November 2023

From Rhonda at Horton House Press, Alaska

Dreaming Red Currants hand-pulled monotype printing

Following my drawing of the red currant bush and process photos of the monotype printing on plexiglass, I am pleased to give you a look at the final outcome of layering some greens, yellows, and reds to get my hope realized on paper.

Shown below are a few more process prints, as well the finished original print and the unfinished ghost print. At about this stage, the original and the ghost prints take on their own callings and become separate unto themselves. A dialogue takes place to be resolved between artist and each print (hence: original prints–original hand-pulled prints–not reproductions).

Image gallery image
Pouncer and freezer wrap paper stencil used for berries.

The printing of the berry clusters became more work than expected. Through a somewhat crude printmaking process, it is very easy for these clusters to end up as red blobs–not what I want– 😬. So I am very thankful for the use of a pouncer–a round sponge on the end of a wooden dowel just the right size worked great for the berries along with freezer wrap paper for stenciling.

Reflection: next time try working larger or smaller for berries.




If only I found such a cluster in our yard! More than anticipated, the currants here are a bit brilliant in their reds. I will work on finishing the ghost print next.



A little more of what is going on inside Horton House Press – Alaska

Sojourning to a past adventure with an idea, I put one of my pieces of art on a “T” shirt. There’s a real-life story behind this pastel drawing Coming into Alaska, July 4, 2018, 12:22 am.

As the title implies, we had just past the Alaska-Canada boarder and made our way down the Tok Highway. Bound for home, and literally busting at the seams, we had secured the backend of our travel trailer from top to bottom with duct tape.

I began to take pictures through the window of the midnight sun setting over the land, catching just a glimpse of Mt. Denali as it disappeared behind the rushing landscape.

There before us, we were awestruck – clouds appeared as our Old Glory Flag lain across the land! It was a welcoming sight to say we made it safely home, and then we noticed it was just after midnight on the 4th of July!

I am offering these limited edition “T” shirts signed and numbered. With several responses for the sleeve art, I decided to make this variation. I invite you to take a look, offer opinions in the comments below or email, and consider purchasing one for yourself or a loved one. I may offer them again summer of 2024.

These fine “T” shirts on a cotton blend fabric use pigmented ink and contrasting black thread. The image Into Alaska is from the original diptych (consisting of two drawings framed together to make a whole).

To get a better look and/or purchase, click any choice link below and you will be directed to the store.



Events – Past and Upcoming

The Alaska State Fair 2023

Showing for a second time at the iconic Old Colony Church now the Alaska State Fair Wine Bar. It was a pleasure to exhibit once again along with fellow artists and catch up on all that was happening.

State Proof

Thursday – Sunday
January2024
International Gallery of Contemporary ArtState Proof – A curated exhibition of Alaska Printmakers

Opening Reception – First Friday, Jan. 5, 5-8pm
1:00pm-4:00pm427 D Street • Anchorage, Alaska 99501

". . .in the midst of the unknown. . .I am grateful now, before all is well. . ." Allen Arnold 

– always with thanksgiving 😊


Please feel free to contact me with any questions at my email: [email protected]



You may leave a comment in the space provided below, which is very much appreciated. Thank you for visiting Horton House Press Studio Insider.

June 2023

From Rhonda at Horton House Press, Alaska

A Late Spring

We are having a very late spring here in Alaska. The roses have yet to bud. Google reminded me the other day of this, while showing me one of my photos of some Alaska Prickly Roses taken at this time of year, 2016. With this late spring also comes my late newsletter I wanted to get out in May.

Vision and Imagination

Along with my expectancy of spring flowers, I have been imagining a bounty of our Northern Red Currants growing in our yard. We have some every year, but far and few in between. They pop up randomly, but never in the same place. When I came across this photo of a Red Currant bush so lavish with its fruit, I decided to claim this as a vision for my own.

One day I hope to have some Red Currants growing in our yard just as abundant. For the meantime, I will settle on this picture and enjoy this bush from here along with some creative transformative printmaking to steward my hope. Taking this vision with imagination together begins my spring seed for a fall berry harvest of printmaking.

A most bountiful Red Currant bush. (Photo courteous of Wikipedia Public Domain)

Taking a closer look at the red berry bush and focusing my attention to one particular area, I started with a drawing for a monotype print (monotype is a type of monoprint/a one-of a-kind print). I added some Northern Red Currant leaf shapes I had pressed and photographed a few years back. I will have to wait and look for these wild Northern Red Currant bushes in our own yard to get a good photo of the flowers to work with also.

I am not done yet, but look forward to more layering of colors to bring out the unfinished areas, add some shapes, along with some red for the berries.

I will be gathering photos and drawings of the flowers and fruit of other berry bushes that grow naturally in our yard. These include High and Low-bush Cranberries, Watermelon berries, and Rose hips. I also have a Cherry tree/bush and a new Blueberry bush. The Cherry tree is suppose to be a tree, but it looks more and more like a bush, such as a Chokecherry bush. It has a lot of flowers this year, so we will see.


On the Horizon – A Food Journey into Slovenia, Croatia and into Italy

This summer my husband Rich and I, along with my sister Marina (Chef Brancely), have the wonderful opportunity to go on a culinary arts adventure, or as our host Active Gourmet Holidays describes it, a “food journey” throughout Slovenia (our Grandfather’s homeland), the Istrian Peninsula of Croatia, Italy and back to Slovenia. We had this all set in 2020, but had to put it on hold due to the pandemic. Now we are able to resume our plans.

We will spend 9 days visiting family vineyards, orchards, small farms and kitchens for simple homemade dishes–like wild boar goulash and cold meats–kobasice and prosciutto, local specialities, while sourcing local produce, honey, wild asparagus and herbs.

We will visit cheesemakers, gourmet food shops for pastries and take part in cooking along with local chefs in making traditional dishes to these areas.

Our journey will take us into the woods to experience hunting for truffles with dogs that sniff them out and then to a country cottage to make pasta with the fresh truffles.

We will also have the opportunity to visit an artist colony with galleries and jewelry shops, a castle, medieval hill-towns, and seaside villages. I will garner all I can throughout this food journey to bring inspiration back to my home studio for my next big idea.


Local Events

– Alaska Biennial 2022 -2023

The Alaska Biennial has extended this years exhibit through Fall of 2023.

My monotype print Winter Glacier will continue to be a part of this show and can be seen throughout the summer season.

On view between now and October 16, 2023.

Please see info below, as well a link provided for more information.

Alaska Biennial 2022
November 4, 2022 through October 1, 2023 2022-2023
Alaska Biennial 2022 at the Anchorage MuseumContemporary artwork by Alaskan artists celebrating the meaning of “place.”
DailyAnchorage Museum 625 C Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."  Albert Einstein

Until next time! Have a most wonderful summer!


Please feel free to contact me with any questions at my email: [email protected]



You may leave a comment in the space provided below, which is very much appreciated . Thank you for visiting Horton House Press Studio Insider.

March 2022

Welcome

to Horton House Press, Alaska— an artist’s home studio and a place where you will be sure to discover an exciting adventure into the world of fine art printmaking. Thank you for joining my newsletter—a studio insider! You will be first to see new work and hear about online workshops. I will give you a glimpse behind-the-scenes into processes and techniques in printmaking, papermaking, mixed-media, assemblage, upcoming shows, fun-facts, an artist’s life and more.

Rhonda teaching a Zoom art class

A little about me and my work

As a child I began to capture the world around me through drawing and photography. I involved myself with arts and crafts, sewing, music and poetry. As a self-taught artist, I worked on many art projects—from posters to murals, set designing & props, building floats, teaching and art administration. Responding to an invitation into the fascinating world of printmaking, I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art, University of Alaska, Anchorage, with studio emphasis in printmaking and drawing. I am a teaching artist on the Alaska State Teacher Artist Roster (STAR artist).

Read more: Welcome and About

Horton House Press – A Heap of Scrap Metal and ‘Splinter of Wood

It took my husband’s appreciation for art, along with a heap of scrap metal, to build an etching press that now proudly gets good use in a corner of our home. Beginning as a ‘splinter of wood’—our home, a small cabin on 1¼ acres in Wasilla, Alaska was not only a place for homemaking, but a place to capture the rhythms of nature putting them into art making, and now, becoming Horton House Press, Alaska— where I enjoy making and sharing the way to original hand pulled prints.

Rich Horton etching press

Read more

Atelier – an artist workshop or studio, Old French astelle 'splinter of wood' 
Our ‘splinter of wood’ home and studio, circa 1988.

Occurrences – a pastel drawing, monotype prints and mixed media assemblage

Revisiting remnants of prior artwork and a past experience, I worked with shapes, pieces, and found objects on things that materialized, surfaced, emerged, happened before me—a wonder, or phenomena to be reckoned. Occurrences follow: Coming into Alaska 4th July, 2018, 12:22 am, a pastel drawing real-life experience; Winter Glacier, a ghost monotype print; Spring Glacier, a monotype print with chine-collé; and The Parting, an assemblage of paper and found objects. Along with these, also came Beluga Whale Migrations, a series of three A, B, C monotype prints.

Coming into Alaska 4th July, 2018, 12:22 am, pastel, 11.5 in. x 35.5 in., © 2021.

Winter Glacier, monotype print, 13.75 in. x 22.25 in., © 2021.

Spring Glacier, monotype print chine-collé, 15.12 in. x 22.25 in., © 2021

The Parting, mixed-media paper assemblage, 24 in. x 32 in., © 2021.

Beluga Whale Migration “A,” monotype, 13 in. x 20 in., © 2021.

Beluga Whale Migration”B,” monotype, reverse ghost print, 13 in. x 20 in., © 2021.

Beluga Whale Migration “C,” monotype ghost print, 13 in. x 20 in., © 2021.

Artist Statement Excerpt

As an artist-printmaker, I find it is through the action of these processes I am able to catch things as they happen. This is intriguing to me–the materiality and the processes working together along with my observations and imagination become and event and act of its own…. By way of experimentation and the eclectic approach, I find that inner necessity, Kandinsky spoke of, for expression to my work.

Read More Artist Statement

 

Behind-the-Scenes –The Parting – mixed media assemblage

I have included most of the steps I used to complete this big idea. Steps left out include making the white handmade paper with embedded objects, such as paper strips, clear tape, thread, dental floss and string. The steal wire had to be straightened and flattened out by hammering. The paper tabs (not shown, except on finished piece) were made double thick for strength.

Artist Process, The Parting – mixed media assemblage, 24 in. x 32 in., 2021

 

Looking Back – gratitude – 2021

It was an eventful year teaching online classes for elementary students and exhibiting art. I enjoyed a new experience at the Alaska State Fair with a wonderful group of local artists. Also, I am grateful again for our local cafe and coffee house, Vagabond Blues, who graciously provide a space rotating monthly for local art shows. I exhibited Occurrences, Nov.- Dec., which included some previous work few have seen.

Rhonda and her work at the Alaska State Fair Wine Bar (Old Colony Church) Art Exhibit, 2021.

 

Looking Forward – Local Events – March 2022

Coming this year, still in the mix, I will be putting together intaglio and monotype online workshops. Stay tuned! Also, this month of March, if you are out and about in Anchorage, please stop by the International Gallery of Contemporary Art to see the Annual Member’s Exhibit. I will be showing two of my current pieces of art. Information is provided below:

Wednesday through Saturday
March 4 – 252022
International Gallery of Contemporary ArtAnchorage Members Exhibition
3:00 pm – 7-:00 pm427 D Street • Anchorage, Alaska 99501

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at my email [email protected]