January 2023 Newsletter
/We’re counting down the days until Tropic Bound!
There’s less than a month remaining between now and the first day of the inaugural Tropic Bound Artists’ Book Fair here in Miami, and we couldn’t be more excited. Whether you make artists’s books, collect them, or just think they’re cool, you will not want to miss this.
The fair, which is taking over Paradise Plaza in the Design District, kicks off on February 16th with tons of different ways to explore the intersection of art, books, and literature. During the Welcome Day, there will be two shuttle tours traveling to some must-see Miami artists’ book hot spots, and a symposium featuring keynote speaker Tia Blassingame and Panel: Beyond Florida Man. Of course, to set the celebratory tone for the rest of the fair, there will also be a fabulous Welcome Party from 6PM to 8PM on the rooftop garden terrace. You must RSVP to these events via Eventbrite, and spots are filling up fast, so click through to get more details and save your spot!
From February 17th through 19th, the venue will be packed with exhibitors from around the world! Each exhibitor’s table will have a unique selection of artists’ books to explore, all of which will be for sale. This fair presents an excellent opportunity to meet artists who make books and a bunch of people who champion those books. Exhibitors and book lovers from abroad have been booking flights and making big plans for their time here in Miami, and we wanted to be sure you know that you’re invited, too. If you’re local, be sure to carve out at least a day to visit the fair, and if you’re not, it’s certainly not too late to plan a weekend getaway. It’s 81°F here in Miami today and there is no shortage of great places to explore.
Tropic Bound is being directed by a team of three women who share a deep love for artists and artists’ books. Sarah Michelle Rupert (co-director of SPF and Director of the Girls’ Club Collection) and Cristina Favretto (Head of Special Collections at the University of Miami) are collaborating with Ingrid Schindall (you know her, right?) to create this incredible opportunity for the world of artists’ books and the South Florida literary arts scene to grow more deeply interconnected. As you can imagine, IS Projects is very involved in Tropic Bound. You can expect to see folks from our team running around at the event, and we will of course have a table among the other exhibitors, at which you can expect to find books we’ve helped to produce as well as books by other South Florida artists. If you would like us to consider selling your work at our table, you are welcome to apply for representation via IS Projects here.
Visit TropiC Bound’s website at tropicboundfair.org for more information
Brooke Frank and Former IS Projects intern Khanh Ho demonstrate Suminagashi marbling at a recent event. Suminagashi Marbling will also be a part of the February 9th Event we are working with MOAD MDC on.
MOAD MDC x IS Projects: Make friends and make prints!
The Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College is enjoying a period of nomadic programming as their home, the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, is undergoing renovation. We are very excited to announce that as part of their 2023 offsite programming as a Museum Without Boundaries, we will be hosting an event with them here at IS Projects on Thursday, February 9th from 6-9PM. After a few brief demonstrations on suminagashi marbling and letterpress printing, participants will marble their own paper and pull their own prints with the guidance and support of our team. Participants will be able to make small prints with their own unique message on our Write-A-Sign press, and will have the opportunity to print on their larger marbled paper from moveable wood type on our showcard press. Light refreshments will be served.
Tickets to this program are limited, so please visit MOAD’s website to read more about the event and to get your ticket!
Workshops and Open Studios for February and March!
Things are in full swing over here! There are lots of great opportunities to learn new skills before the end of March. In February, we’ve got a weekend course on Watercolor Monotype lead by our Keyholder Resident Charlisa Montrope. Ingrid will be offering two courses this quarter for folks looking for a deep dive into print: We’ve got a Screen Printing Intensive (a fan-favorite, not to be missed if you want to learn the essential screen printing skills you need to succeed!) and an Advanced Printmaking course starting in March. The Advanced Printmaking course allows participants to work on their own independent projects using our facilities, and with the help of Ingrid and their peers to solve all of the unexpected print problems that will inevitably come up! Also in March, Brooke Frank will be offering a one day workshop called Color Mixing for Pritnmakers in which participants will learn and apply some very detailed color theory and materials information to level up their control of color! The workshop will be taught through monoprinting, but the knowledge shared in it is applicable to most print and painting applications. And of course, there are two more Print Club days coming up, lead by Sammi McLean — one on Pattern Block Printing and one on Simple Bindings. Print Club members get a 50% discount on the Print Club days — be sure to check that out!
Pals Past and Present: Want to be a part of our first annual IS Projects Portfolio Exchange?
One of our favorite things to do is to share art we love with folks who will love it. We do this every day in tons of different ways, but we thought it would be exciting and fun to organize an annual IS Projects portfolio exchange starting this year! We have been instrumental in organizing and executing a few portfolio exchanges in the past (most recently Extra Pulp in 2019), but this time, we wanted to focus on the folks who have made IS Projects possible from within. We started this project with our studio members in mind, but for this first year, we are additionally inviting a long list of people who have been instrumental to our programming and operations throughout our history to participate. We would love to include work from artists who’ve done residencies with us, interned with us, taught here, and worked here!
The exchange title is Under the Sun, and you can explore the participation guidelines on this page on our website, which can also be found under the “Opportunities” tab! If you would like to participate and don’t fall into any of the categories identified in the “Who is invited:” section of the page, there’s only one way in: Become a studio member and then sign up to participate in the exchange before February is over! The deadline to confirm your desire to participate in the exchange is February 28th, so everyone’s got just over a month to make a plan.
Please reach out to Brooke Frank with any questions via email at brooke@isprojectsfl.com
This is A photograph of the Extra pulp Portfolio in the handmade clamshell box in which every copy of the portfolio is housed. IS Projects organized Extra Pulp and made all the boxes by hand.