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I would like to start this entry by briefly mentioning the tragedy in Boston. I have family in the area and am super grateful that they weren’t in Boston during the blasts. It’s safe to say that I am more than a little shaken up, and as a parent, I am worried about this world. The Onion ran an article this week entitled “Area Man Growing A Little Tired of Rushing Home to Hug Loved Ones.” Once again, the Onion nails it. It shouldn’t be like this, but it is. So, since we are so well practiced at it, hold your loved ones a little closer and let’s please try to be nice to each other for a change.Onto less tragic things…

I have been working on a couple of projects lately that I think are heading in nice directions. First off, I have started a new blog and Facebook page called Post-Punk Parenthood. The premise of the project is that it is somewhere between memoir, journal, self help/parenting blog, and art piece. I essentially have adopted the persona of a parenting blogger and am slowly telling my story of a dad that has always had problems with authority. I’m planning on doing a collaborative project with my daughter where I conduct interviews with her and record them on audio cassettes. Then, once the cassettes are done, I am going to embellish them like old mix tapes. It’s also becoming a place for me to compile my research that I’ve been doing on the punk scene.

The other project that I’ve been working on is a silk screen pulp painting. The process is similar to the printmaking process of silk screen, except that I am using pigment paper pulp instead of ink. It’s been a lot of trial and error. First off, it took several tries to even get my screen to take. Every time I exposed the image, it ended up blowing out when I tried to wash it off. It’s a little more difficult than exposing a standard silkscreen because the mesh of the screen has to be more open to allow pulp to go through. But, I finally got a screen to hold its image! I was pretty much to the point where I was going to give up on the project if it didn’t work.

Yesterday I was in the paper making studio trying the next step: pulling sheets and pulp painting through the screen. More trial and error. I ended up achieving some success, but also ran into more problems. For starters, the pulp needs to be just right, not too thick, not too watered down, and super super beaten. Hopefully the next batch of pulp will be right and my next go at this will finally get the results I’m hoping for.

That’s about where I am right now… The MFA thesis show opens next week and so does C2E2. Hopefully I will see you at one or both! Stay safe!