Alex Carmona is an American artist, master relief printmaker specializing in woodcuts, reduction woodcuts, and wood carvings / engravings. He learned the art of printmaking at the University of Northern Colorado under Professor Sieger Hartgers, former Chief Army Artist for Combat Art, head of the Army Graphics School, and now retired professor.

Last June, I got an email from the Meta Instagram Creator Partnership Team inviting me to join an exclusive AI (Artificial Intelligence)-First Community on Facebook. They said it would give me early access to product launches and the chance to be part of "a community of like-minded individuals." I've gotten emails from Meta about Instagram products before, but this one was different. I was intrigued by what they meant by an AI community.

After I accepted the invite, I got access to Meta's AI Studio and a private Facebook group that was monitored by Meta staff. The group was only a day old and pretty small, with about 30 members. Its purpose was to encourage us to build our own AIs and share feedback, which Meta staff would take to management. Today, anyone can access Meta's AI Studio and create personas or interact with existing ones. When I first logged in, there were only a few chatbots available, and they all felt eerily similar. As business owners and creatives, we were encouraged to create digital versions of ourselves to interact with customers when we were unavailable, and these AIs could theoretically answer questions and provide advice based on the information we programmed into them.

This week from The Inkplate archives I want to share an interview I did with Chilean artist Camilo Navarrete. A linoleum and woodcut printmaker, living in Valdivia, Chile. The interview has been translated from Spanish. Interview date: April 11th, 2022

If you could close your eyes and imagine a land where gods walk among mortals, where mountains whisper ancient secrets, and where the cycles of creation and destruction are woven into the fabric of life, you might begin to glimpse Xochitlan. This is not just a world of fantasy but a celebration of the vibrant cultures, histories, and mythologies of the Americas—a land born of dreams and shaped by stories.

Some people hold the idea that art is created by the chosen few with all of the ‘God-given talent’. That a drawing is only good when it's drawn by hand or that CNC machines that carve blocks for relief prints should not count as true printmaking.

I've been seeing Canrfield Ink pop up all over my Instagram feed, and I finally decided to give it a try. I bought a tube a few weeks ago but hadn't opened it until recently.

Pricing & Tackling In-Person Vending Events

A few hacks to get away with not having a printing press

How to steal like an artist ad get away with it.

Always a student of the arts.

Are social media growth experts really honest?

Does social media make your art better?