Two-Color Linoleum Cut Class: July 28

I'm excited to announce that I will be teaching the 2-color linoleum cut workshop at Evanston Print & Paper Shop again in late July. 

"Linocut is a relief printmaking technique similar to woodcut or a wood engraving, where a flat surface of linoleum is carved with a knife or gouge tool and inked as a printing surface. In this Two-Color Linocut Workshop, participants will be guided through design strategies for relief printmaking, develop an understanding of the printmaking medium as well as the materials and equipment used in the process, and will get to take home a small two-color linocut print that they have designed, carved and printed themselves on a Vandercook proofing press. No previous printmaking experience is required!"

To sign up please contact eileen@evanstonprint.net or call the studio at 847-475-7674. It's going to be a great time, I look forward to seeing you there!

Printing the Cover: In the Sounds and Seas Vol 2

One step closer to a finished Volume 2: a generous edition of 200 covers are printed! I had hoped to fit both pattern blocks onto the press bed for the work and turn, but the fit was too tight to print well. So much for saving time! The dark patterns on the inside and outside of the cover are printed in a mix of black & metalic silver ink, and the title is metalic silver. Next step: taking the cover paper and the digital files for the book to the offset studio for printing and finishing. Color me one happy but exhausted print maker.

Thanks, Time Out Chicago!

I couldn't be more excited to share the news: Time Out Chicago's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide features none other than Monkey-Rope Press's CTA Announcement Series as a recommended gift! If you're not in town to pick up a copy, the digital gift guide is here. Check out the prints in our etsy shop, especially the new CTA Series Discount Bundle!

The foreknowledge of this shout-out is what motivated me back into the letterpress studio, re-printing the CTA series and all the other prints that emerged from that marathon printing weekend. As delighted as I was to get ink back on the rollers, I'm taking this post to share another celebration-worthy event: after printing and re-photographing and promoting and etsy-stats-stalking, I'm in production mode on In the Sounds and Seas Volume 2. I finished the first page on Tuesday, and am excited to spend the rest of this blustery November afternoon inking page 2.

Three cheers for good news!

Starshaped Press Open House

This Saturday is the annual Holiday Open House at Starshaped Press between 7pm and 10pm at 4636 N Ravenswood #103. Jen, the master printer who runs the shop, took me under her wing two years ago and taught me almost everything I know about typesetting, fine letterpress print practice and Potbelly Sandwich generosity in my year of apprenticeship in her shop. We want nothing but success and happiness for her and her studio, so please be sure to stop by! I will be manning the bar to help with the festive mood, and Sarah Vogel from Slow Industries will run printing demos. Learn about old-school letterpress print practices, check out Jen's amazing collection of antique wood and lead type, and buy prints, cards and gifting ephemera for the holidays. (We will also have our new Holiday Cheer prints for sale at the open house, which were printed in her studio with the rest of our typographic prints. Fun!)

For friends not in the Chicago area, or those of you unable to attend, be sure to check out Starshaped Press's etsy page. They have some stellar holiday options, from gift tags to photo cards to wrapping paper and, of course, beautifully printed posters for gifts. Support a small business and a generous friend for good holiday cheer!

New Prints in the Shop

Well this is exciting: new prints in the shop! Halloween weekend was spent in an exhausting marathon of type-setting, ink-mixing, block-carving, print-making, paper-trimming and podcast-listening. The impetus for studio time was a dwindling supply of CTA Announcement Series prints, but we here at Monkey-Rope Press have a hard time doing things by halves. Why only print 6 two-color prints when I could print 14? Check out our new stock:

Twas Brillig, a typographic tip of the hat to Lewis Carroll;

 

Cheery and fun Good Morning, Sunshine and Good Morning, Glory;

 

Reprints of ALL the CTA Announcement Series, including brand-new black-and-silver "Inbound Train" (previously only available in blue and brown), and prints of the linocut train design in black, silver and blue;

 

Three brand-new bibliophilic prints;

 

And finally, some holiday cheer: Jolliest of Jollies and Merriest of Merries!

I also took the opportunity while taking pictures of the new prints to re-shoot old favorites. Be sure to stop by the shop to see old prints in a new light!