Western New York Book Arts

Poco!

2012-01-27T12:21:00.008-05:00

WNYBAC is excited to introduce the newest member of our printing family...

The Poco Proof Press No. 0 was made by Hacker Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois sometime between 1912 and 1937.

The Poco press is designed for hand-inking

and producing quick and easy proofs. The bed moves, as opposed to the barrel rolling forward, as on most proof presses.

Poco No. 0 is the smallest of the Poco presses, with a 12" x 18" bed.

He weighs in at 210 lbs.

Huge thanks to Dick Ernst from Ernst Printing

for donating this amazing machine; we're happy to give it a second life!

Stop by WNYBAC and meet Poco!

12-6pm / Wednesdays-Saturdays

Holidays at WNYBAC

2012-01-15T13:13:00.005-05:00

The holiday season brought two of WNYBAC’s most exciting annual events, the Last Minute Panic Holiday Marketplace and our 2012 New Year’s Eve Gala and Fundraiser!

This year's Last Minute Panic Holiday Marketplace boasted over 25 vendors and brought hundreds of shoppers to downtown Buffalo to purchase beautiful, handmade, and locally produced gifts.

Shoppers filled their bellies with WNYBAC’s homemade spiced apple cider and desserts, excited to peruse all of the unique and skillfully made offerings, from trinkets and art prints to handmade books and cozy winter-wear.

The New Year’s Eve Gala and Fundraiser was also a great success! With some exciting last minute bidding wars between guests, a tasty sampling of Community Beer Works’ perfect porter, and the fantastic view of the ball dropping from the Electric Tower at midnight, this evening proved to be a memorable one.

Amos & WNYBAC

2011-12-08T12:17:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, December 3rd the Western New York Book Arts Center was graced with the joyful presence of Amos P. Kennedy Jr., an energetic and inspiring letterpress printer who works out of Gordo, Alabama. Amos is the subject of the acclaimed documentary Proceed and Be Bold, a film in which his life, work, and the concept of "The American Dream" are explored.

Amos visited WNYBAC to lead the final installment of our popular Analog Artist Showcase series, which consisted of eight free hands- on demonstrations/workshops lead by renowned book and print artists.

While leading participants through two hands-on demonstrations of letterpress printing, Amos discussed and displayed his distinct style and techniques. Those who attended had the rare opportunity to watch Amos set type and contribute to a collaboratively designed print.

Enterprise Charter School Students Visit WNYBAC

2011-11-19T13:23:00.007-05:00

On November 15th and 18th, sixth grade Social Studies students from Enterprise Charter School visited WNYBAC to learn about the history of letterpress printing and to create their own prints.

The students were guided through a brief tour of our gallery and museum before they were introduced to the printing studio. Studio Director, Chris Fritton, and Executive Director, Rich Kegler, led an interesting discussion based on the history of letterpress printing and the types of prints we make here at WNYBAC.

Before the students created their own prints, Chris and Rich explained the necessary steps to put together a form, basic press operations, and safety guidelines. Each student successfully completed a two-color print of the Ken Burns quote: “History isn’t really about the past…It’s about defining the present and who we are.”

WNYBAC looks forward to future fieldtrips with the lively and respectful students of Enterprise Charter School!

Art Conservation Students Visit WNYBAC

2011-10-26T16:18:00.004-04:00

On Monday, October 24th, first year graduate students from Buffalo State's Art Conservation Program visited WNYBAC to get an introduction to letterpress printing. They printed a quote handset in metal and wood type onto paper they had made by hand. The students chose to print a quote by Caroline K. Keck (the founder of the Art Conservation program at Buffalo State) that is relevant to their program: "They will know how to use their hands, and not just talk about what should be done, damn it." It was taken from correspondence between Georgia O'Keeffe and Keck, circa 1970.

WNYBAC will be forging a stronger relationship with the ArtCon department in the coming years, because an integral part of conservation is re-construction, and the key to accurate re-construction is knowing how an object was constructed. By bringing students in and teaching them how to print, they garner a clearer understanding of how many of the books and documents they are charged with preserving were originally made.

Thanks to Professor Judith Walsh for her help in organizing this outing, and thanks to all the students for making it fun and engaging.

WNYBAC and Buffalo Public Schools

2011-10-22T18:44:00.007-04:00

WNYBAC has been participating in a brand new afterschool program conceived by the Buffalo Public Schools Art Education Department called "heARTS". The students come voluntarily from all across Buffalo and meet at the School of Visual and Performing Arts. WNYBAC is part of the pilot program which also includes dance and playwriting. Our curriculum focuses on papermaking, bookmaking, and printmaking. WNYBAC’s Chris Fritton has been making bi-weekly trips to the School of Visual and Performing Arts bringing materials, insight, and new art concepts to the students involved in this program.

Printmaking:

Paper Making:

Buffalo Architecture Prints at WNYBAC

2011-10-21T14:56:00.005-04:00

Buffalo, NY is home to some of the greatest American architecture of the late 19th and early 20th century. There are constant reminders of this fact, especially in downtown, and here at WNYBAC we are surrounded on all sides by the remnants of our city's great and impressive past.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation conference is being held this week in Buffalo, celebrating all of the extraordinary architecture that the city has to offer and expressing the need to preserve important landmarks. Coincidentally, over the past year Chris Fritton and Rich Kegler from WNYBAC have been working hard creating beautiful prints reflecting our city's most impressive architectural successes. These 2-dimensional homages to local landmarks reflect not only Buffalo's attention to preserving its buildings, but also its intention to preserve its printing legacy as well.

WNYBAC uses vintage metal and wood type, printers' ornaments, and decorative cuts to create these prints. Each print is 3 or more colors and measures 11" x 17". Occasionally the backs of printing blocks are used to achieve textures and unexpected results from found materials. The pieces are arranged in a press to illustrate a stylized version of each building with proportions and sympathetic colors. Each print is hand-printed on a variety of papers (some etching papers, some fine cover stock papers) in a limited edition from a unique series of forms. Each print is signed and numbered. They are priced at $40.00 each. Special limited editions are available in our shop at WNYBAC, and as always, online at our Etsy shop.

Prints in this series include: Buffalo City Hall, Grain Elevators, Kleinhans Music Hall, Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, Louis Sullivan's Guaranty Building, The Avant Building, and the NY Central Train Terminal.

Books and Ritual: Works by Hyeyoung Shin

2011-10-12T14:01:00.004-04:00

The (FREE!) opening reception for

Books and Ritual: Works by Hyeyoung Shin

is this Friday, October 14th from 6-9pm at WNYBAC!

Refreshments, a cash bar,

and a good time will be provided

This show will feature works by Korean printmaker, book artist, and installation artist Hyeyoung Shin. The exhibit will consist of recent works including artist's books, paper sculpture, drawings, and prints. Shin aims to create a structural and ambiguous space through which viewers are invited to recall and create memories within the space of her art. Shin works with the medium of books and paper due to their ability to hold and share experiences and memories, with the ultimate goal of creating a human relationship between the artist and the viewer. The themes of bottles and fish are recurring throughout her work; the bottle, according to Shin, represents the body, and the fish act as a metaphor for the chaotic yet graceful way in which emotions and memories shift and change.

The works featured in this exhibit will showcase Shin's careful attention to detail and process, as well as the wide range and great depth of her work as a book artist and printmaker.

This show will be on view from October 14th through December 10, 2011

Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 12-6pm

Type Truck at WNYBAC

2011-09-14T16:54:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow evening from 6-8pm we will have the pleasure of hosting a visit from Kyle Durrie of Power and Light Press and her Type Truck! As part of her nearly year-long Moveable Type project that will bring her across the US, Kyle will open her mobile printing studio to the public outside the Book Arts Center on September 15.

Read more about Kyle's journeys on her blog, type-truck.com, and stop by for a tour and a chance to pull a print between 6 and 8pm!

Don't forget your appetite - Lloyd Taco Truck will be outside WNYBAC selling their delicious tacos, etc. throughout the event!

Fall Interns Needed! Apply now...

2011-08-03T11:25:00.003-04:00

WNYBAC is looking for Fall interns; this is the perfect real-world learning opportunity comm design, printmaking, library science, museum studies, arts management, art conservation, and education students. Blind obedience a must. Willingness to get dirty a plus. No, to be honest, it's required.

Come learn letterpress, analog arts, and how things work in the real world! Contact info@wnybookarts.org for more information.

THANK YOU ERNST PRINTING! More Adventures in Wood Type

2011-07-22T15:11:00.006-04:00

Our wood type acquisition has progressed nicely, but we wanted to update the public and highlight one particular contributor: Ernst Printing. Ernst Printing is located in Buffalo, and it is currently run by Dick Ernst; the shop has been open close to 40 years. We acquired our Vandercook 219 from Ernst, and when we went looking for wood type, Dick was nice enough to oblige. In total, we obtained 22 drawers of type from Ernst, varying in size from 72-line to 6-line, split about 50/50 between gothics and romans.

Dick is a union printer, and he takes in very few jobs now - mostly raffle tickets and other numbered forms. His shop has two Kluges, a Heidelberg, a couple offset presses, a gas-powered Ludlow machine, and a huge paper shear. Walking into the shop gives you a great feeling; it's very open, things are neat and clean, and Dick is welcoming and friendly. We are really happy we had this opportunity to engage with him again, and to continue the legacy of Ernst Printing through WNYBAC!

Check below for pictures of the shop and some of the wood type.

Richard Tuttle::8 Poems

2011-07-04T00:22:00.008-04:00

We've been waiting a while to make this announcement, but now that the project is underway, we're happy to reveal: Mohawk Press is designing and printing a book for American artist Richard Tuttle! Richard paid us a visit a few months ago (at the behest of State University of New York at Buffalo Art Galleries) and intimated that he'd be interested in having us produce a book for a short series of poems he'd been working on. A few weeks later, we received a hand-written letter and a small maquette to use as a model. Since then, Richard Kegler and Chris Fritton have been hard at work designing, corresponding, and finalizing the details of this unique project.

Tuttle was visiting Buffalo as part of a larger project curated by UB Art Galleries Center for the Arts; Artpark: 1974-1984 was a retrospective look at a local artspace and cultural phenomenon. Tuttle chose a three-pronged approach to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a sculptural work he'd created for Artpark (that was almost immediately vandalized): he made a series of smaller sculptures that were placed around Western New York, produced a newspaper documenting this distribution called the Artpark Sun, and finally, commissioned this handmade book of poems from WNYBAC.

We'll reveal more about the book as it progresses, but here are some of the specs: the final book will measure a mere 3.5" x 5.5"; it will feature an inside cover and inside back cover made of handmade pigmented paper cast from wood blocks cut by Tuttle; it will have 8 pages, entirely letterpressed, each featuring a single poem and a portion of a "continuous line" that undulates throughout the book; it will be hand-sewn and bound in an edition of 200. The book has been made possible by Sandra Firmin and Robert Scalise's tireless liaising, as well as private funding secured through UB Art Galleries. This the first collaboration between WNYBAC and UB Art Galleries.

See photos of mock ups, pieces in progress, presswork, and read a further description below!

More on the continuous line: the book itself is an exploration of the line as object, the line as concept, the line as boundary, and the line as path. The line, as object, is fundamental for the delineation of all things spatial - it is the crux of dimensionality. The line as concept is infinitely variable, and infinitely employable. The line as concept is strong enough to subsume almost all definitions/descriptions, even those so abstract that they always appear to be analogies (i.e. time, love, justice, truth) The line as boundary denotes a transitional space, but if the line has body or weight, it acts as an apron, or entrance into this other space, or contrarily, an obstacle. It can be an invitation, an inclination, or an obstruction. The line as path is akin to the final cause, that string which pulls but has no capacity to push, that which leads but only does so because it possesses an inherent quality of continuity.

Kickstarter Ending!!!

2011-06-23T16:05:00.003-04:00

This is it - 18 hours left in our Kickstarter campaign to save wood type. We are grateful to everyone who already donated, and we wanted to let you know that when we put out the call,
some wood type was donated as well! So before we use our funds to acquire new wood type and print some amazing specimen sheets, we've already been integrated those donations into our collection. We'll be making specimen sheets with these typefaces as well, and those will go out to our Kickstarter backs too...just to give you a little taste, here are some photos of these early arrivals :-)
There's still a chance to get in on this opportunity!!! Donate now!

A Fine Specimen

2011-06-17T16:04:00.004-04:00

We've been working the presses overtime lately at WNYBAC printing tons of new specimen sheets, gig posters, cards, and architectural prints. If you haven't been down in a while, it's really time to visit and check out all of the phenomenal work. Pictured below, a specimen sheet of an as-yet-unidentified brush script wood type font. It was designed with nostalgia in mind - don't you remember learning cursive on that amazing two-color ruled paper?

Fresh off the Press

2011-05-26T15:47:00.007-04:00

Two new cards were printed at WNYBAC this week -

The perfect way to say I hate you:

"I Really Hate You" is printed in magenta ink on silver and textured off-white paper.

A traditional globe printed from a vintage block:

The globe is printed in dark grey-blue ink on cream with deckled edge or heavy grey paper.

Both cards are available for $3 each in our store (that's just $2.40 for members!)

Brand New Printing Equipment!

2011-05-01T22:53:00.003-04:00

WNYBAC is pleased to announce the acquisition of what may prove to be our most invaluable piece of printing equipment: the Fisher-Price Arts and Crafts Printer's Kit. This exquisite specimen is from 1980; it is brand new, and has never been used. The 'composing frame' holds up to eight individual pieces of rubber 'type', and the kit comes with 6 sheets of colored paper to print on!

More on this when our first projects with this beauty develop. Until then, here are the pics:

Buffalocentric Children's Book!

2011-04-12T02:52:00.004-04:00

WNYBAC is pleased to announce a new collaboration - a Buffalocentric children's book conceived of and illustrated by local watercolor artist, Dana Jenkins. The book will have all the letters of the alphabet framed by Dana's unique paintings and highlight local points of interest, but there's also something special about those letters of the alphabet: they were designed here in Buffalo!
The typeface is Winchell, designed in 1903 by Edward Winchell. The typeface was converted to digital by Richard Kegler, then in 2009, the digital version was used by Christopher Fritton to create 10-line wood type.Dana approached WNYBAC about using wood type to print the letters for her book, and when she discovered there was a typeface that had so much Buffalo history, she was sold. After the completion of the book, we hope to feature the original paintings and wood type prints in a show at the WNYBAC gallery. In the meantime, check out all the photos (they're the only sneak peek you'll see!).

3rd Annual Edible Book Festival!

2011-03-25T11:17:00.003-04:00

WNYBAC is gearing up for our 3rd annual Edible Book Festival on April 1st, where participants use food items to construct tasty (and sometimes not so tasty) book-like objects. Check out the gallery of last year's entries here. It's time to put on your thinking cap and your cooking apron and design a masterpiece! Come be part of an international event right here in Buffalo.
The International Edible Book Festival is a yearly event held throughout the world. This contest unites bibliophiles, book artists, and food lovers to celebrate the ingestion of culture and its fulfilling nourishment. Participants edible books are exhibited, documented, then consumed. April 1st is the perfect day to eat your words and play with them. April 1st is also chosen to commemorate the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755 - 1826), famous for his book "Physiologie du goût". The event will run from 5-8 pm, with judging between 6-7pm. Prizes will be awarded and winners will be announced around 7pm in the categories of: Best Book, Best Tasting, Most Creative. Then we eat our words! Everyone is allowed to partake in eating the exhibits after judging.

This year we will be judging in three categories: Professional, Amateur, and Junior (For participants under 16.

If you'd like to register or for more info, just visit WNYBAC's Edible Book Festival page and sign up.

QR Code Book: Why We Lose Our Hands

2011-03-23T23:31:00.005-04:00

In-house printer Chris Fritton has recently finished an exciting project here at WNYBAC: a book composed entirely of QR codes entitled Why We Lose Our Hands. The book is a study in contrast: it is printed entirely in black and white; it uses the most antiquated analog technology (letterpress) to articulate the most recent digital technology (2-D codes); and it requires an electronic device to decode, even though it masquerades as a technologically-independent object. And it is, in many ways, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to "read" it.The book itself creates a very convoluted reading experience, one where the reader holds the book, holds their smartphone, the smartphone reads the code, then the screen presents legible text to the viewer. The requisite technology becomes a filter or a foil for the primary information, which is illegible otherwise. It's a microcosm of our everyday experience with technology and computers, which code, decode, and recode binary sequences at nearly the speed of light that are illegible to most humans.Fritton insists that he is ambivalent about the QR code technology - he says he undertook the project as a way to create a discussion about certain issues: digital/analog cooperation, reliance on prosthetic devices and data sources for knowledge and content, the socio-economic barrier the presence of such technology uncovers (you need the means to have a smartphone to yield the "benefits" of QR codes), and finally, the illusion of speed and efficiency these codes perpetuate. "There's something very curious about a cipher named 'Quick Response' that requires me to take the phone out of my pocket, open an app, point the camera at the code, and wait for the translation. Most literate adults could read 5-10 sentences in that time."So how is the QR code "quicker" than written language? It isn't, to be honest. But it is far more efficacious for its original intended purpose: cataloging and charting the course of millions of auto parts throughout the Toyota supply chain.For those who are interested, the book is available for 15.00USD at Fritton's Etsy shop.

WNYBAC at Explore and More

2011-02-23T20:43:00.003-05:00

WNYBAC was invited to participate in a workshop at Explore and More in East Aurora - and the results were fantastic! Explore and More is an educational learning oasis where young children and their parents can go, and for a nominal fee, have access to all sorts of amazing and engaging toys. The focus is on hands on learning, and the children get to experience international culture, science, art, and architecture all under one roof.

Occasionally Explore and More works around a theme, and the theme for the day was Snakes - accordingly, we brought along all the materials to show the kids how to make origami "snake books," which are an easy-to-make type of accordion-folded book.

In a single day, Explore and More had over 450 visitors, and in total, we made somewhere between 100-200 snake books! Check out what explore and more has to offer, and check out the photos to see two examples of great student work - one, a six foot long snake book with a head, and another snake book converted into a mammal with the addition of arms and legs.

Big thanks to all who lended a hand Jeanette, Erin, and especially Holly, who was already proficient at origami, and showed us how to make some great paper ornaments!

Combat Paper Residency

2011-02-22T00:01:00.004-05:00

Although the weather outside is frightful, February has been a busy month at WNYBAC. We were very excited to host Combat Paper as artists in residence for almost two full weeks, and it was great to strengthen our personal relationship as well as help them produce some fantastic prints.

Combat Paper is a collaborative project initiated by Drew Cameron and Drew Mattot that helps veterans mitigate their war experiences through art, and more specifically, through papermaking and printmaking. Veterans cut apart their own uniforms, then use the rags to create pulp for paper, make sheets of paper, then use that paper to create art objects relevant to their emotional struggle. Learn more about the process at the Combat Paper website, and see photos of work here.

We're always happy to host Combat Paper, and below are some photos of a broadside they produced during their time here. It's a collaboration between Drew Cameron and veteran Jan Barry, a broadside that features Jan's hand-set letterpressed poem and a background illustration/woodcut by Drew. Jan's broadside, as well as other art prints made by Combat are available at WNYBAC, and some will soon be available on our Etsy shop.

During their stay, Combat also did a number of presentations and demonstrations at SUNY at Buffalo, Niagara County Community College, and Just Buffalo's Big Night event.

Fresh off the Press

2011-01-22T17:18:00.013-05:00

We've printed new cards! Two new cards printed in the WNYBAC print shop, available for $3 each ($2.40 for members).

Perfect for Valentine's Day, this card is printed on kraft paper in red and silver ink:

Blank buffalo notecards printed on duplex blue and purple paper with matching purple envelope:

MIMB and Pop-Up Poster Show!

2011-01-11T17:00:00.003-05:00

The next two weeks are a great time to stop by the WNYBAC gallery! In addition to the Monumental Ideas in Miniature Book show that we have up, we've also added an impromptu poster and print show. The shows perfectly contrast one another: MIMB focuses on the 3-dimensional aspect of the book as an object and glorifies the diminutive, whereas the poster show heralds the (almost) 2-dimensional art of the print, and focuses more on large scale works.

Stop down and take a look at the creative output of book artists who have contributed to MIMB, and pick up one of the prints that are on sale in the poster show! Most of the prints were designed, executed, and printed by in-house printers Richard Kegler and Chris Fritton. Remember, some of these prints are available online at our Etsy shop, but many aren't, especially the monoprints, make ready, and art prints, so it's worth a visit!

New Year, Old Style

2011-01-04T23:59:00.005-05:00

In the good-will spirit of the new year, WNYBAC has been producing a number of limited edition broadsides and cards that feature quotes from Elbert Hubbard, the founder of the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, NY. The Roycroft was instrumental in the American development and dissemination of the European style that has come to be known as "Arts and Crafts." Following in the footsteps of William Morris and his influential Kelmscott Press, Hubbard originally conceived the Roycroft as a press. They produced any number of books, pamphlets, and treatises, but none as influential and far reaching as the extended essay A Message to Garcia. Roycroft artisans pride themselves on hard work, handiskills, and technique. With that in mind, we've created a series of traditional-looking 8" x 10" broadsides suitable for framing. They will soon be available at WNYBAC, at our Etsy shop, the Roycroft Campus, and the Burchfield-Penny Art Museum gift shop. Here's a sneak peek:

The WNYBAC 2011 New Year’s Party & Fundraiser

2010-12-30T17:39:00.003-05:00

We hope you will join us by ringing in the New Year at the WNY Book Arts Center,
& help us take the next steps in our progress towards becoming a self-sustaining center
for the arts of the book and beyond.

See the Ball drop from the Electric Tower at Midnight from the 2 floors of the book arts center.
At 468 Washington St.
9pm -2am

Tasteful and tasty hors d'oeuvres
Live Music
Complimentary Beer, Wine & champagne toast at midnight.

Silent Art Auction.
The Annual Artist Silent Auction, featuring artwork from many renowned artists-
preview to be hung at WNYBAC Dec 17th

Limited to 200 Guests.
RESERVE BY midnight DEC 30!!

First 100 individuals or couples to register get a free limited edition signed and numbered
4 color letterpress poster print (see event photo)

$75 per person
$125 per couple
wnybac members:
$60 per person
$100 per couple

for more info
http://wnybookarts.org/newyearsreg2011.php

Crispin Hellion Glover!

2010-12-02T23:45:00.005-05:00

Things are very busy around the WNYBAC print shop; we've been creating a lot of new holiday cards, broadsides, New Year's Eve invitations, and of course, posters. The latest that we're quite proud of is this two-color monster for Crispin Hellion Glover:Glover is an actor, performance artist, musician, author, and illustrator noted for straddling the fine line between madman and genius - his work rarely has boundaries and often deals with uncomfortable subject matter, but other times it's just outright kooky (check out Clowny Clown Clown) He's best known for his role as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, but he's also done countless independent video shorts and performance pieces. He's coming to the Market Arcade Cinema in downtown Buffalo on December 15, 2010, courtesy of my good friend Jill Mertz and Little Red Booking.

If you have any interest in the unusual or the forbidden, this is the place to be that chilly Wednesday in December. Check out the close up photos below. A limited edition will be available for purchase after the event at the Book Arts Center.

Movin' On Up

2010-12-01T01:26:00.005-05:00

WNYBAC is a perpetual work in progress, and we're always improving, but we've been making some great advances lately. Most notably, our successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign allowed us to install much needed professional heating and ventilation in the Print Shop.
For those of you who are interested, we had a 70,000 BTU Payne Closed Combustion furnace installed; it's a high-efficiency unit capable of heating the space in a few short minutes. The closed combustion unit ensures that the fumes from the ink and solvents won't corrode the burners. It's already been an amazing help during open studios and workshops (where our members are welcoming a reprieve from the biting cold).
For ventilation purposes, we had 12" duct work installed with a 800 cubic ft/minute Fantech Inline fan, capable of an air change in the room once every 5-10minutes. The fume hood is mounted at about 2' high in the center of the room on the East wall near our line of Vandercook presses; it's situated low because the fumes from solvents are heavier than air. It's been working amazingly well - we no longer come home with our clothes and hair smelling like One-Step Type Wash, we no longer feel dizzy or crampy, and we feel perfectly secure ensuring the health of all of visitors, students, artists, and staff alike.
Again, to all those who donated money or who have helped support us, THANK YOU! Stop down and visit any time you'd like to see the space and what we've been doing to enhance it! As WNYBAC continues to improve, the community of cultural workers in the city of Buffalo will strengthen as well, so remember - we're not just trying to refine the building, the print shop, or the gallery - we're doing our best to improve Buffalo as a whole!

Our New Baby: The Vandercook 4

2010-11-23T00:19:00.011-05:00

On November 4th, Rich Kegler, Chris Fritton, and good friend Brian embarked on a duo-fold road trip from WNYBAC. The purpose of the journey was not only to attend the Hamilton Wood Type Museum Wayzgoose in Two Rivers, WI, but also pick up a Vandercook 4 proofing press from The Platen Press Museum in Zion, IL (run by Paul Aken). The plan was simple: the first day, drive from Buffalo to Chicago, pick up good friend Jim; the second day visit Starshaped Press and The Platen Press Museum then drive on to Two Rivers for the Wayzgoose at night; the third day was all Wayzgoose; the fourth day was a print swap and sale, the end of Wayzgoose, then the long, long, long trip hope. Did I mention it was long? On the last day, these brave men had to drive back from Two Rivers to Zion, IL, load the press, drop Jim off in Chicago, then continue all the way through to Buffalo.

The road was hard, the road was tough, but everyone involved survived. The Dead Kennedys helped when the weather and traffic threatened to eat them in Chicago, Culver's helped when their stomachs threatened to eat themselves, and three iPhones working simultaneously helped when the highway system threatened to get them irreparably lost. Scratch that last part, even with 3 iPhones and a sadsack GPS system, they still managed to get lost any number of times. Did I mention they learned the history of the Jesus and Mary Chain and some Yiddish along the way? Or that what really saved them was the theme song for the trip, aptly chosen by Chris Fritton, more aptly sung by Paul Rodgers?

I may have also forgotten to mention that after an interminable trip across the interminable state of Ohio in the wee hours of the morning (which we came to call O-wide-O), that these brave souls still had to unload the press from the u-haul trailer and bring it inside WNYBAC. And that within a few short days, this 1100 lb. baby would have to be brought down the stairs an inch at a time with a come-along. The pictures tell a story, but it is not the whole epic story.

If you want to come see the new baby, stop by anytime. We also acquired a Showcard Press from the Carnegie Center with a 22" x 29" bed that was moved down the stairs at the same time. That is now our largest press. Big thanks to everyone who made this adventure possible: Brian Maloney, Brian F., Joe Bergquist, Jay, Fran Fritton, Paul Aken, Rich Kegler, Jim, and Scott from Printing Prep that lent us the pallet jack to move the monsters on flatland.

Holiday Cards

2010-11-20T18:46:00.003-05:00

We've been working on a bunch of new cards for the holiday season, and the first two are now stocked in our shop at the Book Arts Center and on Etsy.

Ben Folds Gig Poster

2010-11-19T02:27:00.002-05:00

On November 12th, 2010, Ben Folds played at show at the Town Ballroom here in Buffalo. We made a four color gig poster, with rule and border material formed to resemble a piano. We have a few extras that may be available for sale soon at our Etsy shop!

Help Needed!

2010-11-05T15:38:00.002-04:00

Volunteers are needed to help move presses this coming Monday and Tuesday (November 8 & 9). If you can help, please email info(at)wnybookarts.org and let us know. Thanks!

Drive-By Press and Cro-Mags Gig Poster

2010-11-03T02:27:00.003-04:00

Greg Nanney and Steven Prochyra from Drive-By Press spent two days at WNYBAC recently on a stopover between Rochester and Toronto, where they were doing demos adjacent to Printopolis.

Even though they were only here for a short time, they managed to pump out some great work. Greg did a 3-color reduction woodcut and Steven cut an amazing Cro-magnon skull. The skull was used for a collaborative gig poster for the legendary hardcore band, the Cro-Mags.

Check out the photos - woodcut by Steven Prochyra in deep reddish-brown, antique woodcut scroll in red pepper, and handset wood and metal type in black printed by Chris Fritton. Available for purchase at our Etsy shop!

Dock 2 Letterpress

2010-10-30T16:38:00.011-04:00

We have some new items in our shop from our Corporate Member, Dock 2 Letterpress!

Poe artwork on exhibit

2010-10-05T13:51:00.003-04:00

For this week only(until October 9), a special exhibit of artwork of the 1947 edition of Classics Illustrated version of Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Pit and the Pendulum" will be on view at WNYBAC. Classics Illustrated were early “Graphic Novels”. The black and white ink drawings feature panels that were later revised fr the final version. This unique insight into the production process in the days well before Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. This limited rare opportunity to see the original artwork is a special treat as part of this year’s Big Read and Buffalo International Film Festival events around the city. Original artwork from the same issue for “Fall of the House of Usher” (as well as an exhibit of vintage Nursery Rhymes) will be on display at Karpeles Manuscript Museum at 453 Porter Avenue.

DEERHOOF Gig Poster

2010-10-04T22:56:00.010-04:00

Chris Fritton just recently finished a gig poster for art-rock lovelies Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu. They'll be coming to Mohawk Place in Buffalo on October 8th.The poster was printed using an intricately constructed form created entirely from border material, ornaments, and assorted small cuts; the letters in DEERHOOF are only defined as negative space. It took over 600 individual pieces (380 printable pieces, 210 spacers, 31 pieces of wood type, 29 pieces of 6pt metal type) to finish the print, including the outline wood type and the tagline.

The poster was printed in fluorescent orange and pms 223 pink on Cougar White double-thick stock. It measures 14.5" x 18.5". Printed in an edition of 100, signed and numbered, with a special edition of 25, signed and numbered - the special edition features an overprint of the ornamentation in pink (see photos). This poster will be available soon in our boutique and at our Etsy shop.

French Antique & No. 500 Specimen Sheets

2010-10-01T15:01:00.008-04:00

Two new prints were finished today as part of our ongoing series of wood type specimen sheets.

10 line French Antique, printed in a signed and numbered limited edition of 15 on white Arches paper, or a limited edition of 35 on white cover-weight stock.

No. 500 die-cut wood type specimen sheet, printed in two colors on chipboard.

Both are for sale in the WNYBAC shop and on Etsy.

We Reached Our Fundraising Goal!

2010-10-01T01:39:00.003-04:00

We at WNYBAC would like to extend a humble and effusive thank you to each and every person that donated to our Kickstarter fundraising campaign. Because of your generosity, the printshop will be a safer, cleaner place, and children, visiting artists, and our in-house printers will be breathing easy!

Remember, this isn't the end of the fundraiser. We still have 5 more days to go, and you can still donate. Please don't hesitate if you were considering it - every single penny we receive will be reinvested in the space, and will be used to improve and grow our presence in the community.
We hope you'll take a minute to visit the Kickstarter page and donate if you haven't already - there are plenty of amazing incentives for giving, from one-of-a-kind prints to special workshops just for donors!

Again, thanks to all, continue spreading the word, and we look forward to all the improvements you've made possible.

Beyond/In WNY 2010 at WNYBAC

2010-09-25T16:36:00.014-04:00

Last night the WNY Book Arts Center gallery hosted an opening for the biennial Beyond/In WNY, a large scale exhibition with venues all over the city of Buffalo and in Niagara Falls.

The exhibition will be on view until December 11, 2010. Included in our gallery is work by Joel Brenden, Scott McCarney, and Warren Quigley.

The opening in full swing

This morning, all is calm and quiet.

Fresh off the Press

2010-09-25T16:32:00.002-04:00

Our newest card in the WNYBAC shop is emblazoned with the City of Buffalo seal:

Metallic silver ink on dark blue heavy weight paper, still a steal at $3 a piece.

Dock 2 Letterpress - Webster NY

2010-09-22T08:57:00.002-04:00

Heading east, but still in Western New York is Dock 2 Letterpress in Webster NY. This unique commercial artisan letterpress shop has an arsenal of presses and the Bretz woodtype collection. They offer letterpress classes and take on sizable letterpress jobs that the WNYBAC Mohawk Press would never consider. Their latest accolades have come via being selected by felt and wire as one of the 25 leading letterpress printers for their Design Ignites Change benefit notebook project

Fresh off the Press

2010-09-18T14:57:00.005-04:00

Two new cards this week in the WNYBAC shop:

Another way to say Hi!

Do you love the smell of Buffalo in the morning? Pick up one of our new Cheerios cards...complete with matching Cheerios envelope.

New Spec Sheet: Arcadian No. 1

2010-09-17T00:45:00.005-04:00

Today was a busy day at WNYBAC - the Ron Hawkins gig poster was completed:

And we wrapped up a specimen sheet for Arcadian No. 1, a typeface made by Wm. Page & Co. The typeface dates from earlier, but our specimen is from 1872. Almost 140 years old! Printed in two colorways: olive green and flint blue, mustard/brown and flint blue.

The spec sheet is available now on Etsy and in our shop!

Ron Hawkins Gig Poster

2010-09-16T00:20:00.006-04:00

Check out two of the mock-ups for our latest gig poster, Ron Hawkins - singer/songwriter, frontman of The Lowest of the Low - the show is at Mohawk Place on October 23rd. It's in a traditional style with a great tri-color background (reminiscent of the colors on a Gibson Les Paul starburst guitar - deep red, yellow, and beige). Finished product coming soon!

Last Night I Met the Mercury Astronauts

2010-09-10T08:43:00.003-04:00

A career in design or graphic arts brings with it a continuum of advances on process and technology. The tools we use to exercise our crafts are always changing. But I remember when we talked more about the people who helped us with the crafts than the tools. The tools came second. It was the craftsmen - and women - who brought to the table finely honed skill and discipline. The pressmen, dot-etchers, engravers, and the suppliers who kept them going - like the roller companies, ink mixers and the type suppliers - both metal and photo. When I started as a designer I was - and continue to be - in awe of these people. Their careers - and lives - were handed over to the pursuit and exercise of perfection. Their role in the greater sequence of artful steps was critical. There would be no allowance for “good enough.”

All of this said, it was these crafts people that we all took for granted. They knew their “stuff” - we didn’t have to. Bout how did they learn? How did they refine their respective crafts? Well, as like much in the early days of printing, they looked to “The Guild” - the collective that allowed these artists to share their stories - their passions - and knock back a few beers and prime rib now and then. Today I am thinking about the Printing House Craftsmen.

Last night I enjoyed a special, rare evening at The Western New York Book Arts Center, where we - the Board of Directors - and the membership - hosted what might very well have been the last gathering of the Buffalo area chapter of the Printing House Craftsmen Club. Along with a sizable archive of photographs and event programs to be reposed at The Center, members of the local club came together to share more stories and revel in the Center’s museum and “The Art of the Broadside” exhibit.
For me this was a special gathering. Ever since my Graphic Arts Technology classes at Mohawk Valley Community College, I have been fascinated by the tools, techniques - and people - who make such a technologically exacting process seem like simple art. For us first adopters of the Apple Macinotsh tools, these men and women are the like the Mercury Astronauts The went first. They helped mold the processes and standards the rest of us would lean on for years. They were the ones who made the magic happen without Photoshop, InDesign drop shadows and special filters. The Space Shuttle couldn’t have gotten off the ground without the contributions of the talents and lives of those who came before them.

As an educator I find myself lamenting what today’s "kids" don’t know about what came before my generation. But, I suppose, for every Mercury Astronaut - or plate maker or typesetter I revere - and tell countless stories about, they will have a craftsman of their own who reminds them of where they came from. I guess I can only hope.

So here’s to the astronauts - and everything they did to lay a foundation for me - for us. It goes without saying, really, that they have my unending respect. None of us are in this alone - unless we think we are.

WNYBAC Featured Video

2010-09-08T16:03:00.003-04:00

WNYBAC has a video feature on Skunkpost today. Richard and Chris offer an overview of the letterpress process and what we do here at the Book Arts Center:

Support clean air at WNYBAC

2010-09-08T15:52:00.007-04:00

Breathe new life into the WNY Book Arts Center!

A new fundraising initiative to help WNYBAC printshop become even more accessible:

While we work on ADA compliance for the building with foundation funding for our elevator project to connect all 3 floors, the lack of public funding has given us impetus to use the online funding facilitation source, Kickstarter, to help bring out printshop up to comfortable standards for all visitors. We hope to use this funding to implement an appropriate ventilation and heating system for our basement print studio. With this initiative, you also get great rewards for helping out. Rewards at various levels include hand-printed goods, yearly memberships, a letterpress workshop, and custom posters. Any level of support which involved membership as a reward will be added to your existing membership for full benefit.

We appreciate any support you are able to offer as we work to make our studio as accessible, comfortable, and healthy as possible.

Please check this out!
http://kck.st/cffjbA

Wood type Specimen Sheets

2010-09-08T15:31:00.010-04:00

Chris has been working on a series of spec sheets for the wood type in our print studio collection. The first two, shown below, are for Gothic Round and Antique Latin.

Gothic Round:

American Latin:

Both (and forthcoming) spec sheets are available in the WNYBAC shop and our Etsy shop.

Broken Social Scene Poster

2010-09-08T15:22:00.006-04:00

Check out the finished version of the gig poster for Broken Social Scene and The Sea and Cake. Hand-carved by Kat Delfosse and hand-printed, the poster works well on its own or side by side with another to create the full circle.

Printed in a limited edition, signed and numbered. Posters are available in the WNYBAC shop and Etsy shop for $20 each.

Wandering Book Artists

2010-09-03T18:15:00.011-04:00

This past Tuesday, we had the opportunity to host Peter and Donna Thomas, otherwise known as the Wandering Book Artists. Peter offered a free talk on artist books and his own experience making one of a kind books, complete with a few tunes played on a ukulele (that was also a book!) After the talk, Donna offered tours of their "gypsy wagon" and Peter led the group of 11 students through the process of making a scrolling book, a binding technique the Thomas' created. Also on view at the event was the Thomas' impressive collection of miniature books they had made, as well as other works they had for sale. Peter and Donna offered an interesting perspective on the process and value of artist books, and those who took their workshop have added an inventive technique to their bookbinding skills. Take a peek at the talk, workshop, and some of the class's results:

Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts

2010-08-29T10:36:00.002-04:00

Stop by the WNYBAC table today at the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts to print a coaster, make a button, fold a single-page book, or pick up the new workshop brochure! We'll be in the driveway of Positively Main Street until the end of the festival at 5 today, stop and say hi!

This Week's Posters

2010-08-14T17:06:00.007-04:00

This week at WNYBAC, several posters were in the works.

The first is a 4-color poster for Starlight Studio, which will be celebrating its 5-year anniversary with a party later this year. Participants from Starlight helped with the design and printing process over the course of four 3-hour sessions.

The second finished poster is for the forthcoming film Making Faces: Metal Type in the 21st Century that will be screened this week at TypeCon in LA. The poster includes a 3-color linoleum reduction block, metal type, and photo polymer plates.

We've also been working on a poster for the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, and poster for the upcoming Broken Social Scene show at Town Ballroom in September.

Both prints above are available for sale in the WNYBAC shop.

Fresh off the Press

2010-08-14T16:14:00.007-04:00

Fresh off the press this week we have the third printing of the "Buffalo Hates You Too!" card, as well as a more friendly version for those who would like to show some affection for our fair city.

Also new this week are the fraction to decimal conversion cards, for when you need a truly practical greeting card.

As usual, just $2 a card ($1.60 for members) and we've got 3 and 5-pack specials as well.

Starshaped Press at WNYBAC & New Prints

2010-08-14T12:44:00.010-04:00

This past weekend, Jen and Sarah of Starshaped Press joined us at the Book Arts Center for two excellent workshops.

The first workshop on Thursday was taught by Sarah, and offered participants the opportunity to learn how to prepare and cut a linoleum block for printing.

A carved block and two of the prints we made:

On Saturday, Jen, the lead designer at Starshaped Press, offered a workshop on typesetting and operating a platen press. Students learned how to use a composing stick to set type, do makeready for and print on a tabletop press. Participants made calling cards and business cards, and Jen set the "I left my heart at WNYBAC" mini-print pictured above.

The chance to learn platen press printing techniques from Jen was a rare and valuable opportunity, and students left with an excellent grasp of the process and benefits of using this particular type of press.

Thanks to Jen and Sarah for the great workshops!

The WNYBAC shop is now carrying several posters and cards from Starshaped Press. Here are just a few:

{photos courtesy of Starshaped's etsy shop}

A new addition

2010-08-06T16:51:00.003-04:00

This perforator is the newest acquisition to the Museum. We believe the piece is from the late 19th century. If you have any information about this style perforator please let us know.

Where's Lloyd? Right next to the Book Arts Center!

2010-08-04T16:26:00.003-04:00

Last week, Buffalo got its first taste of real, legitimate street food. Lloyd's taco truck has set up at Mohawk and Main for the past week, opening during the lunch hours of 11a-2p. A welcome addition to the neighborhood, Lloyd's gives you another reason to stop by the Book Arts Center - and grab some lunch while you're here!

Buffalo Rising offers their review of Lloyd's, and you can follow the taco truck on Twitter for updates.

Special Guest Instructors this week at WNYBAC

2010-07-30T16:32:00.012-04:00

This week at the WNY Book Arts Center we will be offering two unique workshops with guest instructors from Starshaped Press in Chicago. At Starshaped Press, they use only hand-set metal and wood type for their designs, following their motto: “All Metal, All the Time (Except When it’s Wood).”

Sarah and Jen will be joining us for just a few days, and have offered to teach workshops on linoleum and platen press printing. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to work with the printers behind Starshaped Press, and learn new techniques you can use again and again.

Thursday August 5 from 6-9pm, Sarah will go over the techniques and tools necessary to design, cut, prepare, and print a hand-carved linoleum block and students will have the opportunity to try their hand at the process.
Register here.

Saturday August 7 from 1-5pm, Jen will teach you how to print using a tabletop platen press, including typesetting and printing for smaller-scale projects.
Register here.

Both of these workshops will be small, hands-on classes for which space is limited. Register now to secure your spot!

WNYBAC will also be hosting Peter and Donna Thomas, the Wandering Book Artists, as they make their way through Buffalo in September. They will be giving a talk on what they do as well as an evening workshop on scrolling books. More details and registration information will be available in August.

Zines: An Introduction to Self-Publishing Workshop

2010-07-24T14:13:00.002-04:00

In conjunction with our current zine exhibition Wide Margins, this workshop will give participants a chance to learn more about the techniques used in zine-making and self-publishing.

Longtime zinester and exhibition co-curator Amy Greenan will provide participants with a "toolkit" of information and techniques to begin self-publishing, and you'll get a chance to try these techniques hands-on. From simple side-stitch bindings to more advanced techniques, you will leave with the knowledge and skills you need to publish your own zines or chapbooks.

Zines: Introduction to Self-Publishing
Instructor: Amy Greenan
Date/Time: Saturday July 31, 1-4pm
Cost: $30 ($24 members) + $10 materials fee

Wide Margins

2010-07-17T16:22:00.007-04:00

Our current show, Wide Margins, opened last night and what a night it was! On display are hundreds of zines on all topics from the 1960's to the present. Work by Allen Ginsberg and Andy Warhol as well as the members of Bikini Kill who were an integral part of the Riot Grrl movement of the early nineties. Those are just a few of the many awesome zine contributions.

A detail from the process wall by Amy Greenan:

Members' Exhibition 2010 Selections

2010-07-13T11:56:00.007-04:00

As the 2010 Members' Exhibition closed this past weekend, we'd like to announce those people selected to participate in two separate group shows in early 2011.

Cori Wolff, curator at the Buffalo Arts Studio and Olean Public Library Gallery, has selected the following three members for a group show at the Olean Public Library Gallery:

Olga Bajusova

Kathryn Eshbaugh

Christopher Fritton

WNYBAC's jurors have selected the following members for a show at the Book Arts Center:

Francisco Amaya

Sandra C. Fernandez

Amanda Maciuba

Both of these shows are slated for early 2011 and will be announced here when more details are available. Congratulations to those members that were selected for a show, and thanks again to all members that participated in this year's WNYBAC Members' Exhibition.

WNYBAC Library - Expanded

2010-07-02T15:42:00.004-04:00

WNYBAC recently received a donation of a tremendous collection of books on book arts techniques, expanding our library by nearly 400 titles. Subjects include bookbinding, printing, design, and typography among many others. The library holds the largest selection of books on paper marbling and calligraphy in the Buffalo area. Our updated catalog is available for public view on LibraryThing, and the library is available to WNYBAC members for research during our regular hours, Wednesday through Saturday 12-6pm.

Book Fest

2010-06-28T10:18:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday at the Book Arts Center, participants had a chance to try several techniques for free, and take home their handmade items. We made books from scrap paper, Jello-O boxes, office supplies, and fabric scraps. We watched a paper marbling demonstration and learned how the process worked before everyone had a chance to make their own marbled paper design. Everyone had the opportunity to print their own card on the press to take home, make a dragon book using simple origami techniques, and even make their own paper from pulp.

Learning to marble paper

Some of the marbled paper designs

Making books from unexpected materials

Handmade paper drying on the windows

Lots of fun was had by all trying their hand at new skills and techniques!

WNYBAC Book Fest

2010-06-25T18:52:00.004-04:00

The newest card at WNYBAC, "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." is a grammatically correct sentence that uses a single word for all parts of speech. Print this card and take it home tomorrow at Book Fest!

Tomorrow at the Book Arts Center in downtown Buffalo, we will be holding Book Fest from 12-6pm. We will have hands-on demonstrations on techniques such as paper marbling, letterpress printing, bookbinding, and paper making. Participants will have the opportunity to try their hand at these techniques and leave with a hand printed card or a book made from unexpected materials.

We will be having some in-store specials including:

Buy 2, get 1 free bargain books

2/$1 pins

$5 slightly imperfect WNYBAC aprons

20% off our McSweeney's collection

We've also got lots of new hand printed cards in the shop for any occasion.

Stop by, check out our print museum and studio, and learn something new!

Call for Work

2010-06-18T17:35:00.002-04:00

Wide Margins: An Exhibition of 'Zines from the Sublime to the Silly

On view July 16-September 3

Opening Event Friday July 16, 6PM-9PM

Submissions must be received by July 7 to be included in the show.

Entries can be dropped off at the Book Arts Center during our regular hours Wednesday through Saturday from 12pm-6pm, or mailed to our PO Box.

Drop off at:
Western New York Book Arts Center
468 Washington St.
Buffalo NY 14203

Mail to:
Western New York Book Arts Center
PO Box 770
Buffalo, NY 14213

The Western New York Book Arts Collaborative (WNYBAC) will be presenting an exhibition to display and pay homage to zines and self-publishing. Zines can be defined as any small circulation publication, almost always self-published, on a broad variety of topics including but not limited to politics, comics, fan fiction, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, and a range of other topics that fall outside of mainstream publication. Showcasing the wide range of content and form that exists in this genre, this exhibition will also demonstrate how zines relate strongly to the art and craft of bookbinding and book arts in general, and will include spotlighted zinesters whose work evolved into what can be considered “book art”. Both the history of zine-making, as well as the contemporary scene will be addressed, and zines on all topics and from all eras are welcome.

There is no fee to enter.

As part of the exhibition, we will be putting together a zine as a program for the event. We would like to collect thoughts and reflections from zinesters and participants relating to their experience with zines and zine-making. We would appreciate your input of any kind - a sentence, a paragraph, or whatever you can contribute. Please send this along with your submission form.

Zines in the exhibition will not be for sale. You may send multiple copies of the zine to sell in the WNYBAC shop during and after the exhibition. These items will be sold on consignment, with WNYBAC retaining 40% of the sale price. WNYBAC welcomes the donation of your zine to our permanent collection zine library.

If you would prefer a zine not be handled during the show, please specify this on your entry form. Please include an entry form for each of your zines if you are submitting more than one.

Submission forms can be downloaded here.

Please contact WNYBAC at info@wnybookarts.org or 716 348-1430 if you have any questions.

Western NY Book Arts Center
468 Washington St.
Buffalo NY 14203
716 348 1430
info@wnybookarts.org
http://www.wnybookarts.org

Fresh off the Press: Hi!

2010-06-15T10:49:00.003-04:00

Say it simply: Hi!

Hand-printed cards available on white or rust colored paper, both with yellow ink and matching envelope. $2 each ($1.60 members).

Did You Know?

2010-06-15T09:47:00.004-04:00

While it seems unlikely knowing Buffalo's reputation for cold weather most of the year, air conditioning as we know it was invented here. Better yet, it was invented to aid in the printing process.

A native of Angola, NY, Willis Haviland Carrier began working for the Buffalo Forge Company in June 1901. While at Buffalo Forge, Carrier began experimenting with air conditioning as a way to solve a problem faced by printers at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company in Brooklyn, NY. At the time, printing press operators struggled with aligning the ink print onto the paper because of paper's hygroscopic properties - that is, the tendency of paper to expand and contract in conditions of heat and humidity.

He attempted to take the moisture out of the air by fanning it through pieces of brine-saturated burlap, but this technique caused salt and water residue to rust nearby machines and was therefore ineffective. Instead, Carrier developed a system to send air through cold coils to cool the air and control the amount of moisture the colder air could hold. This in turn allowed him to control the amount of humidity in the room.

On July 17, 1902, the first air conditioner began working at Sackett-Wilhelms, designed and build in Buffalo. His patent was called the 'Apparatus for Treating Air' and was awarded U.S. Pat # 808897 in 1906.

Photo: Willis Haviland Carrier with the first Apparatus for Treating Air, 1902.

Amos Kennedy Jr. Posters

2010-05-15T16:56:00.004-04:00

Hot on the heels of the screening of the film Proceed and Be Bold! and his visit to the WNYBAC print shop, we now have about 70 posters by Alabama-based letterpress printer Amos Kennedy Jr. in the Book Arts Center shop! Amos' prints were recently featured in Elle Decor, and we've got lots to choose from. Stop by and pick one up for $18 ($14.40 for members).

Fresh off the Press: Congrats

2010-05-13T16:35:00.006-04:00

Just in time for graduation, our newest cards printed at the Book Arts Center simply say "Congrats," and they are printed on grey, rust, and gold paper. What makes these hand printed cards special is the use of thermography. Thermography is a process that uses embossing powder and heat to create a textured finish on the still freshly inked letters. The cards were finished with two different types of embossing powder.

One type creates a glossy finish on the letters:

The other type of powder used on these cards creates a textured, metallic finish:

Stop by the Book Arts Center and pick one up, just $2 each.

Fresh off the Press: Mother's Day Cards

2010-05-01T12:43:00.005-04:00

Made using a vintage block and type, the card is printed with violet ink on white paper.

Stop by the Book Arts Center and pick up one of these hand printed letterpress Mother's Day cards for just $2 ($1.60 for members!)

Woodtype from the Underworld

2010-04-29T20:23:00.002-04:00

The basement printshop of WNYBAC has a treasure trove of wood and metal typefaces. WNYBAC member and designer Brian Grunert recently descended the staircase into the printshop to unearth and print some wood type fonts (that have never been digitized) for use on the new Anaïs Mitchell album: Hadestown . Some things just cant be faked in photoshop. This is real woodtype with hand inking used in the design. A previous project with woodtype via WNYBAC was the Woody Guthrie Live Wire CD packaging. More and more people are realizing that hand printed and handmade art and design has applications for even mass produced items. This is a good thing.

Demo Days: Leather Tooling with Linda Steffan

2010-04-29T12:33:00.006-04:00

Last night a group of 8 participants had the opportunity to learn a whole lot about leather from area expert and owner of M. Steffan's Sons Leather Supplies, Linda Steffan.

Linda passed around several types of leather from pig to crocodile to lamb and everyone got to see what makes these leathers unique and what they are used for.

Next the group had the opportunity to try some of Linda's tools including leather punches, stamps, and cutters.

After our thoroughly interesting leather lesson, everyone got a chance to try their hand at stamping some leather. Linda provided raw leather key chains for everyone, and a good time was had by all trying the different stamps and designs.

A finished key fob:

Don't worry if you missed it, we will be bringing Linda back for a workshop this summer on a stab-stitch leather bound book! Stay tuned for details.

We brought Linda to the Book Arts Center as part of our Demo Days series. Demo Days are held at various Wednesday evenings from 6-8 pm. They are free to the public.

This series is made possible in part by the Arts Council in Buffalo & Erie County with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a state agency.

Lademann Skull End Paper Pins

2010-04-24T13:09:00.006-04:00

The Buffalo & Erie County Central Library generously donated a box of their deaccessioned books to WNYBAC to use for altering and workshops. Most of the books are in Danish and Swedish, and upon closer inspection we found a certain Danish publisher called Lademann based in Copenhagen used some pretty cool skull end papers for their books!

There were 6 or 7 of them all in different colors, so we decided to turn them into buttons.

They're going for $1 a piece (or 3 for $2) in the WNYBAC shop so stop by and pick up a few of these limited edition 1960's Danish end paper pins!

The book:

The paper:

The pins!

Amos Kennedy, Jr. at WNYBAC

2010-04-21T16:59:00.003-04:00

Amos Kennedy, Jr. joined us at the Book Arts Center last night following the screening of Proceed and Be Bold!, a documentary about Kennedy, in Rochester Monday night. Those that came out to WNYBAC to meet Amos had a chance to "talk shop" and enjoy casual conversation with Amos before he returned to Alabama Wednesday morning.

WNYBAC plans to bring Amos and the film to Buffalo at a later date, stay tuned for details!

We also have a few of Amos' posters left in the WNYBAC shop. Stop by and pick one up-only $15 each!

Inside Looking Out

2010-04-18T21:23:00.001-04:00

Amos Kennedy Jr. in Rochester and Buffalo This Week

2010-04-17T17:47:00.005-04:00

Amos Kennedy, Jr. will be in Rochester this Monday for a screening of Proceed and Be Bold! at the Genesee Center for the Arts. He will be attending the screening and a Q & A session following the film.

Proceed and Be Bold!

Monday, April 19, 2010 from 7:00 until 8:30

This documentary covers the life and works of Amos Paul Kennedy Jr, an African American letterpress printer who left his day job to become a full-time printer in Alabama.

Location:
Cinema Theater, 957 South Clinton, Rochester, NY

See the full Genesee Center for the arts listing here.

On Tuesday evening, Amos will be at the Western New York Book Arts Center in Buffalo for a casual meet-and-greet. Stop by the Book Arts Center between 7 and 9pm to talk printing with an influential letterpress printer.

WNYBAC will be bringing the film Proceed and Be Bold! to Buffalo at a later date.

Interns Needed for Summer and Fall 2010

2010-04-14T13:33:00.004-04:00

The Western New York Book Arts Center is looking for a few interns for both the summer and fall 2010 semesters!

We will consider upper level undergraduate and graduate students in:

Design, Fine Art, and Poetics-
Students in fine arts, design, and poetics will have the  opportunity to work hands-on with letterpresses and assist  with events, exhibitions, demonstrations, and in other  aspects of the gallery and museum. No prior knowledge of  letterpress is required. Library Science-

Seeking a library science student to help implement a  cataloging system and organize our small arts-centered  library. The intern will gain special library experience  as well as general book arts and letterpress experience.

Museum Studies-

Museum studies intern wanted to formalize our interpretive  materials and enhance displays as well as functional  printshop components that double as displays, assist in curation of  exhibitions, and museum management.

All interns will also sweep and mop floors, run errands,  assist with field trips, and contribute to shop and studio  maintenance.   Hours are flexible, but interns must be available at least  1-2 days during our open hours Wednesday-Saturday 12-6pm.  Internships are 1-5 credit hours and unpaid.

All interested applicants should send a CV or resume to jessica@wnybookarts.org for consideration.

Drive By Press at WNYBAC

2010-04-10T11:43:00.009-04:00

Drive By Press visited WNYBAC this week. Last night we all enjoyed viewing their work and watching them do what they do. Check back for additional images and comments on a great experience.

Drive By Press at the WNY Book Arts Center

2010-04-08T12:27:00.003-04:00

Drive By Press at the WNY Book Arts Center
A special one -day exhibit/reception
Western NY Book Arts Center
468 Washington St.
Buffalo NY 14203
Friday April 9 7-10pm
Admission: Free

Following a week-long residency at the WNYBAC Printshop, Drive by press will display a special one-day exhibit of highlights from their traveling collection and the work created during their week at WNYBAC!

Drive By Press was created to educate and share the contemporary practice of printmaking with students and art audiences across America. DBP has visited well over 100! Universities, Colleges,and public schools, traveling over 100,000 miles!
During each stop DBP collects prints from area artists, amassing the largest collection of contemporary prints from across the country! DBP is a self- funded endeavor solely surviving on small visiting artists honorariums from schools and from the sales of printing wood blocks on paper and t-shirts. Many blocks have been graciously donated from some of the greatest wood cut artists in the country to support and perpetuate the the endeavor of Drive By press!!

Eat Your Words

2010-03-23T00:52:00.003-04:00

This hybrid pot-luck dinner meets art show returns to WNYBAC for a second year and will push the limits of what defines a "book". Participants are encouraged to create something tasty and ponderous...bordering on preposterous.

From the festival website: "April 1st is the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût, a witty meditation on food. April fools' day is also the perfect day to eat your words and play with them as the "books" are consumed on the day of the event. This ephemeral global banquet, in which anyone can participate, is shared by all on the internet and allows everyone to preserve and discover unique bookish nourishments. This festival is a celebration of the ingestion of culture and a way to concretely share a book; it is also a deeper reflexion on our attachment to food and our cultural differences."

entry and attendance details plus images from last years event can be found here:

Hacking woodtype

2010-03-16T23:02:00.004-04:00

In the digital age when designers don’t bother hand kerning by nudging the option arrow keys because it is too much trouble, it's heartening to look into old type cases and see what real kerning was...the cutting away of the space on a character to fit pairs together better. One can see in woodtype cases how a Cap A is notched at the top so out can fit into the T whose bottom has been notched. This was the sign of a craftsman printer who cared about how letter looked on the page.

Another woodtype artifact that is more rare but can be found in old cases, is modified characters. The limit of only a few of each letter in a woodtype font would often necessitate the sacrifice of some other letter to make the missing letter. An E turned into an F is easy to hide, but here are a few clever solutions to letter modification that have been discovered in the last few days at WNYBAC.

A number 8 has been frantically turned into an S.

This tiny 3 line woodtype C had been made into a G my inserting a type high lead shim

This V is now an A with the insertion of some solid material that will print at the same height as the rest of the letter (as found in the extensive woodtype collection at Massey College Toronto.)

Introducing Mohawk Press

2010-01-21T19:54:00.005-05:00

The WNYBAC Print studio (newly named "Mohawk Press") is now available for custom letterpress design/printing work.

WNYBAC has printed wood type for the Grammy award winning Woody Guthrie Live Wire CD package, and innovative designers looking to break out of digital confines as well as limited edition letterpress work for Just Buffalo's Big Night event series posters, Elmwood Festival of the Arts, Neglia Ballet and individuals looking for truly unique calling cards. WNYBAC's work is the subject of an exhibit at the Hamilton Woodtype Museum in Two Rivers Wisconsin (Feb 1- Mar 15)

If you have a special exhibit, concert, or other event that needs a one-of-a-kind visual commemoration/promotion in the form of a limited edition poster or broadside, this is the place to go. In the tradition of Nashville’s Hatch Show Print, Mohawk Press uses regional historical printing materials to produce timeless and contemporary limited edition prints.

Unlike traditional designer/client/printer relationships, you leave the most of the design decisions to our designer-printers after your initial consultation of what you would like. We do strive to create unique, tactile and memorable work from a finite selection of options. We have hundreds of metal and dozens of wood type fonts plus thousands of image cuts. Rates are quoted on a per job basis.

If you would like to print your own work, the criteria is relatively simple: A. become a member of WNYBAC, and B. Take an intro to letterpress workshop (plus log in a number of hours shadowing/assisting an in-house printer to establish a crash course apprenticeship). If you already possess sufficient knowledge and skills to work in a letterpress shop, then all you have to do is become a member and sign up for time. A nominal charge for press time is required but setup and prep time carries no fees.

Mohawk Press continues the mission of WNYBAC by promoting the arts of hand printing and the aesthetic of historical materials put into contemporary use. All proceeds go to support the mission and education programs of the WNY Book Arts Center.

For more information on custom letterpress work from Mohawk Press email

Hero Exhibit at WNYBAC Jan 13-Feb 20 2010

2010-01-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

Pulled to the Limit.
Hero Design Studio Retrospective Exhibition at WNY Book Arts Center
Wednesday Jan 13- Sat Feb 20, 2010
-----------

In a relatively short time, Hero Design Studio has become a fixture in the Buffalo music and design scene. Hero is husband and wife team, Beth Manos and Mark Brickey. The screen printing, illustration and design duo have created hundreds of hand printed posters and art prints since starting as Hero in 2003 and expanded their presence via their Allentown studio/shop.

Pulled to the Limit at the Western New York Book Arts Center's gallery will feature the most comprehensive exhibit of Hero's silkscreened works to date. Along with limited edition prints and posters, the exhibit will feature one-of-a-kind prints, experimental work and works-in-progress that will help explain the creative and production process.

An artists' reception with live printing will be held mid-Exhibit on Friday, January 29, 2010

An additional Demo day, free and open to the public will be presented February 17th 6-8pm

For more details

The Way They See It

2009-12-23T09:05:00.003-05:00

I took each of my three eight-year-old daughters out for a "camera adventure," looking for letters. Here's what we ended up with.

Winchell Factor +1

2009-12-21T10:24:00.003-05:00

Artist, Poet, Canal Boat Pilot and WNYBAC member Chris Fritton has embarked upon a major woodtype project using the digital version of the Winchell font (a font digitized exclusively for WNYBAC members), shellac, maple wood and "lasers". This ambition project is documented in great detail on his blog

Last minute gift buying panic marketplace

2009-12-11T10:02:00.001-05:00

Starts today!

At the main gallery, 1st floor of the Western New York Book Arts Center 468 Washington St at Mohawk in Downtown Buffalo
Friday Dec 11, 4-8pm
and
Saturday Dec 12 12-6pm
Free admission and open to the public
Artists, craftspeople, printers, & other handmade/self published/locally produced items. Perfect gifts for giving or hoarding.

This year's Vendors include:

• Elizabeth Leader
Paintings & Drawings
• Crowbiz
"...funk for the old soul..."
• Hero Design Studio
Screen Printed Posters & Cards
• Donald Trainor/ Shiny Object Media
• Where to Roam
Buffalo, NY themed wearables
• Amy Greenan
paintings, drawings, prints, collage, handmade books
• Rene Hoover
Letterpress cards, & coasters +handmade ornaments
• Jan Nagle
Upcycled and Vintage Jewelry
• SunnyOutside Press
Independent Small Press
• Queen City Gallery
Buffalo Books & original Photo Prints
• Buffalo Heritage
Books about Buffalo
• Amanda Maciuba
Intaglio & releif Prints
• The Hall Family Woodworkers
• Theresa Barnack
handmade jewelry & cards
• Dennis Piatkowski
Origami Man
• Kate Parzych
• UB Deprtment of Print Media
Prints, printed ephemera
• WNY Book Arts Center Shop and More!

Old Brother Hubbard

2009-11-25T09:34:00.005-05:00

Elbert Hubbard and the Roycroft were highly influential and important in the American Arts & Crafts Movement and a fixture in WNY printing history. The Roycroft Press is what started the ball rolling for all other areas of activities at the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora. A new PBS documentary has recently premiered and can be seen online. No survey of WNY Book At History can be complete without a major chapter dedicated to the Roycroft.

Buffalo Type

2009-09-22T14:07:00.011-04:00

Check out "Buffalo Type" on Flickr. With over 50 members, the image pool is a great place to discover and share the many typographic treasures found in and around Buffalo. Signs, posters, architectural details, tattoos and metal type photographed while locked in the Book Arts Building - there's a little bit of everything found in the 700+ image collection. Take a look. Think about adding a find of your own.

B->F->T

2009-09-21T16:39:00.003-04:00

WNYBAC Blog posts now auto-feed to Facebook. Facebook posts auto-feed to Twitter. So if this works, it will be tweeted.

2009-09-07T17:56:00.000-04:00

The Western New York Book Arts Collaborative
Presents a new Exhibition:

WRITING PICTURES
Art/Text Works from the Gerald Mead Collection

September 11 – October 3, 2009

Text and image have frequently intersected throughout the history of art and design, for example, during the Pop Art and Concrete Poetry movements and in disciplines such as editorial cartooning and graphic design. A number of contemporary artists associated with Western New York have created work that fuses the visual arts and text in intriguing ways, often using words or letters as much as a visual tool as a conceptual one. This exhibition of prints, paintings, photographs, drawings and sculptures have been selected from the extensive collection of Gerald Mead, a noted Buffalo artist and educator, to demonstrate the range of approaches and techniques that artists have used to explore the interconnectedness of written language and imagery.

Opening Reception Sept 11, 2009 6-9pm

Discovering James Joyce - Last chance

2009-09-04T20:50:00.003-04:00

There is just over one week left for the James Joyce Exhibit at UB's Anderson Art Gallery. The University at Buffalo's Joyce collection is the largest Joyce Collection in the world. The Exhibit is a rare opportunity to see rooms of Joyce printed and written material including stack of notebooks from Finnegan's Wake and an astounding collection of artfacts. Ends Sept 13th 2009.

A collaboration between the Poetry Collection, the UB Art Galleries, and the School of Architecture and Planning, Discovering James Joyce: The University at Buffalo Collection presents rarely seen items from the James Joyce Collection. Covering the span of his entire artistic life, the Joyce archive in the Poetry Collection is the largest and most distinguished in the world. Discovering James Joyce features a substantial selection of the writer’s notebooks, manuscripts, letters, publications, photographs, family portraits, and other significant Joyceana.

UB Anderson Gallery
One Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo, NY
Hours: Wed. - Sat. 11am-5pm; Sunday 1pm-5pm

Elmwood Festival of the Arts

2009-08-30T08:17:00.004-04:00

WNYBAC is near the Lafayette avenue stage at the 10th annual Elmwood Festival of the Arts. Stop by and print a piece you can take home on our tabletop platen press and our brochures can be hand bound on the spot also. Stop by and say hello.

Turkish Paper Marbling at the Fair

2009-08-13T21:08:00.002-04:00

from the website of the Erie County Fair:

Artisan John Bielak will demonstrate the ancient art form known as paper marbling. See how pigments become paint, how the paint can "float" on water and how it is then absorbed onto special paper in stunning designs. Marbled paper has many uses including decorative note writing paper, book binding and box making. See daily demonstrations at the Historical Building.

John is a very nice guy and set up daily outside the Historical Building. Stop by to see him demonstrate. He also sells marbled sheets and mini blank journals.

Richard Rockford Exhibition

2009-08-07T09:04:00.003-04:00

As mentioned in the Buffalo News and Buffalo Rising:
WNY Book Arts Center presents:
A selection of assemblage work by
Richard Rockford

"I try to create art that causes the viewer to start seeing old things, discarded things, items around them everywhere, as having beauty of color and texture. I take old surfaces - wooden panels, ink-stained blocks, deconstructed household furniture - and without changing their color and texture, I make them part of something colorful, genuine and beautiful."
-Richard Rockford

With clear influences of Joseph Cornell, Duchamp and Malevich, Rockford's assemblages focus on disused industrial artifacts. The Exhibit at the WNY Book Arts Center will showcase a selection of work which reinterprets artifacts from the printing industry and Buffalo’s colorful past.

August 7-September 5 , 2009
Opening reception Friday Aug 7, 6-9 pm

WNY Book Arts Center
468 Washington St
Buffalo NY 14203

Just Buffalo moves to the WNY Book Arts Center

2009-07-19T16:56:00.002-04:00

Just Buffalo Literary Center (JBLC) has announced the move into the 2nd floor of the WNY Book Arts Center. Artistic Director Michael Kelleher spoke with Joyce Kyzak on NPR station WBFO about the move. JBLC will now have dedicated space to offer workshops, readings, performances and meetings. JBLC has been lacking dedicated space but now will be working more closely with the WNY Book Arst Collaboratiev on joint programming and complimentary events on all aspects of the art of the "book". The joint efforts of WNYBAC & JBLC in one (previously blighted) location will act as a beacon for further downtown quality of life improvement.

Stencile on Main Street

2009-07-18T09:51:00.007-04:00

WNYBAC secured permission from the owners of 477 Main St in downtown Buffalo to transform their in-progress construction site storefront into a hybrid sanctioned graffiti canvas and signage pointing people towards the WNY Book Arts Center around the corner at Mohawk & Washington St.
We started with a blank press board façade and then added a layer of newsprint and laser printed pieces that were joined up in rough approximation with wheat paste cooked up in our state of the art printshop/kitchen. We added some ceremonial chinese papers but left ample space for artists to add their own work. We encouraged stencil and wheat pasting artists to showcase their work in this highly visible forum. After a couple weeks only one addition (and some fading from the elements) appeared...a brilliant Tromp l'oeil of an apparent 5 year old expressing his opinion of formalized education. This addition has been already damaged and we hope the anonymous artists will be able to restore it to the state you see below. We invite an encourage other artist to add to our mural (disclaimer...we do not sanction any graffiti on buildings or otherwise, if you do it, you are on your own)

Infringement at the Book Arts Center

2009-07-14T07:46:00.001-04:00

The Western NY Book Arts Center will be one of the host sites for the Buffalo Infringement Festival

The show will run July 23 until August 2 2009

The Opening reception at WNYBAC will be Saturday July 25 from 6-9pm
At WNYBAC - 468 Washington St.

Included in the exhibition will be visual artists:
- Laurie Tanner
- Creative Edge Art Studio
- Tom Van Deusen
- Salvatore Scianda
- Madeleine Cutrona
- Victoria Sieminer
- John Kindelan
- Amanda Maciuba
- Jessica Rauche
with live music at the opening by:
- Pat O'Keefe
- Noah Gokey
- Amanda Nuguery

Please RSVP if you are on facebook:

We hope you will visit this exhibition and other infringement events around town.

Best of WNY Award

2009-06-27T10:11:00.002-04:00

The WNY Book Arts Collaborative has won one of the Buffalo Spree Best of WNY Awards for Best Art Classes. We humbly accept the award.

Iranian Typography

2009-06-22T13:26:00.003-04:00

Last Spring as we were planning Typecon in Buffalo, I was fortunate enough to get to York University in Toronto to see the ‘50 Years of Iranian Typography’ exhibition in person. The exhibit was originated in Basel Switzerland in 2007. We didn't have the resources to bring the exhibit to Typecon and be the first to show it in the US, but I truly wish we could have. The range and inventiveness of the work seen in the exhibit and the accompanying book is breathtaking. Similar no doubt to Americans seeing works from the Eastern Bloc countries such as Poland and the Czechoslovakia at the fall of the iron curtain. Being able to see the expressive graphic art of "the enemy" may just help to de-demonize, and even *gasp* humanize a culture that has been kept at arms length. Below are a few on my favorite posters from the book. Several other images can be seen here.

The Golden Ticket

2009-06-03T22:14:00.005-04:00

The WNYBAC shop is now stocked with dozens of papers, books, hand printed cards, prints, and book arts supplies (including bone folders, linen thread, headbands, screw posts, wheat paste, book cloth & more). If for some reason you stop by for a gift for Graduation or Fathers day and something amazing doesn’t jump out at you, you can get one our Gift certificate (of course letterpress printed in our printshop on gold paper with a matching gold envelope).
The WNYBAC shop is open Wednesday-Saturday 12-6pm at 468 Washington St in Downtown Buffalo

Summer Worshop Series

2009-05-28T09:09:00.005-04:00

WNYBAC is pleased to announce its Summer 2009 workshop series. This series at its new home at 468 Washington Street in downtown Buffalo covers some basic intro classes in printing & book binding. As facilities & demand increase, we will offer additional and more in-depth classes. We have kept the fees reasonable (plus WNYBAC members receive a 20% discount on all workshops). We welcome your feedback and hope you will join us for one or more of these workshops.

WNY Book Arts Center
468 Washington St
Buffalo NY 14203
www.wnybookarts.org
info@wnybookarts.org

Summer 2009 WORKSHOPS

June 10 & 11 - Clam Shell Portfolio Box workshop

June 13 - Miniature and Wearable Books

June 17 & 24 - Intro to Hand Typesetting and Letterpress Printing

June 20 - DIY screen printing workshop

July 11 - A-Z Pressure Printing!

July 15 & 16 - 2 Color Gig Poster Workshop

July 23 - Basic Book Binding

August 1 - Altered Books

August 8 & 9 - Letterpress Animal ABC

August 22 -Intro to Hand Typesetting and Letterpress Printing

WNY Book Arts - Good press week

2009-05-26T10:05:00.004-04:00

WBFO - NPR Podcast May 22, 2009

"The printed word is fading rapidly in a society obsessed with the disappearing ink of mediums such as Twitter and Facebook. But on the other side of the spectrum are die-hards who want relief from the cyber world of printing. Actual relief that is"

Buffalo News May 22, 2009:

"With a full complement of printing technology—some of it more than 100 years old—a roster of workshops in printmaking, letterpress printing and bookbinding and a book shop, the center is poised to establish itself as a serious presence on the city’s arts scene. It’s also in a good position to foster collaborations among disparate art groups and bring together the concerns of poetry, literature and the visual arts under one roof."

Artvoice v8 #21:

"Asked what traditional printing adds to art in this day and age, Kegler equates book-making and artisanal printing to the slow food movement: “You could go out to McDonalds and Burger King to get a meal, or you can grow your heirloom tomatoes and have a meal that has seasons of planning behind it. It may not take much longer to consume, but the preparation and what has gone into it has a value to people that is worth something.”

Buffalo Rising

Stop by, smell the ink, become a member, help this fledgling organization soar!