You may know my guest today if you've ever encountered the Speedball Printmaking Posse, a print loving tour of artists that spread the gospel of printmaking while doing demos, handing out posters and samples of relief inks. He's even got his own namesake Super Graphic Black ink with Speedball. His name is Lino Bill Fick. His work is a bit rockabilly, can be viewed as deranged, and it captures the essence of his signature style of drawing which can be brushy, inky, and always graphic with intense black lines. Learn about his unusual beginnings abroad as the son of an oil company worker, how the Outlaw Printmakers started up, and hear about the book that he and Beth Grabowski published called "Printmaking: A complete guide to materials and process".

Today on Let's Get Technical, Lino Bill walks us through some of his best tips for linocut printmaking.

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Kathy Caraccio is a New York based master printer who started out studying under Arun Bos at Hunter College in the 60's, and after graduating spent four years printing and absorbing all kinds of knowledge at Robert Blackburns Print Workshop. It was there she learned the ins and outs of being a collaborating printer and got glimpses into the world of dealing and collecting prints by watching Robert Blackburn sell the prints published in his studio. Her first publishing job was for Pace, before they had their own print operation, printing a commemorative suite of etchings for Louise Nevelson. She opened her studio and has been a printer for the past 43 years, printing for the likes of Ema Amos, Ed Clarke, Romaire Beardon, Sol LeWitt and many other artists. Kathy comes on the Print Cast to tell her story about she got into printmaking, what it was like working at Robert Blackburn's print studio, and stories of the many collaborations she has done since then.

Today’s Let’s Get Technical is all about Collagraph! Hear some great tips from the master herself.
-Using a PVC plastic or polystyrene plate (sintra is one brand )
-How to prepare the plate with a mesh that simulates an aquatint
-Adding collage materials...but not too much
-Printing the plate in intaglio and relief styles

See Kathy's collection and learn more about her at https://www.kcaracciocollection.com/
Follow Kathy on Instagram @kathyprint

Some other announcements:
Self Help Graphics is having its Biennial Print Summit over Zoom, March 10,11,12 of 2021. Check their website for more info. Selfhelpgraphics.com
Self Help Graphics in Los Angeles is also hiring a Master Printer with a specialty in Serigraphy. Learn more at selfhelpgraphics.com/opportunitites

This episode is Part 2 of my conversation with Phil Sanders, author of Prints and Their Makers, a new book out from Princeton Architectural Press about artists and master printers and the processes that bring them together. If you haven’t heard Part 1, it precedes this episode in your feed so I encourage you to catch up before listening to this installment of The Print Cast.

If you are all caught up, then today is a treat for you because we’re about to embark on a lengthy Let’s Get Technical segment regarding relief printing, and other logistical things related to print publishing. Since it is rare that I have a guest like Phil, I wanted to indulge a bit over how to approach making a relief or block print, and he offers up some really helpful tips regarding printing, prepping, and even some creative ideas that might help you transcend your current working process.

At the end Phil tells us about where you can find his new book, and I encourage you to go out and pick up a copy. Find your local art book dealer and see if they have it, or feel free to order direct from my guest Phil Sanders. He even offers some collector editions which include hand pulled prints to go with this hefty addition to your print book collection.

Author and Master Printmaker Phil Sanders comes on the podcast today in a two-part episode to discuss his new book Prints and Their Makers, a book that weaves connections between the tradition and techniques of printmaking developed over the course of human history. Phil Sanders is a master printer and publisher at PS Marlowe in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a former printer at ULAE, and former director at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City.

His book features publishers and artists who push the boundaries of the seven major processes: Relief, Intaglio, Chine Collé, Photogravure, Lithography, Monotype & Monoprint, and Screen Print. It's like taking a tour of the best print workshops around the globe that are operating today.

While it offers historical context, the book also invites us press-side with artists and master printers, giving insight into the decision making processes involved in making some truly impressive artworks. It's a treat for anyone who enjoys peeling apart the layers of how monumental prints are made.

One of the best parts of the book are the images and the artists featured. The images are bright, bold, and well presented, and you'll see many new artists' work that will be sure to inspire and delight as you flip through the pages. It's a fantastic book and we have a really enjoyable chat regarding all things print.

Today's episode is Part 1 of my interview with Phil Sanders, with Part 2 coming next week.
Enjoy!

Artist and professor Yoonmi Nam comes on the podcast to discuss her art, collaborations, exhibitions, and more. Nam is a professor at KU in Lawrence, KS, and we discuss her inspiration that comes from the world around her including her neighborhood and kitchen table. Nam is a lithographer, and Moku Hanga artist, and connects her passion for technical processes with content that speaks to ephemerality and convenience. Most of her art examines liminal spaces between states of change, and contradictions that exist in the things we use like how we use "disposable" goods packaged in plastics that will be around for the next 10,000 years. Her collaborative group Wood/Paper/Box is a long running project between three artists and we discuss how the group works together while apart, and upcoming shows and travel that connect to the work of the artist trio. Today's Let's Get Technical dives into damp pack paper storage, which you may need someday...maybe.

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Today's discussion involves:
How art resembling takeout food takes on new meaning in the pandemic world.
Toile wallpaper
SGCI New Orleans - print exchange
How construction and decay often look similar.
Living in a run down neighborhood where new development impacts the vintage neighborhood.
Flavor Paper - Brooklyn custom screen printed wallpaper
Mustard Seed Garden Manual for Painting
Wood/Paper/Box - a collaborative group where three artists exchange art works.
Moku Hanga Conference in Japan
All works during one project are contained into one box and become an exhibition.
Next exhibition of group due to happen in 2021 at The Beach Museum in Manhattan, KS
They are creating a custom edition as part of the show.
Their projects are interactive to view because they have to be taken from the box, handled, and moved around to view all the contents.
We talk about GAMPI!!! A favorite paper. So delicate, and yet so strong.
She started making sculptural objects in response to paper prints.
She likes to think about time in materials
The contradiction that disposable things are made in ultra-durable materials like plastic
Studying Moku Hanga in Japan
Viewing Mt. Fuji in daily life while in Japan
Doing a print residency in Japan learning Moku Hanga

Let’s Get Technical
Using a Damp Pack:
Moku Hanga paper is typically prepared so that it is moist before printing
How to dampen your printing paper, not fully wet, but moist and ready to take ink
Using damp newsprint, and a sheet of plastic of trash bag
Taking humidity and paper thickness into account
Maintain right amount of moisture throughout editioning
Don’t leave it sit for too many days, or the damp pack can grow bacteria and ruin paper

Today I’ve got a great conversation to share with you featuring an artist you may recognize as The Printmaker and Her Dog, or for non-instagram people, her name is Kari Kristensen. Kari is a relief printmaker based in Vancouver, Canada where she pumps out iterations of her stylized landscape prints. Kari has a great presence on social media, and there’s something really appealing about the type of work she does. It’s simple, monochromatic, and presents a field of view that makes you want to jump in and get lost amidst the lines and dots she carefully renders. We get into topics around the origins and influences behind her landscapes, lots of Canada-related discussion, and we share some love for our favorite papers and relief printing methods. Speaking of relief printing, there are a couple priceless tips today in our Let’s Get Technical segment, so hang in because you won’t want to miss them.

We get into...
Art in Canada
Group of 7 painters
London Regionalist Movement
Being an artist from Ontario
Creating uniquely Canadian art
Speaking with an accent...or thinking you don’t have one.
Artist Ken Danby - artist who did image of hockey players
Linocut
Vancouver peaks called The Two Lions
Granville Island - printing press capital of Canada
Peter Brauhn - master printmaker on Granville Island
Thomas Printing Presses - vancouver press maker
Calvert Guthrie - printshop manager in Kansas City
BIMPE - biennial print exchange
Doing murals that convey the quality of prints
Living with Arithmomania, the OCD condition
Making flat prints that appear digital
Dave Lefner relief prints

Today’s Let’s Get Technical:
How to treat lino before starting
Maintaining all types of tools including speedball cutters
Big love for #1 blade speedball carving tools
Takach Rollers for extra nice ink rolling

East Side Culture Crawl in Vancouver
Favorite Paper: Arnhem 1618 (245gsm) from Blick
Let's not forget the luscious Arches 88
Having multiple revenue streams: studio crawls, gallery sales, art rentals,
Squarespace online sales portal - posting featured works and not overwhelming buyers
Having a dog keeps you in touch with life outside the studio
How being gay and having OCD lead to a life with linocut

Printmakers Against Racism is a project that launches today, on the day of this recording July 25th, 2020. Desiree Aspiras is the founder of the project which aims to engage printmakers across the world to sell their printss and donate the proceeds to support the fight against systemic racial injustice. In lieu of the project launch, Desiree and I discuss the motivation behind the project, and how a similar movement called @bakersagainstracism provided her with a frame work to set up this global art sale. Learn how Instagram closed her account causing her to rename her handle with little explanation why it happened at all. Desiree is an artist, poet, and therapist, so she has a lot of thoughtful insight into how it's important to take care of ourselves to be able to show up for others.
If you still want to sign up, it's simple to get involved, just go to http://printmakersagainstracism.com and sign up. It's up to participants to sell their works and once the funding is collected they can choose the local organization where they would like the proceeds to benefit.
The sale runs for one week, July 25th-July 31st, though the parameters are loose enough that you can still sign up even as the project is launching, and there isn't a hard deadline for when you have to sell your prints. It's really about giving artists a prompt to get making art for a good cause. Check out the project and participate in any way you can.

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Joining me on The Print Cast are Rudy Salgado Jr. and Susanna Crum of Calliope Arts in Louisville, KY. They are an artist couple who run their studio on the first floor of the building they live in near downtown Louisville. We talk about C-19, a print publishing project they started during quarantine that benefits KY and Southern Indiana artists. Our discussion about the pandemic transitioned into politics in their area including protests, BLM arrests at the mayor's residence, and the ongoing struggle to get justice for Breonna Taylor and others. Other mentions and topics are listed below. Take a listen and learn about Louisville's mainstay public printshop.

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Mentions:

Chickens and gardening
ISU where she teaches
Calliope Arts
Community Art Center in Danneville KY
Speed Art Museum
Being an LLC instead of a non-profit for flexibility
C-19 Publishing Project launched as a pivot from COVID-19
-artists work on a matrix and send it back for editioning
-Artist Relief Trust - to help KY artists, partnership between the maker, the studio, and the relief trust. The project has raised over $1200 at the publishing of this episode.
-Collect new prints and support a good cause
-Jim James of My Morning Jacket made a print
-Ron Whitehead made a print
-Hannah Drake - local poet made a print
Life during the pandemic in Louisville, KY
The oncoming reality of schools closing to in-person teaching for the rest of 2020
Dirty looks and comments for wearing a mask in public.
Developing curriculum for at-home learning
Black Lives Matter - Louisville perspective
Breonna Taylor
How police broke into Breonna Taylor’s home and killed her while the suspect they were searching for was already in custody
David McAtee was killed by police at a summer protest in Louisville, and conveniently no body camera footage was available from the incident.
Navigating a relationship with a neighbor who has polar opposite political beliefs
Youth Build
Embracing the introvert in you to survive a pandemic
Susanna Crum is currently the President of Mid American Print Council, and she gives a MAPC 2020 Conference Update