Visit to Printed Matter Inc., NYC

While in New York City, I made a visit to Printed Matter Inc. in Chelsea, NYC. I had gone to the New York Artist Book Conference in 2009 (organized by Printed Matter Inc.), but did not have the chance to stop in. I was amazed by the amount of publications, and artist multiples... If you are ever in the neighbourhood and want to see a great collection a of artist books, and publications... this is the place to go! I ended up leaving with a few little artists books to add to my collection.

XOXO

latest XOXO print

Letterpress at Atelier Domino in Montreal

I've been renting studio time at Atelier Domino in Montreal in order to complete my series of letterpressed "Compliments". I love coming to this studio and using the Universal 1 (Vandercook Press) to make my limited edition prints. Stay tuned for show details coming up this spring. (and by the way... you look beautiful today!)

Taller Experimental de la Grafica, Havana, Cuba.

I had heard that this studio was a hidden gem near the catedral in Habana Vieja...and it's so true.

On my trip to Cuba in December 2011, I made my way to explore Taller Experimental de la Grafica, a print studio and gallery in the old part of Havana. It's quite impressive! In all, there are over 50 artist who work here, many of which were busy making prints on the thursday morning that I visited. There is also an art gallery on the second floor featuring the prints from the artists who create their work at the studio.

I was really impressed with the quality of work produced, and managed to select a few monotype prints from Guillermo Vantour Garcia. I found it hard to decide which ones to choose, they are all so beautiful... so I made my way back home with four of them.

If you are in Cuba, and love printmaking... definitely stop in for a visit.

Artist in Residence in Lecce, Italy

In October, 2011, I traveled to Italy to print a book for the National Gallery of Canada. I decided to research if perhaps there were some printmaking workshops in Italy around the same time, and turns out, there was one in Lecce the week after I was due to complete the press approvals. Perfect. I had never really heard of Lecce until I read about this artist in residence program with Primopiano LivinGallery Arte Contemporanea - a studio/gallery space in the south of Italy.

I decided to take a week of vacation and participate in Multi-plate Wood block print making workshop. The thought of collaborating with other artists, making art, visiting somewhere new, and coming back with some of my own prints sounded too good to be true.

And in a way... it was. I was hoping to meet other artists, and have the chance to socialize and explore Lecce with others in the evening... only to find out I was the only one who had signed up for the workshop. "Oh, Anne...not what you expected was it?" After traveling "sola" on many trips, I guess I was looking forward to meeting other artists. The hours for the workshop were also not what I was used to. Working 10-1 p.m., having a lunch break from 1-5 p.m., and then working again from 5-8 p.m. was not ideal for me considering I am the most productive early in the morning. And... did I mention the workshop was all in Italian???

In a way, I was disappointed to have been the only one in the course, but as Dores (the teacher) reminded me... that many artist dream to have an entire studio to themselves. I did learn lots of new tips from Dores, and managed to completely take over the studio space and press, and created whatever I wanted. I also reworked my hours by mid-week to something that worked best for me. The benefits of being the only one in the program!

Although I found carving wood to be quite difficult at first, the results on press are beautiful. During the week, I made several prints, including some patterns, my little espresso cups, the luce di lecce, and some multi-coloured plates.

Next trip... I might make sure there are other artists participating though.

Make your own gift wrap and cards at FLOCK boutique

This is the season to put your own stamp (literally!) on the gifts you give! The lovely and talented Anne will teach you the basics of block printing: you will carve out your own unique design and then print it onto paper and note cards. All tools, inks and paper provided. You will leave with 10 sheets of your own unique wrapping paper and a variety of cards. $48 + hst

flock boutique

Thursday oct 6th, 2011 6-9pm
Flock boutique
1275 wellington street west,
ottawa, info@flockboutique.ca

for you... from me...

i took a one week intensive letterpress workshop at the San Francisco Center for the book from Nov. 8 - 12, 2010. I have always been interested in how typesetting was done before the days of InDesign and Illustrator, and i have always wondered how you could make those beautiful deep imprints on paper. on the first day we got a tour of the shop and our teacher gave us a demo on how to use the Vandercook presses. our first project was to create our own personal letterhead & envelopes. considering my frequency of moving... i decided to keep mine simple and to use old wood type and "0" patterns for decoration... basically "for YOU" on the envelope... "from ME" on the letterhead. I didn't realize how much work was involved in setting type (basically everything is written backwards, letter by letter", and then everything must be set in the press and held together tightly with spacers and quoins... you then mix your ink and are ready to print. tis basically took a full day to make! enjoy!