October 2023 Newsletter
/
If it can carve lino it can carve a pumpkin
Are you afraid of the dark?
Perhaps you are. Perhaps you are not. Many of us claim to have outgrown the fear of the monster under the bed, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to worry about. As a person with an email inbox, it’s plausible that one of the many things that haunts you on quiet, darkened evenings is lurking just one or two clicks of your cursor from this very sentence. Perhaps the spooky thing is the fact that you are sitting here reading emails when the sweet relief you crave can come only from pulling some prints from that half-carved linoleum block you’ve been trying to finish.
If you have received this particular email, there is a good chance that it contains something which could set you at ease in a world of specters, ghosts, and ghouls (digital and otherwise.)
For those of you seeking a break from the hex of the blue light of the screen, there are few potions more effective than a perfect ink you mixed yourself. And if potions aren’t quite your thing, we hear curling up with a playful handmade artists’ book is enough to keep even the noisiest of spirits calm and content… at least for a night.
Whether your Halloween plans are wholesome or raucous or very very scary, we hope that at the end of the night, this little note from us offers you a little peace of mind.
Small Press Fair is coming up fast!
If the spooky season vibes have you hiding under a blanket, there’s no greater antidote than something heartwarming to look forward to. Look no further — making your SPF plans is exactly the heartwarming daydream you need.
Small Press Fair (SPF) returns to MAD Arts Space in Dania Beach this fall. Admission to the fair is free, and it features free workshops, free artist talks, and of course, the space will be bursting with table after table of incredible prints, books, and zines you can buy from tons of different exhibitors. Learn new things, meet new people, and hang out with the folks you already know and love.
The fair will be going on from noon to 6PM on both November 11th and 12th and the address is 481 S Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL. You can learn more about all the awesome things you can expect at SPF here.
Workshop it
Come learn how to make your own drawing and screenprinting ink with coffee with Fola Akinde as a guest instructor in our Print Club demo series, or get started in silk aquatint. You can explore your options at our Classes + Events page.
Our featured course this month is Modern Letterpress taught by Ingrid Schindall. After lots of requests, she’s put together a course that will be great to get you started in letterpress — one of the most unique print processes we offer here in Miami. It’s an intimate course and there are only a few spots, so if you’re thinking about signing up, we’d suggest you just go for it! No previous experience required, but we’re sure there’s lots you can learn in this course even if it’s not your first brush with a Vandercook.
More ink more often
Workshops are great, but if you’re always devastated when they end, you’re probably a good contender for a Studio Membership. Its the best path to studio access and it gets you a sweet discount on workshops (scheduled and private) and all kinds of other benefits.
To make things even easier, check out our monthly Studio Pass, which is open only to our Studio Members. The passes allow you to pre-pay for all the studio rental and Open Studio Sessions you can squeeze into the month you buy it for.
Just get in touch if you have any questions or want to schedule a visit.
Artists’ Book Feature: Disarray
This month, we’re spotlighting Disarray by the Edau, and with Ingrid’s Modern Letterpress course coming up fast, we figured there was no better book to share.
Disarray was the first book produced through our Existent Books publishing program and first project we produced at IS Projects by letterpress printing from photopolymer plates. Edau is a fantastic designer and illustrator, and this book gave him a chance to build an image and play with it page after page. The book is concise, fun, and minimal, putting the elegant tactile qualities of letterpress up against the approachable, everyday feeling of a spiral-bound notebook in the hand.
This book is a pleasure to page through over and over again. It’s hard to believe how many new things you can find and new things you see in it with each pass through. And at twenty bucks? It’s a steal. A major piece of IS Projects history and an artists’ book that just gets better and better with time. You can learn more about this book and others produced through Existent Books here, and of course, you can pick up Disarray for yourself here.