It already feels like Spring in Western Massachusetts – our piles of snow have melted and there’s the renewed energy in the studio that is felt as the seasons change.
I am turning my attention to the upcoming SGCI conference in Atlanta, GA. This year, Zea Mays Printmaking will have a table at the vendors’ fair where we’ll be selling a limited edition of our Acrylic Airbrush Aquatint Medium and Stop Out.
These two mediums were developed in our research program by former interns Jenny Gover and Audrey Blood as substitutes for the now defunct Z*Acryl products. We’ve been using them for over a year with fantastic results and are excited to share these discoveries with our fellow printmakers. I also see it as an opportunity to spread the word about our unique internship program. Our interns are primary researchers who set out to solve a problem, fill a void or find a new approach. They are at the heart of our innovation. In addition to research, the interns assist with all of the workshops we offer. We’re currently accepting applications for Fall 2017 interns. Send your passionate young printmakers our way! If you are going to the conference, please stop by our table to say hi.
In May, I’m heading out to California. I’ve been invited to speak at the California Society of Printmakers’ annual meeting and to jury their annual exhibition. It's an honor to be asked. In addition, I get to teach a workshop on using BIG etching grounds at California College of the Arts for the CSP. I’ll also be at Blue Mouse Studios in Aptos, CA over Mothers’ Day weekend teaching a Soft Ground Etching workshop. I am so looking forward to a visit to the west and my state of origin.
Happy Spring, happy printing.
Liz
Studio News
image taken during the opening of "The Unity of Opposites" in Portland, Me
▪ The Unity of Opposites, our collaborative exhibition with Peregrine Press (Portland, ME) has come to a close after two very successful runs. It debuted in October at A.P.E. Gallery (Northampton) with a lively opening reception and steady attendence. In February it moved to the Insitute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art. The opening occured during Portland's "Arts Night Out" and hundreds of people were in attendence. The exhibition received some great reviews from publications such as Art New England and Maine Today.
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▪ We've been gradually adding letterpress equipment to the studio at Zea Mays and now have three different proofing presses and a funky collection of both wooden and metal type. We've got a Kelsey platen press, a Line-O-Scribe proofing press and a large Showcard proofing press. All three are available to our members and we are already seeing them make text part of their print dialogue.
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▪ To introduce our members to these presses, we've been hosting "Free Speech Fridays" where members have signed up for a tutorial given by one of the interns, Julia Schirrmeister and Emma Warren. Julia and Emma did the research into how to use the presses and what inks and cleaners we could use for the safest possible ways to work with letterpress. You can see their research here. The tutorials have also served as an opportunity for self-expression, which has ranged from the political to the sublime!
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▪ The screen printing studio at Zea Mays has been growing over the past few months with the addition of a new exposure "room" carved out from a small unused space in the studio. We put up some black curtains and yellow lights and voila! The room is dedicated to coating screens and is located close to the screen washout area. Now our screen printing studio is a well appointed space that our members can reserve. We just had a Photo Screen Printing workshop and got to try out the setup. Pleased to say it worked well and we look forward to more screen printing at the studio. The next Screen Printing workshop begins in early April. Wednesday Morning Screenprinting starts April 5th and runs through the whole month. This workshop is a sampler of the many ways to make screen prints – from hand drawn, to cut paper to photographic.
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The 2017 Flat File
It's fresh! In January we curated hundreds of new prints into the
Flat File Project.
Flat File prints are available for viewing, exhibition and sale. We welcome visitors who want to come to the studio and spend some time looking at exciting, skillful, contemporary hand-pulled prints. You can call to make an appointment to come in and browse. We also love to collaborate with galleries to showcase the work by our artist members.
We are looking forward to an exhibition at Gallery 360 at Northeastern University this summer. Curator Bruce Ployer came to the studio to look at the Flat File in December and will be selecting a small group of artists from the collection to showcase in Boston.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 15th when we will be hosting Open Portfolios - an event in our courtyard where we'll have all of the Flat File Project portfolios out for people to peruse along with live music, food and drink.
Southern Graphics Conference
Zea May Printmaking's booth from 2016 SGCI Conference in Portland, Oregon
Visit Zea Mays Printmaking at the Vendors’ Fair at the SGCI Conference in Atlanta
We will be selling limited editions of two products developed in our research program: Zea Mays Printmaking Acrylic Airbrush Aquatint Medium and Zea Mays Printmaking Acrylic Stop Out. We hope to shine a light on the possibilities of making less toxic printmaking practices accessible to a variety of printmakers/studios, as well as the fantastic work our interns bring to the studio. We welcome the opportunity that SGC provides to network with other printmakers.
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Be sure to stop by our table, say hello, and pick up a free button!
Sally Clegg, "Room G," etching
Digital Exhibition: Aquatint
Do you want to see some fine prints made using the Zea Mays Printmaking Acrylic Airbrush Aquatint Medium? We’re highlighting etchings that use this product in our digital exhibition Aquatints. Curated by studio member Kristina Key, the online exhibition showcases excellent examples of etchings in our 2017 Flat File Project.
"Vacation" by Sam Guerin/ Etching & Aquatint/ 2014
This month, Zea Mays Printmaking welcomes our two new interns to the studio: Claire Crews and Sam Guerin.
▪ After attending Boston University, Sam aspires to be an intaglio printer and carries a deep love of all things John Carpenter.
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▪ Claire, having moved to Massachusetts from Arizona to attend Hampshire College, studied oral history as well as printmaking. She is a baker, a weaver, and a banjo player.
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Both of our new interns will be around the studio in the months to come, if you see them be sure to say hello and introduce yourself.
See our website for more information on our internship opportunities.
Featured Workshop
Led by the fantastic Louise Kohrman, this workshop will teach the tools of the trade of intaglio color printing. Demonstrations include: color mixing, ink modification, multiple plate printing with color overlays, and a la poupée inking. Each participant will make their own set of color test plates and print a series of color experimentations, in addition to developing their own image or edition.
March 18 - 19, 10 - 5
All of our workshops are posted on the website. We're offering some wonderful opportunities this Spring to learn a new technique and enlarge your artistic practice.
Zea Mays had the pleasure of hosting Eirene Efstathiou, recipient of the Zea Mays Printmaking Residency Fellowship, during the month of January. Eirene explored a variation of paper lithography as well as photo transfer processes while in residence. Printing on a variety of surfaces including paper and Belgian linen, Efstathiou left the studio with stacks of paper and canvas ready to be further explored back at her home studio in Athens. Efstathiou's work is drawn from "the deliberate wanderings in the urban landscape of Athens, Greece." To find out more about Eirene check out her website here!
Laura Petrovich - Cheney was in residence during February. Traditionally a sculptor, Laura works with wooden debris from Hurricane Sandy to create sculptural assemblages. Over the course a month, Petrovich began to explore a way to translate her sculptural work into a 2D print format through the monotype process.
▪ Kate Baillies is currently in residency. Kate is an artist from Calgary, Canada. She’s in the studio this month working on a book project. This is Kate's second residency at Zea Mays Printmaking and we're so glad to have her back.
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This spring we are looking forward to residencies with
* Katie Loesel, Vermont
* Susan Osgood, Vermont
* Elizabeth Jabar , Maine
Zea Mays is now accepting applications for Residencies during winter 2017 and beyond!
An international exhibition of prints celebrating 15 years of non-toxic etching processes developed by Andrew Baldwin of University of Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK. This exhibition features many Zea Mays Printmaking members, and their explorations with this fantastic medium. Andrew Baldwin's "Big Ground" was first introduced to Zea Mays in 2011 and has been a fixture in so many of our members' studio practices ever since. We are excited to see what ways other artists have been able to utilize this fantastic medium.
The Thoreau Gallery Franklin Pierce University 40 University Drive Ridge NH 03461
Member News
Anita Hunt's 2016 drypoint print, Untitled (Puddle) was illustrated in the January/February 2017 issue of Art In Print magazine, Volume 6, Number 5, News of the Print World, p. 50. She has an etching included in Global Matrix IV: An International Printmaking Exhibition. This traveling show made its first stop at the Purdue University Galleries in Lafayette, IN, January 9 - February 18. It will move to several other venues through 2019, including Wright State University and Cleveland State University in Ohio.
Larinda Meade has a solo show; Larinda Meade: Place Considered at Ocean House Gallery and Frame Shop, Cape Elizabeth, Maine April 13-May 13. Meet the Artist Thursday April 20 5-7pm.
Doris Madsen is curating Pathways: Monotypes and Artist’s Books which will take place during the fourth annual Easthampton BookFest, a weekend of events that celebrate the rich literary and book arts culture of the Pioneer Valley. The exhibit will run from April 8 through May 5, 2017 at Elusie Gallery at Old Town Hall (43 Main Street) Easthampton. The opening reception will be during Art Walk, April 8, 5-8 pm. Lynn Peterfreund will be doing a gallery talk and demonstration on April 20, 5:30 pm. Exhibiting artists are Amanda Barrow, Betsy Feick, Doris Madsen, Elisa Lanzi, Erica Radich, Esther White, Frank Ozereko, Hannah Richards, Janet Winston, Julie Rivera, Linda Batchelor, Lynn Peterfreund, Marsha Humphrey. Peter Cangialosi, Richard Turnbull, Sheryl Jaffe, and Terry Rooney. "This program is supported in part by a grant from Easthampton City Arts+, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."
Kristina Key has accepted an offer to attend the University of Tennessee Knoxville for Graduate School this fall with a Graduate Teaching Assistantship. Her print "Aquatint IV" is included in the 25th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition at the University of Wisconsin- Parkside. "Aquatint XV" will be on exhibition at Kai Lin Arts Gallery in Atlanta, GA as part of the Atlanta Print Biennial. There will be an opening reception during SGCI on March 16th from 7:00-9:00pm. "Aquatint IX" and "Aquatint XVII" will be included in the exhibition Woven Heritage: Shaghaf International Printmaking Exhibition at the A4 Gallery in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "Aquatint XVI" will be on display at Artlink Contemporary Gallery in Fort Wayne, IN as part of the 37th Annual National Print Exhibition.
Hannah Richards recently finished a residency in Edgartown, MA at Turkey Land Cove Foundation and is busy while is residence at The Studios @ MASS MoCA throughout the month of March.
Faculty News
Annie Bissett has work in the following shows this spring:
Painted Shapes: Contemporary White Line Woodcuts features 18 regional artists who use the white line method (also called Provincetown prints). On view May 21–August 13, 2017. Reception Saturday, September 10, 5:00 - 8:00 pm, Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA.
Seven of Annie's Relics halftone prints will be included in the Biennale internationale d'estampe contemporaine de Trois-Rivières (BIECTR) in Québec, Canada, which features nearly 300 prints by more than 50 professional artists In four exhibition venues around Trois-Rivières. Showing June 18–September 10, 2017.
Lynn Peterfreund recently completed a monotype animation, “Living 614.”
It’s composed of 676 monotypes and runs 2 min, 15 sec.
The animation can now be seen on vimeo
Lynn Peterfreund is also currently teaching an eight week introductory printmaking class at the Eric Carle Museum for “active older adults.” The printmaking class and two upcoming class series, Collage and Bookmaking, are funded by the Aroha Foundation.
Exhibition Opportunities
Washington Printmakers Gallery
CALL FOR ENTRIES
20th Annual National Works Exhibition Deadline:
June 2, 2017
Juror: Scott Hutchison
Grand prize 2018 Solo exhibition at the Washington Printmakers Gallery with over 30 years in the greater DC metro area, Washington Printmakers Gallery is a cooperative print gallery located in Book Hill section of Georgetown, Washington, DC. The gallery is a premier source for contemporary fine artist prints.
Call for Entries: 11th Biennial International Miniature Print Competition 2017, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, CT
Deadline: March 11, 2017 (Postmark)
Exhibition: June 4 – August 27, 2017
The Center for Contemporary Printmaking is delighted to announce the 11th Biennial International Miniature Print Competition and Exhibition. This juried competition and exhibition, limited to works that are no more than four square inches (25.8 square cm), encourages artists to explore the miniature print format and provides them with an opportunity for exhibition. It is also an opportunity for artists and the public to view the current concerns of printmakers from around the world. Since its inception in 1997, the competition has attracted entries by more than 1500 artists from around the world and across the U.S.A. The International Miniature Print Competition is held every other year, alternating with CCP’s other biennial, FootPrint International (for prints measuring 12 x 12 in. exactly).
JUROR: Freyda Spira, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Entry Deadline: Saturday, March 11, 2017 (POSTMARK)
Jury Notification: April 24, 2017
Exhibition Dates: June 4 – August 27, 2017
BIG INK at 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH
Deadline: Mar 27th, 2017
Entry Fee: Free to apply, $250 dollars if selected
BIG INK is pleased to partner with 3S Artspace for two one-day large woodcut printing sessions Saturday and Sunday June 3rd - 4th, 2017. We'll be utilizing BIG INK's 48” x 96” mobile 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/apply.
BIG INK at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD
Deadline: May 29th, 2017
Entry Fee: Free to apply, $275 dollars if selected
BIG INK has teamed up with Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts for two one-day large woodcut printing sessions Friday and Saturday August 4th - 5th, 2017. We'll be utilizing BIG INK's 48” x 96” mobile 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/apply.
BIG INK at The Ink Shop, Ithaca, NY
Deadline: June 19th, 2017
entry Fee: Free to apply, $275 dollars if selected
BIG INK has teamed up with The Ink Shop for two one-day large woodcut printing sessions Saturday and Sunday August 26th - 27th, 2017. We'll be utilizing BIG INK's 48” x 96” mobile 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/apply.
Hannah Richards is inviting submissions for a curated exhibition of collagraphs
(liberally interpreted) at the ECA+ Gallery, to take place in August 2017. Liberal and experimental interpretations are encouraged. Please submit via this Google Form.
Featured Website
This quarter
we are featuring Sally Clegg's website!
