In The Beginning....

As I mentioned in an earlier post, NCP was originally conceived as a business, but not a wood cut printmaking business. Until 2007, my wife and I sold our artwork under the name "The Art of Nature."

In 2006, I left a job I loved, screen printing greeting cards, for a new job screen printing medical devices. About two months later, I was begging to be let back into my old job, but their gatekeeper sealed me out (of course, there's more to the story, and I'll admit it was mostly, if not all, my fault). So I started NCP, with little knowledge, no designs, no ideas, no equipment, no money and no plan.

And nothing happened. Avery, very rough 8 years ensured, and I focused on wood cut printmaking. All the while, though, NCP haunted me. Two years ago I bought screens and emulsion, and built a press. But that's as far as that went.

This year, as I tackled dream after dream -- the Plein air competition, cartooning -- I looked around and decided that NCP had to become real RIGHT NOW.

Now, I have no idea how far it will go. I will have made my first prototype by Sunday, and I'll know more. But your dreams do nothing for you or the world if you don't act. The way I see it, if the test works, and I love it, that's the best. If it works, but I'm not really excited to keep doing it, that's great, too; I can move on knowing that I've no ties to that dream anymore.

Worst case: it has LOTS of problems, but I LOVE it. Then, it becomes an obsession, and down into another vortex go I! Heaven help me!