Sunapee 2008

Hello from Quincy Pond…

Awash in pre-Sunapee Fair stress and wondering how any non-fossil fuel related business is suppose to navigate through the new worldwide economic landscape I now pen my first blog attempt. I know nothing about this computer stuff and can’t say I feel terribly undernourished by such personal oversight yet with our usual ever growing mailing list expense I reckon I need make a modern effort in communication. A “Blog” ~ sounds like something I would contract after a summer of endless rain storms such as this present lead up to Sunapee. I just completed a small fair up at the Gunstock Mountain ski ground which was exciting only due to daily close lightening strikes and mental preparation toward tornado safety ~ great…

And now the countdown to Sunapee… this is my 20th year at this lovely fair yet preparation is still difficult at best. For me and everyone who makes up Quincy Pond Print Works there’s just so much preparation and such a solid deadline that the genuine smiles you see on our fair faces may be due more in celebration of the completion of preparation than the beginning of our favorite summertime Sunapee Fair. For twenty years I’ve been trying my very hardest to bring you the best I am capable of and even with the months of stress and strain, meeting with you and showing off my new etchings is the highlight of my and our year.

This year nothing is different except the state of the world, the weather, and economic challenges, yet none of these I can do much about.

So my twentieth Sunapee Fair and what’s new ~ well quite a bit. For the last couple years my artistic compass sent me down a path of more basic popular images—“cute small stuff” ~ which among other reasons was an effort in creating new customers/collectors. This effort temporarily pulled me away from my more classic fine art look but for the folks who care, I have put tremendous effort into digging deep into what I consider finer art since the beginning of this year—remember the snow…?

Right from the get go I developed multi-plate fish/seascapes and landscapes. I see Teemin’ and Path Home—sorry I can not do better than these in this regard and in printing these colorful plates I tripped on some important discoveries. Experimentation and discovery is what I do and in 1994 my creation called “copper block etching™” has to be considered my most important discovery yet in the last several months, I believe the second most important advancement of my art work is taking place and will be on display at this year’s Sunapee Fair.

This discovery may seem overly simple ~ kind of a “well duh” moment yet most of my discoveries are ~ always have been. More of a light turning bright than a long complex calculation. ~ E = Matt Smith²

Early this year while “proofing” ‘Teemin’ I realized I couldn’t decide what colors were best and just gave up caring (what a discovery) which color was best and began allowing the first plate printing hint itself which color the second and third plate “wished” to go and with the complication of viscosity printing, some strange and very beautiful alternatives kept everything exciting. The sky in the next etching called ‘Path Home’ also presented this self color choice connection with self educational bonus points… Oh boy!

Quite honestly, I was told we needed some small and large octopus etchings for this summer market and as you know an octopus can naturally be any color. We have printed it with various success in multiple colors by piling on lots of like colors to stir and mix under the pressure of the press with semi-predictable results. I have also known that when we switch a plate color from one to another color the print that has residual ink left over sometimes becomes quite beautiful but this time I decided to print full color plates right upside down over freshly printed colors of an opposite nature in color and viscosity which instantly blew our minds… Far out man…

Now I’ve been constantly experimenting with colors for twenty years now and I pay attention to everything and every detail so my long experience allows some manner of predictability up to now. Now my head and the head of my strong print assistant Shawn both physically snap back with shock every time we peel paper from inked plate after its date with humongous pressure…Nothing seems predictable except the outrageous beauty of colors pushed together in a sort of complicated wrestling match of inks to seek the top of the paper. The inks I use are not process colors—blue, red, etc.—and whatever ingredients are within the colors are just going crazy sorting themselves out within all the complications of color – viscosity plate topography on and on…

Never have I seem more interesting color studies. I doubt such things exist anywhere on planet Earth. Rarely is printed anything but absolutely beautiful efforts and if not we just run it right side up or down until colors flip ~ jump and rest. Yeah it’s more work ~ rethinking different plates over and over to produce stunning colors which a real octopus can handle with ease yet we are now flipping lots of our larger 2005 plates as well as a couple of plates specifically designed to handle this technique. These brand new ones are of giant star fish ~ ‘Northern Star’& ‘Eastern Star’ (same plate, different angle) and a BIG ‘Sea Turtle’ (22X22 framed) which I’m very proud of. Well as always I gave you ~ my collectors ~ my all and once again I’m asking you at least to come to this Sunapee Fair despite gas prices to say hi and view this new stuff. You wanted fine art ~ this is my best effort ~ Enjoy.

Sincerely yours,
Matthew Smith @ Quincy Pond, Nottingham NH

A Good / Happy Bird Story

-Hello from Quincy Pond, April 2008-

I wouldn’t know how rare or unusual such a bird-story is or isn’t, but nonetheless I feel that since my recent newsletters are gettin’ kind of bleak, I ought to balance such talk of struggle with a tale of huge success.

I have been faithfully feeding the wild songbirds of New Hampshire for a long while now, and every day delight in the normal abundance of avian life here–deep in the woods. Not every year, but certainly–not unusually–a small flock of six-eight grosbeaks would light upon my porch railing willing to trade song and beauty for sunflower-seeds. For folks unfamiliar with this species–well, it’s a big–bold–noisy finch you would think flew in from southern jungles, yet it’s pretty much a Canadian bird. Mature males have striking yellow-white and black colors–young and old have strong seed-crunching beaks. The females get this lime-color glow to them–cool birds…

Just as last DEC’s weekly blizzards were sweeping across Southern NH, a handful of a flock of grosbeaks found me and must have flew off with sunflower-seed breath, for within a day or so an other handful, then another–another until I was shoveling seed out of 50lb seed-bags to fill my 32 foot long 8 inch wide porch railing as if it was a commercial chickenfeed gig–(except–never a poop! Not all birds are that polite…) Well, as I wash the morning dishes, I watch the odd semi pecking-order song and dance as they bicker points pf view before settling down to serious munching. Packed in tight I have often counted between 160-180. Weeks of this wonder continued until I noted they weren’t settling like before and I snuck out around back and quickly realized the treetops were also chock ablock full with even more squawking grosbeaks. Counting seems silly if not impossible–but hundreds and glorious-to-behold birds everywhere. When–as often–they startle, the flock springs forth as one in a beautiful arch of speed and color upon this still and grey landscape.

This joining of flocks isn’t all the time and I don’t know just how it all works, but when it happens and from the pond-pasture comes forth dozens and dozens of grackles and red-winged blackbirds–phoebes–golden finches–l.g.b.s–(little grey birds) and all else winged included some winter weary tom turkeys. Well, when they are all together and I am not sure if it’s really especially for me, bur they seem to compete in a screaming tantrum that goes on for hours and hours. Thank you!

Well, that’s the story–lucky me, and although I have not witnessed such before I hope you have or will some day for it is wonderful to behold. I have lost track of how many empty seed bags I have accumulated–what does it matter? I count my blessings of nature and pay the band.

See, a happy story by Mat Smit…

Sincerely yours,

Matthew Smith @ Quincy Pond, Nottingham, New Hampshire

PS: Next: -Bird flu threatening
-Bush steals third term–Nooooooooo…..