Three prints by Mon Petit Fantome

Three prints from original paper-cuts made by etsy member Mon Petit Fantome -he also has a blog :

My Little Magician

I have many secrets

I'll always be there

Weekend Project: How To

We finally got a new desk and it has a glossy white laquered finish that makes it hard for the mouse to work on. So the grungy mouse pad that we kept in the pull-out keyboard shelf on the old desk had to go now that it would be seen on top of the new desk. I had a few scraps of cork board that you can buy in 12" squares from places like Target. So here's what I did - and you can too:

First of all - I started with an image from some vintage silhouette woodcuts:
Then I scanned the image: (feel free to use mine)

Then I printed out the scan at a larger scale:Then using some carbon paper, I traced the outline of the image onto the cork board (the cork board is aprox 1/4" thick). Then I took my trusty x-acto knife and cut it out. The cork board can shed a little if the edges are left rough from the cuts, so I would recommend lightly sanding the edges with some finishing sand paper. That's it. Pretty simple huh? Here's images of the finished product:


It added a nice warmness to the starkness of our desk and computer. If you are using your own image, look for something that has a large solid shape and something you're able to cut out with a x-acto knife.
ps - this may be the first in a series of how-tos...

Jarred De Palo at Newspeak

On a walk yesterday, I stumbled upon a great show of prints titled "Dependency" by Jarred De Palo. It is in the front of a tattoo shop that also sells some art supplies and clothing - called Newspeak (2907 E. Colfax - near the Shoppe and the Fabric Lab). I'm glad I walked in, because this is a show that should not be missed. The hand-pulled and editioned silk screened prints are all very reasonably priced - $30-60 if I recall right. They look like they are printed on high-quality paper with nice little embellishments near the signature. Jarred has composed a lot of clever and interesting silhouette designs, most of which are also being printed on some clothing. Check it out!



T-Shirt designs by Jarred De Palo (these same designs are printed in positive on white paper for the short-run editions).