Strawberryluna

“Elephants In The Trees” – Our Test Print Gallery Show At Rotofugi!

Hello friends!

We have some exciting news on the fine art front that we’ve been dying to share for over a year. And now the time has come!

The fantastic Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago, IL is home to our new Gallery show of 16 hand silkscreened Test Prints / Monoprints as well as a brand new black & white silkscreen, monochromatic, oversized, 2-art-print-set. Our show, “Elephants In The Trees”, opens on Friday January 13,  2012. But don’t be scared, Friday the 13th is always a lucky day for Allison, she was born on one.

What’s a Test Print, aka a Monoprint? Glad you asked! It’s a form of absolutely one-of-a-kind printmaking. A great definition from Wikipedia:

“Monoprints are known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques; it is essentially a printed painting. The characteristic of this method is that no two prints are alike. The beauty of this medium is also in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting and drawing media.  Monoprints may also involve elements that change, where the artist reworks the image in between impressions or after printing so that no two prints are absolutely identical.”

We’re absolutely thrilled, nervous, and excited all at once. Allison is almost always working on a tall stack of silkscreen Test Prints in the studio with each new print run. However, they rarely see the light of day publicly. Especially over the past year while she has been working on a suite of individual prints for this Gallery show in particular. And this is a first, with the debut not only of most of these absolutely one-of-a-kind monoprints but also of a new oversized 2-print set, (expertly printed by our friends at Delicious Design League). All prints on display will be for sale exclusively through the Rotofugi Gallery, both in person and online.

And here’s the thing, we can’t show you much before the Opening on Friday January 13th, 2012 BUT! You can totally sign up for the Rotofugi Gallery’s preview email list RIGHT HERE and get a beautiful eyeful of this (and any upcoming shows) special private preview and see the artwork for yourself before the general public. Trust us, this makes trying to buy original art and one-of-a-kind pieces far easier. ‘Cause once they are sold ‘cuz, they’re gone forevers.

Until then, here’s a little sneak-peek teaser of just a few of our 16 silkscreen printed, individual, one-of-a-kind Test Prints in the our upcoming show.

We hope to see you there on Friday, January the 13th at the opening reception!

Sneak-peek at just a few of our Monoprints to be shown at Rotofugi.

The Gallery Show Details

Elephants in the Trees: Silk Screen Monoprints & Art Prints by strawberryluna

  • Opening Reception at Rotofugi: Friday, January 13, 2011, 7-10PM
  • Rotofugi Exhibition Dates: January 13 – February 5, 2012
  • Rotofugi Location: 2780 Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614
  • Rotofugi Phone: 773-868-3308
  • Google Map

Welcome 2012!

Hello 2012! We’re so glad to meet ya.

And to make you feel right at home, here’s a beloved classic that influenced us as kids, even to this day. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, in it’s entirety. Baby New Year! Rudolph! Father Time!

We hope that your New Year 2012 is bright and the best yet.

Enjoy!

‘Tis the season!

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year to you.

Wishing you the Best & Brightest to you & yours this holiday season.

2012 Wall Calendar – Three Owls – New Release!

2012 Three Owls Wall Calendar, now available to keep you company all year long! Click for more info or to purchase.

Happy Holidays & Happy New  Year!

We’re super excited to release our 2012 Wall Calendar, Three Owls. All set for the leap year of 2012!

Whooooo’s ready to keep you company all year long? Our 3 little owls! On the lookout & got your back, 366 days of the year. That’s right! 2012 is a Leap Year.

All hand illustrated by us and wonderfully printed on an Indigo press here in Pittsburgh. Bright, smart, & ready to hang on any wall.

Limited edition of just 100. Size: 11 x1 7 inches (27.9 cm x 43.2 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight. $14

Now available for purchase either HERE from our webstore or also in our Etsy shop here.

Best & Brightest Holidays to you & yours!

Ho Ho Holidays – December Sale in our @Etsy Shop!

The Holidays should be fun, easy, bright, and definitely not stressful. OK, we know that they often do end up being a bit stressy. To that end, we hope to help.

All December long we’re offering our HOHOHOLIDAYS Coupon Code for 15% off of any and all orders through our Etsy Shop. No matter what your total damage? We’re here to lessen it.

We’ll be shipping just about every single day in December to wherever you are, or to whomever you wish. We’re happy to ship directly to your gift recipients. And you know what? We even include customize gift notes for you.

Need expedited shipping? No problem! We’re experts at that too. We can ship via USPS, FedEx and Overnight Express. You name it, we can do it most any time. Feel free to inquire about expedited shipping costs!

Click the above or below images to visit our Etsy Shop and during checkout use the Coupon Code: HOHOHOLIDAYS for 15% off of everything!

HOHOHOLIDAYS Now through December 31st.

Happy & brightest Holidays to you!

Hit Them With The Razzle Dazzle – WWI British Navy Ship Cammo

normal-wilkinson-inventor-of-dazzle-camouflage

The Father of Dazzle Camouflage, Norman Wilkinson

When you are interested in design, technology, perception AND history? (As I am.)  Sometimes a story comes along that feeds all 4 things.

This post, borrowed from Twisted Sifter does just this. And rather than blab on about why this is so damn cool, I’ll just let you check out an abridged version here and hopefully, marvel like we have at this ingeniuous and extremely cool graphic solve to a fatal problem of war.

For the full blog post with many more photographic examples, please visit Twisted Sifter or click on any image.

__________________________________________________________

You are the Fleet Admiral of the Navy in WWI what do you do?

THE SITUATION

You’re the Fleet Admiral of the Navy in World War I. Your ships are being sunk at an alarming rate by the devastatingly effective German U-Boat. The traditional camouflage isn’t working because your environment (sea and sky) changes with the weather. What do you do?

ww-i-dazzle-painting-camouflage

THE INSIGHT

World War I occurred from 1914–1918; back then sinking an enemy battleship was a three-step process:

Step 1: Locate your target’s position and plot its course.
Step 2: Determine the ship’s speed and confirm the direction it is heading
Step 3: Launch torpedo not directly at the ship, but where you think it’s going to be by the time the torpedo reaches the ship.

*Remember this is early 20th century warfare, weapons don’t travel at the speed they do today

So what’s your solution Fleet Admiral?

HIT THEM WITH THE RAZZLE DAZZLE

world-war-1-dazzle-camouflage

Forget about not being seen, that only solves their first problem. Focus on confusing them so they don’t know where you’re going. Then their torpedoes will be shot in vain because they thought you zigged when you really zagged.

British Artist and naval officer Norman Wilkinson had this very insight and pioneered the Dazzle Camouflage movement (known as Razzle Dazzle in the United States). Norman used bright, loud colours and contrasting diagonal stripes to make it incredibly difficult to gauge a ship’s size and direction.

It was cheap, effective, and widely-adopted during the War. Check out the incredible photographs below.

dazzle-painting-a-boat

*NOTE: Unfortunately the images are in black and white, being from the early 1900s and all, so the loud, bold colours will require a little imagination. Can you picture a fleet of electric yellow, orange and purple ships coming to get ya!

dazzle-camouflage-sketches

razzle-dazzle-paintjob

dazzle-painting-ship

New release: Belle & Sebastian 2012 Wall Calendar Poster!

Click to purchase the Belle & Sebastian 2012 Wall Calendar from the Banchory web store!

Season’s Greetings!

Just in time for everything: A brand new Belle & Sebastian 2012 Wall Calendar Poster to keep you company all year long.

The Calendar is a limited edition, A2 poster-style format. (That’s just about 18×24 for us Yanks.) Easy to frame with Belle & Sebastian keeping you company for 366 days in a row. That’s right, 2012 is a leap year. Doink!

Belle & Sebastian 2012 Wall Calendar – Designed by us, strawberryluna, and beautifully litho printed in good ol’ Glasgow, UK and shipping internationally in time for the holidays.

This 2012 litho Wall Calendar is available exclusively via Belle & Sebastian’s web store. Clickety-click here to purchase!

Quick Reminder – I Made It! Holiday Market Friday & Saturday @Bakery Square

Click for more info about I Made It! Holiday Market!

Just a zippy reminder about the I Made It! For The Holidays show this weekend at Bakery Square in Shadyside.

It’s our last show of  2011 and we’re looking forward to going out with a bang. We’ll be vending with over 80 other artisans and crafty makers of awesome all offering our handmade works for sale for the holidays Handmade makes for special and fun holiday gifting!

The shopping & holiday festivities will include over 80 artisans, demonstrations, music and merriment as shoppers warm up from the cold, see friends and make new ones, and best of all, cross all of the names off of their holiday shopping lists.

The Import Details:

FREE to attend & FREE Garage & Lot Parking too!

What: I Made It! For The Holidays, arts & crafts show featuring handmade works of awesome.

Where: Bakery Square,  Ground Floor, 6725 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 View Map · Get Directions

When:

  • Friday December 2nd from 5pm – 10pm
  • Saturday December 3rd from 11am – 6pm

Why: Because Handmade Is Best.

Bakery Square by night. I Made It Market is on the ground floor. Easy to find!

ABOUT I Made It! Market :

I Made It! Market is a nomadic indie crafts marketplace. We provide opportunities for local artisans to bring their wares to market and we partner with non-profit, arts and community groups to raise awareness and funds for their causes.


Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Holiday shopping bonus!

Click to visit my Etsy Shop!

Hey gang! For those of you in the US, we hope that you had a super Thanksgiving and a relaxing and fun day yesterday. For those friends outside of the US, we hope that you had a good Thursday. (And if you’ve never experienced an American Thanksgiving, put it on your bucket list.)

We’re offering a few types of Holiday Cheer here at strawberryluna HQ and we wanted to tell you about ’em.

1. The Value Added Deal: Through either our website here or our Etsy shop here, we’re offering a FREE BONUS print with any purchase of  $15 or more. Yep! Freebie! We’re releasing a new set of giclee prints, sized for smaller spaces and smaller walls in the form of our popular Cardinal Seasons print series, now also at a wee 8″x10″ size super high quality giclee print. So easy to frame!

  • The Deal: During Checkout in both our webstore or in our Etsy shop just mention “Holiday Bonus Cardinal” in the notes to seller section. (Don’t forget to tell us which print you would like for you bonus!) And we’ll hook you up with a free 8″x10″ giclee print of your choice with *any purchase of $15 or more*.  Easy-peasy! This Holiday Bonus print deal is good through 12/15.

2. The Classic Black Friday Deal: Through our Etsy shop (only!) get a solid 15% off of your entire purchase by using coupon code BLACKFRIDAY15 now through midnight 11/27 and then! (That’s right, it’s not over yet!) On Monday, 11/28 use the web-happy coupon code CYBERMONDAY15 for 15% off of your entire purchase. Boom! Good through 11/29. Yep! You get one extra day from us, ’cause that’s how we roll.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving in all of it’s meanings for you.
We hope that your holiday is as magical as this perfect Charles Schulz scene from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Happy holidays!

I Made It! Holiday Market 12/2 & 12/3 – See you there!

Click for more info!

Hooray! A great, local and locovore craft & art Holiday show is coming up! We’re thrilled to be a part of the 5th annual I Made It! For The Holidays, and this year’s show is going to be the best yet. Join us and over 80 other artisans and crafty vendors offering our handmade works for sale. Handmade makes for special and fun holiday gifting!

This year’s I Made It! Market, Holiday edition takes place on Friday evening, December 2nd from 5 – 10 pm and Saturday, December 3rd from 11 am – 6 pm at Bakery Square on Penn Avenue. And it’s totally free to attend! Parking is free too!

We will have tons of hand silkscreen printed art prints, alphabet prints, t-shirts, and rock posters and more on hand for gifts for friends, family, even you. That’s right! So come on over and say hi!

The shopping festivities will include over 80 artisans, demonstrations, music and merriment as shoppers warm up from the cold, see friends and make new ones, and best of all, cross all of the names off of their holiday shopping lists.

Sponsors Include: Bakery Square, The Cotton Factory, Revive Marketing Group, Dozen, Assemble

The Import Details:

FREE to attend & FREE Garage & Lot Parking too!

What: I Made It! For The Holidays, arts & crafts show featuring handmade works of awesome.

Where: Bakery Square, 6725 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

View Map · Get Directions

When: Friday December 2nd from 5pm – 10pm / Saturday December 3rd from 11am – 6pm

Why: Because Handmade Is Best.

ABOUT I Made It! Market :

I Made It! Market is a nomadic indie crafts marketplace. We provide opportunities for local artisans to bring their wares to market and we partner with non-profit, arts and community groups to raise awareness and funds for their causes.

For More Info About I Made It! Market:

 

ABOUT BAKERY SQUARE:

Bakery Square is a new mixed-use development located in the East End neighborhood of Pittsburgh, built out of the existing site of the historic Nabisco Factory. Offering an exciting lifestyle center environment while hosting numerous free events to connect with its neighbors and guests,
Bakery Square is home to Google, UPMC, Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Active Fitness, Coffee Tree Roasters, Learning Express Toys, Springhill Suites Marriott Hotel, Massage Heights, Boxwood, University of Pittsburgh, Veteran Administration and more.

For More Info About Bakery Square:
www.facebook.com/bakerysquare
www.bakery-square.com
6725 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

New art print release: Tiger Birds, Moogfest Synth Art Show art print!

Hand silkscreen printed 3-color art print, "Tiger Birds", a part of the 2011 Moogfest Synth Art Print Show, now available! Click for more info or to purchase.

Tiger Birds, Moogfest 2011 Synth Art Show art print – brand new release!

We were super excited to be a part of the official Moogfest Synth Art Print show this year. 15 silkscreen printmaking rock poster artists were invited to create an original print using the space & time twisting sounds Moog as inspiration.

What do you see? Is it a panting Tiger? Is it two interlocked birds? It’s both! It’s everything all at once. Grarrr-tweet!

This is our art print for 2011’s Moogfest Synth Art Show, Tiger Birds. Inspired the man and the machine, Moog.

The Moogfest Synth Art Show is a super popular event and a part of the incredible Moogfest, happening this year on October 28, 29 & 30, 2011 in Asheville, NC. Moogfest is the annual event that honors the remarkable vision of Robert Moog and his amazing musical inventions that changed the course of music.

For more information about the amazing Moogfest click here and for the Synth Art Show click here.

Tiger Birds is our all hand silkscreen printed art print with hand mixed Transparent Cyan, Bright Red, and Midnight Black water based acrylic silkscreen inks. Edition of 100. Size: 16 x 22 inches (30.5cm x 30.5 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Tiger Birds is now available both in our webstore here and also in our Etsy shop here.

Dig process photos of the hand silkscreen printmaking process? Check out a selection of photos below, or visit my Flickr stream here.

Setting up the first color for "Tiger Birds", our Moogfest art print. Click for more info and more process photos.

A silkscreen print in the making: 1st color printed, Tiger Birds. Click for more info and more process photos.

Registering the 2nd color on our new silkscreen print, Tiger Birds. Click for more info and more process photos.

Ready to print the 3rd & final color for our silkscreen Tiger Birds art print. Click for more info and more process photos.

All done! Our brand new hand silkscreen printed art print, "Tiger Birds", for the 2011 Moogfest Synth Art Show. Click for more info and more process photos.

Handmade Arcade This Saturday!

Hooray! It’s the super rad and awesome Handmade Arcade For The Holidays time!

We love love LOVE this incredible Pittsburgh craft show and are looking forward to this Saturday when it all gets awesome! Handmade Arcade For The Holidays is chock full of handmade work by tons of local and national working artists. Handmade Is Best!

We’ll have lots of new goodies like new prints, posters, Alphabet Prints and t-shirts (expertly hand printed by our BFFs at Commonwealth Press) and more. So come say hi! We’re booth #18 (see map below!) just on the left when you enter the show 🙂

Hope to see you there Pittsburgh!

Fun times at HA in April 2011

The Details: 

HANDMADE ARCADE
FOR THE HOLIDAYS

SATURDAY, NOV. 12, 2011
11 AM – 7 PM

EARLY BIRDIE ENTRANCE AT 10 AM

Handmade Arcade returns to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown with Handmade Arcade for the Holidays. Shoppers can expect even more great handcrafted, indie merchandise, plus:
• Free admission
• Over 150 vendors, local and from out-of-state
• Easy to get to: close to many bus lines and the T; on-site garage
parking; also accessible by foot, bike or even watercraft
• More space than ever: wide aisles, extra vendor room
• Early Birdie passes
• Refreshments on-site
• Hands-on Handmade activities

Handmade Arcade is Pittsburgh’s largest indie craft fair, now in its seventh year. The annual Handmade Arcade was created to give grassroots, independent crafters an opportunity to show and sell their wares, and to provide an alternative to traditional craft and art fairs.

Click for a larger version.

Happy Halloween!

Best holiday of the year. At least I think so.

Enjoy & Happy Halloween all you witches & goblins!

New release! Screens’n’Spokes “Thinking Of You” silkscreen art print

"Thinking Of You", new 3-color hand silkscreen printed art print for the MS150 Screens''n'Spokes art show & team. Click for more info & to purchase.

If you love your bike and you love your love, and you both love bicycles? Well, this is the print for you!

Thinking Of You” is our 2011 contribution to the amazing Screens’n’Spokes (aka S’n’S) MS 150 Team and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of their efforts and art shows again this year to help raise awareness and money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In just 5 years, the Screens’n’Spokes Team has raised over $200,000 to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through enlisting top printmaking artists to create new art prints for sale through the S’n’S annual art show and their Etsy Shop.

Once again this year S’n’S will be organizing a month long art show in Philadelphia with hand printed art work from over 15 Gig Poster artists. Mugshots CoffeeHouse on Fairmount has graciously hosted S’n’S for all five seasons.

Check below for more details about the incredible Screens’n’Spokes team, their fundraising, the S’n’S show and the artists involved:
http://www.screensnspokes.org/

Thinking of You” is our 3-color, all hand silkscreen printed art print, carefully printed one layer at a time, with soft cloud grey, bright love red, and black hand-mixed and non-toxic water based silkscreen inks. Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

This new art print is now available for sale in a bunch of places for your convenience too.

1. The Screens’n’Spokes Etsy shop here where all proceeds from the sale of any prints benefits the MS Society.

2. From our website here, with a portion of each sale going to the MS Society.

3. From our own Etsy shop here with a portion of each sale going to the MS Society.

4. From the show itself at Mugshots in Philadelphia in the lovely Fairmount section of the city with a portion of each sale going to the MS Society.

This is a limited edition print, so once it’s gone, it’s gone baby!

Below are some photos of the hand silkscreen printing process, and feel free to hop on over to our Flickr page where tons more process photos live!

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 1st color (grey) printed. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 2nd color (red) ink on the screen, ready to go. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 2nd color printed. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 3rd & final ink layer (black) ready to print. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 3rd color printed & done. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.