Joseph Velasquez and Drew Iwaniw visited us last week with their mobile print studio....Drive By Press. Great to have them stop by and show us their ingenious system for fitting a complete print studio into the back of their van. They showed the quick set up...rolling their press out and ready to print in a matter of minutes. We got to see what they've been up to and show them work going on in our studio.
They are doing a inspired job of "spreading the ink". They have traveled 100's of thousands of miles around the country setting up at universities, colleges and public schools. They make printmaking accessible to young people through their hands-on demonstrations. I've been so impressed by what they are doing that I've almost packed my bag and run off with them.
We have had recent visitors to the studio, including four elk that fought each other, exhausted themselves, ate our birdseed and rested right outside our windows. Don Ed Hardy, HungLiu and EnriqueChagoya came for the Logan Conversation at the MCA Denver on Feb 24th. This program was in conjunction with our exhibition which will be on view through the 28th of June. The conversation was lively, funny and offered insights into our collaborations and the making of the prints.
Hardy stayed on to work on a new lithograph and group of monotypes. The lithograph is Free Range & Howboy. We'll be printing the edition this week.
"The Legend of Bud Shark and his Indelible Ink" opened at the MCA Denver on Feb 6th. This group exhibition was curated by Cydney Payton and features 83 prints by ten artists with whom we have had significant collaborations over a number of years. The represented artists are John Buck, Enrique Chagoya, Bernard Cohen, Red Grooms, Don Ed Hardy, Jane Hammond, Robert Kushner, Hung Liu, Hollis Sigler, and Betty Woodman. Payton's soaring installation is dynamic and exciting. I hope that you'll have an opportunity to see it. The exhibition will be on view through June 28th.
We've just completed part of the edition of John Buck's new woodcut The Luminary. Here is some video of the printing and hand coloring processes. Printing the key block by hand burnishing.
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 BerkeleyMuseum 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 22nd 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.
Things have been going well here in Miami. We hung our exhibition on Tuesday and Wednesday and the fair opened on Thursday morning with a breakfast in the courtyard. All the INK Miami participants have done a great job setting up their suites and brought their best work to the fair.
We’ve had good attendance, some sales and many compliments on this location. Generally, all the fairs have seen slower sales and less traffic The past few years the press has focused on what art sold for record prices in the first few minutes of Art Basel Miami Beach. This year the headlines have been about how attendance is down and sales are slow. But Miami is still a vital and vibrant scene with 25 fairs and thousands of people who come to look at art.
INK closes on Sunday at 3:00. We’ll have some time on Monday to relax and walk on the beach before heading home to snow.
We're off to Miami on Monday to get set up for INK Miami at the Suites of Dorchester. This will be our third year doing INK. We really enjoy the unique and relaxed setting of this fair. There will be thirteen exhibitors surrounding a courtyard with a reflecting pool. INK focuses on contemporary works on paper and we exhibit with our colleagues from the IFPDA.
If you are in Miami come and see us. We'll have new and recent prints by John Buck, Tom Burckhardt, Enrique Chagoya, Roberto Juarez, Robert Kushner and Betty Woodman.
I know it will be beautiful in Miami....but I don't think they'll be able to top this sunset. This photo taken from the studio about a week ago. We always get amazing sunsets around this time of year.
