I received my ink, I replaced the old cartridges and I’m ready to print again.

Printing is a long process, there’s lots of waiting. Wait, add a new sheet, check the print settings, send the print job and wait...

This stretch gives me time to reminisce on trips and places I’ve visited to create the volumes of City Shields. Many memories float in my mind of scenes experienced throughout the Incessant Journey.

© 2010 Louise Levergneux, crossing the Utah, Nevada border on Friday, May 13

© 2011 Louise Levergneux, walking on West San Francisco Street in Santa-Fe in the early morning — © 2011 Louise Levergneux, walking on West San Francisco Street in Santa-Fe in the early morning

© 2013 Louise Levergneux, searching for manhole covers on Woolman Street in Butte, Montana — © 2013 Louise Levergneux, searching for manhole covers on Woolman Street in Butte, Montana

Sheet after sheet, printing is going well. With patience, I sit and search the Internet to view kinetic sculptures. I stop on a sculpture by Varol Topaç’s which amuses me.

I enjoy viewing kinetic sculptures on YouTube, it keeps me calm. I also find it a good time to keep current on the discipline. If I pursue other activities while printing many sheets…yes, multitasking!... I lose track of where I am, confusion sets in, the printer stops and I don’t realise it. These videos help me to stay focused and I can concentrate on the next print. A little icon jumps back and forth on the right side of the screen when the printer is not functioning properly. You’ve seen it! It’s not always good news!

The latest fascinating installation at Changi Airport, Singapore, was conceived by Art+Com, a German design firm. This kinetic sculpture led by Jussi Angesleva, a German-based Finnish artist, helps me to unwind while I wait. Does it works for you?

As we travel the world, we are often fascinated and often find a new muse to work within our imagination. As we discover new cities, we are mindful to what differs from back home. Many photographers and artists stumble on the manhole cover as a new interest.

Artist Lucinda Ziesing found a magnificent cast iron manhole cover inscribed with Telefonica Espana lying on a Barcelona sidewalk. Lucinda, awed by its presence and industrial design, is drawn to record its surface.

Since her trip to Barcelona in 2006, Lucinda has made rubbings wherever she travels. As artists we both have these portals to the underground in common, “It’s a way to connect to places”, she says.

I begin by making a rubbing of a utilitarian surface on a sheet of mylar with a litho crayon. Then in my studio, I add oil paint, sand, and repaint until the work is done. I noticed mandalas and labyrinth designs in the utility covers in Italy, which evolved into paintings and catch the stillness in the streets.

Lucinda’s Public Works were exhibited at 10 High Street Gallery in Camden, Maine. These paintings tell a story of portholes right under our feet.

© 2016 Lucinda Ziesing, Lucinda, unknowingly the collage of a New Orleans water meter rubbing and a rubbing from the floor in Pompeii painting have a curious connection. The date of the Vesuvius and Katrina natural disasters is August 24th. No accid… — © 2016 Lucinda Ziesing, Lucinda, unknowingly the collage of a New Orleans water meter rubbing and a rubbing from the floor in Pompeii painting have a curious connection. The date of the Vesuvius and Katrina natural disasters is August 24th. No accidents, Right?

Shit, my printer is spitting black ink, got to go!!@!?

WOW! another week flew by, a repetitive occurrence nowadays. The hours come and go without warning. Busy is good; but life is fleeting. Did you carry out what you intended to do this week?

I went hunting for more manhole covers in the town of Emmett, northwest of Boise on Wednesday. A quaint region at an elevation of 2,362 feet (720 m) above sea level and below Freezeout Hill—a steep terrain overlooking Emmett. Following the winding road constructed in 1919, we noticed a welcome sign to Gem County. The only gems we saw were dark red, soft and round, juicy and sweet. Cherry Festival!

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, descending Freezeout Hill

We drove around the streets till we came upon a manhole cover that might be the oldest manhole cover in Emmett. Most are run-of-the-mill, I call them ersatz. The hunt is part of the experience and we had a lovely afternoon.

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, manhole cover at N McKinley Ave & E Main St, Emmett

On our way back home passing trough Meridian, we found two manhole covers with stunning designs.

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, manhole covers designed for The Village Mall in Meridian

Friends viewing the volumes of City Shields often ask questions about the designs of the manhole covers and the reason for so many? Where or how I find the covers? A manhole is used for many types of utilities: cable, sewer, telephone, sanitation... So each design of the covers differentiates the use of the manhole. I find the covers wherever my life brings me. They are part of the city I live in or visit; and I’m obsessed with finding the most striking designs. I’m interested in bringing these entryways to the world beneath our feet to the forefront of city dwellers as art. At this point as an artist, I am more interested in the visual designs of the covers.

I had to stop my printing process till the delivery of more ink cartridges. Two printers are expensive to keep. Now, I buy separate ink cartridges when needed. My delivery arrived today, now I have no excuses.

Except, I’m entertaining another excuse, I would like to photograph and document my book Finding Home in ample detail. Finding Home is part of the Wanderlust exhibition at 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland. Laura Russell, the owner, sold two copies last week. What wonderful news!

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, artists' book Finding Home

I took numerous photographs before mailing my last copy to 23 Sandy Gallery. The number of an edition is tricky. Will every copy sell or will my closet of inventory get bigger? I remember contemplating on the question and thought I may need to create one-of-a-kind books soon if my studio gets smaller and smaller. Well, I was wrong and should have made a bigger edition according to Laura.

It’s a crap·shoot!! Publishing and editions are an uncertain matter.

Download, copy, Photoshop, prepare, templates, print—it’s all waiting for me to publish more volumes.