The sky outside my studio window
in
The Hungerford Building
Rochester, New York
July 19, 2020
I am writing this, today, and it is July 19th in Rochester, New York. Last month on June 19th we learned about a political rally planned for Tulsa, and about a terrible event that happened there in Tulsa in 1921. We can't undo the events of the past, but we certainly can recognize them and learn from them - and I am just puzzled as to why it has taken so long for this message to get out to the general public! Juneteenth as it has come to be called was a staggering Catastrophe. I can only hope that our community is strong enough to resist the forces that try to divide us as a nation, to disenfranchise citizens and deprive them of equal justice under the law.
This year, 2020, is one for the history books, AND it is still a work in progress! During this period of lockdown and quarantine we here are still working on our own projects and for me that means unpacking because we have just moved. I now have to deal with my inventory and trying to find a place for everything including my rather extensive library.
Work-in-progress on the studio work table...
As the hours slip away I work in the studio and I am looking forward to a time when it is safe to go to an opening or see an exhibition with a friend.! And there are exhibitions that are beginning to happen that I am involved with including one at the Oxford Gallery in Rochester, and a Print Club show where my work will go on view later in the summer. The Print Club is a great organization that will hold their annual exhibition at Main Street Arts in Clifton Springs in August and September of this year. My print called: "Romeo" will be on view ( see below ).
"Romeo", transfer monotype on paper by Alan Singer
My print works are hand pulled in my studio on my etching press. Images like the one above are actually visual compositions that I have made using traditional tools and digital programs like "Cinderella" - which is a method for mathematical visualizations on the two dimensional plane of Fabriano paper that I select for my prints. It is really interesting that I can use geometry to tell a story, or show something new that I had not experimented with before.
In any case the studio is a haven for me - at least for a few hours each day, and then I can come back home to deal with the events of the "real" world. I have to continue with my college teaching assignments for R.I.T., which means that I have to prepare for my classes which will be mostly online. I hope that my ZOOM account is up to the task! Anyway - Good Luck to you, and STAY HEALTHY, Stay Strong!..
