Babcia, October 2022.

TCAF comes!! I’ll be at table 106 along with other artists from the Porcupine’s Quill and my new riso comic Morphis, originally made with woodcut and linocut. I’ll also have copies of Back + Forth, now back in print, yay! 

Starting the weekend right with Word Balloon Academy and Librarian & Educator’s Day tomorrow. All these extra layers of programming are just a part of what makes the TCAF pie so sweet to taste. 

Feeling excited and lucky to see all my comics folks :) <3 ALL WEEKEND LONG  @   .   @

This winter so far (or this not-very-winter we’ve been having) I have spent slowly scraping away at my book-length project(s) and focusing on my health. This weekend I printed the first layer for the covers of an artist book I am preparing for festivals in the spring, featuring my short woodcut story Morphis. I’m going to print a limited edition on my press and produce a smaller-in-size but larger-in-volume risograph edition as well. Constantly dreaming of more studio space, but Toronto rents have me frozen in place for a while. I’m grateful to be able to improvise the space that I need, such as this “ingenious” drying system ;) 

Update to my shop

I’ve just done a major update to my online shop, including the new issue of Irene that my papercut sci-fi comic, Genesis, appears in, as well as the new artist edition of my comic Let Go, with lino-printed covers. There’s also a ton on linocut prints that have never been available to buy online before. Hope you find something there to enjoy or share with someone! Thanks <3 

http://martachudolinska.storenvy.com/

If you’re in Toronto this week, come have a look at some of my comics in the raw at MLC Gallery. Opening tomorrow! 

Details: 

The Graphic Life Narrative of Marta Chudolinska – An Exhibition

MLC Gallery, 111 Gerrard Street 

Opening reception: May 6, 6-8pm. Refreshments will be served and the event is free of charge and open to the public. The exhibition then runs 12-4pm from Thursday, May 7 to Wednesday, May 13. (Closed on Monday, May 11). The exhibition is curated by Barbara Postema as a part of Ryerson's Advancing Comics Studies Series and organized and hosted by the Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre. It is sponsored by Ryerson’s Faculty of Arts through a Special Events Grant. Other sponsors include the Department of English and Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.

Working on my next papercut comic late into last night. 

Friday night, writing with pictures 

Black Church Print Studio Residency  

In July 2014, I had the great pleasure of being the International Artist-in-Residence at Black Church Print Studio in Dublin, Ireland. Every summer Black Church selects an international artist with a printmaking practice and provides them with access to their print facility, basic materials and accommodation. Thanks to the generous support of the Canada Council of the Arts I received a travel grant that covered my travel expenses from Toronto. 

My time at Black Church was spent working on a new wordless novel, which will be around 200 woodcuts when complete. I drew, carved and printed 14 woodcuts (or 15 if you count the one I messed up) in my time in Dublin. This is my second woodcut project after Morphis (a short wordless story found in the Chilly Tales anthology) and is much more ambitious. It's been interesting, exciting and frustrating (all three!) to explore the unique qualities of this new (to me) medium. Most of the relief printing that I have done has been in linoleum - a much softer and easier to carve material. I turned to woodcut out a frustration with lino for its tendency to crumble under small detailed cuts. Of course, there are no perfect answers in life, and so I've found that while wood (shina birch plywood in my case) has more integrity and can handle small, sharp lines, is not as friendly toward fluid lines and shapes as linoleum. Linoleum has a uniform consistency which makes it easier to achieve smooth lines from many angles of cuts and movements of the artist's hand. With woodcut, each cut must be navigated along or against the grain of the wood, an extra thing to consider in executing the carving. It's a challenge but it's fun - that special exhilaration of putting yourself up against elements you can't completely control. Woodcut is also more physically demanding and by the end of July, I had the muscles and blisters to prove it. 

I did all of my printing on a Hopkinson & Cope iron hand press from 1871. It's an honour to work with a piece of equipment so sturdy and reliable that it has outlived you by over a hundred years. The studio is also set up for lithography, etching and screen printing, in addition to large format digital printing. It was quite a shame to leave because it was a playground I could have enjoyed for a long time! As part of my residency, I gave an artist talk about my art and showed lots of process work for this project as well as my papercut comic, Babcia. There is so much time and thought put into a project before it manifests in its final form; it's always nice to share the rarely seen pieces that show that effort: from rough notes and thumbnail sketches, to full drawings and the wood blocks themselves. Big thanks go out to everyone who attended the talk and for their curiousity and kind words. 

And of course, the biggest thanks have to go to the staff and studio members of Black Church Print Studio, who made my time with them so special. It was wonderful to meet and work alongside the studio members, to share our printing tips and tricks and to be inspired by their beautiful work. Hazel, the general manager, is super sweet, friendly and encouraging. David, the print technician, is a wonderfully funny, positive and helpful person and it was great to share many days with in the studio with him. I feel very lucky to have met you all!

For any printmakers out there looking for an awesome residency in a beautiful city, visit the Black Church Print Studio Residency page for info on how to apply. The deadline for the 2015 summer residency is February 27th.

Haven't been posting much/getting a lot done lately. It's been a rough few months for me. Hopefully things will perk back up soon and I'll share a bunch of cool stuff, like some images from my residency this summer (finally).  And here's a nice thing: I'll be in Montreal this weekend for Expozine! Hawking comics and zines! Hugging pals! Scarfing poutine! Dearest Montreal, cold city for my cold, cold heart :n) 

Poster stolen from Expozine FB page. Art by Todd Stewart. 

Another exciting thing happening next week! Can't wait to get the books in my paws and see how it came together... 

Chilly Tales: Comics From The Canadian Undertundra – Book Launch and Party! Featuring Cory McCallum, Matt Daley, Mark Connery, Wm Brian MacLean, Marta Chudolinska, Fiona Smyth, Keith Mclean, Noam Sussman, Dakota McFadzean, Robb Mirsky, Shira Haberman, and Marc Bell. Thursday, October 23rd, 2014, 7PM @ The Central, 603 Markham Street Presented by The Beguiling – BOOK NOW IN STOCK!

Info from the Beguiling event post: http://www.beguilingbooksandart.com/event-chilly-tales-book-launch-event/

Coming up next weekend! I'm so excited for this event :) 

Saturday, October 25: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Every Picture: Aspects of the Book ~ Graphic Arts (Capitol Theatre) Authors: Scott Chantler, Marta Chudolinska, Seth, Segbingway Moderator: Dale Jacobs Student passes only $5.  Group sales discounts available.  Click here for more ticket information. University of Windsor Bookstore will be selling books on site. See Scott Chantler at the Windsor Public Library on October 24. Also featuring: Art by the Windsor Public Library Comic Book Club onstage at the Capitol Theatre.  

For more events and scheduling information, click here. http://bookfestwindsor.com/events/

I'm Upset, watercolour on arches paper, 7" x 9.25", Sept 2014.