The 2007 Philadelphia Invitational Portfolio production is underway. One of the selected artists, Anthony Campuzano stopped by our offices today after visiting the Brandywine Workshop where he will be creating an offset print this summer. Each year print shops like the Brandywine graciously offer their time and the expertise of their master printers to work with a regional artist to produce a portfolio of prints for this project.

Here is Anthony posed above the print shop at Brandywine Workshop, holding a fresh copy of the New American Paintings MidAtlantic Edition #69 curated by Steven Bennett Phillips-which features his paintings (and the back cover image!).

We will be following the production of his portfolio print this summer at the printshop (our Philagrafika offices are right upstairs).

We all chuckled when, as he said, he has finally reached success in his parents' eyes because they can now go to Barnes and Noble and see their son's artwork in print.

My fingers are still inky from being part of a steamroller printing event at the Brooklyn campus of Pratt School of Art for Big Damn Prints conceived by artist and faculty, Dennis McNett (also of Howling Print Studio).

The third year for the event was a huge inky wonderful mess as students from Pratt, Parsons (with their faculty Martin Mazorra of Cannonball Press) and a few of us from Philly including fellow printmaker Bill McRight and I joined in the fun printing our large scale blocks. Bill was smart and carved his block in Brooklyn, while I made mine at Space 1026 and carried it in pieces on the chinatown bus...

This event was a great example of the energy and spontaneous fun that is printmaking. You don't see painters running around with heavy equipment and covered in ink...nope this is all about the printed image and the community that gathers around the printshops...









Check out Dennis McNett's photos from the event on photobucket

The energy and work generated by the Common Press, shows the possibilities when fine print and literature meet. This nascent letter press studio, a collaboration between Kelly Writers House, Penn Libraries, and the Fine Arts program in the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania just opened their first exhibition.

The opening reception for Mixed Media, Mixed Company Conjunctions at the Common Press on exhibit April 23rd-August 17th juxtaposes examples of letterpress work by artists and students at Common Press with fine press editions from the rare book collection.

Shown here are some of the folks involved with the Common Press (from the left) Chris van Auken, Lynne Farrington of the Rare Book and Manuscript department of Van Pelt Library at UPENN, David Comberg from the School of Design, Matt Neff, Lecturer in Printmaking and Print Shop Manager, and Andrea Gottschaulk, Exhibits and Programs at Annenberg Rare Book & Manuscript Library.