BIZ BLOG
At Spark Box Studio we not only want to provide a great space where artists can produce work but we also want to provide those artists with a little business savvy. We feel that most people using the studio get a chance to chat with us about the business of art (although this doesn’t always happen in the most organized fashion, as we often find ourselves complaining about the ins and outs of the art world over dinner and a bottle of wine). Granted we haven’t had a whole lot of experience however the two of us we have been on a major learning curve since opening the studio and trying to get our own art into shows.
Recently Chrissy has been scouring the web and reading A LOT of great business blogs for crafters, designers and artists. She has signed up for everyones newsletter and has been getting some great ideas. As well we have both been reading up on grant writing, show application procedures, starting your own non-profit and the list goes on. We feel it would be unfair to keep all this great information to ourselves… so along with our emerging artist guide we are now planning to add a weekly (or what we hope will be weekly) business blog to our site.
If you think the information you find through these blogs or our emerging artist site are good, worth your time and full of handy information you can show us through filling out the survey linked to each post. This survey will not only show us your support and give us a reason to keep working at this part of the studio, it will aid in us staying alive as it helps fulfill our grant!
Looking for more fun business information check out our emerging artist website here.
ETCHING WITH LOYALIST COLLEGE
This week we held an etching workshop for the Art Fundamentals class at Loyalist college. Last week we visited the class and discussed the principles of hard-ground etching; how the process works, how to draw into a plate, what things to avoid etc. A copper plate is coated with a thin ground, traditionally wax or at Spark Box we use an acrylic ground. Using a sharp needle the ground is scraped into and the underlaying copper is exposed. You draw your image into the ground and when finished the plate is submerged into an etchant. The etchant will begin to corrode any exposed copper and leave V shaped trenches in the copper plate that later will hold the ink. In addition to talking about etching, we left each student a coated copper plate and a few tools. A week later the class was to visit our studio to print their copper plates.
The students plates arrived a few days before the students were to come so that we could have ample time to etch and prepare the plates for printing. On a Tuesday morning Into our studio marches 20 students along with Robert Kranendonk (their professor). Organizing the large group of students into a cohesive group was not difficult, they were all eager to learn the next steps on the process and we gladly proceeded to demonstrate them. We showed the students the steps of plate preparation and moved on into how the ink the plate and how to print the plate.
Quite quickly students were inking up their plates and getting into the line up for the press. Everyone managed to ink up and print their plate several times. The students really did enjoy themselves and were all quite pleased with being able to produce an etching. By the end of the session everyone’s hands were covered in black ink and surprisingly only a few students got printing ink on their faces.
Photos shot by Kelly Taylor.
BABY PRINTMAKERS
Back in November our baby niece came into the studio looking to make a birthday card for her grandpa. She was just too cute and we thought we should share the pics of the youngest person to participate in the studio!
She decided to use a very basic printmaking method of stamping. Using her hands and feet she created an abstract image for the birthday card.
RESIDENCY AWARD: JUSTIN STEINBURG
Our second recipient of our 2009 residency award was Justin Steinburg, fourth year BFA (bachelor of fine art) student at Queen’s University. Justin came to stay with us at Spark Box Studio for a weekend in mid January 2010. He arrived with a car full of waterless lithography plates and woodcuts ready to print. When attending a residency it is always best to try and maximize your time printing by preparing material ahead of the determined residency.
His first day of the residency was spent printing plates and printing a three color separation woodcut. Using little ink to a fair amount of transparent base Justin’s woodcut shows the potential for color change when using transparent inks. This woodcut is from his thesis year at Queen’s university which focuses on color theory.
The second day of Justin’s residency with us we experimented with powdered pigments that he had bought from a supplier in Ottawa. He brought with him a wide range of different pigment colors, everything from primary colors to metallic bronze, silver, gold and iridescent pearl white (which was comically named ‘super sparkle’). We spent the day mixing up pigments into transparent base and testing the results. The basic colors mixed and print really well and printed just like inks out of a can. The metallic colors were a different story. We tried to mix the bronze and everything seemed to go alright but when it was printed it ended up printing splotchy and transparent. The obvious result was to add more pigment and stiffen up the ink, this produced better results. Out of the metallic colors the ‘super sparkle’, iridescent pearl, worked the best, producing a tinted white that had a great shine was we considered a success.
WORKING WITH YOUTH
As mentioned over and over again on our site we are very focused on assisting high schools students with an interest in art. Whether it be providing them with studio space and resources to learn, offering them volunteer opportunities or assisting them with their applications
Shane Williams is our new student volunteer. He will be coming to work at the studio once a week, assisting us with a variety of projects. He is also quite interested in learning about printmaking which is an added bonus!
Emma Steeles is a Pickering student who is building her portfolio to apply to universities throughout Canada. We had the pleasure of teaching her silkscreen. She created the sweetest little prints and had a great time at the studio. We hope that she will come back again for another course or to print a few more silkscreens on her own.
BUSY HANDS
BUY HANDMADE THIS HOLIDAY!
Spark Box Studio is going to be part of this years Busy Hands Craft Sale. The Busy Hand Christmas Craft Sale is a presented by Vicki’s Veggies and Honey Pie Hives and Herbals, it will be located on the upper floor of Books and Company. The sale is one weekend only, December 12-13 from 9 am-6 pm.
Spark Box is going to be sharing a table with home town crafter/artist Becky Lane, the one and only Nella Casson and a few super creative youth crafters! Be sure to stop by our table to get your hands on some exciting handmade goods including holiday cards and tags, knitted neck cowls, silkscreened stuffed animals, sock creatures, birdhouses and more!
CENTENNIAL SCHOOL PRESENTATION
We have been working on making connections with the local high schools for some time now. We were finally given the opportunity to speak at Centennial Secondary School in Belleville. Thanks to Bill Tomlinson we were invited to give a presentation his intermediate and senior art classes. The goal of the presentation was for us to explain Spark Box Studio, give the students an idea of who we are, what we do, how we got to where we are, and why we are interested in working with youth in the area. Being graduates of an art program are quite aware of how scary it can be to consider entering a field where you may become the ‘starving artist’. Being an artist is difficult road to travel, but it is a possible line of work. As part of our presentation we outline how we are trying to help young artists get started by providing many resources such as: out online guides, the Art School Guide, and the Emerging Artist Guide, a volunteer/mentoring program, portfolio consultations, residency awards and a community space to work in and interact with seasoned artists. This talk at Centennial was the first in it’s series. Thank you Bill for helping to arrange this presentation we both had a blast talking to your students.
OPEN STUDIO: CARL WIENS
This week Spark Box Studio is proud to present the newest participant in the open studio program, Carl Wiens. An illustrator based in the county, Carl is a fine example of an artist making a living. We strongly recommend that you check out his website at www.carlwiens.com. We especially love the robot work he has done, here’s a quick link to that section retroroborama. Carl is excited to start working on a silkscreen series in the studio. Within his first day he was well on his way towards a finished print. In the afternoon he managed to shoot two screens and print two colors for his edition of 10 prints. We’re really happy to have Carl working in the studio.
OPEN STUDIO PROGRAM
Recently Spark Box has had many people coming through the studio for workshops or continue their visual art practice. Several Open Studio participants are focusing on silkscreen with good results. Lis Gare had not done silkscreening for many years and was eager to re-learn the medium. She quickly realized how much silkscreening has changed over the years. Silkscreen used to be oil based and was very toxic. In fact it was at one point the most toxic art medium available. As many of your know at Spark Box Studio we use a water based silkscreen system. This method is far less toxic than the traditional oil based system.
Also working in the studio a local artist, Mia Lane. Mia has been taking the high realism technique often seen in her paintings and translating them into the etchings with superb results. Local printmaker and owner of Blizzmax Gallery Peter Mennacher has also started coming in to use the studio to print his etchings. Peter’s studio, located in a barn is unheated, as the temperature gets colder inks become stiff and unusable but lucky for him Spark Box Studio is heated and open through the winter!
CHRIS SABA AND LAURA CLAYTON
This past weekend our good friends, recent Queens University BFA grads and fellow printmakers Chris Saba and Laura Clayton came to stay and work in the studio. Chris traveled from Hamilton, where he has been participating at The Print Studio, and Laura Clayton came from Pickering. The weekend brought a lot of printing, Chris worked on a hard-ground etching while Laura braved the soft ground.
We are learning from the artists coming to the studio that community studios are uncommon and Ontario residency programs even more rare. It is with great pleasure that we are able to share our studio space.
STEVE NEWBERRY
Spark Box Studio had its first resident artist, Steve Newberry. Steve currently lives in Hamilton and came to focus on his next set of ideas and concepts. Steve primarily works in sculpture, installation and new media, but more recently he has become interested in printmaking. It was fantastic getting to know Steve over the course of his one week stay. In addition to focusing on his independant work, we taught Steve how to silkscreen. Steve had brought some old post cards of Belleville that he wanted to transfer into prints. We gave steve a complete crash course in silkscreen and talked about the posibilities for mixed medium work. In the end he decided to silkscreen onto plywood and will later integrate other elements such as woodcut, found objects, screws, paint and many other interesting processes.
Two of the images we printed are posted. It should be mentioned that when printing onto plywood one should consider that the surface is not 100% uniform. The wood has both divits and grain which will alter the final printed image, for better or worse.
Check out his website at–www.Steve Newberry.com.
RADIO RADIO
Spark Box Studio was recently featured on the Queen’s radio station CFRC. The three part interview was broadcast through their E-file and Alternative Frequency programs.
The interview was conducted by our friend Irina Skvortsova. Irina, along with Queen’s University student Cecily Taylor and Kingston silkscreener Julian Berry, owner of Ironclad Graphics, came to the studio not only to conduct an interview but also to use the space. Part of the interview included a short etching for the three visitors. By short we mean several hours.
We explained our hardground etching process from start to finish. Although the plates were prepared ahead of time we still talked about the importance of plate preparation. After carefully executing their imagery each individual was able to ink up their plate and leave with an original print.
During the coarse of the day Irina engaged us with discussion about Spark Box Studio, our education, experiences and how we had come to build up our business.
Watch our website for the posting of the interview clips.
MIDNIGHT ETCHING
In the dead silence of our living room our current housemates Paul and Hannah work diligently on their etching projects along side Kyle. For nearly an hour the atmosphere was focused and nothing could break their concentration, not even their grumbling stomachs. Both Paul and Hannah had never done etchings before and in the end they turned out fantastic looking prints. Paul drew the image of the crow while Hannah drew the heart image. After working in the living room we adventured to the studio and printed till midnight.
PRESS MAINTENANCE
At some point all presses will need to be maintained. Be it grease, sanding, painting, alignment, or one of the many other tasks. This week brings the beginning of my long journey of press maintenance. Our press bed had become a lovely dark grey color, stained with rust, and dirt deposits. Starting in one corner, with 50 grit emery paper, I began to sand… and sand… and I am still sanding two days later. However, it is quite satisfactory to see the glory hiding behind the dirt when the steel starts to shine.
For any printmakers out there that want more information about the process here are some tips:
-ensure the safety stops are in place, and that you wear the recommended PPE (personal protective equipment): respirator, googles, gloves, and an apron.
-Sand the press bed by going with the grain of the steel.
-An orbital sander can be used, but be careful not to over sand sections with this power tool and avoid gouging the bed with the grinding wheel. A belt sander may be used, but personally I’d prefer to use an orbital sander because of its control.
-Ultimately the best method and the one that yields the best results with the littlest effort is to send the press bed to a machine shop that can re-tool the surface to a perfect state
~Kyle,
Studio and Operations Director
ANOTHER GREAT DONATION
This past week Spark Box Studio was fortunate enough to be the recipients of a substantial donation of art books, painting supplies, canvases, fine papers, an opaque projector, an easel and several other items.
In May of 2009 local artist Gene Ouimette passed away after battle with bladder cancer. Having been left in charge of Gene’s estate Bill decided to donate Gene’s art supplies and art book collection to Spark Box Studio knowing that we would put everything to good use.
Much of Gene’s artwork had been captured digitally and will be made available through Bill’s website. Profits generated from the sale of his works will be put towards a good end by funding hospice facilities at the Prince Edward Community Hospital.
For more information please visit:
http://willowgardenshetlands.com/guesthouses3.php
Would like to thank both Gene Ouimette and Bill Stearman for this donation.
OUR OPENING
Our grand opening was a great success!
Thank you to all who came out to support Spark Box Studio’s grand opening. The event was fantastic with over a hundred guests throughout the day! We were fortunate enough to have friends come from all over Ontario to show their support for our project. Our event began with a traditional ribbon cutting. Followed by several speakers: Dan Taylor, the County’s economic development officer; Minister Leona Dombrowsky, our MPP; Mayor Leo Finnegan; Lyn Doering, from the Entrepreneurship Partnerships, and also representing Ministry of Economic Development and Trade; Craig Desjardins, executive director of PELA CFDC and representing MPP Daryl Kramp; Judy Kent, chair on the Prince Edward County Arts Council; Rene Dick from Scout Design; and lastly Chrissy Poitras and Kyle Topping, owners and directors of Spark Box Studio. Following the speeches the day was left to tours, questions, inquires, and congratulations. We had the great pleasure of meeting many artists, patrons, and supporters of the County’s art community.
We at Spark Box Studio would like to express our thanks for the kind welcomes we received from the community.
GRAND OPENING
This is it!
Here we come world!
SPARK BOX STUDIO’S GRAND OPENING!
The studio is open to the general public,
Tues. – Sat. 12-6pm.
THE EDINBURGH ETCH
Let the printing begin!
Equipped with heavy duty neoprene gloves and indirect airflow goggles we set forth to mix our ferric chloride etching mixture. Who thought art could resemble science so much? We were both really nervous trying to pour and mix this giant canister of deep orange liquid into a pail… we’d been putting it off for a few days now. The funny thing is, it is pretty safe to use, haha.
Historically copper plates were etched in a bath of nitric acid – this process produced toxic vapors and was high risk when and if it came into contact with the skin. Another bonus of nitric acid is if a beaker was accidentally dropped and it broke… well can we say kaboom? Ferric chloride is not volatile, and spillages can be diluted and neutralized and safely disposed of. Printmakers today use ferric chloride as a means to etch their copper plates through an electrochemical reaction. For more information behind the exact science, which I strongly recommend reading refer to: nontoxicprint.com.
With shaky hands we managed to pour and mix this incredibly heavy amount of liquid into our etching tank creating what is coined as, The Edinburgh Etch. On a side note, a fun fact we learnt was a 20cm x 12cm x 0.5mm copper plate can be entirely dissolved in the solution under 13 hours.
Now located at Spark Box Studio is one bubbling tank of deep orange etchant, fresh and ready to be used.
