Dear Friends,

I write this upon my return from Portland, ME where I sat on a panel entitled "Pressing Onward: The Hand Pulled Print in a Digital World." The panel presentation was part of Peregrine Press' 25th Anniversary celebration which included a lovely exhibition of prints by former and current members of this wonderful printmaking organization. At least a hundred people turned out to hear the panel and celebrate the Peregrines.

The panel included Sid Hurwitz from Boston Printmakers, Karen Adrienne, Circling the Square Fine Art Press and myself. Each of us took a turn to present our thoughts about the topic and I used my turn to present some of the work that Zea Mays Printmaking artists are doing that combine digital technologies with the hand-pulled print. Be it the use of Photoshop to manipulate images before burning them onto a plate, Polyester Plate Lithography that utilizes the photocopier to make a plate, or a software platform to turn monotypes into animation, it seems that the digital means available to artists are now very much a part of the printmaker's tool kit. The digital becomes a seamless layer in the building up of an image. The artist's hand is very much apparent in the final prints that combine multiple processes and are truly transformed into something greater than the sum of its parts.

Sid confirmed this feeling when discussing the Boston Printmakers biennial exhibition and how over time the digital has interjected itself into so many peoples' processes that there is no longer a clear cut boundary between the digital and the hand pulled. Karen brought it all back to "compression and repetition"- the fundamentals of our practice. It was exciting for me to see the discussion move beyond the marketplace issues of Giclee vs. Hand Printed and into the realm of creative adaptation to our contemporary world.

A big thank you to Larinda Meade, Kate Chappel and all of the folks at Peregrine Press for such a warm welcome. We are very excited about our upcoming collaboration: The Telephone Project. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting project/exhibition that will debut in Northampton in October 2016 and travel to Portland, ME in February 2017.

Liz Chalfin

Liv and Katie, our studio interns, have been working for three months researching, experimenting, testing and consolidating findings in search of an accessible and safe soap ground (a.k.a. white ground) for etching. Previously, Zea Mays Printmaking was using Ivory Snowflake Soap which has been discontinued. Katie, a national champion of ultimate frisbee, has done a lot of work in the past with traditional soap ground and was eager to continue it with Liv, master barista and milk swan specialist, for our studio.
They began their research with the traditional soap, oil, titanium white pigment, and water recipe. After 12 experiments and countless alterations to the recipe, which were all changed one variable at a time, they were able to create a recipe that included an easily accessible replacement for the Ivory Snowflake Soap as well as a Guerra suspended pigment to replace the titanium white powdered pigment. This suspended pigment combines the pigment powder and water into one, non-toxic agent.
In the end, their pivotal research has yielded a soap ground recipe using accessible products that lasts longer, removes the need for powdered pigment, and is more malleable and easy to apply than our original recipe.
As if that isn't enough, Katie and Liv are gearing up for their next research project with Zea Mays Printmaking. Only time will tell what new discoveries they will make, although they did disclose that it will be in the lithography field!

View their entire research process on our website here!

In the spirit of sharing and collaboration, we recently had two fascinating lithography demonstrations at the studio. Judy Major-Girardin, from McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CN was in residence during April. She shared with us Wood Lithography, or mokulito. This process combines the beauty of lithography with the grain of the wooden plate and opens up the possibilities of combining litho and relief on the same plate. Rebekah Wilhelm of Zygote Press (Cleveland, OH) shared with us a formula for etching these plates with lemon juice - so we're very excited to try our own experiments with this process. It will add another alternative lithography medium to our repertoire that currently includes paper and polyester plate lithography.

The other great demo came from Dwight Pogue of Smith College and his entourage including Liz Bannish, Skip Klepacki and Corinne Rhodes (Cherry Press, Worcester, MA). They came to Zea Mays to share the Century Lithography plates and their versatility. These plates can be grained like a litho stone and used over and over again. They can also be printed on an etching press. It looks like we're going to have lots of litho experimenting to do in the coming months!

Zea Mays Printmaking has been slowly acquiring the equipment and type to begin a small letterpress program. Right now we've got two small Kelsey platen plate presses, our Showcard sign press and a newly acquired small Line-O-Scribe sign press along with beautiful wooden type. We are in the process of getting all the presses fixed, cleaned and the type sorted but soon... we'll have a small letterpress facility at Zea Mays. There's a research project in our future!

Certificate in Green Printmaking: Intaglio with Liz Chalfin, Louise Kohrman, Nancy Diessner, Joyce Silverstone and Peter Pettengill. This workshop is full.

Scrolls, Extensions and Overlaps with Joyce Silverstone

Engraving with Barry Moser: with Barry Moser

Prints from Observation using Monotype and Drypoint: with Lynn Peterfreund

See the full list of summer workshops here!

You can see the work of our artists, selected from our Flat File, at the following exhibitions this summer

Hot Off The Press: Zea Mays Printmaking
Hope and Feathers Gallery
Amherst, MA
July 7 - August 27, 2016
Reception: July 9
Arwalk: August 4

Working Green: Zea Mays Printmaking
Manhattan Graphics Center
New York, New York
Dates: July 1 - August 18, 2016

Funky, fabulous, Berkshire restaurant The Dream Away Lodge has turned their handicapped bathroom into a beautifully lit gallery space. As in years past, Dan Osman, restaurant proprietor, has selected artists from Zea Mays to showcase in the Loo Gallery. This summer he will be featuring Dan Chiaccio, Julie Rivera, BZ Reily and Kevin Pomerleau. Opening receptions as well as a Starving Artist Dinner, a meal prepared by the chef at the Dream Away Lodge in response to the artwork, will accompany each exhibition.

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In 2015 we inaugurated the Artist Mentorship Program at Zea Mays Printmaking. This program is a 10-month, in-depth experience where artists are matched with a faculty mentor who works with the artist to deepen their artistic practice, learn new techniques, get over artist blocks, etc. It's been a great experience for mentors and mentees alike.

In the words of a few of the Mentorship Program participants:

"What excites me is walking into the printmaking studio and having one idea for a plate (and print) and then—either learning something new or having the technique or image take me in a direction I had not planned. That was my first sentence of my application a year ago. And AMP@ZMP has taken me in directions I had not planned and couldn’t be more excited and pleased with the experience. AMP@ZMP has more than met my expectations. My mentor. Louise, focused on helping me meet my goals and was flexible as those goals changed in focus. My goals were focused on improving my technical skills, printing in color and pushing my imagery. I ended up focusing on working large and in different techniques. My imagery is going in a direction I find exciting and working with color will be happening—just not now. Working together in the studio to improve my skill set, the timely critiques and working on my own was a solid balance for me. I highly recommend the AMP@ZMP." - Larinda Meade

"I am so grateful and happy that I have been able to be part of this program. Lynn has been a wonderful mentor: articulate, able to say what is not working in a painting as a fact rather than an artistic failure, supportive and encouraging. She pinpointed several consistent errors in my figure work. Correcting these has helped me to see and to paint better. She introduced me to watercolor monotype, a process with which I am
experimenting at home. I love its' possibilities! She has taught me how to use non-solvent based inks and this has made working at home much, much easier. I no longer have to worry about solvents cloging our septic system AND my headaches have disappeared. Most of all I really loved working with Lynn as Lynn. She is so much fun! All I can say is that I loved this program. Thank you for creating it". -Sue Nichols

"I wanted three things from my Zea Mays mentorship: a deepening knowledge of printmaking, an increased confidence in my work and in myself as an artist, and a greater sense of myself as a part of a community of artists. I got all three from working with Joyce this year. I will always have more to learn—this is one of the joys of the work—and it is the mentorship that has opened these possibilities to me. I cannot praise it (and Zea Mays) too highly." - Sarah Thomson

We are continuing the program in the fall and have extended the deadline for the 2016-17 Artist Mentorship Program to July 1, 2016
Information and Application here

Residency Fellowship Deadline Approaching!

Nancy Haver has been selected as one of four 2016 artists in residence at Fire Island National Seashore, and will participate in an exhibit there celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. She will be an artist in residence at Acadia National Park in May, 2017.

Wendy Ketchum and Margaret Merritt, along with Anne Garland of Peregrine Press, will be exhibiting a group of prints produced from a collaborative project at the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Sandwich, NH in August. Each artist created three original prints, then handed them to the second artist to add her imprints, who in turn passed them on to the third artist to complete them. In a presentation on August 10th the artists will talk about their experiences with the collaboration, as well as demonstrate their process and the various printmaking techniques used to create the final prints.

Anne Beresford's 'More, Utopia VII' has been acquired by The University Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of Massachusetts.

Nancy Doniger’s monotype ‘The Chase’ is included in the New Editions section of Art in Print’s May-June Issue. Annie Bisset’s 'Relics: Buddha' and Anne Beresford’s 'Your Call.’ are both also included in this Art in Print issue.

Tekla McInerney's artist's books “Archipelago“ (2014) and “Departure“ (2016) have been added to the inventory of 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland, Oregon. “Archipelago“ is included in the current Wanderlust exhibition, on view through July 20.

Erika Radich will be participating in a group exhibit at Arundel Farm Gallery, Arundel, ME. August 6-27, 2016: "State of Nature." Opening Reception, August 6th.
Erika Radich was nominated and selected as one of 7 visual artists to receive the Ruth and James Ewing Arts Award, given through the partnership between The Keene Sentinel and Arts Alive to celebrate the diversity and excellence of artists in the Monadnock Region. The award ceremony is July 21st at the Arts Center at Brickyard Pond, Keene State College.

Larinda Meade has work in the following shows:
Art of the Hand Pulled Print, Peregrine Press at 25. “Restless” Portland Public Library, May 6-June 30, 2016
Art2016, Annual Juried Show, Harlow Gallery, Hallowell, Maine. “Coastal Maine” Exhibition dates: May 13-June 18, 2016
10x10 I have three prints juried into the show at Engine, Biddeford Maine. Exhibition dates: May 9-June 24, 2016
5th Biennial Footprint, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT. Exhibition dates: June 5-August 28, 2016
Larinda Meade, From Here to There, Washington Printmakers Gallery, Georgetown, Washington DC. Solo Show. Opening reception July 2, 1-4 pm. Exhibition dates: June 29-July 30 2016.

Tatiana Klacsmann is excited to have relief print collages featured in an upcoming solo exhibition, The Magical Land of No at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art in Augusta Georgia, June 24th - July 29th.

Esther S White is co-curating an experimental project with Fugitive Arts partner, Trevor Powers. 2x3: A Generative Art Residency Project will transform the gallery into an artists’ studio, production facility, and exhibition space. This project will provide two artists, ZMP member Sally Clegg and Leah Mackin (selected as a finalist in The Print Center Annual International Competition), and one collective, Loculus, each with two-day, mini-residencies in the gallery. During their mini-residencies, the artists will create new and intuitive bodies of work using a photocopier and simple bookmaking tools. 2x3 creates a transparent space for art making, where the means of production are both exposed and accessible. Bringing together three artists with different approaches to book arts and publishing, 2x3 highlights the flexibility and influence of a ubiquitous communication tool with generative printmaking potential -- the photocopier. August 7-13, 2016 at APE Gallery, Northampton, MA

Annie Bissett currently has a solo exhibition at Charles Krause Reporting in Washington D.C., May 12 - June 18; (weekends 1-6 and weekdays by appointment). A show of new works, called Relics, will be on view in Northampton MA at the Oxbow Gallery, June 30-July 31, reception Friday July 8, 5-8 pm. Annie was honored to be interviewed by Mike Sims for the Spring 2016 issue of Printmaking Today, the authorized journal of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in the UK.

Barry Moser is going to be showcased in the Hampshire College Art Gallery summer exhibition Design & Build: The Art of the Book from June 3rd to September 30th, 2016 to celebrate Hampshire College's newly acquired Moser prints. The exhibition traces the intersections of pedagogy and practice in Barry Moser’s work through a range of prints from the Studley collection, alongside a number of important loans and rarely-seen early works from the Williston Northampton School archives, selections of Five College student work supervised by Moser, and works by Hampshire College alumni book artists. Join us for the opening reception on June 2nd, 2016 at 6:00pm which will be a part of the Amherst Art Walk.

Liz Chalfin's recent print projects will be featured in the July issue of The Journal of The Print World.

June 2016 Deadlines:

The Biennial Project is inviting artists to donate their work to an Art Auction for Farm Animals, a juried online art exhibition to benefit their campaign promoting the Fall 2016 Massachusetts ballot question that will make us the first state in the country to adopt a more humane standard of living for animals sold for meat in the state. Big agribusiness money has already filed a lawsuit against The Biennial Project in an attempt to stop the campaign and any other state that becomes interested in the movement as a result. 100% of the proceeds will got directly to the campaign. Any art created by one or more artists, in which at least one of the collaborating artists or models is a non-human animal is welcome to submit up to 5 entries for $10. Accepted work will be displayed both on The Biennial Project website and blog as well as on a slideshow during the auction on July 14th, 2016 at the Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA. Submissions can be made to annasalmeron@comcast.net by June 15th, 2016. Click here to learn more about it.

The 2016 Print Awards is a part of the International Print Biennial and is accepting applications to exhibit from international printmakers working with 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, video, installation, and site-specific work. The exhibition will be up from September 16th to October 22nd, 2016 in galleries in Newcastle upon Tyne; at Northern Print and the University Gallery at Northumbria Newcastle, and Vane. Applications are due by June 20, 2016. For more information about applying, click here. Design & Build: The Art of the Book

Green Pea Press invites you and the artist of your group to participate in our 3rd annual print exchange! Please pass this on to students and other artists who would enjoy this. I hope to see your prints! Deadline is June 30th, 2016.

July 2016 Deadlines:

Girls Inc. & Plunge Arts invites Holyoke artists to participate in a Connect with Art Workshop one day workshop in the Holyoke City Hall that will bring Holyoke artists together with young students who attend the Girls Inc. afterschool and summer camp programs. Each artist will be paired with two or three girls and given the chance to share the work they do, their inspiration, and skills through art-making activities. The hope for this workshop is that it will help inspire and engage young locals through your art. All participants will participate in a group exhibition at Paper City Gallery in Holyoke, MA. For more information on the event and how to apply, visit the Punge Arts website. For more information about Girls Inc. visit their website here. Please apply by July 15th, 2016.

BIG INK is pleased to partner with the Northampton Print & Book Fair and Zea Mays Printmaking's Print Fair North in Northampton, MA for a one-day large woodcut printing session October 2nd, 2016. We will be utilizing BIG INK's mobile 48” x 96” etching press to pull prints. Artists are invited to submit a proposal to create a woodcut, at least 24” x 36” in dimension, online at www.bigink.org on or before July 18th, 2016.

BIG INK is pleased to partner with The Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, CT for two one-day large woodcut printing sessions Saturday and Sunday October 8th - 9th, 2016. We will be utilizing CCP's 39” x 72” etching press to pull prints. Artists are invited to submit a proposal to create a woodcut, at least 24” x 36” in dimension, online at www.bigink.orgon or before July 25th, 2016.

Kanreki: A 60 Year JourneyThe 60th CWAJ Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Prints
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 26, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Associated programming on-going throughout the summer 2016
The 60th anniversary CWAJ print show features more than 200 contemporary Japanese prints by established and emerging artists. Selected by international printmaking experts in Japan, the prints encompass diverse techniques from traditional woodblock, to intaglio, lithography, etching, aquatint, silkscreen and more contemporary digital innovations. The show debuted in Tokyo in 2015 and Highfield Hall & Gardens is its exclusive U.S. venue. Since its inception in 1956, the College Women’s Association of Japan’s print show has become a highly acclaimed and internationally recognized exhibition.

Design & Build: The Art of the Book - Barry Moser's print and book works, June 3rd to September 30th, 2016. Hampshire College Library Gallery

This month we are highlighting member artist Tatiana Klacsmann's website, found here.