Heritage Book Plates

A dear friend (and museum expert) recently gifted the studio 5 boxes of letterpress book plates that were from a small press that specialized in book publishing. These copper-faced plates are a combination of diagrams, book covers and halftone photo plates. I have been staring at them and trying to conjure up my own narrative for some of these images. Recently I began printing them with painterly swatches of colour to draw attention to the areas that intrigued me. While they produced beautiful images when printed onto handmade japanese tissues, I felt they needed another element to carry them further........ so I naturally fell into my default process of combining previously created print ephemera. The result is shown above - Yarn. I welcome any comments good, bad or indifferent!

New year .... New works

Its been a crazy fall with the Guilty Pleasures show at the Gladstone Hotel for the alternative art fair, UpART (see www.kitschstilllife.blogspot.com) But I am happy to say that the studio is a great place to make prints and I'm loving every minute I get to spend in it.

Ink in all it's glory!

Finally a Somewhat-Grand Opening!

That's right, enough of the renovations are done, the studio is operating and we want to show it off. Everyone is welcome to drop by Saturday September 24, 2011 between Noon and 5 PM.

A year of surprises and restoration have passed and I am excited by the results!

The planning stage, before the walls and equipment............

Moving in the large Praga Etching Press (it's never moving out)

A light at the end of the tunnel!

We have all been busy little beavers here at Octopus Studio Press this past year - Besides the never-ending renovations to the historic Tyrone School House, I have acquired a new letterpress: the coveted Vandercook SP-15! I have also been very busy with my exhibition schedule, showing at Bohemia in Barrie, and Telephone Booth Gallery in Toronto, both in Ontario, Canada.

We have decided to finally have an "Somewhat-Grand Opening"....... Sept 24, 2011. Needless to say this has sparked a flurry of last minute renovations. All are welcome to see the changes to the building and see exactly what goes on at Octopus Studio Press.

The photos here are part of an exciting project I was part of - I worked with students from area high schools where each student developed a 12 by 12" woodblocks. At the "Splash" water-festival the students were to bring all their carved blocks to be assembled like a patchwork quilt. One day at the studio, a few fellow artists and myself each carved a block and used my "Lawn Roller Press" to make banner prints as a test run.......

Heat on demand, how wondrous!

As it turned out the existing furnace was not up to grade and subsequently I was unable to purchase fuel... (minor point) So I decided to install a whole new gas heating system - which sounds simple enough right? It took the gas company almost 2 months to install a line to the school which was completed only 3 days before christmas. $9,000 later, I can report that I have a fully functioning high efficiency gas furnace and I will never take central heating for granted again.

This means that I can continue with the planned renovations.... drywall dust and all......which brings me to the next point - Workshops.

I am excited to announce the line up for winter/spring 2011, six new workshops by 3 different artists....check them out, lots of fun!

Our First Workshops...........

Wow - our first series of workshops have started. My dear friend, Amanda Brittin ran a one day Bead and Wire workshop this month to rave reviews. I offered a Card Making class which introduced relief and letterpress printing - the first run off my new Vandercook press. Cookstown artist, (and Grande Matriarch) Christina Luck, is running a Transfer Drawing class inspired by the works of Paul Klee.

While all the reno's are not complete, the studio seemed to embrace the workshop formats very well. Luckily, the participants overlooked the patches of unfinished plaster and lack of a central heating system. The creative juices were overflowing and I am excited about the possibility of more classes in the new year. If you want to be included on our education mailing list, drop me a line here and I will make sure you are notified.

Tim

The Presses Arrive

I know I haven't posted much this last month, but with the start-up of another school year and the addition of a new course for this semester, my reno plans got sidelined. But I have great news. I recently acquired a Vandercook SP15 - the Holy Grail of the letterpress universe. (the SP stands for Simple Precision - I like that)

This last weekend, with the aid of some ruggedly handsome men, I was able to move three of my presses into the schoolhouse!

It's beginning to look like a print studio.