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Ampersand Framed Print

Recently I saw a physical therapist and she said “What do you do for fun?” and I panicked and said “I try to make art” which is weird and awkward (like me) because I do try to make art, but I also succeed every now and then. (I’ve even had my work in galleries.) Anyway, since I was not accepted to 30x30x30 I was probably feeling like I’m not good at making art but whatever… I don’t care if I’m good at it, I do it for fun, and because as Cometbus would say “I can’t not do it!” So here’s some art.

The print itself is on recycled homemade paper. I took the shreds from our paper shredder and any old newsprint we had around the house and made paper. I actually made a batch and then another batch and this piece is from the second batch.

So the frame is 3D printed, and there is a piece of clear acrylic in front of the artwork. Instead of laser cutting a new piece of acrylic I grabbed a bunch of acrylic sign holders from the trash at work. We use them for events but it seems like every time we ship them a few get broken. So as long as they have a section that is not broken or too scratched up, I can use them!

The frame is 3D printed. I know there are a lot of 3D printed frame designs out there, but I made my own, in OpenSCAD, and yes, it’s parametric. That means I can make more frames any size I want. I can easily change the size by typing some numbers. With the Bambu Lab P1S I can print frames just under 10″ x 10″ so that’s nice… And the textured printing surface looks awesome. I’m probably going to make a lot of frames!

Hey, it looks like an actual piece of art! Adding a frame really helps.

The print featues an ampersand, and it’s an open source typeface called Chunk Five Print. Chunk was originally designed by Meredith Mandel and then later Tyler Finck created Chunk Five Print, with some texture similar to what you would might see in a letterpress print.

I made a few edits to the ampersand, and actually remove the texture since my printing process might introduce some texture back into it. I’ll have to do another post about making the plates, because that’s a whole adventure on its own!

Here’s a quick look at the frame. I went with a big chunky frame, which seems appropriate, though I can also make thin or delicate frames since it’s all parametric and adjustable.

The back piece fits in with friction. There are small ridges on the side of the part that make it slide in tight (but not too tight!) against the outer part of the frame.

This was a really fun project, and I wanted to keep this post a reasonable length, but I’ll cover some of my other recent experiments in future posts. Probably. Stay Tuned!


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Framed Hapto Cone Art

Hapto has been working on a project using cut up bits of orange traffic cones to do relief prints, and asked if she could try using my Provisional Press to see if it would work well as an alternative to hand burnishing prints. So I packed up the press and took it to Milwaukee Makerspace (Norwich Edition) to give it a try.

Hapto did all of the printing, and I just watched, after giving a quick lowdown on the press and how it works compared to a more “normal” press with adjustable knobs and a moving bed and all of that.

She made a whole bunch of prints! And the verdict was that the Provisional Press would probably work quite well for her printing needs. Note that she printed on fabric that had retro-reflective material on it and had been treated with various paints to get the crazy color. She also used fabric block printing ink. The last time I did relief print patches I just used regular water based ink because it was all I had.

The nice thing about working with another artist is that you can teach and learn at the same time. I picked up a few techniques for printing, and I told her about how vegetable glycerine can help slow the drying of water based inks…

I got to take a print home and I figured I should frame it. Since I’ve been working on an OpenSCAD script to help me create 3D printed frames I thought I would give it a try.

The frame consists of two parts, the frame itself, and the back piece that fits into place.

The two images above show the “front” facing parts of the design, and the two images below show the back sides of the pieces. It’s pretty darn simple, and yes… I know there are other 3D printed frames out there, but I (as usual) wanted to design my own… in OpenSCAD… and make it parametric.

The ridges you see around the inside piece are meant to help create a press-fit so no additional hardware is needed. It’s a good idea to make them a little too large and then sand/shave them down for a perfect fit if you want it removable. Otherwise you can always glue it in place. I’ve also managed to laser cut some clear acrylic that can be placed into the frame before the artwork just like a standard store-bought frame. Without the acrylic I just spray glued the print to the back plate of the frame to hold it in place.

I’m glad Hapto invited me to do an art thing with her, and appreciate the print I received. After framing the piece it is now on the wall of my office right next to a piece of my own art.

Note: I realized I failed to get a photo of a relief carved traffic cone printing plates that Hapto created so here’s a photo she shared from a previous printing run.


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Free Little Art Gallery Library Shop

I’m going to warn you, I can be quite pedantic. I like refer to my Free Little Art Gallery as a “Free Little Art Gallery”. (There’s even a site for them at freelittleartgalleries.art.)

And yet, I have one friend who will not use the shortened name FLAG because I guess they were involved with some other thing called “FLAG” and had a bad experience or something… so they call it an Art Library.

Another friend does a little better, and calls it a Little Art Library. So close! It’s Free Little Art Gallery… You know, it’s Free, it’s Little (and the art is Little) and it’s a Gallery.

I guess if you are used to talking about a Little Free Library you might get tripped up saying Free Little Art Gallery.

When I was describing it to my daughter months ago I said “It’s a Little Free Art Gallery… an LFAG!” before I realized I switched the letters, and quickly figured out that it was FLAG not LFAG. (For obvious reasons!)

So here’s the thing… I really don’t care what you call it, as long as you come and see it and take some art! Yes, you know… take some art. Some people see something and say “Oh, I love that thing, but I don’t want to take it, because someone else might want it.”

Please. Take the art. That’s why it’s there. I made something and put it there, or a friend of mine (or someone I don’t even know) put art there because they want to share it with the world!

So if you want something grab it. If you see something that someone you know might like, grab it. If a friend has a birthday coming up, grab it, give it to them and say “I thought of you when I saw this, and thought you might like it!” You don’t even have to tell them it was free, or where you got it from. I mean, isn’t it awesome you’re sharing someone’s art with someone you know?

I was thinking about someone calling it an Art Library, and remembered that one of my neighbors mentioned he used to check out art from the local library. What? Yes! You can check out art from the public library, hang it in your house for a while, then return it when it’s due. The Free Little Art Library can work the same way. If you see something you like, grab it, take it home, and keep it for a while. You can always return it.

I rotate things out if they’ve been in the gallery too long and no one takes it. If it goes through a few rotations I may drop it off at one of the other FLAGs in the area. (Either 65th & Clarke in Wauwatosa or 87th & Locust in Milwaukee)

It’s a Free Little Art Gallery. The Gallery is Little. The Art is Little. The Art is Free. Come and get it!

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Gallery 69 – Brittany Farina

Brittany Farina is an illustrator who creates art for dog lovers. From pet portraits to stickers and magnets and even apparel. Brittany sent a bunch of packs for Gallery 69 that include a variety of stickers and magnets that show her style, and each includes a card so you can find her work online.

Speaking of her work, you can find it at brittanyfarina.com and if you prefer Facebook or Instagram she’s there as well. (Both are a steady stream of pet portraits which show her craft really well.)

Brittany also creates adult coloring books, and if you love dogs (and coloring!) it seems like that might be right up your alley.

She also does coloring books for rescue organizations to help raise funds so they can help more dogs. (I’m a cat-person myself, but I really so appreciate how much Brittany loves dogs and what she does for them and their owners.)

Okay dog lovers, what are you waiting for!? I’ve dropped a few of these stick & magnet packs into the gallery, so come and get them… and if you like what you see, get in touch with Brittany about more!

Gallery 69 is a Free Little Art Gallery located on 69th street just north of Locust street in the Enderis Park neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Gallery 69 – Dave Polaschek

Right before I officially opened Gallery 69 I posted the following on Mastodon:

I’m opening a gallery this week. Sure, it’s in my front yard, and it can only handle small art… but the Free Little Art Gallery is (nearly) open!

Let me know if you want to contribute any art.

Woodworker Dave Polaschek said “What’s your address?” and I gave it to him and in no time he shipped a box of objects to me. It was the first to arrive, and I wanted to thank Dave (and congratulate him) for being the first one to send a package to the gallery. Cheers! So what was inside? Well, check the photos! Things from Dave’s woodshop. He also provided info on everything, so I’ll expand below.

The shot glass is birch from Timber Bay Lodge in Babbitt, Minnesota which was stabilized with black-dyed acrylic. (It might not be food-safe though, so don’t drink from it!) You can find more info about it on lumberjocks.com

While I’ve 3D printed a shot glass in the past I don’t think I’ve even seen a wooden shot glass. It’s pretty cool, and I hope someone takes it and appreciates it.

This bird (or “birb” as Dave called it) looks amazing. It was carved from juniper found in Dave’s back yard in New Mexico in September 2022. Hand-carving is one of those things I’m always fascinated by… My own skills lie elsewhere but I always appreciate a nice piece of wood shaped into something beautiful.

Again there’s a bit more info on Dave’s “birbs” on the lumberjocks.com site.

Finally there are two tops which were made in November 2021. One of them is pine and the other is a tropical hardwood (maybe granadillo). Both of them have been figited with in the shop and are a little dinged up. Dave suggested I add some paste wax to them (and I did) so they are nice objects but can also just functions as toys.

Thanks for reading this! You can check out more of Dave’s art at peekachello.art as well as write.as/davepolaschek

Gallery 69 is a Free Little Art Gallery located on 69th street just north of Locust street in the Enderis Park neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.