MacArt Fest

This past weekend I had the pleasure of being an invited artist and demonstrator for the MacArt Fest in Springfield, Illinois. Friday night featured twenty local artists for an evening filled with "art in action". I printed a small woodblock for the duration of the evening and got to share printmaking with many people who had never experienced it before. It was awesome.

Saturday night we were all invited back with additional artists for a sale. I debuted hinterland craft's new summer card line along with a new creative adventure I've embarked on with my brother: glass bead making. We make our beads with a torch in our tiny garage studio and then pair them with sterling silver accents.

Both the jewelry and paper goods are still available!

hinterland craft at off white indie wedding show

This Sunday I will be debuting some new designs from my paper goods line hinterland craft. These goodies will be available at the Off White Indie Wedding Show at the Third Degree Glass Factory in St. Louis. I've included some sneak peeks for you above of some of the card sets and place cards.  

relief printing

the space in between
proof - woodcut with intaglio wiping and à la poupée

sgci: printmaking voodoo in new orleans

hand cast silicone stamps/stamp casting demo/goodies from vendor fair/Tulane University print shop/beautiful plank prints and matrix boat/screen printing with wheat paste/Wolfbat Studio print carnival/Drive By Press + skateboard matrices/The Firecracker Press at Euclid Records

lately

walking/filling hinterland craft orders/Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts MFA acceptance letter/ intaglio wiping a woodblock/new card design with 18k gold detail for the Off-White Indie Wedding Show/new barn owl engraving/printing on the vandercook/fruit + ginger morning infusion/wonderful macaroons

printing lately

when all else fails

woodcut ghost print with intaglio wiping, à la poupée and chin collé

february  2012

 

this week

bedroom proof wall + new holga/new hanging vase design for Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis/pine photo love/chai tea/visiting old installations one year later/veneer + 18k gold assemblage/Judy Pfaff exhibition/woodblock printing/bike ride nest

lately

clouds/midwestern woodblock carving/walks/homemade herbal steam/new valentine in the shop/first snow of the season/strawberry weekend treat/breakfast/coffee prints on cherry sheet

printing feather cards

I spent the afternoon restocking my shop with some of my best selling cards, one of which was this feather design. I hope that everyone is having a calm and relaxing start to the new year; I know I am. I am looking forward to designing some new stamps soon, and hearing back from the three graduate schools I applied to.

Card Sets from Hinterland Craft

 

Card sets are now available in the Hinterland Craft Etsy shop! All of our cards start with a simple drawing. They are hand carved from a linoleum block and then finally printed by hand on cardstock. Get yours in time for the holidays!

Hinterland Craft

Yesterday's sale at the Cherokee Print League went so wonderfully. It was my first public sale and I could not have asked for sweeter venue owners. To anyone who hasn't been to STyLhouse, you're missing out!

I've also given my etsy shop a facelift! Check it out and like Hinterland Craft on Facebook for sneak peeks on new items and sales! I will be continuing to upload card designs over the next week or so.

Cherokee Print League Holiday Sale!

This year I have the pleasure of participating in the Cherokee Print League Holiday Sale! I’ll be showcasing a new line of cards and notebooks along with some other goodies such as printed coasters, coin purses and hanging vases.

Come out and say hi! My table will be located in STyLehouse, which is located at 3159 Cherokee Street. If you’ve never been this sale, this year’s your year! Venues all along Cherokee Street open their doors to give local artists the opportunity to showcase their printed goods. It’s from 10-7  Saturday December 3rd and is sure to be a real treat. Don’t miss it! It’s the perfect place to find unique handmade items for the holiday season.

happy thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday and spending time with the people they love. I'm watching the birds and squirrels in my backyard feast on the extra seed and peanuts we've given them for the occasion and fantasizing about the vegetarian stuffing in the oven. It's nice being home.  

personalized place cards
hand carved linoleum feather stamp + gold leaf
acorn treats (hershey kiss, mini vanilla wafer and nutella!)

New Press Part 2!

So crazy things are happening in my life right now. My mom's cousin was at a flea market in Bloomington, IL and stumbled across this sweet little monster. He said it was hanging out with some orange crates like it wasn't the biggest deal ever. It's a Golding & Company Pearl Press. The patents on the front of it read November 2, 1882, December 20, 1879 and December 2, 1873. It needs new rollers, a chase, and probably Illinois's entire supply of rust remover, but I am so ready for the challenge.

UPDATE: So this actually isn't a tabletop press at all! In my quest to find out exactly what make and model it was I discovered that this actually used to sit on a piece of furniture and was treadle powered. Now comes the search to find the missing pieces! 

New Press!

Sunday we drove out to meet an elderly gentleman that I found on Craigslist. He had a 12x18 Kluge letterpress that he was willing to part with for a mere $100. Needless to say, this is all that I've been thinking and talking about all week. To all of my friends and family who can't get a nonletterpress related word in edgewise during our visits: I'm sorry (but not really!).

The company started production on this model in 1931. Prior to this location it lived in the local local high school - back when printing was still taught in schools. The press is automatic and has a paper feed with the ability to do 4,000 impressions per hour. WHOA DANG. We turned it on during our visit and it ran perfectly.

This man's uncle used to have a print shop and passed all of his equipment onto him. He has an ENTIRE print shop in his basement (2 platen letterpresses, 2 offset litho presses, a guillotine paper cutter, paper folder and drawers upon drawers of type, furniture and rollers). He was totally calm and collected; I was trying not to pee my pants from excitement.

It will take several trips, a trailer and giving my dad and boyfriend LOTS of back rubs to bring her home, and then there's the fun of putting her all back together...but I'm excited for the challenge and adventure. I've decided to name her Olive, after the printer's sweet little wife.

carving

I've been thinking about this print in my head for a while now. It feels good to actually get it on wood.

City-Wide Open Studios

Paper Boat Studios was featured in this video documenting City-Wide Open Studios! Peek!

City-Wide Open Studios

 

Today was the City-Wide Open Studios event hosted by the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis! Paper Boat Studios had a lot of exciting new things to share with the the arts community, including letterpress paper boat origami packages, checkers and domino sets, and a myriad of coasters that we were giving away to visitors.

Amy was kind enough to let me show some of my own work in the space, which was awesome! I talked with a lot of wonderful people and saw some friends as well. I love how excited people get watching us print when they've never seen a Chandler & Price press before. City-Wide Open Studios is really a great event. So much art becomes inaccessible because of the distinct separation between the artist and the viewer. This weekend is allowing the public to see the artists create in their personal space, to ask questions and to cultivate an appreciation for process and environment. I'm already looking forward to next year!

gathering

I finished this piece this afternoon. It's a contour woodcut with watercolors, about 4 x 7". I'm really excited about the new direction I'm headed in.

carving

Tonight I'm finishing up this print. I'm planning on playing around with some watercolors after they're printed. I'm not trying very hard to control the splintering and noise that is happening organically, as I've discovered that this raw, unpredictable feel is one of the things I love most about working with wood.

I could do this all day, every day.