Cyanotype and Sun Prints

 

Hummingbird clearwing moth and Karner blue butterfly with lily of the valley cyanotype, 11" x 14" by Ele Willoughby, 2026

I've been making more cyanotype experiments, combining them with linocut and other types of sun prints and playing with shapes. 

Tree of Heaven and Fern Cyanotype with Sun Print, by Ele Willoughby, 2026

Bumblebee cyanotype, 11" x 14" by Ele Willoughby, 2026

Cat cyanotype with Virginia creeper cyanotype, by Ele Willoughby, 2026

Foxtail Barley cyanotype, 5" x 8" by Ele Willoughby, 
2026

Alliums and Dandelions Cyanotype, 11" x 14" by Ele Willoughby, 2026

Skeleton, Fern and Wild Carrot Cyanotype, 11"  x 14" by Ele Willoughby, 2026

Lily pads cyanotype and sun print, 11" x 14" by Ele Willoughby, 2026

Tea Pots and Other Recent Prints

 

                                            Green Tea Chemistry linocut by Ele Willoughby

I thought I should add a tea chemistry linocut to go with the coffee linocut, which includes the caffeine molecule. Of course, tea chemistry is quite complex! I asked on Twitter, thinking I might have some tea loving scientist followers with good suggestions and I wasn't disappointed. Not only was I given some good feedback about which chemicals to feature, but also the suggestion of including the chromotography, as a means of telling the fuller chemical story.

There's a tea pot, two cups of tea and a tea plant (Camellia sinensis) on a tray, and in the steam, you can see some of the organic chemicals found in green tea. Up to 27% of the composition of green tea can be a member of the flavonoids called catechins like the molecule illustrated on the right. The stimulating effect of green tea is of course related to caffeine (the molecule in the middle) but, unlike say coffee, green tea also has an amino acid in tea called L-Theanine (the molecule on within the tea pot handle). L-Theanine has a direct effect on the brain, relaxing it without making you drowsy and can help with focus and mood; it's also largely responsible for taste. Since the chemistry of green tea is complex, and I can't show all the molecules involved, at the base of the tray is a chromatogram to illustate the L-Theanine (largest peak) and other amino acids in the green tea. 

With tea and teapots on the brain, I started thinking about a suggestion for another "imaginary friend" of science (my collection of charismatic thought experiments like Maxwell's Demon or Schroedinger's cat): Russell's Teapot. 

 Russell's Teapot by Ele Willoughby

The alledged china teapot, in orbit between Earth and Mars is an analogy by philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) to make the case that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon a person making unfalsifiable claims, rather than shifting the burden of disproof to others. The print is made by hand on lovely 8" x 9" (20.3 cm x 22.9 cm) Japanese Obonai paper with a feathery sheen.

The Earth appears in blue in the corner. The China teapot itself has a blue flower pattern, and is shown magnified. Mars is in red with two tiny moons. At the bottom are the symbols for the solar system: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and the extra teapot, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

 

I also made a couple of Snowy Owl light boxes, which include my snowy owl linocut and colour changing LEDs to simulate the aurora.

While, we've been on a lockdown here in Toronto, and the schools are closed, so I'm spending a lot of time every day fascillitating online school for my 7 year old, I have also been trying to do all of the Printer Solstice prompts (one a week since the winter solstice).

Humpback linocut for prompt "under pressure".

 

A New Hope linocut schematically shows how mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, train the body to make spike protein, which our immune system then learns to combat.

 

Blep linocut, for "in good taste" is thinking creatively about taste and tongues. 

Europa Express linocut for the prompt "passport"

Minouette

This is my cat Minouette (1996-2016) with her tiny likeness. She was my first real pet and was with me for almost two decades, which is a good, long, life for a cat. She moved from Toronto to BC and back with me and made friends along the way. RJH says he knew he had to pass muster with her if he had any hope with me, and his lap became her favourite place to sit. I was amazed at her patience with Gabriel (as babies are sometimes not as gentle as they intend, or think cat tails are for pulling), but she loved him too. Saturday was a hard day; she let us know it was her time and we had to say goodbye. She was tiny, and fearsome, and clever. I loved her very much. If you've ever wondered, I named everything I do online after her. We miss her already.

Love, art and cinnamon hearts

Finding just the right Valentine's gift can be a challenge. I know I'm always trying to invent something new every year.

If you're seeking a one of a kind, hand-printed, colour-changing, thermochromic Valentine, or the chemistry of attraction in linocut form, or art for dog and cat lovers and more, I can help with that.

Apart from cinnamon hearts, I would definitely love a $500 Etsy shopping spree. Check out the #etsymatch question here, answer on twitter with the #etsymatch tag for a chance to win a $500 Etsy gift card.

And remember, I'm not kidding about the cinnamon hearts. You can send all you unwanted cinnamon hearts to me!

OOAK Prep - Multimedia

My next big adventure is the Christmas One of a Kind Show! I have a piece in the upcoming 'X Marks the Spot' show at Art.Science.Gallery and I need to complete my 'In the Round' artworks for the Graven Feather show, but the big thing on the horizon is OOAK. RJH has been building parts of my booth. We're planning hard walls on which I can hang framed artwork, with an overhead lighting system affixed to it, and some hopefully simple flooring. He's also planning to build me frames for my artwork. I've been researching where I can get glass, and we've ordered a proper mat cutter and we hope to have this scheme underway shortly.



Right now, I want to stock up. I've been making more of my multimedia series: unicorns, ships and balloons. Soon I'll move on to two-headed turtles! I've also been printing second editions of popular prints. I'm almost out of poppies so I made a new edition with thicker scarlet kozo paper. I want to list it before Remembrance Day.



On the home front it's been a challenging week. When I was doing laundry, soapy water started flooring up from the basement floor drain. It turns out that the roots from the neighbour's tree have crushed our clay drain pipe underneath our front lawn. While the water appeared soapy it had gone down the drain until it couldn't proceed and then came back - which means it had been where our sewage goes. This needs an immediate and expensive fix. I also did some emergency gardening as I suspect plumbers might destroy my garden if I didn't transplant any fragile plants before they did up and replace the pipe. Meanwhile, I think the baby must be getting another tooth because it's been some pretty sleepless nights. I'm not always sure when I can get some studio time; he's not much of a napper, and if I try to work after he goes to bed the cat stages a vocal protest*, which risks waking him up (and another sleepless night). So, I am now trying to make art when there is a quieter moment during the day and working at the computer after baby's bedtime, whilst keeping our cantankerous elder cat company.

So it's 8:40 pm and I'm going to bed. G'night!

*she makes this cry which would be useful if you were producing sound effects for horror movies, which means "I'm bored and lonely, come downstaits". It's horrible.

Cat woes

I haven't posted much lately, because baby - and now cat. Our beloved, if persnickety cat Minouette is getting to be a certain age for a cat. She is 17.5 years old. She started demanding a lot of water. Then we noticed puddles of clear, odorless liquid in the kitchen, which we did not immediately recognize.  We thought she had spat up, as cats do. It turns out that these are common symptom in older cats: peeing on things, especially cool, flat, surfaces like kitchen tiles, and drinking excessively. The odorlessness confused us. After a couple of trips to the vet, we've discovered she is diabetic. This is serious, but it is a liveable disease, and there is no sign she's in distress. It could have been worse. We were scared we would get a diagnosis of kidney failure, and it was stressful waiting for her test results. Cause, we love that damn cat. So, she's now on a high-protein diet and gets insulin twice a day, subcutaneously. I'm happy to report that I am able to administer the insulin, despite my anxiety about needles. I can't even watch someone get an injection in a movie, but luckily these needles are so small that I can handle it.

On the flip side, she decided to pee directly into the air vent in the kitchen, which is bad news for us. 'Odorless' is a relative term. RJH turned the heat on the other day (it's been that sort of spring) and guess what? Even watered down cat pee sure stinks when heated. We have done all we can to clean the vent, but we may have to tear down the ceiling in the basement and replace the vent altogether. Worst of all, while she is adjusting to the diet, and barely notices the injections, she has kept up the wayward peeing.

Also RJH and I got some terrible cold, from my nephew I think. RJH actually took some time off and he never does that... so that tells you how dreadful it's been. I just hope the baby doesn't get it!

To top it off, our internet was down for the better part of 2 days, which may be a mere 'first world problem' but it is a bother.

That's an older photo of Minouette, above, by RJH, but it's one of my favorites.

Happy Birthday to Erwin Schrödinger!

Is Schrödinger's cat in the box, or not? It depends on when you look at this linocut! This colour-changing thermochromic block print shows the famous thought-experiment of renown quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger (who would never hurt a real cat!). Both the cat in blue and the poison in pink will disappear when the print is exposed to heat.

Meet the artists

Check out Etsy Canada's Lookbook for the 40 artists and artisans who will be exhibiting in the Etsy Section at the One of a Kind Spring show ... next week! I'm really pleased to see my Grey and White Cat Pillow included. The portrait of this cat will be available at the show. If you mouse-over my pillow you see the by-line "grumpy cat love", which is hilarious. I actually thought this cat looked almost lascivious, rather than grumpy, but I, like many, do love that Grumpy Cat. Etsy also featured my 'Cloud Classification pillow' in their newsletter. The same print on paper, and other cloud prints, will be at minouette's table (L-04-29). Come by and see me (at the Direct Energy Centre on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds) from March 27 to 31!

carving cats in a blizzard

I'm making a custom cat portrait for a customer in Japan. She runs a cat rescue with her husband, because Yokohama doesn't have shelters for strays. This is the lovely Papico, her permanent pet, rather than one of the cats for whom they hope to find new homes.

Meanwhile here in Toronto, we're in the midst of the largest snowfall in five years. The media are having a field day with it, of course, riffing on the fact that this is the meeting of two 'cowboy' weather systems, from Alberta and Texas respectively. Though, really, this is Canada in February and supposed to happen; it's been the lack of snow in recent years which is the real anomaly. It started last night. I shovelled at 6 pm. RJH shoveled at 8 pm. Then this morning, RJH shovelled at 7:30 and by 7:35, I could see a centimeter already on the recently cleared steps. I went out there this afternoon and shovelled again. I'm sure it will need more shovelling by the time he gets home. It is very quiet, despite being a busy street. There are more entrepid pedestrians out there than cars.

I need to make Papico into a pillow, but I am out of stuffing. I've decided that it is entirely reasonable not to try to get a 25 pound bag of stuffing on a day like today. It's an unwieldy sort of item to wrangle on public transit on the best of days.

Pillows too

I've also been making block printed pillows, and pillows with printed fabric showing my 'It's not the moths' linocut.

Next thing you know...

she'll have her own blog. I don't know what she was reading when RJH captured her with his iPhone. Luckily, I've managed to keep my passwords from her, but should any uncharacteristic posts appear here, they might be from my feline friend.

L is for Lynx

This 'L' monogram linocut features a lynx. This is an open edition print on Japanese kozo washi (or mulberry paper), Thai and other interesting papers. It is available in a variety of colours and some prints! Each sheet is 5.5 inches by 8 inches, or 14 cm by 21.6 cm.

The lynx can be one of four types of wildcat. This one is a Eurasian lynx native to European and Siberian forests. I've been a fan of the lynx since childhood. I recall writing a report on the subject in grade 4. In fact, I might have found said project in my mother's storage locker earlier this month (not to say I'm a complete pack-rat... but, this might have happened).



Also, a little aside. Some of you, like me, are fans of printmaking and appreciate the work involved in making a hand pulled print. Etsy recently reorganized its front page in an effort to facilitate browsing. The trouble is that Printmaking, formerly an obvious category, is now stuck in a subsection of Art labelled 'Prints and Posters'. Unfortunately, many people use the word 'print' to signify a reproduction. There's nothing wrong with reproductions - I have some giclée and archival prints which I enjoy. But they are entirely different from original artworks made labouriously by hand by printmakers, like relief prints, etchings, sérigraphs, lithographs, collographs, woodcuts, engravings and more. If you are an Etsy user, please add your two cents worth here. It's important that they hear that this is not a move which serves artists or art buyers. It might be particularly meaningful for them to receive feedback from buyers.

Pink-nosed cat pillow

A couple of months ago I was commissioned to make a custom portrait of someone's cat. I thought he would make a great pillow.







I contrasted his relaxed pose with some distinctly unrelaxed looking cats fabric.

That look says

"What do you mean, 'Cats don't eat Thai food?'"

(photo by rjh - please ignore the mid-small-reno kitchen mess)

Why, hello there...

A few weeks ago a customer requested a custom portrait of her cat, printed on a pillow. I won't share that for at least a week (just in case the recipient stumbles upon it before he receives it... as unlikely as that might be). I did carve a block based on a photo of her cat (who shall remain nameless to avoid discovery). I chose the photo of said cat in this improbably comfortable possition, because how could I resist? Is this cat not trying to seduce the viewer? Perhaps not as much as the Bloggess' cat Ferris Mewler who thinks he's Eric Northman, but still. I wanted to make a print with some sort of text. I keep seeing this and first thing that came to mind was "I just me you, and this is crazy, but here's my belly, rub it maybe" but I refuse to carve a joke which would be stale before I could print it. I settled on, "Why, hello there..." which is open to interpretation, so the viewer can decide for him or herself. I enjoyed designing the cursive text and I like the combination of grey and yellow (not to mention his little pink nose). RJH's response what that the print was somehow risqué, but I'm going to take that as meaning it's not just me who things this cat is making eyes at you.

(A propos of nothing, the CBC radio documentary series Twilight of the Gods, about the history of the music recording industry is EXCELLENT and you should listen to the whole 5-part series. I really enjoyed it.)

Animal Pillows

RJH is kind enough to let me play use his camera, so I've been photographing and relisting all my block printed pillows. He must really love me, cause I don't think (between you, me and the lamp-post) that I could let him borrow the gravitymeter -the differential pressure gauge maybe; that thing is damn near indestructible. Luckily, he would have little to no use for either, and the photogs view cameras as tools to be used which must not be fragile.

p.s. If you would like a new internet habit (hahaha) you can find minouette on Pinterest. Leave a link if you've got one too.

In Honour of Mr. Cat

I managed to bring my last present to Reynardin and Faunalia today. It's the first of an edition of six prints I made, dedicated to the memory of the late, great, lamented TC. I always associated TC with R's father; they had a similar gait and outlook on life, it seemed to me. This was one of his sayings, most useful to recall when things might look a little bleak. The wonderful, wise, old, gray cat, Tail Chaser (TC) always was there to comfort anyone who needed this message and to feel more resilience. I thought the memory of TC could continue to comfort R&F.

This linocut print, in gray and green, on Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper, with chine collé (added coloured paper) green eyes is is 9.5 inches by 12.5 inches (24.1 cm by 31.8 cm). The typography is inspired by calligraphy.



I based the portrait on a photo from F's blog. I found my photos of TC weren't quite right. Apparently, F says the photo was taken by LW one previous Winter Solstice, so it seems an apt choice.