The Print Exchange 2013

When the Art House Co-op of Brooklyn, NY announced that they were looking for contributors to a project called The Print Exchange, I was immediately intrigued. Printmaking has always had a special place in my heart and when I read about the project, I thought that it sounded like a lot of fun. It worked like this: Each participant was asked to create an edition of 12 prints from a single plate, screen, stone, woodblock or whatever chosen method. Each print had to be 5x7 inches, and mailed in a flat envelope. 10 of the prints became part of the Print Exchange, 1 print went into the Art House archive and the last print became part of a gallery exhibition to be shown in San Francisco and New York. The coolest thing about the project, however, was simply being part of the exchange itself. Each participant would receive 10 random prints in the mail from artists who were part of the project. So fun!

Tired Robot, 2013

Since I'd been wanting to get back into woodcuts/linocuts, I decided to do a simple linocut for my piece. Although they didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned, I (re)learned a few things in the process and am pretty happy with the results. I had never used water-based ink before and was surprisingly happy with how it worked (plus, it dries super fast, which is nice). I think this robot might reflect how I was feeling at the time....close to the end of a busy semester and ready for a reboot!

Art House Co-op has posted all of the artwork from the Print Exchange on flickr. Seeing the variety of work has been really great to see, not only because of the imagery itself but also because of the variety of techniques used. Below are some of my favorite pieces from the show. Be sure to check out their flickr set to see all of the work from this project.

Matthias Kern

Courtney Rose

Suzanne Hackett Morgan

Lockstep Studio

Agneta Ostlund

Lene Bladbjerg

Deborah Klein

Sarah Jeata Montgomery

Joolie Bracken

Christopher Kelly

Poli Marichal

Christopher Alday

Angele Switzler

Toru Sugita

Ben Iluzada

Sarah Robinson

Although Art House Co-op's biggest project is The Sketchbook Project, they have had a variety of projects over the last several years and are always adding more. If you're interested in participating in one of their projects, check out their Projects page.

Lastly, if you happen to be in New York during the month of September, be sure to stop by and check out the Print Exchange show at Robert Blackburn Printshop. The show will be on exhibit from September 5 - 29 with an opening reception on Friday, September 13 from 6pm-8pm.