Engineered Art

Behind the curtain of Emeralda Works - Art in the age of digital reproduction makes demands on artists not unlike the demands facing engineers in all specialties when there arose any new kind of technology. The special demand on artists is that they face up to change in time and changes in it. 328 Words. Copyright 2008 Bill Ritchie. Full text by email request: ritchie@emeralda.com

Whispering Muse

Printmaking in the age of digital reproduction - In the artist’s trading card used in playing Emeralda, one part calls for a link to an original story by that artist in addition to an image of his or her work. As this artist creates a link with his story, he compares his experience to playing Solitaire. 587 Words. Copyright 2008 Bill Ritchie. Full text by email request: ritchie@emeralda.com

Micro Press

Joystick metaphor - Today was the day the press maker started making the first Micro Halfwood Press. For years it has been on the press maker’s mind: Make the smallest working etching press in the world. It is part of the game he is designing, based on the joystick metaphor. 126 Words. Copyright 2008 Bill Ritchie. Full text by email request: ritchie@emeralda.com

Wastebasket Lesson

Inexorable progress to an online class in printmaking
Finding a manuscript—actually an outline for a distance learning course in printmaking art—in his wastebasket the author thinks about a story of a renowned writer and speaker whose first manuscript emerged from a wastebasket to became a world best seller. 970 Words. 4657 Characters. Copyright 2008 Bill Ritchie. Full text by email request.

A Game of Art Crates

Pursuit of a card game in the Emeralda Suite
The Emeralda Suite may include Art Crates, a game about mysterious caches of art bought at auction. In front of each player is a box with sets of ten cards, representing ten artworks. The total value of the box—called the crate—depends on the cards in it. 522 Words. 2247 Characters. Copyright 2008 Bill Ritchie. Full text by email request.