Commencement 2010

Dear Attentive Reader,

Well, it is graduation time again, and, as I have not been asked to give any commencement speeches, I would like to give some advice here, in my blog, to all the recently coined alumni.

First, let me say that it is I, Harriet, hosting the blog today. Once in a while I do get off the new chaise and make my way to the computer. (Though computers aren't really my forte, and this one makes a very loud electronic whooshing sound which gets under my apron.)

Here are three small jewels for you to take home to your own chaise and cogitate at your leisure:

From Mrs. Beeton's Kitchen:
1. Dirty saucepans filled with hot water begin to clean themselves.

From Our First President:
2. Be not immodest in urging your Friends to Discover a Secret.

And from my favorite writer, Eudora Welty:
3. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.

And finally, a picture by the elder weasel, which demonstrates an attitude of great openness which all alumni should endeavor to cultivate in the big, wide world.


Until the next,
I remain,
your trusted rabbit,
and good friend,
Harriet

Looking for Love

Dear Spring Reader,

Did you read my personal ad? Did you tell your single dog friends about it? I must admit I am baffled by the lack of response. Harriet says that it's too cryptic. She thought maybe someone from the CIA might respond. But I'm not looking for a spy dog! I guess I won't know anyway if a spy dog responds since she will have to lie about her true job. Oh dear.

I felt sure that any seasoned love-seeker would know all the secret codes. And surely the dog for me has been looking a long time for the perfect match, and I will be her happy ending.

In the meantime, I have begun self medicating (as they say). Have you heard of the Bach Flower Remedies, Dear Reader?



They are wonderful little mood alterers in a bottle. To decide which ones are for you, you must begin with a questionnaire.

I am taking Chicory (I need to be needed and want my loved ones close/I feel unloved and unappreciated by my family) and White Chestnut (I relive unhappy events or arguments over and over again). Harriet says I should also be taking Vine (I am strong-willed, ambitious and often bossy), but I don't consider that a problem.



I also picked up a couple of bottles for Harriet: Honeysuckle (I'm often homesick for the "way it was"/I think more about the past than the present), Olive (I feel completely exhausted, physically and/ or mentally) and Water Violet (I give the impression that I'm aloof). I slip them into her morning tea, and just yesterday she sprang from the chaise and said,"Let's do something new this weekend!"

So on tomorrow we're off to the Quincy Library.


Here's wishing you an exciting and new weekend, Dear Friend.

Your Loyal, Lonely,
But Improving,
Dog,
Mickey

Chaise Completed!

Good afternoon Cherished Reader,

Well, you will be relieved to know that the chaise is finished! Printing on fabric is all well and good, but I'm not sure that it saves any time. I believe I could have hand-painted both the shower curtain and the chaise in the same amount of time it took me to print them. What with the washing and ironing, then washing and ironing again. That is enough to fully exhaust a dog like me who has great difficulty simply getting the ironing board out of the closet.


Here is the completed chaise:


Compare to uncompleted chaise.

Harriet says it's firmer with the cover on it, and also enjoys the woodsy feel.

The studio is nearly in tip top shape, nearly ready to resume full production. Just a few more things...

Well. Here's wishing you a delightful weekend,
Your printmaking dog,
and loyal blogger,
Mickey
(with Harriet)

Delays and Polish Illustration

Well, the chaise screenprinting is not complete. That is, there have been some delays. Dear Reader, you can expect to see a completed chaise next week. Dog's Honor.

What do you want to talk about today? Delays? How about an interesting illustration book that I found in the library the other day? It's filled with Polish book illustrations. Here are some of my favorites:

[Click on images to make them bigger.]

This pictures a robber getting away. Zbigniew, himself, looks a little sneaky, doesn't he? Harriet used to date a Zbigniew, and she says he was also sneaky.

Here is my favorite:
A lovely village scene.
This book called Polish Book Illustrations, was published in 1964. That means Krystyna is now 82 years old.

I also like this train picture. I really like to ride on trains and don't get to often, what with things here keeping me so busy.

This one shows an expectant father and son going to a cyrk, whatever that is. I don't think Eryk here ever goes to cyrks.


And finally here is Bohdan Butenko, overseeing his nice pictures. You can see me and Harriet riding on his plane back in Harriet's more adventurous days.



Don't the Polish illustrators dress nicely? Hector thinks we should institute a new dress code in the studio, but as we all know well, he's not in charge.

That is all for now, Dear Reader. Please join us next week,
And please think of us often,
Your friends,
advisors,
and animals,
Harriet and Mickey

Shower Curtains

Hello Readers!

I was away last week so I didn't write to you. This week I am back, and so I will write to you.

Well, the hand-printed shower curtain is finished and is Somewhat Disappointing. Annie didn't iron the prints long enough (you must iron them to set the ink), and much of the ink came out in the wash. Here is the shower curtain with two of the three final stamps done, pre-washing:


And here it is with all three stamps after being washed.


Perhaps we can get Our Roommate with the Sewing Machine to make us another plain curtain to try on. In any event, we were not entirely pleased with the color scheme, so it could be good to have another go at it.

We did, however, make some prints on paper of the "H Monster" print, based on a drawing by the elder weasel. These look terrific:




In better news, Annie is preparing to print our studio chaise with a pattern from by Lena Corwin, who wrote the great printmaking book that has inspired these projects, Printing by Hand. We got a screen made by the kind folks at RC Silkscreening in South Boston. It's beautiful in an of itself.

More on that next week.

Until then, rest assured,
that we wish you
a very Happy Easter,
or at least,
some very good chocolate,
your friends,
Harriet and Mickey

New Studio

Hello again readers!

You know Hector told me that some bloggers post daily to their blogs. But we all know that he is filled with all sorts of misconceptions about how the world actually works.

Today, in my second consecutive week of blogging, I am going to talk about our company's new headquarters. Did you know that this is our fourth location? First we were in the Fenway, then in Charlestown, then in West Newton, and now in Milton, Massachusetts. Harriet says pray God this is our last move. (I don't know what she's talking about. She didn't lift a finger during the move.)

Well. It's taken us quite a while to get settled, but the studio is beginning to shape up. Have a look.



This is my computer desk, where I am right now, writing to you!

These boxes hold paper and envelopes. For correspondence.

Here is our drawing table where Annie makes things by hand, the old-fashioned way.



This is our work table for framing and other projects, like printmaking.


And this is our new chaise for reading and company research. It's not quite in its finished state as Annie is going to screen print a cover for it.

I hope you've enjoyed your brief tour. Please know that you are always welcome to come visit us.

Your good friends,

Mickey and Harriet