2008 in the rear view mirror

Only a few days into the New Year and 2008 is fading quickly into the background. Here's a quick look in the rear view mirror at some of last year’s highlights; projects, travels and work in the studio.

January:
Jane Hammond "Spells and Incantations" printing and gold leafing completed.
Headed to Hawaii for a vacation.
February:
San Francisco:
-Saw the beautiful new De Young Museum and the HC Westermann exhibition at Stanford.
-To the opening of the "Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia" survey exhibition at the Berkeley Museum which included many prints that we published.
-Renee Bott of Paulson Press had a wonderful dinner for us at her home in Berkeley with Pam Paulson and lots of friends.
Returned to the studio to work with my assistant Roseanne to refine the cutting and assembly of the Hammond "mummy".

March:

Tom Burckhardt arrives to begin work on a group of new prints. Photo of him working outside in the snow, drawing blank canvases borrowed from Barbara's studio.

Begin Burckhardt editions.

Assembly of Hammond mummy continues.

April:

Betty Woodman arrives.

Cut blocks and proof woodblock “Picking Plum Blossoms", her first print to incorporate figurative images.

Participated in Art Chicago, our 22^nd year of doing an art fair in Chicago!

May:

Print Woodman edition.

To Spokane for opening of John Buck: Iconography exhibition at Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. Exhibition includes many of the 40 plus editions we have published and will travel through 2011. Next stop, Fort Wayne Museum.

Roberto Juarez arrives to begin our first project together.

Assembly of Hammond mummy continues.

June:

Proof and print Juarez

Assembly of Hammond mummy continues.

July:

Complete Juarez editions.

Print portion of John Buck “The Night Prism” edition.

Bernard Cohen arrives to begin 10 lithographs for Flowers Editions London.

August:

Proof Cohen lithographs.

Enrique Chagoya arrives, proof new lithograph "La Portentosa Vida de la Muerte II" and new codex “Histoire Naturelle des Espécies…”

September:

Begin editioning of Cohen lithographs.

October:

Continue Cohen edition printing.

To New York for Print Fair.

November:

IFPDA Print Fair
Election

Present talk with Enrique Chagoya at Palm Springs Museum of Art.

December:

Ink Miami

Complete Cohen editions.

2009:

After a holiday break we started the New Year:

Proofed new John Buck woodcut.

Printed Susanne Kühn lithograph for the MCA Denver.

Preparing work for our exhibition "The Legend of Bud Shark and his Indelible Ink" at the MCA Denver which opens Feb 3^rd.

Busy week

After returning from Palm Springs I charged into a busy week of printing in the studio trying to get projects finished before Thanksgiving and INK Miami. Started the week with the final three plates/colors (of 12) to complete the Chagoya book "Historie Naturelle.....". Now the edition is on it's way to the artist for signing.

Next up was the editioning of the last of six small Bernard Cohen lithographs that we are printing for Flowers Graphics, London. My collaborations with Bernard go back to 1968 at the University of New Mexico. Bernard was a visiting artist and I was returning from a summer at Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles and was asked to work with Bernard on some lithographs. We had an immediate rapport. My many collaborations with Bernard have been among the most interesting and rewarding.

I don't often do "contract" projects, but, I always welcome an opportunity to work with Bernard. He came in August/September and we completed ten images....four large and six small. We've been working on the project for several months and it's satisfying to have the group of small ones completed.

Today we had a visit from Cydney Payton, Karl Kister, and Petra Sertic from the MCA Denver to look at prints and finalize plans for the Shark's exhibition there. The show will open February 3rd and be on view until June 28th, 2009. It will feature 85 prints by 10 artists with whom I have had long term and significant collaborations. Artists included will be John Buck, Enrique Chagoya, Bernard Cohen, Red Grooms, Don Ed Hardy, Jane Hammond, Robert Kushner, Hung Liu, Hollis Sigler and Betty Woodman. Watch for more news about the exhibition and programs.