News

15 NOVEMBER 2011

Show Opens Thursday

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stumptownprinter...

Yea Big! Tiny Pop-Up Print Club! Submissions are here, perhaps one or two are are still on their way. To the folks who have sent us work: we apologize for setting the deadline for submissions on a national holiday. Yup. No mail service. A bit of an oversight on our part. Anyhow, it's working out, there are about 50 submissions here, safe and sound. The entries that we have seen so far are amazing. There are prints of all sorts (intaglio, wood cut, letterpress, offset lithography, silk screen and more) from presses near and far. We hope that you can join us for the reception this Thursday from 7 PM to 9 PM here at the shop. Also, the prints will be on display here until January 6th and can be viewed during our normal shop hours. For those of you who can't make it here, we will try our best to get photos of the work up on the internets by next Tuesday. We'll have a new store category called "Yea Big Prints" and will have detailed descriptions and thumbnail photo of the entries. We'll also have a higher resolution photos in our Flickr photo stream. The print submissions to the show are super-limited and can be purchased for 15 smackers. The price includes a mini folding frame. A pretty good deal for original limited artwork printed by talented craft people and artists, don't you think? Oh, and after January 6th, the show will be on the move and will evolve with additional submissions, so keep your eyes and ears open. Also, let us know if you are interested in hosting the show, unconventional venues are encouraged!

Submitted by: BB

3 NOVEMBER 2011

Unsinkable Genius

I just returned from a tour of the exhibition Unsinkable Genius: The Surreal Voyage of George Hitchcock & Kayak Magazine held at the Collins Gallery in the Multnomah County Library. The John Wilson Special Collections of the library owns most of the work produced by Hitchcock under the Kayak Press imprint, and Jim Carmin, co-curator of the exhibition, was kind enough to show us all the pieces, pointing out interesting aspects of the production of the work, and sharing anecdotes and interesting correspondence in the collection.

Oregon-born writer, artist and printer George Hitchcock (1914–2010) was on the cutting-edge of the small-press revolution.  In the early 1960s he started what could be considered a zine before the existence of zines, a literary journal called Kayak which he edited, printed, and bound himself. Kayak was in publication for 20 years.

An interesting aspect of his printing was that in addition to using a platen letterpress, Hitchcock relied heavily on a small format offset press to produce his work. His printed work was known for its spontaneity and visual whimsey. Hitchcock's sometimes flagrant disregard of technical printing standards created its own reckless beauty. There were several examples of the split fountain technique, and also examples of what  might be called "single color split fountain" where he allowed the ink to run out in a certain area of an image. On some forms it appeared as if he didn't bother with an ink fountain but instead directly inked the rollers, perhaps even replenishing with a different color of ink as the run progressed. Each piece, even within a single print edition, is unique, and each of those printed pieces is alive with the story of its production.

Unsinkable Genius: The Surreal Voyage of George Hitchcock & Kayak Magazine runs until November 27th in the Collins Gallery of the Central Library here in Portland. 

Submitted by: EB

1 NOVEMBER 2011

New Mailing Labels

Inspired by the kind of commercial printing from an era (in our opinion) where art, hand craftsmanship and industry were in pretty good balance, we modeled our new mailing labels using Linotype composition, type ornaments and an old cut of Eric and Brian's grandpa. (See "Fred Approved" below) And, it celebrates mail. You know, physical mail that has been personally prepared, handled and marked by humans and their machines to document the parcel's journey. It's pretty dang magical to receive this kind of mail, don't you think? To see photos of our new mailing label, click here, and here, and here. Or, ask us to mail you something. 

Submitted by: BB

1 NOVEMBER 2011

Show is full!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stumptownprinter...

Thanks to the 40 + printers who will be contributing pieces to the first showing of Yea Big: Tiny Pop-Up Print Club! While the first exhibition of the show is booked with artists, there will be additional opportunities to participate as the show travels and grows.  If you are a printer who is interested in participating in future exhibitions of Yea Big, please contact us for details.

In the meantime submissions are rolling in and they are knocking our socks off. Pictured is the first submission that we received. Printed by Barb Tetenbaum of Triangular Press, it is a beautiful multi-color "pressure printed" letterpress print using hand-set type, ornaments and an old advertising halftone. Gorgeous. 

For the rest of you printers who have confirmed with us, remember your submissions are due to us November 11th. Yup. We're looking forward to it! And please join us for the opening reception if you can:

Location: Stumptown Printers, 2293 N Interstate Ave, Portland 

Reception: November 17th, 2011 from 7-9pm 

Exhibit Length: November 17, 2011 - January 6, 2012

Viewing Hours: 9am-6pm Tues-Fri

Also, 15 of each print will be available for purchase for $15, and will each include a letterpress-printed 19th-century-inspired folding frame. We'll be posting additional info as the show date draws nearer.

Submitted by: BB & EP

1 NOVEMBER 2011

“Fred Approved”

Stumptown Printers has a handful of dapper halftone-heads spread around the shop, hidden away on various galleys. The halftone photos are of men and women mainly from the 1950's and 1960's. If you collect, restore and operate old printing equipment, you'll likely amass a case or so of these anonymous insurance sales people, politicians, members of fraternal organizations, etc.  We love the look of these coarse screened faces and wonder about their stories.

We'll occasionally print them, but feel a little uncomfortable at times doing so, as we often know little about them. Are there family members alive today who would be upset if their loved one was used as a graphic element in what may seem like an irreverent way? Or perhaps the subject themselves may happen upon the printing. It would be kind of strange for them, wouldn't it?

So, when we re-discovered an old cut of Stumptown Printer brothers Eric and Brian's grandfather, we figured we oughta dust him off and lay some ink on his worn halftones. Though we can't be certain, we're pretty sure that Fred would be honored to have ink on his halftone cut again. (Sorry grandpa for leaving you so long with a bunch of strangers in that dusty galley) Fred's halftone head is fairly worn but it inked rather nicely.

We decided to use his image around the shop, and came up with the term "Fred Approved". You see, Grandpa Fred was a man who operated from a "how-to" book written on another planet. He always had an answer or solution to a problem, and no matter how off-the-wall his methods, they always worked, and were often poetic in their simplicity and effectiveness. Best of all, no matter what the task, Fred approached it with a healthy dose of humor. He's been gone for about 30 years but the stories of his practical and fun way of navigating through life are still an inspiration to us. So, Fred, we hope you approve and don't mind the ink on your resting halftone cut.

To see Fred in action at the shop, click here and here.

Submitted by: BB

20 OCTOBER 2011

Call for Entries!

Stumptown Printers newest worker Elizabeth Pusack has been organizing a nifty little print show. We’re all excited about it. If you are a printer and would like to participate, we’d love to have you join us. The deadline for submissions is coming up quick, but the best part of this show is that the prints are tiny. Teeny. 2”x3”. So don't worry about creating that master piece poster or broadside. Pressure is off, this show will be a fun excuse to lay down a wee bit of ink and meet some folks. Oh, yeah, the other cool thing about the small size of the prints is that it will allow for the show to be very portable. Elizabeth is planning on sending the show off to many places. There is no telling where the show will pop up… read on for details.

Yea Big! The Stumptown Printers Tiny Pop-Up Print Club!

We’ve been feeling particularly curious about what all our fellow printers are up to lately, so, with the mission of sharing visions across print shops, we’re starting a tiny print club and archive, and hosting an inaugural party to celebrate! This exhibit won’t sit still--there are plans in the works for tiny print shows to pop up in overseas art spaces and heartland log cabins alike. We can’t wait to see your small wonder!

Check out the submission guidelines below:

Make art! Letterpress, litho, screen print, gocco, etching, monoprint ….use any printing process that requires wash-up! (No inkjet or copier prints, please.)

Dimensions: 2" x 3" Designed to fit into our 19th century-style folding frames. 

Paper Stock: Up to a thickness of 18 pt.

Edition Size: 30 (5 for Rotating Exhibit Display, 10 for Distribution to Other Participants, 15 for Sales)

Cost & Commission: Prints with frames will sell to the public for $15. Artists will take home $10 from each sale. Each participant will receive their very own frame and four randomly chosen prints by other artists to enjoy at home.

Deadlines: Please notify us of your participation no later than October 31st.

Arrange for delivery of work by November 11th.

(Please Note: We have a limited number of slots available for the opening show. If you are interested in participating, contact us soon. We'll let you know as soon as possible if we can accommodate your piece.)

We hope you can come to the opening reception on November 17th, in the shop @ 2293 N. Interstate Ave, Portland 97227

More info or questions contact:

elizabeth@stumptownprinters.com

Submitted by: BB & EP

11 OCTOBER 2011

Pedal Power – Art of the Bicycle

Door No. 3, the amazing community-based Print & Book Art Studio located in Twisp, Washington, is currently hosting the show Pedal Power – Art of the Bicycle. The show will run through November 5th and features bicycle related prints, art, and merchandise, including many of Stumptown Printers' prints and cards. The opening of the show, which was held in conjunction with the Twisp Art Walk, featured a bicycle tour in which participants created art along the way. Also featured as part of the opening was an ingenious interactive event in which bicycles became printing presses- or perhaps paint brushes.  Brayers were used to apply a variety of paint colors directly to bicycle and tricycle tires, then participants rode across paper to create original life-sized art prints.

Door No. 3 is a community-based artist studio offering classes and facilities for fine art printing and book making. The studio also hosts rotating exhibits and sells artist-made print, books and paper based artworks.

Submitted by: EB

Text Ball Poster on Press

30 SEPTEMBER 2011

Text Ball Annual IPRC Benefit!

Portland's most unique literary event, The 6th Annual TEXT BALL, is this Saturday, October 1st. It's a great way to support all the creative work  the IPRC does and to kick off the Wordstock Festival of the Book. We hand set and printed up some posters to let you know that you shouldn't miss it.

The Sixth Annual TEXT BALL: “In Poetic Fashion”

With live music by Laura Gibson
Literary Mix Tape Readings by Matthew Dickman, Barry Sanders & Emily Kendal Frey

Saturday October 1st; 7pm–11pm

At p:ear Gallery; 338 NW 6th Avenue

$12 Advance; $15 Door; advance group tickets: $50 ?
Costumes are encouraged, but definitely not required

For more information check out: iprc.org

Submitted by: RG

12 SEPTEMBER 2011

Pedx BC & Label printing

Recently on press was a re-print of business cards and bag labels for Pedx Shoe Shangri-la, an independent Portland, Oregon shoe store located on Alberta Street in the Northeast neighborhood. The cards and labels were printed 2 color letterpress. The labels are kiss cut to round corner. Pedx is a comfortable store (no cold stares at a printer who walks in the door wearing ink stained work clothes) that carries a variety of shoe and boot styles as well as accessories (many are local and handmade). Maggie from Pedx turned us on to a brand that they carry called CYDWOQ. These shoes are handcrafted in Burbank, California. Yup, the whole shoe is made on site: the heels, insoles, outsoles, and wooden soles. The CYDWOQ catalogue offers a huge variety of styles that all share an individual "old-world, handcrafted" appearance. Time to break into the piggy bank. Try on a pair at Pedx 2230 NE Alberta, Portland, Oregon. For a closer look at the business card and label printing, click here.

Submitted by: BB