mini profile on artist Mark Beam

And now for something completely different! I love all kinds of art. I love thinking about art, talking about it, making it, reading about it and writing about it. I love art that makes me think and smile. I love this piece conceived by artist Mark Beam and printed by the Valgal. Mark generates really wonderful art that makes you laugh, smile and remember. I love that about his work. Long ago these pieces had a base that Mark had molded. They were blue. It made the can more of an art statement. But I always saw these in a kitchen, displayed in rows. It would be great if it was a stark environment with gleaming granite counters and rows & rows of canned smut behind glass and chrome shelves. Or maybe a country kitchen with red and white plaid table cloth fabric and Mom serving up a batch of smut. Maybe I see it this way because I printed these labels in the kitchen of my friend Patti up here in a remote area of Topanga. She was out of town and said I could use her place. I had a kick stand on the silkscreen so I didn't require assistance and I printed these babies out in a couple of hours. It was not the most complicated job but when you print something that is recognizable it must be clear, clean and legible to the naked eye so you need to keep the screen real clean. Especially since Mark included a bar code and a nutritional breakdown in a very small text. I remember that we had a discussion about whether to keep the deckled edge on the paper which I loved and felt kept it in an artsy vein. This is beautiful rag paper with a gorgeous torn edge. The date on this project is 1990, 17 years ago! I think this art is fun, clever and very well done and I loved being a part of it. We made an edition of 20 and Mark signed, dated and numbered each one.

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