then rolled up the block with yellow ink, which was the lightest of the colors I planned on using in the print. Stretched my paper and laid out my registration using a jig and pins, and then printed the first color.

Color 2

2. Between each color, I tried to let my prints dry as much as possible before adding another color on top. This prevents the colors from mixing together or bleeding on the paper. I also talc on my block to help absorb excess ink before carving back into it. For the second carving, I removed all parts of the block that I wanted to remain YELLOW, then inked it up with the next color I'd be working on.

Color 3

3. Repeat the same steps for each following color layer.

Color 4

Color 5

Color 6 (final)

This is what my wood block looked like
by the time I was done printing.

4. When you're finished, all that will be left raised on your block will be the last color you printed.

Grand Opening of Antihero Prints on Etsy

I setup and opened my Etsy shop today! You can visit it at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AntiheroPrints. I currently have four prints up for sale, and will be adding more over the summer, as well as a series of greeting cards I'm working on.

I also updated the 2012 Gallery again, including my newest print, a reductive litho I did for NIU's Bandolier Press "It's All Useless" print and music exchange. Tricky Dick forever! The song I included for the mix is Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows." Definitely worth a listen...