Monday, February 29, 2016

a few new prints

while working on the new series of chapbooks, i've also been carving a few individual images. i guess lately i've been kind of interested in the idea of black and white abstraction and images of nature. i've always been enthralled with fractals and op art, and i want to explore that idea through images of the world, as opposed to just straight abstraction. i want to create something that is at the same time abstract and image. i've got some work to do on this idea, judging from these initial steps, but i think this idea will play out as a sketchbook of practice prints in the next chapbook. here are my first few thoughts.

field abstraction
i find looking through the tops of the grass fascinating in all of the overlapping lines and shapes that they create. this piece still perhaps looks a bit too much like a field of grass to capture the abstraction i was seeking, but all those little cut shape details where the black meets the sky were the idea i was going for.

winter night skies
this was just a fun piece about looking at the stars. i love the cold crisp night winter air, and the skies are so clear without all the humidity and pollution. for this piece i actually loosely mapped out the constellations, so if you know where they are and what they look like, you should be able to find them.

landscape in lines
flat landscapes always look like layers of lines to me, so i was trying to capture that idea with a couple of seed mills and power lines along the deep horizon.

there's still a lot of exploration on this idea, but i've been out exploring and taking photos to play around with, and hopefully this can help me move away from the literalism of imagery and into the abstraction of idea.


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

a humble pot of beans: part 2


ok, so i finally finished carving and printing the block for 'a humble pot of beans' and it was humbling. carving all of the language was one of the more difficult things i've done in art. i'm not typically one of focus on tiny details, but all that tiny backwards language was a nightmare to carve and obviously it took forever to complete. but i kept my patience, it all turned out. i didn't find any mistakes, though i'm sure someone will. it's 16 pages and 10 recipes. here's a flick i posted to vimeo:


i'm glad it's complete, now we are working on setting up a new online shop that can begin to feature some new products and ideas. watch for it super soon.

Friday, February 19, 2016

A Very Special Handmade Gift

About a month ago, I received an unexpected piece of mail that had traveled all the way from Australia.


My friend Juanita sent us a very beautiful handmade weave. It is green, purple, and mauve, and so fascinating to study. We haven't found it a permanent home, so for now, it hangs in the nursery amongst Zach's instruments!


Here's a better look at it:


and a close-up view:


Thank you Juanita! We absolutely love our thoughtful handmade gift!


p.s. if you're in a blog-reading mood, check out her post on the weave here.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day

I saw a post on Facebook of Korean artist, Puuung's series of illustrations that depict what love is ... She writes that love "radiates in even the smallest things in life," and her drawings capture all these cute little details. Here are just a few that I really like:







See more over at Puuung's Grafolio page.


Tuesday, February 9, 2016

the baby's mobile

Zach made a mobile for Sage from scraps laying around his studio, his very first piece of art for her. It's a little Calder-esque, a little whimsical, and a little hypnotizing ...


It's hung in his studio for months, and now it is finally hanging above her crib. We took a short video of the mobile moving and casting fun shadows on the wall. We hope she loves it.

A video posted by Zach Medler (@zmedstudios) on


Monday, February 8, 2016

Happy Year of the Monkey

Happy Lunar New Year of the Monkey from our family to yours.


I see a trend happening here ... since having the baby, we've had a low key Christmas and new year. For Chinese new year, we're also keeping things on the quieter side. I'm bringing Sage to lunch with Corrinne and her kids. We'll exchange "ang baos" (red envelopes), and talk about our hopes for the new year. Whether you celebrate this special day or not, we wish you a happy and prosperous new year!

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