Wow, so Cape Girardeau, MO here we come! …for the MAPC print conference Pressing Prints/Pressing Palms: the Entrepreneurial Printmaker. First of all, we had to figure out how to pronounce the name. Was is 'Geer Rar Dough'? or 'Deeau'? (with a southern drawl). Nope. Apparently 'Jur RAR Doh' or just plain, "Da Cape".
Most importantly, we were really hungry after that long drive. And we needed SUSHI!!
Tory digs in with her chopsticks
The first event was bowling night. It was quite obvious as to how to differentiate the locals from the conference-goers…even without the aid of tote bags and name tags. To be local you had to chain smoke whilst drinking Bud Light (and have a leathery complexion)- in Missouri you can still smoke indoors…Everywhere. And Todd Akin lawn signs were quite prevalent- a big scare before the election. Anyway- bowling- so we basically stank, but the liquor helped and we made some awesome new friends. Which was more the point than the game, right?
Koichi Yamamoto's etching demo
The first full day of the conference- yay! So many things went on at once- demos, panels, portfolios, shows- it was really hard to choose. That's my only gripe. So it was good to split up and get notes from friends. Here Koichi showed how to print a copper engraving on gampi paper, then fold the paper back in on itself and print again, in order to get a mirror image.
Koichi in action
Pulling the print
Crank baby, crank!
almost ready
Ta-da! Here it is!
Lovely print, eh?
One of many amazing things about the conference was the weather. After a cold snap back in ole Ohio, plus Hurricane Sandy ravaging the East Coast, we drove across the Mississippi to some beautiful sunny 70° days. Who would want to eat lunch inside?
Bridge over the Mississippi- lunch break view
Sadly, the boxed lunch was, well…a boxed lunch. What did we expect?
Carolyn tries to look amazed at the hermetically-sealed goodies
Also, our new friend Bryn from WSW begged with puppy eyes for us to play frisbee. We did our best and it was great to get moving after sitting through lots of talks!
Frisbee on the Mississippi
Back indoors. Now to Mokulito Wood Lithography with Eszter and Justyna
Mokulito demo
Apparently wood can be sanded and treated with gum arabic after drawn on. Then, it sits for a day, is rinsed off, then inked like a litho- just add some No. 3 varnish added to the ink.
rolling up the wet blocks with a sponge roller
sponging
prepping the press with two boards on either side, same height
Now time to put the felts down. No nonsense, ladies!
Go girls go!
And the print- pretty cool, yeah?
After several great panels, it was time to scramble and get ready for Open Portfolio Time!!
Tory unpacks her extra-large prints
Yeah girl!
And I'm in the last session, trying to look professional and taking up the whole table : )
Okay that was amazing but exhausting! We need a break back at the hotel. This is the view from our window:
Midwestern sunset over miles of strip malls
Mmm- frog legs for dinner! At the Chinese Buffet next door
Afterwards we only made it to two openings for Final Friday- the MAPC members juried show, which was awesome! And the Frogman's assistants' show.
Frogman's show
Our favorite little rabbit pieces print!
Day 3, woohoo! More demos! Here is the Make/Do Opensource- 'Build-Your-Own Press' demo with Michael.
showing the press
gaskets
pulling a print- aw, not enough pressure!
Finally on the last day we got to the Vendor's Fair- there was just so much going on!
Didn't realize I took a pic of my new aquaintance- the awesome Thomas of Hummingbird Press
Mmm, M&Ms and McClains
saucy Gamblin girl and her stylin overalls- I soo wanted a pair! At least we got free mini ink samples and buttons
New tools at Graphic Chem
And now, the final party night on the town. We trawled the streets for what looked like the coolest bar ever. Alas, we could not find it. Psyched-out by the mural!
Mmm, Mudsucker's 'staches
There were two assigned venues for dinner, then a dance party at each. We checked 'em all out.
Night view with the moon on the levee
And decided that the band at Port Cape was the most rockin'. Hey man, they played everything from Sledgehammer to Super Freak!
Closing Party band
The lovely organizer, Kristin makes an end-of-night final shuttle call. Goodnight conference- you were awesome. Do again! Detroit 2014, baby!
And now the long drive home…goodbye Missouri- you were…something!
view of the bridge
a forlorn landscape of cheap liquor and extreme diesel
and of course, all your favorite adult venues
Now back to work, ladies!! It's election night, nobody comes in, what ever are us gals to do with all this pent-up anxiety?? Printmakers for Obama!!
Caulk guns and rollers unite!
bench press, baby!
die slugs, die!
if a printmaker can't do it, no one can!
Luckily we strained our way to victory, and with a huge sigh of relief- I taught my final etching class of 2012 the next evening. But hey- what's a final class without a dessert party?
Mmm, baked goods
sometimes I confuse etching ink with icing
awesome print, Amy!
lookit those gals workin away
pulling the print...
Kathleen's triple aquatint landscape
Valerie checks out her print
awesome wave!
Pam gets crankin'
Very nice!
Amy poses with her rhino
Theresa, our director comes in to check in- awesome class!
Well, it's time to wrap up. But all is not done without a final class photoshoot!
it's all in the elbow, right?
Love my ladies!!
aw but they run me through the press sometimes : )
See you all next year!!
So- what have I been doing you ask? For art?? Well here goes- Finally, some new finished prints!
First I got to experiment with a steel plate, thanks to Tory. This was completely new to me, but I used the very same copper sulfate bath as for the zinc- no problems. The worst part though, was I was awful at wiping! Apparently the ink just comes right out of the lines in steel. So after some fussing and aquatinting, I learned to paper wipe with some Carbon Black with plate oil and ta-da- finally, a good print! Of course, it always helps to edition on Murillo.
Wooden Zoo, etching and aquatint on steel, 5 x 6", 2012
Also, my other ongoing endeavor- a large zinc plate full of Cincinnati imagery- finally finished!!
The House Above the Train Yard (He'll Always Need Another), etching and aquatint, 19 x 24", 2012
As always, thanks for tuning in and see you next time!!
