Natural Cycles: Sustainability in Book and Paper Arts

Last Sunday we took a break from our mad city life to get thoroughly lost in the woods, pet some sheep and attend the opening of Natural Cycles: Sustainability in Book and Paper Arts. The show was curated by Melissa Jay Craig and Shawn Sheehy, and is populated by some amazingly talented paper and book artists. I was humbled and excited to have my books In Defense of Common Weeds and In the Sounds and Seas listed among their ranks. The show was held in Brushwood, a greek revival mansion hidden in the woods in the Ryerson Conservation Area in Deerfield, Illinois. The work is installed throughout the house, with hand-made "weeds" growing in corners, paper-sculpture animal heads and caged heads paired with taxidermied tableaus from the Ryerson's archives, and engaging books and narrative installations throughout. The show is up until December 23--friends in the Chicago area, try your best to stop by! It's definitely worth the drive. If you're feeling more adventurous, Melissa and Shawn are teaching a Sustainable Book & Papermaking class this Sunday afternoon (Nov 13). Sign up soon!

 

Friends of Transit Print Invitational

Marnie Galloway of Monkey-Rope Press

What a show! Last night was the opening reception of Transit Residency's Print Invitational at the I Am Logan Square gallery as part of Chicago Artists Month.  I was proud to contribute three prints from the CTA Announcements series and the first of the bicycle subculture pugilists prints. This sneak-peak picture was shared by Transit before the opening...

...but the gallery was so packed last night, I couldn't get a photograph of the work myself!

The crowd spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of the gallery, amiable and full of delicious treats from Paper Moon Bakery and locally brewed craft beer by Revolution Brewing.

Congratulations again to Transit Residency for organizing such a wonderful show!

Mark your calendars!

Monkey-Rope Press couldn't be more thrilled to announce our participation in the Friends of Transit Print Invitational. As a part of the constellation of city-wide events during Chicago's Artists Month, Transit Residency worked in conjunction with I Am Logan Square to host an invitational print show celebrating our community's love of travel and forms of transportation of all kinds. The Friends of Transit Print Invitational exhibition will be up at the new IALS gallery October 1 — 30, 2011. The exhibition reception with be held Friday, October 7th, 6–8:30pm; mark your calendars and be sure to stop by and say hello!