RESIDENT: REBECCA ROTHFUS
I have always been drawn to white on white or black on black art work, so when artist Rebecca Rothfus came to our studio this past June and said she was going to work on a series of embossments I was thrilled. Rebecca work is of modern day landscapes. She is intrigued by the structural beauty of cell towers and industrial plants and enjoys the visual contrast between these structures and their surroundings. Using photographic references Rebecca made four collograph prints which she later used for her embossments.
A collograph print is created by using a hard surface (wood or cardboard) to build up your imagery. This results in a relief surface with a range of different textures and levels. Many printmakers use string, fabrics, objects found in nature and textured paper to create their imagery. Generally these are then inked and transferred to paper through the printing press. Rebecca used cardboard to build up the different layers of her print, adding and removing pieces to create the levels. Then, instead of inking the plate she put it through the press clean to create the embossment. The wet paper moulded around the different levels of cardboard leading to a beautiful, all white print, with her image recessing in from the background.
MAKING ART IN THE NEW DIGS
Six days after we moved into the new location we hosted our first resident, Krystal Read, hailing all the way from Dallas, Texas. I must say we were pretty nervous about having a resident only five days after we moved but lucky for us she was great and everything came together just fine. Krystal worked with etching and silkscreen while at the studio. She produced four progressive etchings with silkscreen components and several great sketches (like the one you see above). Krystal’s work is filled with layers of imagery from her past, found images and pop culture.
In her own words “many remnants of history, like old photos, are discarded or quietly tucked away without much reference. It is the rediscovery of these historical remnants that fascinates me. After stumbling upon a collection of old photographs at an antique store, I was drawn by the mystery of the photos. These ghost-like images that are discarded and almost lost to history implore elaboration and interpretation. Through various mediums (drawing, etching, performance, photo-animation) I explore how history can evolve into fantasy or decompose into remnants.
By etching a memory onto a metal plate, I explore the attempt to hold on to history. The medium allows me to explore the many facets of a memory by creating various states in which I scrape away parts of the image and fabricate other details. The plate retains each consecutive mark and, as a result, becomes a recording of historic events. Photo-animation also allows me to record the life of a memory by photographing the slow erasure of an image or the added drawing of a self-imagined context. This deliberate elaboration and removal of details generates questions about the elusive story of the image while exploring themes of memory, time and truth.”
REFLECTING ON PAST RESIDENTS: JAMIE Q
A few months ago we had Jamie Q, a Canadian artist, participate in our Residency Award. Jamie works in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, bookmaking and printing. I loved her work as soon as I opened the link to her website. It was bright, punchy, fun and full of underlying meaning. Not only was her work amazing but her MFA research focused on the politics and aesthetics of the do-it-yourself ethic, as well as the social potential of art objects and DIY distribution strategies … could she sound more interesting? She proposed to create a silk screened zine while staying with us and she did just that. In a week Jamie made 60, 14 paged, 8 colour screen printed books. For those who don’t know much about silk screen this is a lot of work and a great accomplishment. ***by the way you can purchase a copy for yourself on her website just click here***
Jamie always seems to be up to something. If you are living in San Francisco you can see her work at the Take Root exhibition at the Luggage Store Annex. If you are in London Ontario she will be participating in a Zine Workshop at the London Library April 28th.
THE LITTLEST PRINT EXCHANGE
Sometimes, when you don’t have time to create a whole body of work, it is fun to participate in a collaborative project. That is why this past summer I applied to be part of the Littlest Print Exchange. The Littlest Print Exchange is an annual juried trade of tiny art prints. Fifty artists are each invited to submit an edition of 50 prints and in turn receive a complete portfolio of 50 prints from all 50 contributing artists.
To my luck I was picked to be one of the 50 printmakers involved. So in early October I got to work making my 50 3″ x 3″ etchings to send off to Illinois. Why did Christopher Clark start the Littlest Print Exchange? He says that ”in truth, the Littlest Print Exchange is a chance to defy the notion that bigger is better, to prove that good things really do come in small packages, and to build connections between artists working around the globe.”
Being the owner of a print studio I encourage any opportunity to see the work of other printmakers and to connect with them. Because of this I was really excited and happy when I say the little package sitting in our mail box from Chris. I am also happy to announce that all of you can see these great prints as well. We will have the Mini Print Show up at Spark Box Studio until the end of the month.
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SQUARE2 ISSUE THREE
The third issue of the Square2 Magazine is now for sale at Spark Box Studio and Books and Company! This issue looks at artists who work in a traditional fashion, creating art grounded in history, using materials, methods and subject matter passed down through generations.
We had the opportunity to launch this issue with an intimate concert at the Bloomfield Town Hall with Julian Brown and Blake Howard.
We are now working on the fourth issue which is already looking to be packed full of great and inspiring artists!
To see a preview click here: http://issuu.com/square2magazine/docs/sq2issue3_portion
RESIDENT: KATIE BOND PRETTI
In my fourth year at Queen’s I began to concentrate on abstract painting. My professor Jan Winton actively encouraged this and was always showing me different artists for inspiration. When artist Kim Dorland came Queen’s to give a guest lecture Jan made sure that I booked a meeting with him. I took her advice and signed up for a private studio visit. Kim was very nice to speak with, giving me positive feedback and good advice for moving forward. During our chat he told me about some Toronto artists working in abstract painting. One of these artists was a young girl named Katie Pretti.
That same day I went online and searched the artists Kim had mentioned and was pleasantly surprised to find such great work being made just 2.5 hours away from me. I particularly liked the work by this Katie Pretti. I added her website to my favorites and often checked back to see what she was up to.
Then I graduated, moved back to Prince Edward County and started Spark Box Studio. After a few months of running the studio we launched our Emerging Artist Residency Award. One day I opened my email and saw a very familiar name. Katie Pretti. I was shocked. Why was Katie Pretti writing me?
It turned out she heard about the residency and was interested in applying for the award. Of course there was no hesitation, I offered her a space right away. I was so excited to have a young artist that I looked up to coming to my little studio.
Katie came to Spark Box in mid-April. She worked on a serious of plexi-glass engravings as well as a few etchings. We talked about school, getting our masters and showing work in commercial galleries. Katie has done quite well for herself in Toronto. She has been showing with LE Gallery for several years and just recently installed an exhibition with them called “The Vanitas”. This show is comprised of a series of 10 large-scale painting that explore the themes of death, emptiness, disenchantment, and the brevity of life.
It was a great experience having Katie at the studio.
ONLINE FIND: JEN COLLINS
I just found a very lovely illustrator/printmaker the other night Jen Collins. I found out from her online bio that she is from Scotland and like most artists she has a day job and works on her art in the evenings and on weekends …
Collins works mostly with Gocco prints. For those who are unfamiliar with Gocco prints they are done with a self-contained color printing system. It is similar to silkscreen printing and was invented by Noboru Hayama in 1977. Gocco was very popular in Japan in the 80s and is now used by many printmakers that cannot afford traditional silkscreen equipment (which can be very expensive). They are also very small so you can easily use them to print in your home.
I love Collins’ drawing style, it reminds me a lot of Andy Warhol’s early works of cakes and shoes! I also love how fun and playful her illustrations are. If you want to see more of her work you should check out her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/hellojenuine.
CREATIVE KIDS CAMP
Soon after Spark Box opened its doors we began receiving inquiries about hosting a children’s art camp during the summer. However, the thought of a bunch of paint-covered kids running around our small studio space was enough to keep us up at night. When we expressed our dilemma, our supportive community stepped forward to provide us with a camp location! Mia Lane, and her daughter Becky Lane, offered to host the camp on an amazing wooded property by Fish Lake. During the week of August 16 – 20, 8 kids from all over the world came to print, paint, draw and sculpt in the woods.
Not only did we have a great location, we also got great help. Becky Lane, a local designer, helped Chrissy Poitras plan, organize and run the camp. While the kids had fun creating their art, they were also taught and inspired by the art history each of their projects was drawn from. The campers learnt about the impressionists while painting en plein air, the earth art movement in the 1960s by creating sculptures out of natural materials, and the history of street art when making their own graphic text pieces, to name a few.
By the end of the camp the kids had created an impressive array of remarkable art works, installed their own exhibition in the woods, titled and priced their work, and made personalized invitation for their family and friends. They had a great turn out and some even sold some work!
DUDES FROM CALGARY
Last week two young guys from Calgary dropped into the studio in the afternoon. We gave them the tour and gave them our little Spark Box speech. We soon found out that both boys were in high school and interested in the arts. We chatted for awhile and then they headed out for the day. Oddly, a few hours later they came back up to the studio to get some more information about our workshops. We happened to be in the middle of teaching silkscreen and the process seemed to interest them. We gave them information about silkscreen and our workshops and they went off to find out if was something they could include in their vacation budget 
The next week they were back with their dad and ready to set up a date to come in for a two day workshop. In the end each of them left with four prints and a t-shirt!
SWOON
With an upcoming day workshop in relief printing (July 29) and the screening of the Bansky film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” at the Regent tonight it seemed appropriate to do a short blog about a pretty amazing relief printermaker /street artist in NYC. Her name is Caledonia Dance Curry or better known as Swoon and she has taked the art world by storm with her wheatpaste drawings, large scale installations and fleet of make-shift pirate ships that made sailed down the Mississippi River and crashed the 2009 Venice for the Biennale.
I first found out about Swoon through The Run Up interview series. Her interview was really inspiring because not only is she amazing and talented but you can really feel the passion she has for what she is doing. I think that Swoon is one street artist that illustrates the power of taking art to the streets and making art an experience for everyone to enjoy.
On top of everything else her relief work is absolutely stunning. Each piece is a highly labored portrait of someone she saw in a park, met on the streets or has known for years. These relief prints are detailed, captivating and remarkably well executed!
ETCHING WITH DEVON
Here are the images from the most recent private etching workshop. Devon took a three part etching workshop from Chrissy where she learnt how to do ‘hard-ground’ and ‘soft-ground’ etchings and the basic chemistry behind the process. Here are images of Devon inking up one of the plates she produced using the ‘hard-ground’ method.
SQUARE2 LAUNCH PARTY
Join us for a night on the town! We will bring Prince Edward County’s newest arts & culture magazine to life June 10th starting at the Regent Theatre at 6 PM.
Performance art, poetry readings, live music and visual art will be occurring throughout down town Picton.
Participating locations include:
Spark Box Studio
Purchase a numbered limited launch edition of Square2 that night!
Event will be free of charge.
Sponsored by Angeline’s Inn and Restaurant
RSVP: info@sparkboxstudio.com
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.
SHADOW CABINET
This week Spark Box Studio hosted an etching workshop for a group of gentlemen. The workshop started in the late morning and finished in the mid afternoon. Seventeen individuals came to the workshop, 9 participated and the others watched. The morning was spent transferring images and drawing into the hard-ground covered copper plate. While the men ate lunch at Currah’s restaurant Chrissy and Kyle etched their plates and got ready for an afternoon of printing. When they came back from lunch Kyle demonstrated how to ink a plate, clean the plate, and print he plate. Soon enough it was gloves on and the men were inking their plates. It struck us that we probably should have mentioned to the men to wear or bring some old clothes they did not mind getting ink on, as the men came dressed up and were looking quite dapper. Luckily no one got ink on themselves and everyone who participated had a chance to print the plate they had created and left with at least 2 hand printed images. We had a great time running the event and the gentlemen had a fantastic time as well.
SILKSCREEN BIRTHDAY PARTY
Friends of ours from Montreal and Kingston came down to the studio for a day to have a silkscreen birthday party. They spent the day learning about silkscreen, drawing their images, and printing small editions. It was a great day of exciting printing, and the prints turned out fantastic. Birthday parties aren’t just at Chuck-E-Cheese anymore, at Spark Box Studio your birthday party could be focused around making art.
RESIDENT: MANUELA JARRY
Quebec artist, Manuela Jarry came to the residency for two weeks. Her stay with us was super productive. Working as an artist full time she certainly knew how to get her self motivated. By the time we got into the studio each day she had already been working for several hours. Emerging artists should take note- dedication, drive and ambition are what it takes to make it as an artist. Also, creating deadlines and holding yourself accountable for making those deadlines.
While staying with us she had the opportunity to further investigate print making by producing a small black and white lino-cut and etching. She produced some very sweet prints and we were really pleased to see such good results.
By trade Manuela is a painter working for a decorative arts firm. She has had several of her decorative pieces published, however, she is moving her focus to create a body of work that better represents herself as an artist. Her time at the studio was spent developing a new body of work that she plans to show to galleries. It was exciting to see an artist turning a new page and being seriously committed to their process.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Manuela and hope to see her again in the future.
ART OF WOODCUT
For those who do not understand what woodcut is, it is when an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood. The parts which you carve out remain white while the parts that are not carved will later be inked up and printed. Woodcut is the oldest printing technique which dates back hundreds of years, actually well over a millennium ago. Originating first in East Asia and it is not until the 15h century did Europe begin to really develop the technique.
For our workshop with Peter and Norm, we discussed the history, the practice, the tools and the techniques. A major portion of the workshop was dedicated to the practical experience of carving the block where we could troubleshoot problems while carving and discuss the conceptual issues that come with working in a medium that is naturally high contrast.
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.
WINTER SILKSCREEN WORKSHOP
Our first silkscreen workshop took place in November and we were surprised at the amount of interested this class generated. Both adults and youth attended the several hour class and learnt about the process of turning almost any image into a lovely three colour print. By the end of the class many of the participants became natural production houses and were turning out large edition print runs. Everyone walked away with at least one multicolored print. Check out additional pictures from this workshop on our flickr site: Spark Box Studio Flickr Site. This workshop was such a great success that we will be running another one early in the new year.
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!
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.
LOYALIST COLLEGE TALK
Robert Kranendonk and Sherry Martin are the teachers of a new Art Fundamentals course offered at Loyalist college. The course topics ranging from graphic design to fine art. As part of their course we were invited to teach a print demonstration. We brought down linoleum blocks, prints from our archives, and some printing supplies. This qualified as our first real teaching demo at an institution and we had a lot of fun. We began with an overview of different printing techniques and their associated histories. The class gathered around us on the floor as we spoke about printmaking and studied the many different prints we had bought with us. This was followed by a demonstration in lino-block printing. A fantastic day of teaching and we would like to thank Sherry and Robert for this opportunity.
