Jenny Pope's Carved Out Place!

Aug 30, 2011

The Players

Petya wants a snark! My favorite thing to do with this cat is pick him up and bury my face in his neck.
I think he secretly likes it.
Here the "mister of charms" looking like a doll. His tail is flitting back and forth forever more.

Oh Elliot, did you just drop that slimy ball in my lap?
Finished woodcut "Lena Mister of Charms" click to go to my website for more information about these "friends"
thank you Jason Edwards and Craig Mains for these wonderful photos


Aug 29, 2011

Catch and Release, woodcut about Rainbow Trout

“Observers on the ground described a cloud of mist that suddenly appeared behind the plane, full of the barely distinguishable dark shapes of small fish. The fish tumbled through the air in a spray of water and splashed like raindrops in the middle of the lake. Many of them, according to the observers, survived.” (halverson pg 90) My woodcut represents the history of rainbow trout introduction into isolated lakes, streams and rivers. Rainbow trout are an invasive species, and, have been introduced into all kinds of lake environments mostly for the pleasure of sport fisherman. Visitors come in droves every year and bring lots of tourism dollars to isolated areas in hopes of catching a big one. According to National Geographic, the largest Rainbow Trout ever caught weighed in at a whopping 57 pounds. I wonder if it is displayed above a fireplace somewhere preserved til the end of time…
Many Americans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries thought the high isolated mountain lakes were being wasted because of the lack of fish, so, as the railroad became more popular, people and  fish were transported at the same time across the states and dumped into any and all bodies of water in the area. The fish were also carried in backpacks, on mules, in milk and coffee cans and any other container that could hold water. (halverson pg 167) Aeriel stocking became a preferred way of introducing the fish after WWII. Stockpiles of military equipment were put to use. Other animals were dropped as well including beavers (equipped with a special parachute), turkeys, partridges, shrimp and aquatic plants. (halverson pg 91)Very little research was conducted on the effectiveness of the “trout toss”, but, it was common practice til the year 2001, when it came to a total stop. (haverson pg 170)
Unfortunately nowadays 2 of every 3 fish in the Colorado River are non-native. The river once had 51 native fish species and is now overrun with 100 non-native fishes (halverson pg 146) including multiple synthesized species of rainbow trout.
The lakes use to be very special and unique ecosystems. It is estimated that 5% of lakes mountain lakes contained fish 1000 years ago. Today only about 40% lack fish and most of those are lacking only because the lakes freeze the fish out in the wintertime. The only animals  that were able to make it to these high isolated areas were amphibians, insects and other invertebrates. Once the fish were released, the frog populations and (native fish if they were present) plummeted. The probable reason for the frog decline is that they make good fish food, and when the lakes become overrun with a large predator, the frogs don’t have a chance to recuperate. It is kind of like my garden and the battle with the deer. My plants just don’t have a chance to grow back all of their branches before another herd comes to take a bite.
At first fisheries managers thought the native fish were “trash” species as they were small, hard to catch and didn’t fit into a capitalist society. Because of the big bucks in tourism dollars brought by anglers wanting to bring home a whomper and have an adventure as well the Colorado Pikeminnow, Humpback Chub, Razorback Sucker  and  the Boneytail Chub are now on the endangered species list and Americans have spent over 100 million dollars trying to bring these species back. And, the eradication tables have turned, now, rainbow trout of the subject of removal and more moola is spent trying to get rid of them. Instead of tossing them out of planes, maybe we could create a huge vacuum cleaner and suck all the water out of the lake, sort the fish from the  other stuff, put the other stuff back and voila, have a perfect ecosystem once again (it may be hard to sense sarcasm in text, but, it is there.)  A former fisheries manager Phil Pister is quoted saying, “why professional biologists employed by western fish and wildlife management agencies lacked the motivation to  inventory their native faunas and devise programs to ensure their perpetuation… Having spent most of the  past two decades pondering this question, and based on my own experiences as a state fish and game agency biologist, I would lay most of the blame at the feet of a bureaucracy rooted in tradition, an almost universal program direction and professional ethic built around sport and commercial fishing, and university curricula devoid of courses in environmental ethics and ecological  and evolutionary principles.” (halverson pg 179-80) I think this is a good note to leave it on.

Thank you Anders Halverson for writing “An Entirely Synthetic Fish” and giving me fodder to make this woodcut.

Aug 24, 2011

JPOP Printmaking

 Printing my piece titled, "Sleeted Chicklets" This is how I make most of my color-reduction woodcuts.
Rolling up penguin beaks
close up
Setting down the block, I put the paper down first and then the woodblock
then I crank the press and the pressure of the roller transfers the ink to the paper.
Voila! Orange penguin beaks!

This is how I use to dry my woodcuts, but, now I have a fancy drying rack :)

Sleeted Chicklets finished! Click to see the piece on my JPOP website.


Penguins in Antarctica are having a hard time, with a warmer climate snow is turning into rain. Baby penguins have a soft down coating, snow just falls right off but rain penetrates to their bodies and they freeze to death. A very sad story, but, one worth telling. Everybody loves a penguin!


Aug 22, 2011

Bird of Paradise woodcut in progress

This piece is about the Greater Bird of Paradise which is a wonderfully decadent avian species. Actually most birds of paradise are quite amazing show pieces.

Edwin Sholes works at the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University and was kind enough to talk with me about Birds of Paradise and showed me some amazing short films taken in Papua New Guinea about their strange mating rituals. Since the birds live on isolated islands, there was never a threat from being eaten by other animals, so, the males feathers grew longer and brighter, and more elegant (or ridicules depending on your nature) in order to impress the ladies.

I made this piece in particular because of a story I read about collectors in the late 19th century sending skins of the Greater Bird of Paradise to Europe and the prepared them in the fields of Aru Island without wings or feet because it was easier to ship them that way.

The species was named Paradisaea apoda, or "legless bird of paradise", because when they arrived in Europe scientists there believed they were missing those key body parts. The birds were thought to be rather mythical creatures, floating in the atmosphere by their plumage, females laying eggs on the males back, and only touching earth to die.

Below are all the colors of the piece scanned as I printed each layer. I carved, then printed then carved then printed. I hope this explains the "reduction woodcut" process in a visual way as I know it is hard to understand.

Yellow! Wowsers

2nd color

What a green

turquoise

brown

and DONE! Please click to go to my website and read more about birds of paradise.

Aug 18, 2011

A little about Jenny

G' Day

Sit down for a bit and check out my art and this blog! I am a full-time artist residing in the the lovely Finger Lakes region of NY State. If you like wine, winemakers, waterfalls, cross country skiing, and acedemia then Ithaca is the perfect spot! Oh, and woodpeckers. We have seen 7 species in our yard, and, had 3 species let us know that there were bugs in our shingles.

Wanna Chat?

Feel free to contact me anytime about art, ecology, ideas for new woodcuts, or to tell me to get on task and stop wasting my time on Etsy and facebook :) my email address is jpopstudios@gmail.com

I also am available for lectures and an occasional workshop. My presentations can include information about my artwork and important topics such as invasive species, endangered animals and extinct animals as well as the business side of art and how I have found a way to make a living through art festivals.

Favorite Things

I love birds, my poodle, my partner Craig Mains, and reading about ecology and the environment and how we are changing our planet. I am always up for a good read, so please pass any favorite books along. David Quammen and E.O. Wilson are two of my favorite nature authors. Their writing has shaped my artwork on multiple occasions. Traveling is a wonderful activity, my life involves trekking to 17 cities all over the country each year, and, a trip to Italy is in my future! If you are needing any lionfish woodcuts in your life, take a look at my Kickstarter project where I am trying to pre-sell some art to pay way to the land of pasta. Thank you for taking a peek!