Dilemmas!

July 11, 2016

Surprise! Surprise! My new refurbished refurbished Epson R3000 arrived early. Astonished, I was able to unpack the printer, set it up, and print. Oh my God! Epson is finally getting it together—hopefully they have. This R3000 is working well at the moment. Touch wood! It has only been a few hours!

I printed my manhole covers sheet after sheet. The printer is not noisy and spits out printed sheets with no blotches of ink! I’m back in business!

I haven’t given up printing my own artists’ books; but still thinking of a printing service in the future, will see what this refurbished printer brings.

I printed 30 sheets of manhole covers in one day with no problem. Alléluia!!

I leave the printed sheets twenty four hours to settle and dry before phase six of the project. This step entails die-cutting the printed manhole covers and collating them.

Throughout my project, and time passing, I’ve had to go with the flow on how to cut, print and present City Shields.

For the first time in sixteen years I’m running short of my packaging of choice for City Shields. My dilemma is finding Iomega Disk Jewel Cases. They are no longer manufactured. If you know of a place I can buy jewel cases for Zip disks, please let me know.

I had ordered thousands of Iomega jewel cases back in 2000 when they were popular for the original seven volumes of City Shields. The first volumes included a volume of Scotland; three volumes of Ottawa, one volume of Toronto, Ontario; and three volumes of Hull, Québec. Doculink International printed the original volumes and were die-cut by Capitol Box in Ottawa, Ontario.

In 2006, with new camera and new printer, I printed the volumes of the series myself with an Epson 2200. Capitol Box created a cutting jig to cut one manhole cover at a time. Unable to create the correct assembly to use the jig, it caused the paper to tear every time. I bought a Fiskars Circle Cutter from Michaels Arts and Crafts Store. This tool is super easy to use, it only cost $19.99 and works well. The clear plastic base makes alignment easy with no guessing games. Where do you find your tools?

This year, I needed to replace a discontinued Aspen paper for the insert. I chose an Inkpress Plus paper. I can still order the Generations G-Chrome Lustre paper to print the manhole covers. How do you cope with discontinued favorite papers? Do you enjoy trying lots of papers? Maybe you print on different paper for your projects and the brand doesn’t matter.

My goal was to collect manhole covers from each Canadian province and the 50 states in the US. Changes and finances are making it impossible to achieve! My project is at its end!

Printing and Hiking

July 3, 2016

Spit and spitting more ink! I tried to ignore the problem since the ink was only touching the sides of the sheets I was printing. How many more sheets can I print? Five to be exact.

The next print had gobs of ink right in the middle of a manhole cover image. This problem is not going away! Printing is always stressful.

My Epson R3000 is a refurbished printer replacing the first R3000 that died over a year ago. I rubbed my worry stones together, gathered my nerves and called Epson AGAIN!

My printer situation is an ink cartridge gone bad or a print head problem, I was told. 350 dollars of my hard earned bucks is needed to revive this printer. “No way will I spend another cent on this one!” was my answer to Epson. Miracles of miracles, Epson felt my pain and will replace my refurbished R3000 with another refurbished R3000. If it lasts a year, great! Optimistic I will stay. Hopeful the printer won’t fall on its head in shipping? I might go with a print service in the future to publish my artists’ books. The thought of getting another Epson lemon, aye! &@!$#!!

Do you resort to a printing service or do you want control over your prints? My preference is being in charge of my own prints. No need to go back and forth to review prints. You can choose your paper of choice and not depend on the current inventory. No need to email inadvertently forgotten fonts. You can stay in the comfort of your studio and print to your heart’s content. Are the frustrations of the newer printers worth that comfort? What are your thoughts?

My production has stopped, waiting for said printer. I’m thinking of using my Epson Stylus Pro 2200 while I wait.

To quiet the mind, we hiked the foothills. Time has circled back in Avimor, it’s grasshopper season. Hundreds of Differential Grasshoppers jump in and out of the tall grass on both sides of the narrow Baun’s Eye Trail. It was amazing to see how high they jumped. Topaz annoyed by the sight focused on the thin path.

Taking a photo or video of a grasshopper with 999... other Attention Deficit Disorder grasshoppers is difficult. I took this picture of one who had the nerves to stop and stare at us. Then it jumped in my face! What a surprise!

At the summit we paused for the view, then watching the sunset we made our descent carrying Topaz who could no longer stand the grasshoppers.

During a conversation on my project City Shields, an associate suggested biking as a way to cover a lot of ground for photographing the covers. Handles, peddles, brakes, camera and dog I don’t know! Flyboard seems like a lot of fun, same problem though and I can’t carry my pooch. And again, few manhole covers on water.

I might as well stick to walking the streets or driving around town. Next weekend if you see me on the streets of Boise with camera in hand and my head down, I'm taking photographs of manhole covers, please say hello.

What do your city's manhole covers look like?

Printing Session

June 26, 2016

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!!@!?

Manhole Covers

May 30, 2016

Last sunday was a fun two hour drive and walk in the refreshing warm weather of Idaho. Photographing manhole covers of the City of Eagle is the start of my residency for MING Studios.

When one starts a project, one must define the information and materials needed to create the final product. In the last 16 years, I have developed a method of organizing the creation and publishing of every phase of the volumes.

If you are wondering how this project is created, the next few posts will uncover the tools used to create each volume of City Shields.

It all starts with camera in hand. Back in 99’, I built a large collection of manhole covers with a Sony Mavica digital camera. I continued photographing the entryways to the world beneath our feet.

My next camera to continue my obsession was a Nikon CP-950, then a Nikon Coolpix 5900. In 2008, I acquired my fourth digital camera, a Canon Power Shot A710. I decided in 2012 to try my hand at a D-SLR and purchased a Sony Alpha 33. It was time to grow-up and get serious in photography. The Sony Alpha is the in·fa·mous camera I wrote about in my first few blog posts at the beginning of the year.

from left to right: Nikon CP-950, Sony Mavica, Nikon Coolpix 5900, Canon Power Shot A710 and the Sony Alpha 33  D-SLR — from left to right: Nikon CP-950, Sony Mavica, Nikon Coolpix 5900, Canon Power Shot A710 and the Sony Alpha 33 D-SLR

When weather permits, hiking the streets can be a long day. Manhole covers can be few and far between, depending on the city--few photographs taken and lots of walking is done. After a year of walking/hiking, in 2000, my husband, Michael, and I decided to speed up the process and cruise the streets with scooters. That didn’t last long! It was fun but, hey! The hills were killers!

We still walk the pavement and drive around when we have too much area to cover in a short period of time. Topaz, our little Sheltie, has accompanied us since 2002 and often her shadow can be seen in a photograph of a manhole cover.

I take photographs of our presence during these walks for future reference. I can’t help myself!

© 2010 Louise Levergneux, manhole cover on Main Street in Salt Lake City, Utah

© 2012 Louise Levergneux, manhole cover in Albequerque, New Mexico, year of the tricentennial.

Oops! This isn’t a manhole cover but we're here standing on Historic Route 66!

© 2010 Louise Levergneux, in Santa-Rosa, NewMexico on Historic Route 66.

The major dilemma of this ongoing project is the forever changing technology. I try to keep a similar look to the original seven volumes, but differences are clear since digital cameras and printers continue to evolve.

With that said, I am running out of plastic Iomega Zip Disk jewel cases used for my slick presentation of each volume. Does anyone know where I can buy more? I know they are no longer manufactured; but a few must be hanging around somewhere.

Let’s continue next week with other tools used to publish the volumes of City Shields.

Welcome Bienvenue

Hello, my name is Louise Levergneux, I’m a book maker. This blog is where I share and reflect on the approaches and structures used in my creative process, artists' books, photography. and more...

Your comments and stories are welcome.

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