Over winter break I finally got a chance to work on something that is non-school related.  It took the better part of a month to finish it, but I also had books to read and other things to enjoy while I had the chance.  I’m just glad I got a new piece finished for the upcoming show. 

That should be big enough that I don’t need to post detail shots.

This was all pretty experimental.  I had this vision of stained canvas, where it’s colored but you can still see the weave.  It wasn’t easy to do, but watercolor ended up working pretty well.  You kind of have to scrub the paint into the fabric.  Then I pasted cut out rice paper shapes over the watercolor design and took to the pen and ink.  The skills were a little shaky first, but once I shook the rust off it all fell into place.  Everything in this piece is freehand, which is also why it took a while to complete.

Anyway, it was probably a bad idea to make this because I enjoyed it so much.  Getting back to what I really enjoy doing made school seem like that much more of a drag.  I just need to keep reminding myself that I’m going to school so I can have more time and opportunities to make my work.  I’ll survive, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for me.  Gotta keep your eyes on the prize.

My book is going to appear in a show in Chicago on December 11. I hope to make the opening reception that night from 5 to 7. If you don’t make it out that night, I believe the show is up until March, so you can go see it at your leisure.

I’m also in the process of planning a show at Plenum Space gallery in Kansas City for first Friday in April.  Journalism school has consumed virtually every waking moment of my free time this fall, and I’m excited to get back to thinking about art over break.  I might even get a chance to do some drawing if I’m lucky. 

Next semester will probably just as if not more brutal, but starting next summer I might get back into producing new work again.  I miss being able to make my work, but in the long run I hope that what I’m learning in journalism will benefit my artwork and the art world in general.  Artists have a tendency to be lousy at promotions, and I’m hoping to change that.

I’m trying to find a way of reconciling my previous work with my work in journalism right now, and currently my idea for a thesis project is to construct a website specifically dedicated as a news and information resource on printmaking.  Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome, just send an email.

Also, I can be found on Twitter now under the name @mattkuhlman.  Twitter seems silly to me, but also the direction that personal communications are heading.  Resistance is futile, not to mention counter-productive.  Feel free to follow me, I try to keep my tweets somewhat interesting.  No updates about what kind of sandwich I had for lunch. 

Have a happy beginning to 2010!  Has it already been 10 years?  Geez…

-mk

So I stopped holding out and posted my book up for sale on blurb.com. Follow this link to order:
http://www.blurb.com/search/site_search?search=matt+kuhlman&filter=all

It is available in soft or hard cover, and at a much cheaper price than me ordering it and shipping it myself.

A published book of my sketchbook drawings are now available directly through me and also at Wonderfair in Lawrence (803 Mass. St. below the Casbah Market. http://www.wonderfair.com/).  The images included in the book can be viewed in the “sketchbook” section of my site, plus some unreleased bonus material.  The book is 5″x7″, 60 pages long, and softbacked.  Through me, the book costs $15, plus shipping if applicable.  I can also get it in hardback, but the price would be much higher, somewhere around $35 + shipping.  Email me at silverfurfer@hotmail.com with any questions.

This is Nate, Matt’s handy dandy webmaster putting in his first blog post. Feel free to look around even though we are still grinding away at various bits php and css code.  Matt’s new site is really a mixture of two content managers I am managing to integrate together. Sometimes the two shake hands and act like best buddies and sometime they fight each other tooth and nail. So if you bump into an occasional “404 page not found”, its probably because I’m messing with the code.

You might also note that Matt’s artwork in currently on exhibition at Milton’s in downtown Lawrence.   Drop in and check out his work.   While you are there, tell them they need a web site and you know just the person to handle it for them. 

One last thing… the “spalsh” image on Matt’s front page is one of his pieces I did a little work on in Photoshop. I am also the proud owner of the print, 1/1, signed by Matt. It is a thing of beauty and will never be for sale. Matt does have derivatives of the print however, and I’m sure he will be glad to sell you one.