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SOS Art Human Rights Exhibicion in Cincinnati

I had a wonderful time with my printmaker friends: from Cincinnati AND Oaxaca, Mexico as part of the SOS Art Human Rights/Derechos Humanos collaboration. Thank you so much for including me!

woodcut cover of SOS art human rights by artist ken swinson

Tuve un tiempo maravilloso con mis amigos: de Cincinnati Y Oaxaca, Mexico. Parte de la exhibición de SOS ART derechos Humanos/Human Rights colaboración. Muchas gracias por incluirme!

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Printmaking with rock stars!!

Newspaper clipping from two weeks ago, when Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee-Tina Weymouth (founding member of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club), stopped by the Log Cabin Print Shop and did some printing with me!

I’m socially awkward enough to NOT know how to act around rock stars, but Tina and Chris Frantz met in ART SCHOOL – where they formed the Talking Heads– and I know how to talk to ARTISTS! we speak the same language. It was truly an honor to have met Tina and Chris! They are as delightful as their music!

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Log Cabin Print Shop Update

Being closed for almost 2 years during the pandemic has given us a chance to think about how we want to move forward with our program. Let’s start with a short re-introduction, with a rough draft outline of what we are offering right now.

photo of the log cabin print shop
The studio is in historic Old Washington. It was created to provide education and a FREE working space to explore the art of traditional printmaking.
photo of Log Cabin Print Shop Interior- work space for printmaking
The cabin has 2 rooms. The back room is a timberframe style construction primarily used to create prints. It has 2 tables and has had as many as 6 printers working in the space at once.
photo of robert foose etching press at the log cabin print shop
The etching press was designed and built by former University of Kentucky printmaking professor, Robert Foose. It works great for all sizes of woodcuts, linocuts.
photo of Hanco and Gamblin printmaking inks
We provide a range of colors in traditional OIL BASED inks. We provide them (and paper, and use of studio) free of charge to artists of any level of ability. In exchange, we ask participants to donate some of what they print to be displayed in our showroom at the cabin. We believe that printmaking is for everyone, regardless of financial situation. We are not a non-profit organization, this project is funded from personal money by the current administrators and contributions by friends, guests and showroom sales.
photo of the showroom and small etching press at the log cabin print shop
The main log cabin room is the home of our smaller early 20th century etching press. it is also a showroom of work created at the cabin.
photo of book press with handmade book by dustin cecil
This is primarily an artist-led project. As talented as our current artist-in-residence is. They do NOT have a talent for some of the administrative duties that an educational organization needs to grow and thrive. A few of our longer term goals are to offer more programs that compliment traditional print arts: like bookmaking and papermaking. We would also love to have some repairs/upgrades on the building so that we could offer a residency program for visiting artists. It would provide an opportunity for artists to get to know and work in our community. Please watch this space for developments, if you have any questions or suggestions please reach out to us!

This is a COMMUNITY art project, so please share any thoughts about how we could be useful for you. if you know anyone that could benefit from the studio or help with our mission, please leave a message and/or forward to help us spread the word.

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Print on Clay with Tom + Dave – Arrowmont Workshop

I’m super grateful to be back at Arrowmont School of Arts and Craftsl for a printmaking (on clay) workshop with Thomas Lucas and David Todd Trost .

look who was on the campus to greet us!!!! He/she/they will be the inspiration for my print on clay project!

At the Arrowmont School of arts and Crafts in Tennessee-learning to make screens in the darkroom, then screen printing with ceramic glazes with master printer Thomas Lucas at a mind blowing print on clay workshop at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts . this is just one of many techniques we are learning.

This workshop is a double feature, with TWO instructors. In addition to learning from a master printer, we also have David Todd Trost. Not only is he like a walking talking encyclopedia in all things clay (and professional wrestling), but he’s also an amazing teacher-he explains and demonstrates what he knows in a way that’s just as entertaining as it is educational. I learned so much, and am super grateful to have had this opportunity to learn from them.

my table towards the end of the workshop
my super talented and nice class at Arrowmont

i’m back in the studio, testing on porcelain with some of the prints we made at master printer Thomas Lucas workshop…I’ve read all the books on printing on clay, and he has some refinements (that work better) to those techniques–and some new techniques I never even thought were possible. In all things ceramic testing is critical. one change in material (porcelain) can make a difference between success and failure.

Fortunately, in class, we had the opportunity to troubleshoot, and tom helped me understand what each component of the inks are doing, so I can refine and adjust to make sure I get the best results possible with my particular clay/glaze/temperature combination. Thanks to Tom and Dave everyone at Arrowmont and those who made this experience possible. I feel renewed and am filled with inspiration. stay tuned!

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Assembling a Provisional Press

TODAYS PROJECT – Assemble a Provisional Press

I believe Art Is For Everyone-especially printmaking. A challenge for artists just getting started in printing is that a press usually takes a lot of room, and can be REALLY expensive.

A couple of teachers from Indiana have designed a press, called The Provisional Press. It’s designed to be easy and affordable to make. You can downlod the files to cut the parts with a laser cutter-They also sell kits with all the parts cut-all I have to do is assemble it.

Here’s a link to their website if you want to learn more: www.provisionalpress.com

I think the project is awesome, and, you never know when a small, suitcase sized press could be handy (printmaking road trip?)–so I ordered one of their kits!!!

I’ve had mixed results when assembling things like this, so stay tuned to see how it goes!

Update:  I have it assembled! I just need to calibrate it…ugh…and then we can do some printing!

UPDATE2: I don’t have the patience to calibrate the press. I will, but I’m itching to put some ink through this lovely machine

I need to do some tinkering, but my first imPRESSion is that this is a great educational tool when you don’t have a press. You’ll be able to do things that you cant when hand printing. Is this going to replace a press? I don’t think so. (I need to do more tinkering..maybe I’m wrong) it was fun to put together, I learned a lot about the mechanics of what a press does. This could be fun for a road trip print activity, but I’m spoiled, would never use it as a “daily driver”