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!

Looking back, looking forward

Brain Frame 5 blew my mind in March, particularly Sara Drake's performance The Romance of the Tiger Lady. Kelly Parsell's review on Make-Space says it all better than I could. Well said, Kelly! Prior engagements kept me from Brain Frame 6, but I'll be at 7 even if I have to drag myself on my knees.

My first two-color linocut workshop was a dream. Look at that awesome registration! Way to go, ladies!

Evanston Print & Paper's Eat Your Words Edible Books competition was a pun-filled delight! My contribution: Les Miserapples.

SPACE, the Small Press and Comics Expo, in Columbus Ohio! I debuted a new mini-comic, Mare Cognitum, and offered digital prints of illustrations from In the Sounds and Seas for the first time. It was an awesome show full of genuinely talented and friendly people. Would that this group of folks could get together more than just once a year. Since that isn't the case, I'll have to settle for returning next year. 

STILL UP AT THE CHICAGO PRINTMAKERS COLLABORATIVE: the annual $20 print show! You want high quality, affordable prints? Stop by before June 16th! 

Photo c/o this excellent review in TCJ. NATO hype had me paranoid at home during the awe-inspiring Comics: Philosophy and Practice conference at the University of Chicago, but I watched it eager-eared while taking notes at home--so grateful they offered a live stream! The whole event was great, but the panel shown above was gobsmackingly inspiring. Lynda Barry is right: everyone loves a fucking monkey.

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COMING SOON:

This is the big one, y'all! Be sure to visit me on June 16 & 17--10 days away!--at CAKE, at 1104 S Wabash on the 8th floor. No new work to debut (darn!) but I'll be there, trying not to geek out with paralyzed excitement by the talented people in the same room. Seriously, check out the panel list and the other exhibitors. How I snuck through the gate on this one is beyond me. 

ALSO, keep your eyes peeled here for information on a new 2 Color Linocut workshop that I'll be offering soon this summer, date (likely in July) TBD. 

Pavilions and Summer Sunshine: Spring Wedding Invitation #3

I am proud to share the third and final of this season's hand-carved, hand-printed wedding invitation prints! The couple gave me delightfully free reign to design their wedding invitation, with no limitations or guidelines beyond a few modest typographic preferences. They are very thoughtful people, and shared that they are moving through the wedding planning process striving to strike a balance between political awareness and social responsibility as they get married at a time when not all citizens have that freedom, and wanting to have a ceremony and reception that would be joyful and celebratory of their love and commitment. 

With this highly personal spirit in mind, I incorporated decorative elements from the beautiful late-19th century park pavilion where they are getting married for the opening panels of the trifold design, which opens up to a bright tree behind the ceremony and reception details. The warm mustardy yellow, green leaves and blue text were summery fun colors to work with, and I was tickled to have the opportunity to challenge myself with the folded design and small serif type to carve. I couldn't be happier with the end result, and I wish Eleanor and Hayden all the happiness in the world!

This 8.5" x 11" tri-fold invitation was printed at the Starshaped Press studio on a Vandercook proof press from hand-carved linoleum blocks on French cover stock paper. Designed, carved and printed by Marnie Galloway. April 2012.

Upcoming Events: Comics, Workshops, Prints and Food

Mark your calendars! The coming two weeks are full of great events:

This Friday, March 23 I am excited to attend (as an eager audience member) Brain Frame, where comic artists interpret their illustrative work in avant-garde performances. Join me at 1542 N Milwaukee Ave, second floor, at 8PM, to see the next installment of what sounds like a really interesting event. $5

The beautiful sunny storefront at Evanston Print & Paper

This coming Saturday, March 24, from 10am - 4pm I am teaching a 2-color Linoleum Block Printing workshop at Evanston Print and Paper Shop. Students will learn how to plan a multi-color relief print, safely carve the blocks and use a Vandercook proof press to produce a small edition of their print. There is still room in the class if you find yourself with a free Saturday and an interest in getting inky! (Also, I'm bringing M&Ms. VERY important.) Call the studio to register: 847-475-7674

Also on Saturday afternoon is the opening of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Cycle-Pedia group exhibit, featuring prints and works on paper with a wheeled-things theme. The Cycle-Pedia exhibit runs from March 24th to April 30th at 4642 N. Western Avenue, across the street from the Western stop on the Brown line.  Would that I could be 2 places at once: knowing the good folks behind the show, the opening promises to be a lot of fun!

On Sunday, April 1st is Evanston Print & Paper's first-annual Edible Books celebration! Bring a book-themed food-thing and get in for free, or pay $5 to eat and judge and talk books with some lovely printmakers and book artists.

Style & Advertisements: March Wedding Invitation #2

We're still reveling in wedding season here at Monkey-Rope Press!

It was a real pleasure to collaborate with the couple on this month's second invitation project. Both partners had a clearly articulated aesthetic: inspired by Mad Men, they wanted an invitation that was reminiscent of print ads in the 1950s, but with details that reflected their modern fashion (tattoos, etc). While Monkey-Rope Press's linoleum-cut print method cannot duplicate the distinctive watercolor illustrations of so many 1950s ads, I was able to use the composition and typographic design of some mid-century advertisements as a launching off point for my own design.

Printed on a concrete-gray cover stock paper, these 5-color, 2-sided 8.5" x 11" invitations were printed at Evanston Print and Paper Shop on a Vandercook proof press using hand-carved linoleum blocks, including hand-carved text. Three cheers and great happiness to Carl & Ashleigh!