Studio Diaries

Studio Diaries 01

No smoke without a fire

SHARON CHIN

27 Aug 2025 — 3 min read

This is a diary of what I'm doing in the studio, drafted on my phone. I’ll need to play around with send frequency to see what works. Right now the plan is once every two weeks, in addition to the main Smoke Signals newsletter. This gives me, and you, dear reader, off-weeks. Yes, it happened, it existed – even if it wasn't posted.

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Mon, 18 Aug 2025

Formatted this diary in Ghost (the software that powers this newsletter). Set up a shortcut on my phone so I can log entries directly in the draft.

Turned on social tools that come with the newly released Ghost 6.0, which is connected to the fediverse, or open social web. If you're on Threads, Bluesky, or Mastodon you can add me!

Tues, 19 Aug 2025

Cleaned and oiled the press with this Japanese knife oil. It is the best anti-rust I've ever used. I live near the sea, I've tried everything. Smells of camellia flowers.

Wed, 20 Aug 2025

Measured and cut paper for the Creatures linocuts. 35cm wide, 44.5cm high. This gives a nice wide margin of 6cm on all sides. The bottom margin is 8cm to accommodate the edition number, title and printer's mark.

Flattened paper by reverse wrapping it around mailing tubes. It is the only way! Heavy books do not work if it's more than a few sheets.

Thurs, 21 Aug 2025

Checked out Metalabel. Been looking for new models to release and sell work that's not another e-comm site. The split payments function between collaborators is so simple but urgently needed, I can't believe it's taken a platform this long to solve for. Then again, I guess that's a symptom of the current web as gladiatorial arena where we compete individually (even as collectives) for attention, clout and sales.

Fri, 22 Aug 2025

Printed five editions of "Ghost Cat". Obsessed over the chatter (parts of the print which are 'noise' or accidental marks), but decided that is what proves they are handmade.

Sat, 23 Aug 2025

Took photos to the photocopy shop and had them turned into transparent negatives to experiment with solar printing. The uncle said: 'No one asks for this anymore', as he brushed a thick layer of dust off the box of transparencies.

Printed five editions of "Urban Junglefowl". The Print Deities did NOT smile on me today. I kept getting uneven prints, and had to proof 5 or 6 times before I figured out the block was slightly warped. I bumped the bottom half of the block with a sheet of paper, then it was another few proofs before I could find the right balance of pressure. I need to start my printing sessions by proofing on cheap paper. Expensive lesson today.

Sun, 24 Aug 2025

There was no more room for prints on the drying rack (ordered another one) so I cleaned up the blocks for "Auntie Wasp" and "Tunneling Otter". Some of these were carved in such a hurry that the wells (carved-out areas that are not inked) are shallower than I would like. They were ok to proof a print by hand, which was then scanned for Creatures or Near Kingdoms back in 2018, but I don’t think they would hold up to printing 20 editions in the press today.