Oni Oni Oni: Mini Art for Herpetology, Entomology, and Cat Nerds
Visit me on Etsy
A bit about myself:
As a biology student I learned about many wonderful and diverse creatures, and how many beneficial species, such as insects and reptiles, are still so misunderstood and in want of a better PR campaign. Because of this, I wanted to present these animals in an endearing, respectful fashion.
I have long admired Japanese art, with the playful but spare essence that is captured in the lines, especially those woodblocks and watercolors featuring animals. The animals are depicted in ways that are both delightful and respectful in their stylized linear forms; full of expression and impact which capture the "personalities" of creatures in wonderful and sometimes unexpected ways. No matter how adorable, they still retain some of their wild characteristics. This is the aesthetic that I strive to achieve in my own drawings (admittedly, I grew up drawing comics and it shows!)
All of my art starts with a pencil and paper (and a good eraser!) and I paint, ink, cut, and carve by hand.
Additionally, all of my art is of diminutive size, not only because I adore tiny things, but I also feel it gives it a versatility that large art and objects do not have. With the aid of mats and frames, it can take up as much or as little space as you like, and will fit almost anywhere.
A Little Shop History....
I started my Etsy shop in September of 2010 (gathering supplies, setting up the account, filling out a profile, etc...) but didn't have the courage to go live until February of 2011. The very first item I listed was a lino block print I titled "Cat in a Pan", and once it went live I began listing other lino prints... a slow process for a newbie. When I checked my work so far, I discovered Cat in a Pan was missing! It wasn't live in my shop nor was it listed in the inventory. I was beginning to panic and get angry that my hard work had disappeared when finally I realized it had been purchased. Oh... Awesome! And so I filled out the rest of my shop. It would be an entire month before I sold something else, and then it was very slow going after that (maybe 2-3 sales a month) up until my first winter holiday season.
On shop cohesion...
...in the beginning, there was none. I included some old pen and ink work I had done (which was very random in terms of subject), I remade some things I had previously made as gifts for people (also random), and I had a handful of lino prints. Over the course of a few months, I found my focus in animals (more specifically, cats, insects, reptiles, and amphibians, with the occasional stray rabbit, bat, or fish). Less random!
On lino prints....
What I originally wanted to do when I opened the shop was buy one of those fancy professional printers that cost hundreds of dollars so I could make proper digital prints (giclee) of my pen and ink and watercolor drawings. However, making $8 an hour at the botanical garden (as I did at the time) ruled that out and also precluded me from going to a print shop since items had to be printed in bulk (this was before POD) and I couldn't afford this upfront cost either. My lack of funds brought me to linoleum block prints as a solution. I could make my own prints! The supplies were relatively inexpensive, but, for the uninitiated (me), there is a steep learning curve to the whole finicky process. I had to throw out blocks because my hand slipped with the cutting tool. I had to throw out prints because there was too much or too little ink rolled onto the block resulting in a poor quality print. If I made a good print, sometimes I had to throw it out anyway because I got an inky fingerprint on it from applying my red signature seal (tripped at the finish line!). I'm happy to report that my hand-printing success rate is much higher now, but it took a few years to really get a feel for it. Also, I just have to add that Speedball Professional Relief Ink changed my life (make sure it's a fresh jar, though).
Now I appreciate the medium as much more than just a means to make prints of my work. Each hand-pulled print is itself an original artwork - no mechanical printer can do that. Lino art is reproduceable, which makes it less expensive than original works in other mediums, and it also has its own unique aesthetics.
~~~For an overview of how I create lino block prints, click HERE.
An article I came across on MisterArt.com describes printmaking thusly:
"Paintings, drawings, collages, scrapbooks, and other artistic creations are all single, separate works that can never be reproduced, only copied. Printmaking, on the other hand, is the process of creating artworks through printing, typically on paper. The process is capable of producing multiples of the same piece of art, which are called prints. Each print is not a copy, but an original, since it is not a reproduction of another work of art."
On Product Photography...
This is not my strong suit, I do apologize! Thank you to all of those lovely reviewers who note in their feedback that my art "looks even better in person". I still can't quite capture the texture and shade of mulberry paper...
Some other links to "How I Make..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FAQ: (by my friends & family)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: What the (expletive) is an oni?
A: Sometime in 1997 I happened across a kid's drawing of a cat. Under the cat, he had written 'oni'. Under this he drew three cats, and to denote the plural form of cat, he wrote 'oni oni oni'. I have been amused by this ever since. Later I learned 'oni' was also Japanese for demon, but it is with the former explanation in mind that I named my shop... OniOniOniArt.
Q: SAG...does that stand for Screen Actors Guild?
A: an emphatic No.
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