News
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
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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
7 SEPTEMBER 2011
Land Pop-Up Gallery
Now through October 29th Portland's Museum of Contemporary Craft hosts "Cutting Her Own Path," a retrospective of Olympia, Washingtonian Nikki McClure's X-Acto-rendered illustrations! McClure's black paper cutouts tell beautiful stories of the everyday--of hikes, habits, and chores shared with family and friends. We've long admired her art, but can't wait to see her work live, and it's always such a treat to see what other artists and craftspeople are doing with paper! Our friends at Land Gallery, the Mississippi Street storefront and art space of NW arts and crafts distro Buy Olympia, have installed a pop-up gallery at MOCC in conjunction with her show including some Stumptown Printers prints and some of our cards too! Land is one in a series of local art institutions the museum has asked to curate a corner of the gallery with the awesome ambition of increasing community between art spaces. MOCC is at 724 NW Davis Street in Portland and is open Tuesday-Saturday 11-6 PM and on First Thursday from 11-8.
Submitted by: EP
Silk Screen printing by Kjetil Brandsdal
1 SEPTEMBER 2011
7" Arigato in Norway
Man, there must be something in the water in Norway that fuels some nice printing and design. We've worked with several customers from that Scandinavian epicenter of happiness (wasn't Norway ranked in the top 3 for happiest countries of the world? And wait, doesn't Norway also produce some of the best Black Metal around? Ahhh, the poetry of it all) and we've been very impressed by their design work, some of which we have had the pleasure to print here at Stumptown Printers.
Kjetil Brandsdal of Drid Machine Screen Printing & Design in Stavanger, Norway uses our blank packaging with which to print and create limited releases for the independent label CCAP. He recently shared some photos of his handiwork. Nice Stuff. You can check out his website here. To see a better snap shot of his work printing on our blanks, click here.
Submitted by: BB
17 AUGUST 2011
Letterpress Printers Fair
http://www.em-space.org/em-space/
This annual fair (featuring local letterpress printers and book artists, suppliers of letterpress equipment and type, ephemera, rarities, broadsides, cards and more!) is coming right up. We printed some posters for the event this year, using our collection of Stymie and enjoying the rare chance to hand set type. Hope you're able to attend, and to check out what the regional letterpress community has to offer.
SATURDAY AUGUST 20, 2011
11am – 5 pm
323 SE Division Place, Portland, OR
$2 Admission from 11am to 2pm
FREE from 2 to 5 pm
Submitted by: RG
4 AUGUST 2011
Salvage Works Business Cards
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stumptownprinter...
Recently on press was a re-print of Salvage Works business cards / price tags. Since we're big fans of this local business and had fun with the project, I wanted to write a note about it.
First, the printing: The cards are offset printed 2 color spot over 1 color spot. They are then die-cut for round cornering. The type is taken from the real deal: the original was hand set in metal, a nice clean proof was pulled and this was scanned to generate film. (Some digital scaling & kerning took place as well) The display face is named "Rustic" and was originally drawn and cast in the mid nineteenth century. Our metal version of "Rustic" was cast about 100 years later by Charles Broad of Typefounders of Phoenix. This face works perfectly for a business that is located in the shadow of the Kenton neighborhood's 31 foot tall Paul Bunyan statue. Also, since Portland's nickname is Stumptown, well…
Now about Salvage Works: For starters, it's a architectural salvage yard and vintage building material supplier. Which means beautiful old tight-grained lumber that you'll never find in the big-box home-improvement stores (as well as rare hardware) is carefully rescued from demolition and prepared for re-sale by owner Preston Browning and crew. These materials are also used to make custom furniture at the Salvage Works work shop. He built the front counter at Stumptown Printers along with other display fixtures. Check out the photos here. In addition to these things, Salvage Works hosts frequent events that bring artists and craftspeople together. I could go on an on about this place, but instead I'll just encourage you to stop by. It's one of those special small businesses that helps to define a community. We're lucky to have it here in town.
Submitted by: BB