Strawberryluna

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.

New Art Print Release: Elephants Never Forget

New 4-color, silkscreen printed art print "Elephants Never Forget", click for more details or to purchase from my website.

Hooray! I finally had the chance to print a new art print that I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time. Introducing our new “Elephants Never Forget” hand pulled silkscreen art print. Sharp-eyed strawberryluna aficionados may recall a similar illustration from a poster for Xiu Xiu from way back in 2006. We still liked these two so much, we brought them back to life in a new hand pulled silkscreen art print.

Freshly available for purchase here at my website and also in my Etsy shop here.

Elephants really don’t forget a thing. And when you’ve found your perfect match, what’s to forget? Fall in love, stay in love. It’s simple!

  • I love elephants.
  • They are amazing and noble creatures.
  • I think they are perfect to symbolize the “forever” part of being in love.

Elephants Never Forget is my 4-color, all hand screenprinted love forever art print with hand mixed Cyan, Magenta and Black inks. Super fun overprinting layers of ink make a soft purple where Magenta & Cyan overlap. Magic! Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Additional photos below are from my studio during the hand silkscreen printing process. Click any image below to see more process photos in my Flickr account too.

1st color (Magenta) ink waiting to be printed. Click to see more screen printing process photos.

2nd color printed, overprint fun! Click for more screen printing process photos.

Elephants peeking through the screen. Click for more details & silkscreen printing process photos.

All finshed! New 4-color "Elephants Never Forget" hand silkscreen printed art print.

New art print release: Rose Red!

Rose Red, my new 2-color hand pulled silkscreen print.

Rose Red, Dark, sweet, and full of secrets. Rose Red is the 2nd in print in my fairy tale inspired print series, (my now sold out print, The Lady & The Wolf was the first). I’ve been fascinated by, OK possibly addicted to, fairy tales and fables since I was very young. Their allure has yet to lose it’s magic, especially the older versions of fairy tales with darker themes and symbols.

These days, many people know these stories best as tales for children, however many of our most loved fairy tales have much more brutal original tellings than you might imagine something fit for little kids. I read folk & fairy tales obsessively, the darker the roots of the tale, the more I love it. It’s super interesting how the same stories appear in similar versions and places for both children and (especially originally) for adults as well.

Rose Red is my 2-color, all hand silkscreen printed art print using scarlet red and velvety black hand-mixed and non-toxic water based silkscreen inks. And yes! Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight. $25

Fresh off my press, hand printed and now available for purchase here at my website and also here in my Etsy shop.

Neato extra! This design is also available as a free iPhone & iPod Touch wallpaper at the super cool Poolga.com right here.

Are you a print nerd too? Check out some process photos from my Flickr account below.

 

Getting all set up to print Rose Red.

 

1st color of my hand silkscreen printed art print, Rose Red.

 

2nd and final color of my silkscreen printed Rose Red art print.

 

 

 

 

Handmade Arcade, see you there Pittsburgh!

Hooray! The triumphant return of the Pittsburgh craft & handmade arts show Handmade Arcade is set and upon us on Saturday April 16th, 2011 (just ONE day!) from 11am – 7pm. With crowds upwards of 9,000 shoppers at the last Handmade Arcade in December of 2009, this show is one of Pittsburgh’s premier DIY art & craft showcases.

After over a 1-year hiatus while the Handmade Arcade struggled to find a new home once the former venue at the Hunt Armory became unavailable due to returning military vehicles (right, it’s an Amory) it’s great news for the city that the first green convention center in the world, The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the new digs. And best of all? Handmade Arcade is FREE to attend!

The  Important Details:

  • When: Saturday, April 16th from 11am – 7pm
  • Where: The David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown at Penn Avenue & 10 Streets.
  • Free admission
  • Over 100 vendors, local and far-flung.
  • 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 larger vendor room.
  • Early Birdie passes (as always) Click here for more info.
  • Refreshments on-site.
  • Hands-on activities for the whole family.

Our booth next to Mike Budai & the awesome crowds from 2009 at the Handmade Arcade, Pittsburgh PA.

We are thrilled to be a part of this awesome return! We’ll be there working our booth and talking with folks, selling our prints, posters, alphabet prints, test prints, t-shirts, shoot. You name it! So come on out and see all of the best that the modern Handmade Movement has to offer you Pittsburgh. See yinz there!

About: “Handmade Arcade is run by a collective of creative Pittsburghers who have helped to shape and bolster Pittsburgh’s independent craft scene over the past six years. Founded in 2004 — when no events in the Pittsburgh region served the burgeoning DIY craft community — Handmade Arcade provides crafters working outside the mainstream/fine arts sector with a grassroots high-visibility venue to sell wares and build community.

Tapping into a vibrant subculture of young, innovative designers who bring a fresh, artistic, and often subversive sensibility to traditional crafting, Handmade Arcade provides Pittsburgh-based crafters with an alternative to high-end, fine arts fairs and traditional craft venues, while connecting the city to a thriving craft culture that is sweeping the nation from Brooklyn to Berkeley. Handmade Arcade has made sure that Pittsburgh remains on this significant cultural map. Creative, motivated individuals come to Handmade Arcade to build an audience for their handmade products, and they leave seeing Pittsburgh in a new, positive light.”

And yep! Handmade Arcade is selling their ever-popular Early Birdie passes for the show too. Click here for details.

For more information about Handmade Arcade click here.

Here’s a great short profile on the Handmade Arcade from the 2009 show (ROMG my booth is highlighted!):

 

 

New poster released – Vetiver at Sasquatch Festival 2010!

2-color, all hand screenprinted poster for the band Vetiver's show at the 2010 Sasquatch Music Festival. (click for more details or to purchase.)

Just released and ready to go! This is my new poster for the band Vetiver, from their Sasquatch Festival show this past weekend at The Gorge on George, Wa.

2010 is the 4th year in a row that I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sasquatch in their poster series that they arrange with the top poster artists from around the country, pairing them up with their favorite bands appearing at Sasquatch each year. We couldn’t be happier that we were paired up with a great band like Vetiver!

This is my 2-color, all hand screenprinted poster for Vetiver with deep brown and sunset-orange, hand mixed and non-toxic water based screenprinting inks. These posters are signed (by me) and numbered. Edition of 90. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

I design & hand screenprint my prints and posters. If you have any questions, just let me know!

My new poster for Vetiver is now available at my website here.

Below are some process photos of this poster being printed by me at my studio, click any image below to see more at my Flickr page too.

Films to burn screens for my Vetiver poster. The left / lighter one is too light, the right / darker one is perfect.

1st color of my poster for Vetiver's Sasquatch Fest show.

Getting set up and registering the 2nd color of my Vetiver poster. (click for more info.)

All done! 2 color, hand screenprinted poster for the band Vetiver. (click for more info.)


Steeltown Stock, poster art show opens this Friday, June 4th!

There’s a new poster show in town, and it’s going to be rad. I’m thrilled to have been asked by the excellent Pittsburgh arts blog Steeltown Anthem’s Mundania Horvath to be in Steeltown Stock, a big fat cool showcase of local printmakers and poster artists.

Steeltown Stock opens this Friday, June 4th at the <C> SPACE COLLECTIVE on Penn Avenue (4823 Penn Avenue, 15224) with an opening reception. Posters and prints on display as well as other prints will be available for purchase, many directly from the artists themselves. How cool is that?! (Unfortunately, I won’t be able to be there for the opening reception since I will be in NYC for the Renegade Craft Fair Brooklyn, but I will definitely be around for the closing reception on Friday June 25th, so stop by then too.) Posters & prints will be available for sale throughout the duration of the show, but will be in limited quantities for sure.

The many faces of Pittsburgh printmaking and design will be represented at the Steeltown Stock gallery show at the <C> Space Collective from letterpress to silk screen, block printing, and more all wrapped up into one rad talent pool of illustration and design printed by hand and locally by working Pittsburgh artists.

Steeltown Stock Details:

Location : <C> SPACE COLLECTIVE at 4823 Penn Avenue, Pitttsburgh, PA 15224

Show Opening reception : Friday June 4th from 6-9pm

Show Closing Reception : Friday June 25th from 6-9pm (Last chance to purchase prints before the show closes.)

Participating artists:
strawberryluna
Bearded Studio
Black Sheep productions
Justin Flagg
Phil Mollenkof
Andrew Paul
War Admiral Press
Stewart Williams
Rachel Sager
Cara Kleid
David Pohl
Diana Hurd
Michael Cocco
Sam Thorpe
L2 Design Collective
Sapling Press
Wall-to-Wall Studios

And here is an abbreviated sneak peak at some of the works & artists showing at Steeltown Stock, (click any image below and be sure to visit Steeltown Anthem for more images and info.) Images below courtesy of Steeltown Anthem.

“Tour De Yinz – Part Deux” Digital by Justin Flagg

"Black Angles" show poster by L2 Design Collective

“Pittsburgh.” 16 x 20 screen printed by Phil Mollenkof

“Typewriter” by Cara Kleid

"St. Vincent" 16x22 screen printed by strawberryluna

“Life Lessons” 9.5 x 15.5 3 color screen print by Rachel A. Sager

New art print released: Spring Cardinal


New, hand screeprinted, 4-color art print "Spring Cardinal". (Click to purchase or for more info.)

Freshly off the presses and now available: you are looking at my Spring Cardinal, the spring 2010 art print. What a happy little fellow!

Hey hey! Tweet! Tweet! Spring Cardinal is a part of my new Seasons series. This is the sixth print in series of seasonal prints that I’ll be releasing. Ready? Here’s the mind-blowing part = there will be 4 per year.

This year for  the 2010  Seasons series, I am doing things a little differently, rather than making a new image for each season, I’ve decided to follow the same bright red fellow in the same scene, across all 4 seasons. We have lots of Cardinals here all year round. I love looking out of my window and seeing their amazing scarlet red color jumping out from wherever they are, and whatever they are up to.

Although the original “Winter 2009” prints are sold out, I’ve printed a new edition, in a slightly different colorway titled “Winter Cardinal” to round out the first two seasons, (see the below photo), now available at my website here. Summer Cardinal, the summer 2010 print will be available shortly thereafter. Keep a sharp eye out!

Winter Cardinal, 3-color hand screenprinted art print. (click for more info or to purchase.)

Spring Cardinal is my 4-color, all hand screenprinted art print with tender mint green, bark brown, scarlet red, and new-leaf green, hand mixed and non-toxic water based inks. All prints are hand signed and titled. Additionally photos are selections from the hand screenprinting process. Size: 16 x 22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

This new art print, Spring Cardinal is now available here, at my website.

I design & hand screenprint my prints and posters. If you have any questions, just let me know. Below are a few selections from my photos of the hand screenprinting process for this new art print too. Click any of the below images for more information and / or to visit my Flickr account:

Screens drying for my Spring Cardinal art print.

1st color printed for Spring Cardinal.

2nd color, the crimson Cardinal's body printed in my Spring Cardinal print.

3rd color, bark, beak & wing brown, printed for my Spring Cardinal art print.

All done! 4th color printed and on the press for my Spring Cardinal art print.

2 new art prints released: Lovebirds & Going To See My Baby Lavender

New 7-color hand screenprinted art print, "Lovebirds" now available. (click for more info or to purchase!)

 

 

Ok! This is a quick post as I really should be packing my clothes for Flatstock & SXSW in Austin TX (see this previous post for more info), so I will keep this one short and sweet.

I jammed out two brand new art prints this past weekend in a marathon printing run. 2 days, 8 screens, 13 colors, 1,000+ pulls, 200+ prints =  2 new prints. BOOM!

The first print is above, and it’s called “Lovebirds”. When we were working on our poster for St. Vincent, we started playing around with the flower illustration and found that it made very cute little birdies, we added a heart and ta-da! Lovebirds.

The second new art print is below, and it’s a fresh new colorway of my very popular “Going To See My Baby” print, now in Lavender. I love that lemony cloud action. I have to say as well that it’s kinda funny that both new prints feature hearts and love and romance quite prominently. Spring is here!

New 6-color hand screenprinted art print, "Going To See My Baby Lavender" now available. (click for more info or to purchase!)

It’s been really awesome getting to work out of my new studio space, rockin’ out to music and watching movies too while printing. In fact, I did a little Twitter contest while printing “Lovebirds” and asked if anyone could name the movie that I was watching in the background of a Photoshop mock, and wouldn’t you know it? Someone (@kurometarikku) got it right on the money by identifying “The Great Race” from a terrible screenshot. Amazing! Check out the photo below:

The Great Race in the background. Goofy, yes. But Jack Lemmon never disappoints.

And here are a few process shots of each print, sorry that they are not up on Flickr yet, but they will be next week! Apologies for some of the greyed out light. I do live and work in Pittsburgh, PA afterall. The actual prints are on lovely & crisp white paper 🙂

1st color of my new hand screenprinted art print "Lovebirds". (click for more info or to purchase)

2nd color of my hand screenprinted new art print "Lovebirds". (click for more info or to purchase)

3rd & final color of my new hand screenprinted art print "Lovebirds" drying on the rack. (click for more info or to purchase)

1st, 2nd, & 3rd colors printed of my new colorway "Going To See My Baby Lavender" art print.

Colors 1,2, and 3 of my hand screenprinted art print, "Going To See My Baby Lavender, with color test smears of inks on the right. (click for more info or to purchase!)

4th color down (black) of my hand screenprinted art print, "Going To See My Baby Lavender". (click for more info or to purchase!)

All done! New hand screenprinted art print, "Going To See My Baby Lavender". (click for more info or to purchase!)