News!
January 12, 2012
It has been too long
since I have made updates on this site and a lot of art has been
made. I spent several months making a whole 15th c. style book for one
client, then in September I had the Kerrytown Bookfest, three weekends
of a parchment making workshop I taught here at the house, and 5 book
covers to get done! It was crazy! But I won an exhibitor award at the
Kerrytown Bookfest, and that was really nice. Later, I made
another MAGIC card painting into a bigger and better version, so you'll
see the new Dark Judge (based on Ebon Praetor) when the web site
relaunches. In February 2011, I was Artist Guest of Honor at Mysticon's
relaunch, and this March I will be back in VA as a special guest of the
Virginia Festival Of The Book.
My wife Ann Asplund has finally launched her web site AnnOtherDay.com
It is dedicated to fiber arts, especially making specialty clothing.
She knits, needlebinds, embroiders, weaves, and creates designer
clothing for contemporary with a flare, for medieval, viking, fantasy,
and steampunk interests. She is also making things in wood and ceramic.
Please visit her web site soon! Especially if you want something unique
and really cool for a gift or for yourself.
The following is for SCA members: After thinking about it quite a bit,
I decided that I wanted more time with my wife at Pennsic, and more
time playing at the knight in Pennsic battles while I'm still young
enough that it is fun. So I have decided not to exhibit at the Guild Mirandola
Booth anymore. I will visit, and if asked I will teach, but to find me
at Pennsic might require leaving a message at the Barony of Cynnabar
camp or seeking me after I finish with a class.
In other news, we now have a lot more wood working tools, and a new
drill press. Making books requires wood working, and these things will
help a lot. I've also been making cast bronze scribe tools and book
hardware thanks to my friend Tomak.
The new computer system is working and at long last the new Wacom
graphics tablet will talk to the Linux system and programs, which was
just in the nick oftime for a big digital job for a couple of Baen
Books illustrations. Linux doesn't resolve all issues, so I still have
my Mac to fill in the gaps.
Appearances & Classes:
ConFusion: I'll be at ConFusion the weekend of January 20-21, 2012. I'm showing art abut no program participation this year.
Charlottesville, VA. The Virginia Festival Of The Book, March 21-25, 2012
WEB SITE RELAUNCH>>>>
Well, it took a LOT longer to get around to this than I hoped, but I am
actually in the midst of it now. Look for announcements on my regular
Facebook page and on the public Facebook page "RandyAsplund, Artist",
or look here in the near future.
I want to make things easier to find, so this is going to be an
overhaul from the
ground on up. This is going to take a lot of work, and since I plan to
load it all at once, you won't see any changes until it goes live.
Don't worry about your favorite bookmarks being lost. They will still
go to a page with that title and hopefully most of the same content, or
to a Redirection page. Image files will not change names or locations.
As of this date, I'm
not done yet. Looks like it will be a bit longer.
On Face Book
I have been posting things on my Face Book pages. My business name in Face Book is "Randy Asplund, Artist"
Please stop by and visit to see what I've been doing. I post pictures
of projects and my latest works when I can. I also post things of
interest to artists and collectors when they come up. It is an addition
to this News Page.
Ceramics moving forward with a new potter's wheel!
Thanks
to Greenhills school, who donated their two old kilns to me when
they were upgrading, Ann and I have been branching into the ceramic
arts on a larger scale. The garage is now wired for 220 and we just
picked up an old Shimpo potter's whhel I had to restore it, but that's
fun too. We're already making reproduction medieval pottery for my
illumination
studio and for props for TV documentaries.
Color Research Continues:
I've
been working with the turnsole plants, the rue, blue cornflowers
galore, and that big batch of black nightshade. The color experiments
for most of it are done, and the results are exciting! I'm also doing detailed examinations of what
happens to these plant juices over time after they have been added to
verdigris, and studying verdigris closely, trying to pin down when
it or other colors are incompatible and when they are not. I'm also
working on similar issues with Orpiment.
Parchment Study
I am doing a study of parchments and some papers from the middle ages.
I've been through over 40 MSS so far, checking the page thickness
and characteristics. On several MSS I also checked opacity and Pantone
color. Results will be in my book.
Secrets of Forgotten Masters:
The technological processes of making books from 700-1500 in Western
Europe.
I am writing a pretty heavy duty book on how the codex form of
the book was made in the middle ages in western Europe. I have
been researching all of the steps from making the parchment, the
tools, the inks, the paints, the gilding, and the binding. It
is quite a big job, and I am taking pains to work out the bugs
in the medieval recipes and techniques of application so they
work properly. There seems to be a lot of mis-information out
there, and I am doing my best to correct it. I am also illustrating
it with color photos of the entire processes. Its going to be
really amazing when it is done, and I will make announcements
when it is ready to distribute. At this point it looks like a
couple more years though, since I am working on some plants that
have been problematic. If you want to see some teaser pictures,
check out my Facebook pages at:
Facebook:
Randy Asplund
Well, that ought
to do it for now. I hope you enjoy the site!
Back to
RANDY ASPLUND.COM