Lately, I have been dividing my time between Canada and Sao Paulo. Therefore, I have tried to integrate the two places into my life style and schedules making sure I have a studio to work either here in Toronto or in Sao Paulo. I also try to have a kitchen and a gym available to continue my commitment to eat health and exercise from the day of my arrival.
The most difficult is to carry my printmaking materials with me. Copper plates are heavy. I have to have my own etching tools and I really like to have my favorite inks and papers. I prepared my own printmaking travel kit: a nice bag with kittens’ images on it. This bag can be easily checked-in and rolled on the challenging sidewalks of Sao Paulo City, conquering hills and busy traffic on my way to the studio at Vila Madalena neighborhood.
Ulysses Boscolo, my master printer at Atelier Piratininga, is concerned that I can get mugged as cooper plates can be sold for good money. Nevertheless, it is a risk I take to have my equipment whenever I need it there.
Surprisingly, as time goes by, it seems that my needs increase. I have now amazing magnifying glasses that gives me particular different view of any marks I make on the plates. I also got a jeweler’s kit that rides on the plates leaving pleasant marks and textures.
Cheesecloth is used in Sao Paulo to wipe the plates. I prefer the Canadian tartalan cloths that seem to give me more control over the wiping process. Printmaking paper in Canada is much cheaper than in Brazil for some reason. Toronto’s art supplies stores also offer a much greater number of papers’ choice than I have seen elsewhere. So, I have to make sure I will have on me enough paper for proofing and editing. The same regarding the inks, my pigments and the list seems to get longer and longer.
However, the most disturbing news is that I have not printed for almost two months. Even though, I have never been so well organized and supplied of such of tools. Due to an ongoing renovation in my house, the daily convulsion from demolition to construction of a new bathroom and a laundry room has absorbed practically all my time. I can barely keep up with cooking, exercising and maintaining the house functional for my family.
Added to that I accepted the offer to teach a course related to Ethics and Law at the ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing) in Sao Paulo.
This project has taken me back to deeper explore post-modernity and ethics, targeting a range of sources that I believe relevant beyond philosophy, those are anthropology, sociology and semiotics in particular. I just love to be at Robarts Library at the University of Toronto studying Sigmund Bauman, Richard Rorty, Gilles Lipovetsky, to mention some of my new discovers.
These present studies have reinforced my feeling that it is Anthropology that has transformative powers. The knowledge acquired through my Anthropological research really changed my worldview and empowered me. I can even say that Anthropology made me a better person, and form sure more tolerant, more open to embrace otherness, difference and even différance, to go along with Jacques Derrida and the lapse of time knits my thoughts.
Anyway, printmaking and painting still are more than a hobby in my life and I deeply ache to have more time to work more at the studio. As desire feeds on desire. Once I have the space, tools and equipment now I lack the time that made me feel so rich and generous for that while. But, I still have hope that as soon as the renovations are done my tools will be put into use for a desired long time.
