October Is Typewriter Month!

And I had no idea--this is what being productive in the studio for six consecutive shows leads to: being totally out of touch with what's happening outside of yourself.

Patsy, 2015
 typewritten ink on paper, 6 5/8 x 13 3/8 inches
SOLD

I'm super grateful to Nico Courtelis and Chloe Eudaly (proprietress of Reading Frenzy and co-founder of the IPRC) were kind enough to clue me in to the excitement that is Typewriter Month in our fair city. All the hubbub is co-sponsored by IPRC and Design Week Portland with typewriter aficionado and publisher/editor/designer of Uppercase Magazine Janine Vangool gracing us with her presence with a release and presentation of her new book, The Typewriter: A Graphic History Of The Beloved Machine.  She has all the details/itinerary here.

I unfortunately* won't be available to attend this year's soiree, but it's on my calendar for next year. Should you be available, please attend and tell me all about it and/or let me live vicariously through your Instagram.

If you are feeling especially generous, you can feel free to tell people to go to Blackfish Gallery to see my latest typewriter drawing AND to Radish Underground to see my very first humongous monster of a typewriter drawing--both on view currently!

In other news, I finally scanned the pieces I had on view at Luke's Frame Shop last month--enjoy! Endless thanks to everyone who came out to both recent openings--what a blast!

Erica, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 8 x 9 1/4 inches
 $200

Kierre, 2015
 typewritten ink on paper, 16 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches
$250

Self Portrait II, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 7 x 12 inches
SOLD

Thom, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 14 5/8 inches x 9 15/16 inches  
$250

*It's actually quite fortunate because I get to watch two people I love and adore, Robbie and Katharine, marry each other!

First Thursday - Blackfish Gallery

Next week catch my latest large-scale typewriter drawing Stephanie And Hunter on view in Blackfish Gallery's Fishbowl II. Celebrate all the fresh new work on view on First Thursday, October 1 from 6-9pm.

These drawings are made using my Sears' Citation II Manual Typewriter. By adding layer upon layer of typewritten ink and multiple feeds through the typewriter, it is a slow build of marks and value like sediment collecting, until the image is complete. 

Blackfish Gallery

Fishbowl II

420 NW 9th Ave

Portland, OR 97209

503.224.2634

Regular hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am-5pm

Opening Reception @ Luke's Frame Shop

I'm so stoked about the opening! Come nerd out with me and get an up-close look at Unrevealed, my latest small-scale portraits made using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter on view through September 29 at Luke's Frame Shop.  Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, from 6-8pm. Hope to see you there!

Left to right: Erica, Patsy, Michael, Carissa.  Also, I love that faint Luke's Frame Shop logo shadow overlay...

On a more personal note, I am feeling more than sentimental as I finally begin to process some recent changes in my life. I have recently made the difficult decision to leave my position as exhibition coordinator/art assistant at ProjectGrow, a place where I have cultivated countless friendships and experiences from which I can't imagine my life without.  

It's so difficult to describe how amazing this place is--I've been connected to this art studio/gallery/urban farm here in Portland since 2011. ProjectGrow is a place where anything imaginable can happen--where creativity and authentic expression is fostered. And that sentence sounds so empty, but it's really just so hard to explain! Over the last three years, moments of my day entailed the following: while attempting to be the supportive one, uncontrollable tears surprised me as three of my motherless colleagues and I hid under our boss's jacket while we imagined our dead moms in heaven playing cards and drinking wine; I cleaned up organic chocolate syrup disguised as faux-feces from all the surfaces in the bathroom as part of a practical joke telling me I was hired; in order to distract ourselves from mundane matters at hand, I began to sing an impromptu musical and was quickly accompanied by nearly half the room, all of us singing operatically about "fourteen boys in the boarding school" and then quickly and hilariously degrading into a narrative of exactly what was happening in the room.  

I can't imagine my life without ProjectGrow, and I don't have to, because it's influenced my life drastically. The decision to leave is being made so that I can focus on my own creative practice, but I would not be here, now, if I hadn't been afforded the opportunity to experience this beautiful, hidden world.  I am forever in debt to the incredible, brilliant, and strong people I know now.

The reason I'm explaining all of this is that, just a few short weeks ago, I mentioned to Luke (the owner of Luke's Frame Shop) that several of my colleagues who might wish to attend the opening use wheelchairs.  When he explained that there wasn't an accessible entrance, he went ahead and built a ramp so that all of the people I care about could attend.  I guess this post is making it sound like I get ambushed by tears often, but I am very fortunate to be surrounded by so many awesome, caring people, and I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by this act of kindness.  Luke's has been my favorite frame shop, and I'd already respected his team and business immensely, but this really takes the cake. Endless gratitude.

Wheelchair accessible ramp built by the team at Luke's Frame Shop--see it in action tomorrow, Saturday, September 12.

See you tomorrow!

Unrevealed @ Luke's Frame Shop

My latest typewriter drawings are now on view from today through September 29 at Luke's Frame Shop. I'm so excited to finally see them vertically on a white wall. Endless gratitude to the always kind and helpful staff at Luke's.

ThomErica, accidental/temporary found collage in flatfile drawer--each separate and on view at Luke's Frame Shop September 3 - 29, 2015. Typewritten ink on paper.

I'm thrilled to celebrate the show during the reception on Saturday, September 12.  We will be there from 6-8pm and there will be snacks and refreshments to numb all of our emotions. See more details and RSVP to the event on Facebook here. Until Soon!

In Progress - Kierre

I'm working on one of my last drawings for Unrevealed, which will be on view at Luke's Frame Shop from September 3 - 29. This piece consists of the following characters: @, #, ', %, o, ", *, and +.

Kierre, in progress typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

I am having so much fun drawing.  It's funny, if I were trying to make this image with traditional drawing media like graphite or charcoal, I would become so frustrated because it would become too time consuming, because I would pile on the material too quickly.  Typing, in a perhaps counterintuitive way, helps me work faster because it forces me to be more patient, challenging my heavy hand.  Since I have to treat it more preciously, I don't use a ton of time erasing and therefore redoing.

Come celebrate with me during the reception on Saturday, September 12, from 6-8pm.

Typewriter Drawing: Process

I forget that perhaps my process isn't as clear to others at it is to me.  Using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter, I use various symbols on paper repeatedly to create shifts in value and texture. My current series Unrevealed is a collection of such portraits based on photographs where the subject is obscured by light/shadow, perspective/foreshortening, or cropping.

studio view/in progress, Patsy, 2015
image made using: & % " # '

in progress detail, Erica, 2015

I typically pull the pin on the platen out, disengaging the roller so that I don't have to abide by the mechanical shift to the next line.  This way, especially if I'm working towards a rich black, I have more control and can more thoughtfully layer characters on top of one another.

studio view/in progress, Erica, 2015
image made using: o ' # % "

I discovered that # is my favorite symbol for skin since its natural appearance of crosshatching makes for an even balance in shading.  It covers a lot of surface area and is my main character for making pure black.  It resemble a mezzotint, but I can't decide which process of the two is more masochistic. % is a very effective symbol for hair.  The linear quality of the / in the % helps it illustrate the direction of the hair, but the little circles keep it from becoming cartoonish, and lend a softness to it which makes it look more believable.

Patsy, 2015
typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

This collection will be on view at Luke's Frame Shop in Portland, Oregon this Septmber!

In Progress - Patsy

detail, Patsy, 2015, typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

This is a portrait of an incredible woman I've known for several years.  She is beyond sweet, the queen of pet-names, brilliant, kind, and possesses a kind of wisdom I've never encountered before.  Her face is such a wonderful landscape to traverse with my typewriter.  Patsy is part of my series Unrevealed, which will be on view September 3 - 29 at Luke's Frame Shop (2707 SE Belmont, PDX, OR). 

Opening Reception for Unrevealed: Typewriter Drawings By Rachel Mulder

Saturday, September 12, 2015

6-8pm

I can't wait to hang this show--it is such an honor to show these works on paper at my favorite framing biz, Luke's Frame Shop. The opening also coincides with the Belmont Street Fair, so it should be a blast--but if you need a reprieve from the party outside, we'll be there to soothe you with wine and cheese.

Hope to see you there!

In Progress - Thom

I'm experimenting with a new way to deal with the narrow width allotted by my Sears Citation II typewriter. Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, or future large-scale drawing nightmare disguised as friendship. Oh, good.

If you're in PDX, please come see the end result and celebrate the new incarnation of Unrevealed, my ongoing series of small-scale typewriter drawings, during the opening reception on Saturday, September 12, from 6-8pm at Luke's Frame Shop.  Can't wait!

Upcoming Exhibition: Unrevealed at Luke's Frame Shop

I'm thrilled to announce that my latest small-scale typewriter drawings will be on view at Luke's Frame Shop, my favorite local frame shop + art gallery from September 3 - September 29, 2015. I was fortunate enough to show the first incarnation of this series in my hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, earlier this summer, and I'm very pleased I have the next twenty days to crank out some new drawings especially for this exhibition. Carpal tunnel, here I come.

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 12 and join me from 6-8pm during the opening reception, which delightfully coincides with the Belmont Street Fair. Hope to see you there!

Cyan, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 8 x 10 1/4 inches
$200

Jamond, 2015
typewritten ink on paper
8 1/4 x 12 inches
$200

Michael, 2015
typewritten ink on paper
8 1/4 x 13 inches
 $200

Michelle, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 8 x 10 3/8 inches
$200

Self Portrait, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 7 1/4 x 12 inches
$200

About:

In this series of portraits the subject's identity is obscured either by natural visual distortion or by the purposeful withholding of certain features, a result of my fascination with the way in which facial features can mutate into erratic and confusing landscapes. As my heavy handed drawing techniques in traditional media and linework urge cartoonish renderings, the sense of veracity that comes with portraiture was elusive.

Using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter as a drawing tool and a photograph of the subject as a framework, I challenged my instinct to rely on caricature but also found myself resistant to the ideals of traditional portraiture. Rather than seeking and depicting a blank truth, where facial features and body parts appear as expected, I was compelled to complete an exercise in neglecting the firmly cemented visual images in my head. Navigating through this imagery using this cumbersome yet delicate drawing tool within the delineated contours of the photographs allowed me to scatter my focus, working in one compartment at a time and allowing the images to form like sediment collecting, a slow build of overlapping marks and feeds through the typewriter until each was complete. Focusing solely on the difference in values and angles and not the expectations of visual truth, I was led back to the fundamental task of drawing what’s there.

The Spelunkers

Here are a few detail shots of my latest commission, a wedding gift. I love that they're wearing their headlamps!  I'm nearly done with the pure black background, made up solely of ampersands. I absolutely love how beat up the paper is--in the last snap you can see the molehill created between the various levels of pressure applied between opposing values.

Go Fund Me

Hi Everybody!

I recently acquired this stunning piece of Smith & Corona machinery. This beautiful baby is currently on a three-month vacation at Blue Moon Camera & Machine, being tinkered with by the experts, her platen getting a shave and massage (seriously--read this), and her function being totally restored.  She's roughly 100 years old and with her 18" carriage, I'll be able to work larger on a single sheet of paper!

I am extremely fortunate to have many exciting opportunities before me, but I may not be able to make them happen if I cannot acquire the funds. If you are interested in supporting my artistic practice, please check out my Go Fund Me campaign. My aforementioned typewriter repair, cross-country travel to install my large-scale work, and framing costs make up the need for this fund.  

If you are interested in donating, please view the gifts available to you below:

If you donate $30 or more, I will send you an 8x10" print of one of my smaller typewriter-drawn portraits of your choice!
If you donate $150 or more, I will create an original 8x10" typewriter-drawing for you!
If you donate $450 or more, I will create an original 16x20" typewriter-drawing for you!
If you donate $600 or more, I will create an original 22x30" typewriter drawing for you!]

Thank you so much for your consideration. Have an incredible day.

Best Wishes,
Rachel

First Friday at The Side Door

                                               

Kissers, 2014

Pica, 2014

Dance Partner, 2014

Closing Reception / Trunk Show @ Radish Underground

I'm super pumped about this Sunday--we'll be celebrating both my art and my crochet! 

Come join us at Radish Underground to celebrate Paramour Crochet's very first trunk show as well as get a last look at my ink- and typewriter-drawings on view! There will be hors d'oeuvres and kale mimosas...and air conditioning. Come. See you there! Sneak peeks below:

Unrevealed: In Progress

"Lawrence", 2015, typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

In this series of portraits the subject's identity is obscured either by natural visual distortion or by the purposeful withholding of certain features, a result of my fascination with the way in which facial features can mutate into erratic and confusing landscapes. As my heavy handed drawing techniques in traditional media and linework urge cartoonish renderings, the sense of veracity that comes with portraiture was elusive.

Using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter as a drawing tool and a photograph of the subject as a framework, I challenged my instinct to rely on caricature but also found myself resistant to the ideals of traditional portraiture. Rather than seeking and depicting a blank truth, where facial features and body parts appear as expected, I was compelled to complete an exercise in neglecting the firmly cemented visual images in my head. Navigating through this imagery using this cumbersome yet delicate drawing tool within the delineated contours of the photographs allowed me to scatter my focus, working in one compartment at a time and allowing the images to form like sediment collecting, a slow build of overlapping marks and feeds through the typewriter until each was complete. Focusing solely on the difference in values and angles and not the expectations of visual truth, I was led back to the fundamental task of drawing what’s there.

June 2015

Unrevealed will be on view at Rush Mor Records in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 5 - June 30, 2015. Opening reception Friday, June 5, 5pm - 10pm--part of Bayview Gallery Night and Rollout, a family-friendly bike tour/interactive gallery night extravaganza sponsored by Rush Mor, Church of 2 Wheels and South Shore Cyclery. 

Here's a snippet of the limited edition poster I made commemorating Rollout 2015! There will only be 25 after the participating galleries/businesses get theirs, so make sure you snag one.  See you there!

Unrevealed at Rush Mor Records

I'm so excited to return to my homeland for two whole weeks! I'm honored to show my latest typewriter drawings at Milwaukee's longest running record shop (and my favorite) Rush Mor as part of Bayview Gallery Night.  Since it's summer in Milwaukee, and the city becomes exponentially awesome, the opening reception also coincides with Rollout, sponsored by Rush Mor, South Shore Cyclery and Church of 2 Wheels--a family-friendly BVGN bike tour (see all the details in the link). Yours truly will have a *super-secret* limited edition typewriter-drawn poster for sale honoring the ride! Can't wait to see you there!

Obscured Identities

This latest series of small typewriter-drawings is the result of my fascination with the strange ways the face mutates into remarkable and confusing landscapes, making for anonymous, unidentifiable portraits. The features that are cemented in our minds to appear a certain way transform and shift as natural distortion and the absence of certain features challenge what we are used to seeing. Working small is so satisfying; I'm learning to become less heavy-handed.

Dominic, 2015
typewriter drawing on Rives BFK
SOLD

Kyle, 2015
typewriter drawing on Rives BFK
SOLD

Lawrence, 2015
typewriter drawing on Rives BFK
SOLD

Madeline, 2015
typewriter drawing on Rives BFK
SOLD

Solo Show at Radish Underground

Exoskeleton, 2014; photo credit Colin Smith

I'm so thrilled to have had the opportunity to install my sharpie drawings and both of my large scale typewriter drawings at Radish Underground.  The typewriter drawings required 988 thumbtacks, 988 tiny magnets, and 9 hours, to mount the 247 pages of five-inch paper squares on the wall. Such a blast (and no sarcasm).  I still have bruises from leaning on the ladder. I'm especially grateful for the lovely ladies of Radish and for the sweet persons Elyse and Colin. Thank you for your eyes, opinions and your ability to call 911 in case I fell off the ladder, babies.

Show runs now through June 30, 2015

Radish Underground

414 SW 10th Ave,
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 928-6435
info@radishunderground.com

Hours:
Monday - Saturday 11 - 7
Sunday 12 - 6

Book/Not Book

Hiding: Walrus Book, etching on paper, glue, glass beads, black string, 2007

So thrilled that my work is featured in the incredible Book/Not Book page on the UW-Milwaukee Special Collections Tumblr alongside so many incredible artists. Future internet wormhole...  One of the aforementioned featured artist is the fabulous Jessica Poor (link to her lengthy archive at UWM), an artist who is always willing to give the shirt off of her back for others and one of the most sincere humans I've had the privilege of knowing.  I'm forever indebted to Jessica for endless reasons--thank you for telling me about my piece showing up on the blog, and for connecting me with Max Yela at the Special Collections library in the first place, my dear friend. Love.

THE LAB PDX

You do not want to miss the premier LAB PDX, a one-night-only event featuring the talents of DB Amorin (here, here and here), Adam + Rosalynn Rothstein, Craig Saddemier, JOSEPH, and Josh Hoke, and yours truly.

Show produced/curated by Carissa Joy Burkett, Troy Welstad and Luke Delong.

Space is limited so buy your $5 ticket here!

#TheLabPDX

Do Over

detail Mildred "Pamela" Pearl Bennet, 1932 typewriter drawing on rives BFK, 16x20 inches, 2015

Although I fear I'm not a purist anymore, I'm relieved that my third attempt captured this face--which belongs to Mildred "Pamela" Pearl Bennett, age twenty-two in 1932. This piece is a commission for my friend Bart--Pamela is his grandmother. 

It's really easy to create a monster with a typewriter, especially working this small*. To treat something preciously is a sin in drawing (thank you Joe Boblick, Waldek Dynerman and Polly Caster) but this sin is one of the most captivating parts of this process. The point of this self-flagellating exercise is to combat my heavy hand.  So starting one section over completely was a bit of a war--do I continue to hack away and erase and type, only furthering the monstrosity or do I start over? And where do I start over? Do I sacrifice two whole panels and twenty hours of drawing? 

So here's where I ended up. It was really refreshing to remind myself that I am drawing and I can allow myself the freedom of scrapping something. 

Special thanks to Colin Smith for his support and advice.

*For supremely impressive tiny typewriter work, look at the prolific Paul Smith's (RIP) incredible drawings.

Progress

My latest typewriter drawing made using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter, Rives BFK and the following characters: w#*.&Jf"%@(),+=

This is a portrait of my dear friend Bart's grandmother--what a classy, sassy dame.

Grandmother Barton, 16x20"

detail 1

detail 2

Faces

Detail of my latest in-progress typewriter drawing made using my manual 1970's Citation II Typewriter from Sears and the following characters: w,*%J"#()@+=&.

Your Shadow's Shadow

So happy to start off the new year with a show at The Fresh Pot on Mississippi. Again, thanks to Luke's Frame Shop  for the always incredible, affordable framing and for politely navigating my neurosis every time I come in to frame something last minute.

Wishing everyone thrilling adventures in 2015!

Grandma Barton

Here's a glimpse of my latest in-progress typewriter drawing.  I'm so tickled to have the opportunity to make this drawing for so many reasons!

First, it is a commission for my dear friend Bart, whose stunning grandmother is the subject. Here's a little bit about her:

"My grandmother was a pretty cool lady.  She headed to San Francisco by herself from Chicago sometime around when that photo was taken.  She was from a small town in western Illinois so it was quite scandalous at the time.  She even eloped with some guy she met out there, whose parents didn't approve and had the wedding annulled."

I'm also really excited to work small (relatively speaking)--this piece will be roughly 16 x 20 inches compared to its 82 x 86 inch siblings.

The last thing I'm so pumped about--I have such a heavy hand when it comes to drawing that, as the typed symbols become larger relative to the whole, this method can only allow me to work in a more impressionistic way.  This is something that feels impossible for me to do with traditional drawing materials and my three ton hand. I can't wait to lose my mind in the floral pattern of her dress--not to mention when I get to the delicate capturing of her feminine, tangible pluck. Just look at that elbow--that is a tough broad. Wish me happy typing nightmares!

The Boiler Journal

I'm so pleased to announce that my latest illustrations are featured in The Boiler's Winter issue.  Also featured in this issue are the lovely drawings of the amazing Erica Parrot.  Endless thanks to Violet Marie for making this opportunity happen!