GIANT WOODCUTS

Next month the city of Denver will celebrate Mo'Print, a month-long celebration of printmaking that will include exhibitions, demonstrations, studio tours, and workshops, among others. Check out this exhibition schedule!  Colorado is beautiful, Denver is cool, and printmaking is the best. I wish I could be there for any of it, but especially for the opening of GIANT WOODCUTS, a show at Art Gym Denver in which I'm honored to have a print.  

That print will be in good company-- just look at this all-start lineup!

James Bailey (Professor, University of Montana)
Jamaal Barber (Owner, J Barber Studio, Atlanta, GA)
Lyell Castonguay (Director, Big Ink, NH)
Annalise Gratovich (Associate Director, Flatbed Press, Austin, TX) 
Holly Greenberg (Associate Professor, Syracuse University, NY) 
Dusty Herbig (Associate Professor, Syracuse University, NY) 
Martin Mazorra (Owner, Cannonball Press, Brooklyn, NY)
Humberto Saenz (Assistant Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio, TX)
Sean Starwars (Owner, Woodcut Funhouse, Laurel, MS)

My print comes from Really Big Prints 2016. We're currently accepting applications for this summer's Really Big Prints in Manitowoc, WI. It's a fine time to visit Wisconsin and a great set-up for pulling a large print. Join us! 

ReallyBIGPRINTS wrap

ReallyBIGPRINTS!! is done. Now we get to bask in the glow of the project completed. It was a tremendous four days. We got to see so many wonderful printmakers pull large prints off their really big blocks. In addition to the thrill of the prints themselves, I loved getting to know the printmakers from all over the country. Special shout out to our esteemed print helpers and Lawrence University students: Cael and Molly. You all were great!

Some photos below. I'm sorry not to have photographed every team and print, but more photos will likely show up on the ReallyBIGPRINTS facebook page over the next couple weeks. You can also see some short videos of the process here. 

If you're reading about this project and feeling inspired: mark your calendars for summer 2018 when we're planning to host the third (and final?) ReallyBIGPRINTS!! That should give you enough time to carve a block, ask off work, and plan your road trip to lovely NE Wisconsin. 

Lastly, if you're in Wisconsin now and missed the printing you can still see the prints! They'll be on display at the Rahr-West Museum July 31 - August 28. After that they'll head to the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum and be on display in time for Wayzgoose 2016.  And then on to Lawrence University. Three chances to see the full collection of Really Big Prints.

My block, finally carved and ready to proof.

Hannah and Rose were our lone undergrad printers on Wednesday. I am so proud of them...to the point that I had to stop myself from telling them that every hour.  But seriously, look at that print! 

The all female team from Redline Milwaukee. Their collaborative block read like a narrative biblical painting...all about the state of things in Wisconsin. 

Our two story drying rack. We pulled prints as they dried to make room for the next day's prints. If you're planning a big print event, this part is key. 

Michael Connor's lovely fishermen print showing through on thin paper. 

Lemonade cup/glove holder added to the roller. 

First color run of Ben Rinehart's pressure print. 

Billy Wenner's block before being inked. Staining a block red before drawing helps with tracking your carving.

Mr. Wenner with his inked block.

Printmakers resting on Thursday. It was hot and windy. 

At the Printers' Party on Friday. 

Included in this photo is UW-Manitowoc Chancellor Cathy Sandeen who made her own print!

The UW Manitowoc campus sits right on Lake Michigan. 

Really Big Dandelions

Continued work on my block for ReallyBIGPRINTS!! The block on the right shown below is by two great SNC art students.  It's crunch time for all of us.

Wanderlust

This past year I got to participate in a unique portfolio exchange. A quick word on portfolio exchanges as they are common in fine art printmaking and a neat way of curating and collecting work, but relatively unknown (as far as I can tell) in the rest of the world.

A portfolio exchange is usually organized by one or two people around a particular theme. The organizer may write a short paragraph or essay about the theme to inspire the participating artists. The organizer also sets the dimensions of the print, any other parameters like technique or paper, and the number of prints in the edition, usually one for each artist plus one or two for touring shows and archives. Each artist in the exchange makes a print in response to the theme, prints the number of prints specified, and sends in her prints to the organizer to be collated. Each participating printmaker gets a full set of prints. It's a great way to connect with other artists, creates a cohesive body of work that's relatively easily shipped and displayed, and can be a good way to collect prints you might not otherwise encounter.

You can see a portion of my print in the E above. 

What made this portfolio exchange unique was that while each artist created original imagery, all the prints were produced by Tamarind master printer Candice Corgan. The full portfolio will be on display soon at the Small Engine Gallery with an opening reception Friday, May 6th. In addition to looking forward to seeing the full portfolio, I am curious to see how my image, made of litho crayon on frosted mylar with transparent collaged elements, translated to print.

Thanks to Candice for this opportunity. If you're in the ABQ region, stop by and see the show.

Work in Progress

I've been slowly chipping away at this drawing of a dandelion for ReallyBIGPRINTS!! this summer. Next I'll add in the gradated lines of the sky. Then: sand my wood, raise the grain, sand again, transfer the image, seal it, and carve, carve, carve. All in time to print in July.

Summer Thighs

This screen print is bound for the Hardy Gallery where it will be assembled with bodily segments from other Wisconsin printmakers into an Exquisite Corpse. Green Bay printmaker and UWGB Professor Chris Style organized the show and I can't wait to see the bodies assembled. The opening reception is Friday, September 4th from 5:30 - 7 PM.

The Exquisite Corpse as we're practicing here dates back to the Surrealists who, according to Wikipedia, put their spin on an existing parlor game. It's one of my favorites. I used it in bars when I first moved to Knoxville, TN and didn't know anyone. The lack of control over the entire figure as well as the absurdity built in to the final result make it a great teaching tool and a nice thing to do with people who "can't draw."

For the exhibit at the Hardy the figure was divided into four sections. Each artist was assigned one of the four and given a template that indicated where the "figure" should pick up and end. My image is very literal; some of the best exquisite corpses I've seen or made depart more radically from the recognizable figure. Again, it will be great to see the prints assembled. I'm especially looking forward to seeing the portions created by Don Krumpos, Johanna Winters, Berel Lutsky, and Ben Rinehart, all area printmakers who I know and whose work I admire.

Poetic GIFs by Daniel Maw

Daniel Maw is an artist, teacher, and cartoonist. I first saw his work when we were in grad school together, but stumbled back across it recently and was struck by his GIFs. Linked here is one I liked from the Red's Barbershop series. They are brief and poetic.

 Below, a self-portrait of the artist at the gym:

Paper Fox Printmaking Workshop

This past Thursday I got to work with Ben Reinhart and art students at Lawrence University as part of their Paper Fox Printmaking Workshop. Ben was an attentive host and the students a great help. The Lawrence printshop is full of light, well-stocked, and organized. We pulled 50 impressions of a two-color screen print on blue paper. Later I'll edit the edition down to 30 prints. The image is a drawing of small objects found walking our neighborhood. It will be part of the forthcoming Land Scout Guide Book.

Screen printing is especially fast relative to other analog print media, and it was exciting to arrive, get to work, and crank out the run. I came home with the prints neatly wrapped in a box and waiting to be sorted, trimmed, and editioned (i.e. signed with title, number, and signature). One of the things I love about printmaking is the excitement of having more than one art-object to distribute. Here is the thing I produce: this stack of objects. Let's trade.

First color in the drying rack

One half of the prints will return to Ben and the Paper Fox Printmaking Workshop. I plan to sell ten of the remaining prints to cover the costs of attending the Southern Graphics Council International conference this spring. You can see a detail below. Each print is 17" x 11" and is $75 plus shipping. If you are interested in purchasing one please be in touch. If $75 doesn't fit in your budget, please make me your best barter offer.

A detail of the print

Many thanks to Ben and students for the opportunity and generous hospitality.

Ben and some of the experimental fun prints left over. Fluorescent paper! 

Really Big Prints

On Friday my print collaborators (Johanna Winters & Don Krumpos) finally printed our big wood block. We started carving earlier this summer and drove down to UW Manitowoc to ink it up and print on big sheets of paper and fabric with a steamroller.

We met a great group of fellow printmakers and lucked out with very little rain.

Beaucoup des process photos below.

Johanna and Don stand on the jig to keep it from slipping out.

Candice rolls up her beautiful block.

Katherine's block at rest.

Annica the steamrolling queen with Katherine and Candice of Missouri. 

In front, Chicken Pot Pie, by S.V. Medaris, printmaker and poultry farmer.

Berel Lutsky, one of the hosts of Really Big Prints

Our crew: Don, Dayna, and Johanna.  

The lovely Victoria of Austin, TX was a great help with our printing.

Final print on Kitakata with women for scale. 

We pose in the gestures of our saints.