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!

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!

Mountains and Banners: March Wedding Invitation #1

Although the bulk of the business at Monkey-Rope Press is artist-driven prints and books rather than commissioned work, I readily admit that I really enjoy working on wedding invitations. I am reminded of a friend who has worked an absurd diversity of jobs--from fixing cages at a chicken factory to moving furniture for the military, and now as a college professor--who said his favorite job was his year working as a flower delivery man. He loved getting to spend his whole day making people happy. Who isn't delighted to receive flowers?

Similarly, it is a pleasure to get to bask in the ambient happiness that surrounds the planning of a wedding. The couple who commissioned this invitation are avid hikers, campers and national park enthusiasts and, though they live in Chicago, they are getting married in their home town in full view of the beautiful mountains of New Hampshire. I was excited to get to use these elements in designing the print.

These 5" x 7" four-color invitations and 3" x 5" RSVP cards were printed at Evanston Print and Paper Shop on a Vandercook proof press using hand-carved linoleum blocks, including hand-carved text. The print process went smoothly, with only a slight registration hiccup when I discovered that one of the linoleum blocks was not cut straight. I put a few lead slugs on the corners to twist the uneven block so I could lock it up square; the fix worked, and I could move forward without a second thought. (Every printmaker is a secret MacGyver.) I'm very proud of how it turned out. All the happiness in the world to Tim and Natalie!

Next week is March Wedding Invitation #2, a 5-color, 2-sided 8.5" x 11" poster!

More Powerful Than Ever

As a person who makes visual work, I consume an embarrassing quantity of audio media. Have I listened to every episode of 30 Rock at least 5 times? Yes. Do I power through years of weekly podcast archives with impressive speed? Absolutely. Each page of "In the Sounds and Seas: Volume 2" took 16-20 hours of illustration; just this weekend I was in the studio printing the cover, walking the rollers of the press over the blocks for 12 hours solid. What's a lady to do but queue up a marathon of her favorite radio shows?

Earlier this month my favorite podcast, Jordan Jesse GO, put out a call for work inspired by Jesse Thorn's personal theme for 2012: "More Powerful than Ever: GOING APE." The timing for this couldn't have been more ideal: I am sending my 2nd book to press next week; I am attending a number of small press events this spring and summer, trying my damnedest to get this dream-project I've worked so hard on out into the world; and not only that, I'm entering my peak age-27 season in less than two weeks. The stars have aligned: Monkey-Rope Press is going to crush our enemies. Haters to the left, 'cause this mess is gonna get raw like sushi.

Moved by this call to action, I printed a poster featuring hand-set antique wood type and a hand-carved original relief illustration. Available in a limited edition of 60, this 12.5" x 19" charcoal gray and metallic silver print is for sale on the Monkey-Rope Press etsy page for only $20. Prepare to inspire your allies and intimidate your enemies: we're going ape.

In gratitude for the hours of entertainment, inspiration and wisdom I've gleaned from all of the podcasts in the Maximum Fun universe, I will donate half of all proceeds from the sales of this print to support maximumfun.org. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to Bullseye, JJGo, Judge John Hodgman and the other great shows produced by Maximum Fun.