Prints

“INDU: Commensalists and Hand Me Downs” Installation, Oregon College of Arts and Craft

Posted by Tom Virgin

INDU: Commensalists and Hand Me Downs       Mixed media installation    12 ft x 12 ft x 12 ft             2008

This work came from an earlier residency at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 2006. I finished cutting the plates and printing the prints that came from that residency, while I was in residence at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2007. This installation was created for the 2008 AIR Exhibition that brought back all the participating artists for a show. I combined a large drawing, archival digital C-prints, woodcut prints, commercial mesh banners and ephemera to create the effect INDU had on me in 2006.

This work has been featured in a National Parks Publication,

 

Leila Thirteen Times, an artist’s book

Posted by Tom Virgin

Leila Thirteen Times        9 in x 9 in x 3 in (closed)           2005

This book was the result of several collaborations and a profound respect for another artist. The book consists of 13 pop up prints, seven to the right and six to the left. The book is an edition of 13. Covers are book board with Thai Unryu Newsprint that open in both directions from the dos a dos/accordion book block.

Escape 3: Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll, an artist’s book

Posted by Tom Virgin

Escape 3: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll         11 inches x 15 inches x .5 inc           2008

In this third and final volume of the Escape Series, the artist lands on Duval Street in Key West during a charming festival called Fantasy Fest. It is a cautionary tale with seven maps, seven pop ups, seven prints and accompanying stories from the Key West Citizen’s Police Briefs. Hard to believe, but I assure you, it is all true. I have seen it.

Book block is sewn with a kettle stitch using plywood covers wrapped in white denim with a plain brown wrapper. The endsheets are katazome paper. The edition size is 20.

This book is dedicated to a long time friend, Rick Reasin.

Escape 2, an artist’s book

Posted by Tom Virgin

Escape 2          11 inches x 15 inches x .5 inc           2004

Escape 2 picks up where “escape*… restrictions apply” left off, from the 7 Mile Bridge, headed west,  geographically, and from my status as a solo traveler to becoming  an honored guest of the native Florida Keys’ residents on my escape. Here I take the highway to places only a native would know, and join friends on, in, or under the waters of the Florida Keys.

The book has seven woodcut prints colorized from the original prints, unryu overleafs, altered charts, and a 1,500 word essay by the artist that speaks to the mysteries of the Keys and their residents. I am joined by a hunter/killer and earth mother in my travels from the 7 Mile Bridge to Key West and the waters off shore.

Escape prints (Florida Keys)

Posted by Tom Virgin

The work pictured here is a series of prints taken from repeated trips to the Florida Keys, visiting a long time friend. Sadly, my friend has passed away, but the friendship and experience of seeing the Keys as a native still lingers. The works begin on Card Sound Bridge and move south and west to the Seven Mile Bridge. The second group goes from Big Pine to just south of Key West. The third group runs around the main drag in Key West, Duval Street. These images are a snapshot of what happens during a Duval Crawl during Fantasy Fest. These images are gathered into the Escape Series of artist’s books as well.

Each print is 16 inches by 20 inches, edition of 20, woodcut relief prints on Japanese papers (except ATG and the Card Sound Bridge and  Tracy and Bahia Honda Bridge, 30 inches x 34 inches).

Leila

Posted by Tom Virgin

This series of 13 linoleum cut relief prints ended up in the aptly named Leila Thirteen Times, an artist’s book… about an artist named Leila. Each image is 12 inches x 12 inches, printed black on Japanese paper in an edition of 20. Created in 2005.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Posted by Tom Virgin

This National Park is nestled between Gary, Indiana and Michigan City Michigan spanning almost 20 miles across the southern shore of Lake Michigan on Indiana’s northernmost border. Nestle is probably not the word I should use to describe the relationship this 15,000 acre park has with its neighbors. It is hidden in urban sprawl that spans the southern edge of the Park. A residency there in 2006 had a profound effect on my relationships with the National Parks System, so much so that the images became part of another artist’s book: “INDU: Commensalists and Hand-me-downs.” INDU is the National Park’s acronym for the Park’s longer name, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. My work from this residency is featured on the Parks website (http://www.nps.gov/indu/supportyourpark/2006-Artist,-Tom-Virgin.htm) and in a U.S. Publication about AIR programs in all the National Parks (Drawing New Audiences, Expanding Interpretive Possibilities www.nps.gov/bicy/supportyourpark/upload/-0339415.pdf). 

2006 Artist-in-Residence Tom Virgin – National Park Service

Each of the prints in this series is 16 inches x 20 inches, in black ink on Japanese paper, in an edition of 20.

 

13 Views of Mt. Hood

Posted by Tom Virgin

An artist’s residency at Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2007 was a rich experience, kitty corner across the world from what I am used to. The Cascades are incredible, volcanoes popping up from the ground,  from California through Washington State. I came with the hope of creating an homage to Hokusai and the people of Portland. I left with renewed friendships from my youth and new friendships with Portland’s finest.

All images in this series 16 inches x 20 inches, black ink on Japanese paper, edition of 20.

Broadsheets, work on paper

Posted by Tom Virgin

2008 brought a new wrinkle to my production: Broadsheets. John Cutrone taught an introduction to broadsheets at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts that was anything but beginning. His teaching and guidance helped me to become a part of al-Mutannabi Starts Here group of artists. For more on this, check out the Jaffe website: http://www.library.fau.edu/depts/spc/JaffeCenter/collection/al-mutanabbi/index.php

Another opportunity to work with writers came through the Miami SWEAT Portfolio. A group of Miami writers and artists responded to a call for broadsheet collaborations that responded to the concept of “sweat” in any or all of its permutations. Two meetings at Sweat Records in Miami in 2009 and 2011 provided a venue for the meet and greet between the visual/word artists. The portfolio continues to grow.

The SWEAT Portfolio also introduced me to several writers with national reputations and local addresses. Several years of artist’s residencies have brought a wealth of experience from artists in other disciplines to bear on my practice. I am always amazed and charmed to find that that guy (or girl) who I say hello to at Book and Books in Coral Gables is also a writer. Poet Michael Hettich and I began collaborating as a result of meeting during a SWEAT get together. In 2011 we collaborated on his poem, “Flood.” The effort produced four broadsheets that weave images through this beautiful poem. Our broadsheets were purchased for the collection of Alberto Ibargüen at the 2011 Locust Projects “Smash and Grab” Fundraiser.

Various other works spinning out of public art projects and other ventures are included in this gallery.

 

Watauga County, North Carolina

Posted by Tom Virgin

Friends and family have brought me to Boone, North Carolina on several occasions. I was a finalist in a call for public art for the AppalCART Transportation System that serves Appalachain State University and Watauga County in the mountains of North Carolina. The work is a result of exploring the area and meeting its residents. The proposal images for the AppalCART Central Station are in the Public Art section of this site.

Linoleum cut prints, black ink on Japanese Paper, editions of 20. C-prints dimensions variable, editions of 20. Metal Drawings, editions of 5, dimesions variable.