CHARACTER OF THE DAY
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DAY 1
We have had illustrator Niall Eccles working at the studio since we opened and have always enjoyed watching him work on his projects. Recently he has made the experience all the better with his daily characters.
I have always wanted to be disciplined enough to commit to a drawing a day … but alas it just isn’t in the cards for me. However, it is a practice I should adopt and we should all take a page from Niall’s book and try to create something everyday.
As a way of honoring Niall’s “Character of the Day” we will be posting them to our website daily!
These little drawings will be for sale at the studio if one of them catches your eye and you just have to have it!
LETTERPRESS AND TYPOGRAPHY
In the mid-15th century the printing press was invented and with this piece of machinery came the first rapid production of mass-produced books in history . It is not uncommon now for someone to either have a relative or know someone that has worked with type and a letterpress. Type is used in the printing industry to describe individual lead letters (a key component in letterpress printing). In this form of printmaking hundreds of individual characters are arranged, making up the final printed book, newspaper, essay, etc. Between each printing the characters would be washed and a whole new set would be arranged for the next page.
In the past two weeks I’ve met nearly half a dozen of people who had actually hand-set type at one point. Emerging from this labour heavy printing process came the automated printing press. These mechanized machines further increased productivity by introducing plate printing techniques apposed to hand-set type. They have become more complex over the years and are still in use at commercial printers.
I highly suggest taking a tour of a commercial print studio, you’ll probably find a few old and wild looking machines. Generations today will likely not get to experience lead type used for an off-set printing press or a clunky typewriter. Unfortunately, like many things today I feel the inkjet version of type just isn’t as fascinating as the original handmade, hand-set, hand-inked, hand-printed quality of letterpress.
We’re proud to announce the most recent addition to the facilities at Spark Box Studio a 1928, 3″ x 5″, letterpress and three font sets. Set the font yourself, mix your own ink, hand-print every piece and feel the power of type.
LETS WORK TOGETHER
My first biz blog is going to be something that we at Spark Box find to be the most important in the small business world – collaboration! Where would Kyle and I be without all the support and hard work given to us by people in this community? Having access to a motivated and helpful group of friends and community members can really make a small business survive. I know this seems like a totally obvious remark but it is seriously one of the biggest components to being successful.
We Need Each Other
The art scene is a small one and so it is pretty easy to get connected and support one another within it. Being a collaborative art studio we know all to well the importance of working with others. Its vital for us to have local artists use the space. So in order to make that happen we need to listen and act on suggestions made by our clients and potential clients. Collaboration for a business has to be good for both participants. That is why we also try to support our studio members outside of the studio space. Kyle and I recently attended an opening of one of our Open Studio members, Mia Lane. Mia currently has a show up at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery in Belleville and we felt it was important that we attend. The show was great and there several other local artists there supporting Mia and her
Learn From One Another
Being an active blogger I have noticed that the arts/crafts world online are all about sharing information, contributing ideas, supporting other artists and their projects and cheering each other on. Bloggers especially love sharing their stories. These stories are a great way to hear about what they are doing but also to learn about small business trouble shooting. You are also supporting their projects by reading and contributing to their site. How great is that? Learn and give back at the same time! Collaboration can be that simple. Support can be that easy.
Etsy (an online arts and crafts market) is a great example of how amazing the arts community can be. Even though everyone on the site is trying to sell their own goods, and create their own client base many seem to want to help each other out. There are TONS of posts from other sellers giving helpful hints and tips on how to get your own shop open, running and successful. I love this about the arts community. We are so eager to give each other a leg up.
Don’t Drag Me Down
We have heard from a few of our residents that in art school professors tend to give little information about promoting your art and getting it seen. Some feel this is a fear of the market getting saturated or that the older generation wants to keep their fame and glory instead of letting new artists move up the ranks. I hope that we can help change this part of the “fine art scene”. The indie crafters are doing it… why shouldn’t the “fine arters”? This is why this part of the website is so important to us. We hope that we can share things we have learned from others, how we got to where we are and what we would never do again. Thinking that your business is all about you and believing that you don’t need anyone else is a HUGE mistake.
Looking for more fun business information check out our emerging artist website here
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.
FALL/WINTER ARTIST RESIDENCY AWARD 2010
Applications are being accepted until Sept. 30, 2010
Awards will be announced in early October, 2010
Beginning your career as an emerging artist can be tough, which is why Spark Box Studio is offering FREE RESIDENCIES to fine art students and emerging artists. This residency opportunity is a unique way for young and emerging artists to cultivate new ideas, access a rich library of arts resources, learn about career-building opportunities, and develop an understanding of the art world from a business perspective.
About the Award
Four emerging artists will receive a one-week residency, 10 will receive a two day residency and 30 will receive one day at our Open Studio in Prince Edward County. The selected applicants will be able to work in the studio using Spark Box Studio’s equipment and resources, and have access to career guidance from local community members.
Spark Box Studio has created these awards as a career building opportunity for young emerging artists.
Participating in a residency is of value to you as it builds on your artistic career, gives you time to focus on a project in a professional artist studio and allows you the opportunity to connect and learn from other artists.
Getting Started:
Below is what should be included in your application:
- A current Curriculum Vitae
- An Artist Statement – 1-2 paragraphs explaining your work
- Digital samples of your work – Please provide 10 images of your work. Please include with the images a list which includes the title, medium, dimension, year of each one.
- Images should be MAC compatible in JPG, TIFF or PSD file.
- Images should be no smaller than 200 DPI and should measure 8” x 8”. If sending through email please compress files.
- Writing samples should not exceed 12 pages and should be sent with cover page stating your name and title of work.
- $15.00 CAD application fee payable to Spark Box Studio.
Check out our Emerging Artist Guide for information to help you prepare these items.
Once these items are ready:
-Complete and submit the Application Form below
-Pay your Application Fee. You can mail a cheque, or PAY ONLINE. Note: you must pay your application fee in order for your application to be processed.
-Send you Application Package to us.
By email: email your package to us using the email subject line “Residency Application – your full name” to info@sparkboxstudio.com
By Snail Mail: Mail your package to: Spark Box Studio, P.O. Box 9002, #7 Bridge St., Picton, ON, K0K 2T0
Making your Application:
Once you have prepared the items above you are ready to fill out the application form below.
Please note that we will use the information you provide to process your application and will not share your information with any other companies.
