Gitche Gummee Series

Here is my "Gitche Gumee" series. There are currently three different prints using the same black key plate. The Ojibwe call the lake Gichigami, meaning "big water." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the name as "Gitche Gumee" in The Song of Hiawatha.


I have been thinking of local landscapes that draw connection to the Great Lakes region and some folklore directly related, like Gitche Gumee:

Bluejay Feather in our Forest

This feather, roughly 4 feet in height, fell to our wooded yard and can be seen from our nearby road along the lake. Maybe you will spot it?

International Print Exchange 2011

I've donated a print, "End of February" to the currently International Print Exchange 2011 show. You can buy my print or other's art to help raise money for future exchanges or you can visit my Etsy Shop to buy it directly from me.

"The International Print Exchange is an unjuried print exchange with no assigned theme, open to all, that celebrates fine art printmaking. This year they received a total of 88 print editions from 10 countries."

Check out their Flickr Gallery too.

Interview with the "Artists in West Michigan" blog

Diane and Julie of the "Artist of West Michigan" blog have recently interviewed me.

Being interviewed is an interesting introspective process - to really ponder who I am as an artist, the work I do, and the reasons for doing it and what I'd recommend to other artists. It's a fun process and a nice way to revisit my purpose and passion when it comes to art.

Here's a snippet:

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
When there is nothing else you can do about your present situation, or when you are waiting for something to occur, this is the best time to be working on something you like to work on.

One of the hardest things for artists to do is to stand apart from everyone else. How long did it take you to come up with your own style and signature look?
I’m still working on it. I believe that how we make things is influenced by our perspective of the world we live in. Life continuously changes, at times when we don’t even want it to. When I think of a “personal style”, I’m not too sure of what to say. We go through so many changes that it has to show up in the art we make.

What is your inspiration for your pieces? What keeps you motivated?
Most of the time I think I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. In terms of making art, for me, it is the action of making it. In printmaking, carving out the plates is most gratifying. During a drawing session, the act of placing the figure on paper, then allowing the development of composition to unfold has a sort of fascination. There are times when I find myself in the Muskegon Museum of Art, standing in front of the Curry painting, or looking for the Charles Burchfield trees. If time allows, I might look up some other printmakers on the internet.  There are all sorts of areas in the world where you will find art history to look at.

If you'd like to know more about my work, please read Diane and Julie's interview - it was great fun.

Work on Display - The Dogwood Center

Come visit my work at the Dogwood Center. My printmaking will be on display until November 26th. It's the best time to support local artists for your holiday shopping.

New Limited Edition Holiday Cards

Visit my Etsy Shop to see more

Artprize update

Just finished hanging at Grand Central Market. At 57 Monroe Center, you can vote thumbs up for my artwork by texting the number 51411. Thanks for stopping by my blog - now stop by the Monroe Center and check it out!

Ready to Hang Art Work for Art Prize 2011

Finishing the key plate for Art Prize and my first go at a hand-pulled print.

2 Fantastic Art Days

I received 3rd place in the Michigan Arts Juried Fine Art Show at the Holland Fine Art Center... and took an Honorable Mention in a juried show around the theme Farm Fresh at the Nuveen Center in Montague, Michigan....

Getting ready for Art Prize, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2011

In the Studio

Art Prize

I am working on a new Art Prize project. This is a large woodcut "Key Plate", (80 inches high by 96 inches wide, roughly 7 feet by 8 feet). I had just added the two side panels with the graphite drawing on them. Next, I will go over the graphite on the side panels with permanent marker. The background is then carved away from the permanent marker black lines, which creates the printing surface of the woodcut. I hope to make at least 5 edition prints. Each print will be "hand pulled". I suspect the paper will need to be pasted together, or stitched. I may have to "hand color" the colors involved. (I might not have enough time to make color plates). I am using a power router for the mass areas, as well as the traditional hand tools of chisels and knives. My Idea came from a small woodcut (3" x 4.75") that I made this last winter. So I began to redraw the scene onto the larger surface. I'm not even sure how I am going to display the large prints, but I intend to paint, and display the "key plate" with the colors intended for the final state of the print. I have all ways been drawn to a stand of Poplar trees since childhood. I guess it is the perspective of the towering trees I recall as a youngster that I would like to work with in my later years.

Boat Series

The season for boating soon begins. Here's a collection of past prints thought up from lakeside scenes.

New limited edition prints

New small prints

Intaglio and woodblock prints inspired by water ways we commonly know, here in Michigan, maybe else where - like in the South with shrimp boats... hence the print "Shrimpers" above.

The black ink on these prints are printed from a copper plate that has been etched, engraved, dry-point, roulette wheeled and using woodblock prints for the colors. Due to using these different methods together, the finished product is considered intaglio.

More new collector cards

More Cards

a new spring woodcut card

Now it is officially spring in Michigan and am I working on a new "Poplar Path" print that will be reminiscent of our woodland paths in the spring and into summer. I wanted to show a little of my process with this new print. Currently, I only have three wood blocks that I will incorporate the different colors with.

Showing in Japan

A friend just sent me this picture from an International Woodcut art show in Kyoto, Japan. Just thought I'd share it.

Other than that, I'm on my way West for another family visit in Colorado. I hope to update my Etsy shop before I go- so check in to see some new works!

Handcrafting furniture

I'm getting back into more woodworking lately. Here's one of my new tables made from a tree that fell over in a storm, which I also made the 2010 Art Prize project from. The table has inlaid slices of stone and geo spheres. It measures 15 inches wide, 54 inches long, and about 25 inches high. The legs are taken from Maple tree limbs. For inquiries contact me by my e-mail, andrewjagniecki@gmail.com, and I'd be delighted to produce your ideas.