Monday, August 29, 2011

Screenprint and Meatballs



Judith Johnson (wearing a matching shirt) watches the process.



Screenprint Society regular Elliott Negin (aka Groover Cleveland) pulled the last plate on One Meatball on August 18th. The normally wry jokester was all about the business of finishing his ambitious large print. Stay tuned for upcoming shows to view it up close. Congratulations, Elliott!






One Meatball, Two Meatballs


Elliott on Groover: "Groover is the love child of Robert Indiana and Judy Chicago. They inspired me to adopt my nom de guerre. Like them, I’m from the Midwest and I took the name of my birthplace. And like them, a lot of my work has a political edge. I call it “Agitpop.” Groover is obviously a play on Grover Cleveland, who, as it turns out, was distantly related to Moses Cleaveland, the founder of Cleveland, Ohio."

Elliott Negin at Screenprint Society

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Local Color, Take 2


There's one week left to catch two excellent examples of contemporary screenprinting on 14th Street. "Tribute 2" is Irvine Gallery's last show at its present location. Mum's the word on where they will pop up next. Political propagandist and graphic designer  Shepard Fairey's flag prints, called "HPM" (Hand Painted Multiples) are multi-layered masterpieces. And don't miss the city's best mural in the alley behind the gallery, with more of Fairey's trademark patterns and revolution imagery.



Wonder Street
















Just a couple blocks walk is "Local Color" at Plan B, featuring the work of another graphic designer turned screenprinter. Michael Crossett's freeform collages are peppered with local landmarks and screened onto paper and board, the latter sometimes dipped in a thick coat of reflective resin.
Both shows close at the end of the month.


    
14th

Monday, August 15, 2011

Screenprint Specimens of Pyramid Atlantic




Laura Kinneberg
On a lovely summer evening in August, a group of Pyramid artists gathered around a table of wine, cheese and stacks of prints to participate in the time-honored tradition of the artist print exchange. Resident artist Sabeth Jackson—the mastermind behind the glorious Peace Mural panels gracing Pyramid's entrance—organized the trade. The portfolio included three screenprints. Laura Kinneberg's "Specimens of the Mid Atlantic": too-many-colors-to-count on handmade charcoal colored paper with letterpress lettering; Sabeth's "Over the River and Through the Woods": 2 colors with a hand colored wash; and Grant Dickie's much-anticipated "Beer Print", showing the many steps to that frosty brown bottle o' beer. Grant stepped up to organize the next exchange. And a big shoutout to the summer interns who brought it all together with a custom screenprinted portfolio.

Grant Dickie
Sabeth Jackson



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Meet...Copiosity!


Dianne (left) and Cynthia in their office at Pyramid



















Tucked in a light-filled office overlooking Ripley Street construction on Pyramid's second floor is Copiosity, a small publishing business. Headed by the duo of Dianne Harrison and Cynthia Clarke, the company will be producing a line of greeting products, business publishing and other small wares. 

Assessing the digital artwork.

Dianne and Cynthia became interested in the goings-on in the studio downstairs, specifically screenprinting and papermaking. They decided to print their own stationery as a way to learn the processes, and booked an introductory lesson with Screenprint Associate Marty Ittner. The first challenge was creating the digital print for making the screenprint stencil. The threesome adjusted the Illustrator file and were ready to print to acetate.




Franc assisted with transparency printing
In the opposite corner office sits Franc Rosario, keeper of the high end Epson printers. Fortunately, he was on hand to output the files. Then it was time to hit the darkroom and screenprint studio. Cynthia and Dianne were open to experimentation, including a split fountain and powdered pigments. Both proved to be problematic. So the pair returned to Screenprint Society to try again. This time, they were more experienced and ready to print in straight colors, including their beautiful green. They left with prints in hand, and will be back to print the second color.

Smiles at Screenprint Society.