LXIX -

translates to  69.    That's our up to the minute count.  And here is an interesting fact:

The aliquot sum of sixty-nine is 27 within the aliquot sequence (69,27,13,1,0) 69 being the third composite number in the 13-aliquot tree.

69 is a semiprime. Furthermore, since the two factors of 69 are both Gaussian primes, 69 is a Blum integer.

Adding up the divisors of 1 through 9 gives 69.

This my friends, is why we are printmakers!

Sixty-Eight!

Googling images for "68" this is what caught my eye:

It's from a 1904 German-English Primer.  Don't you just love the font? You didn't know this was a bi-lingual exchange, huh?  So now, when your setting up your studio to make your prints, and someone interrupts you to ask, "Where is the water?" you'll know how to respond in German, "In the cistern is water." or you could just answer, "I was in the circus," which will explain a lot.

Woo-hoo!  We have sixty-eight participants.

Only One short of Five Baker's Dozen

 

Here's the ancient bakery in Pompeii.  Can't you just smell the aroma of fresh Italian bread, pizza or focaccia? And how many baker's dozen do you suppose came out of that great Italian relic?  I doubt they had the term baker's dozen back then, and according to the wonders of Wikipedia, the term comes from 13th century England (get it, 13?) during the reign of King Henry III.  This quick-fix resource suggests the term appeared in an English statute where bakers (read printmakers) who shortchanged their customers were liable to severe punishment!  To guard against the punishment of losing a hand to an axe, the baker (read printmaker) would give 13 items for an intended dozen to prevent "short measure."

We're up to 64, thanks to Rembrandt's humanity, which means we are one short of 5 baker's dozen.   But we still have nearly 12 hours to wrap it up.

Woman Sitting Beside a Stove . . . waiting for the leftovers to reheat

So, how do I announce that we are 1 short of 64 Leftover Loving Printmakers???   I could go to the novel I'm reading, open it up to page 63, which I did, but there was nothing of any relevance in the novel.  So, I hunted through my printmaking books, and opened one of them (A Treasury of the World's Great Prints, 1961 - which I found at Powell's Books in Portland in the used section) to page 63.  That page had Rembrandt's Christ with the Sick Around Him, Receiving Little Children, which is a lovely print but didn't really speak to me.  Thus, I turned the page to 64, and what to my wondering eyes should appear?????

If she isn't waiting for the leftovers to reheat, my name is Albrecht Durer!

But all kidding aside, the note that appears below the print is what really caught my attention.   It reads:  The artist did not see woman in terms of classic beauty or perfect proportions.  He could not make of the nude a specious, standardized product.  Here he takes a Dutch housemaid, heavy, fertile and mortal, and gives her a solid grace worthy of a goddess.  Etching 8-7/8" x 7-3/8", courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Rosenwald Collection  

What's So Special About the Number 59??

Well, for starters, one of our favorite leftover dolls was born in '59.  C'mon, you know who I'm talking about!

And then, of course, Don Drysdale hit his 2nd opening day home run in 1959 . . .
Liz Taylor entered her 4th marriage to Eddie Fisher,
Bob Dylan graduated from Hibbing High School in Minnesota,
Hawaii became the 50th state,
Bonanza premiered - duht dada duht dada duht, dada duht, dadada, duh . . .
Kruschev  was in the US and was denied access to Disneyland!
Cosmo editor Helen Gurley married David Brown.  Get it?  Helen Gurley Brown!
Shimmy, shimmy koko bop became part of the rock lexicon.

So what else is special about 59?
We now have 59 Leftover Lovers! and I wonder how many leftover lovers are left-handed?

Sign in, if you're left handed!

Fifty-six Signatures!

Yup, there were  only 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence.   And what a coincidence!  There are mournfully only 56 signatures so far on the Leftovers exchange.


Need some trivia?   "Of all 56 signers of the Declaration, the first, largest, and most famous signature is that of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge (age 26). Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest. Two future presidents signed: John Adams (second President) and Thomas Jefferson (third President)."*


Okay, so I can tell you the oldest signature so far on Leftovers.  Rats, it's probably me at age 60. (But I'd gladly give this position up!)  Two Presidents of Red Circle Press (myself and Ben Love) signed  - so there's a commonality.    The first to sign up was Odessa Leedy.  The youngest signer needs to speak up.  And the most famous signer needs to come forward and introduce themselves.   Or we could take a vote.  Naw, let's just work on getting just a few more artists to join the fight for leftovers and sign on the dotted line _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!


Oh, and by the way, if you're curious how I know there were 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence, I Googled "fifty-six" and found the above info at this site:
www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/index.htm

The Limit is not 55!

Even if Jimmy Carter says so.  

So, by all means,  follow the rules of the road.  But never, ever settle for 55 in the leftover lane.  I repeat:  Never, ever settle for 55 in the leftover lane.   We're cruising at 55 now, but not for long, I hope. Now, get out and beat the bushes for just a few more leftover lovers.  You can do it, I just know you can. Would 75 get us there? I'm game.

I said, it's really not my habit to intrude . . .

Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued

But I'll repeat myself, at the risk of being crude

There's  50 way to use your leftovers!

Slip 'em in the ferric, Eric

Make a new plate, Nate

The prints will be great, Kate

Just listen to me

Don't sign with a pen, Jen

We need some more men, Ben!

Store 'em really, really flat, Matt

Just listen to me


Be done in a jiff, Tiff,
Get off of the fence, Pence
No need to feel shame, Ame
Just listen to me

Wear an old frock, Schrock

Come down from the hill, Jill

Find  scraps of old Lana, Anna

Just listen to me


Wipe the plate off, Hoff
Soak paper in the tub, Bubb
Pull off a new print, Clint
And get yourself free!


Thanks to Paul Simon - 

and the 50 awesome printmakers who have signed up for the Leftovers Anyone? exchange.   Now, whaddyasay we shoot for 60?  I'm in. You?  Spread the love!

FOOD FOR 50?

No, not even LEFTOVERS FOR 50!   But we're only two away from having 50 participants!  Take a minute right now and twist a printmaker's arm (gently, of course) to join our Leftovers, Anyone? print exchange and help us get at least 50 participants.   I'm so optimistic that it can happen!

The Pressure is ON

That's right.  There are only 10 more days to join the Leftovers, Anyone? exchange.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt there are tons more leftovers out there.   TONS of leftovers.  You know it and I know it. Do me a favor.   Call a few of your printing pals and insist they participate.  Now.

Hear the beat!

Of printing feet - on the avenue, 5th Avenue and 42nd Street!

Put on your tap shoes, put your paper in the water, set the pressure on the press and open that can of ink!

Forty and still kicking

We're up to 40 in our Leftover Exchange, but that's NOT enough.   Spread the love!

It's not what you think . . .

or maybe it is.  It's leftover filo dough. Do you think you could print on it?  I bet Mid eastern spies do.

Is that a fork in the leftover road?

Nope, it's a sign to let you know we have 36 artists sharing their leftovers!  Three dozen's not bad, but it's barely enough.  Spread the word.

Leftover Tales

Made sauteed spinach with garlic and lemon olive oil to accompany couscous and pork chops last night for dinner.   The hard part about cooking for Kirk is there are seldom any leftovers. Kirk couldn't resist finishing ALL of the couscous (it was darn good)  but did put the leftover spinach in a little  container in the fridge.

Does this even count as a leftover?  Or:

A) Kirk's a sleepwalker and dreamed he had a few more bites of spinach to finish.
B) This is leftover spinach from a previous meal last summer that shrunk up to be one of those containers of unrecognizable green things in the back of the fridge.
C) It's leftover scrambled eggs from a previous meal last summer that shrunk up to be one of  those containers of unrecognizable green things in the back of the fridge.
D) Kirk is working on showing leftover restraint.

This image isn't worth repeating, but it might just give me a theme for the exchange.  Plus it's the paper that supposed to be leftover, isn't it?

This is What Got us Here in the First Place!

Yup, and many have gone before us!    I'd introduce you, but I nabbed this image off google images.  Got an all time favorite leftover maker?   Let us know!

Wait! Don't Do It!

I think I see a piece of Magnani Pescia in there!
 OMG, there's a scrap of German Etching, too.    Step away from the shredder. Now.  Put your hands in the air and wave that scrap of
whateveritis and say out loud.  "Yes, yes, I promise not to shred my scraps or let them jam the flatfile.  Yes, I do agree to join the coolest printmakers in the Leftovers Anyone exchange."

 See, wasn't that easy?

There's still plenty of time to join! You'll be so glad you did.

Get out the Map Pins!

Leftover lovers are uniting!  I mean it.  Of course we knew Idahoans wouldn't be able to resist. It's our nature.

Leftover roasted postatoes, leftover mashed potatoes, leftover parsley buttered potatoes, leftover scalloped potatoes, left over french fries.  Well . . .  maybe not leftover french fries, but you get my drift.   And apparently there are leftover lovin' ladies and lads in California, Nevada, Michigan, Massachusetts, Utah and even Kansas!  The word is spreading and  those overstuffed flat files and bulging Dan Smith shipping boxes that have been screaming for attention are finally getting the respect they deserve.   So drop those scribes, exacto knives, litho crayons, lino tools, solarplates and tarlatans and reach out to your fellow printmakers!  Let them know there is hope!  Let them know it's time to reach up and lift the load of weighty leftover paper from their shoulders and turn them into prints that can take their rightful place in the world.

There's still time and there's good news a-comin, I promise.

A Call for Leftovers

Leftovers today - tomorrow world class art!

A call for leftovers?  Are you kidding?  Nope, I'm serious.  Have you ever been caught spending more time organizing your stuff instead of making art.  Well, you probably haven't, but this is one of my favorite diversion tricks.   I did it all day Saturday.  I decided to organize my paper and got a bit carried away when I began organizing all the leftover edition scraps that tend to accumulate. While tempted to toss them and struggling with the obsessive thought that I may really need them some day, I decided I needed 'em and I need them now.  And here's why -

Hello printmakers!

Leftovers, anyone?

I was cleaning out my flat files yesterday and found about a gzilatrillion scraps of paper from tearing down BFK, Arches, Stonehenge and Somerset papers from various editions and exchanges, etc. -  and then I had this idea as I was sorting them all because I'm sure each and everyone of you have mounds of scraps, too.   So here's the deal!   Wingtip Press will be hosting a print exchange called Leftovers.  I'm inviting any artist/printmaker that wants to participate and you can, too.  The good news is you only have to make 13 itty bitty prints and you will receive an assortment of a dozen itty bitty Leftovers once they have all been submitted.  And they will, of course,  be in various sizes, papers, and methods, blah, blah, blah.

Here are the details -

Servings Per Container:  13

Serving Size:  Up to 5" x 7"  - can be smaller, but no larger

Printing Method:  It's up to you as long as the leftovers are hand pulled

Cost:  $12.00 a baker's dozen. (you make 13, you get 12 leftovers for a buck a piece )

Expiration date:  Tuesday, March 23, 2010  (I think Tuesdays are good leftover days, don't you? - plus nothin' ever happens on Tuesdays)

You have until midnight,  December 30 to decide if you're in.   There will be no room for leftovers on December 31 - plus anybody in their right mind will be out partying anyway!

OH!  There will be a big Leftover potluck for the local folk at a date and place to be determined.

Please feel free to pass this along to any artist/printmaker you know that might be interested.  I will be setting up a blog about this exchange and will give you the link once you decide to participate.  

You have three months to do it, you get rid of a lot of scraps, you get back a dozen prints and I promise fun along the way and I'll be working on an exhibiton.  I promise!!!

Remember, think ink, prefer paper, love life and make art all day long.

And may all your leftovers taste as good as they did on that first bite!!

Amy

www.wingtippress.com

So, sign up to become a Leftover's blog member as we blog our way through our leftover exchange.  It'll be a reason to delay making the art until the last minute.  And you can share your thoughts with the rest of us while you're procrastinating!

Bon appetit!