|
Galleries
| 3/4/2009 11:13:00 AM Email this article • Print this article |
|
The new Ink Shop space, located above CSMA on 330 E. State St. (Photo provided) |
|
|
Printed Matters
by Wylie Schwartz
For a decade, the Ink Shop Printmaking Center has been enhancing the local arts scene with a program of high-quality exhibitions, along with classes, workshops and artist residencies. After the fire last January, which caused them to relocate from their previous studio space above Handwork, the organization appears to be back in full force with a lively roster of interesting shows mounted in their new space in the Community School of Music and Arts Building. Their latest exhibit, which opens on Gallery Night this Friday, March 6 is no exception. Titled 'Processes' (on view March 6 through April 21), the exhibition will showcase members' work while emphasizing the many exciting methods and techniques offered by the printmaking arts in general. We recently met up with Pamela Drix, an associate printmaker and one of the Ink Shop's founding members, to check in and see how they are fairing at their new location above the CSMA and to find out what else they have lined up on the horizon.
Ithaca Times: Tell me about the new show.
Pamela Drix: The current exhibit is primarily educational in nature, intending to explain, entice and inspire interest in the printmaking arts in general. There will explanations posted describing the various printing processes, how they are done, and the various workshops we offer that teach these methods. We will provide information about some of the vocabulary used in each of these complex techniques. Our associates will be exhibiting prints with each of these processes and showing some of the plates used to make the images.
IT: Tell us a bit about the origins of the Ink Shop. How many members are there and how is the organization structured in terms of membership?
Drix: Miri Amihai and I met at the Artists' Market in the late 1990's. We began to print together in her basement on her Peter Kahn Charles Brand etching press. Soon we met up with Christa Wolf and Greg Page to start discussions about forming the non-profit, writing our by-laws and creating the governing structure of the organization. We also found a rent-free space in the Aeroplane Factory building, our first home.
We currently have 36 members, including Artist Associates and Printmaker Associates. Sometime this year, we will be launching a new membership option, a Working Membership, limited to two to three positions, which offers reduced dues combined with weekly responsibilities for running the day-to-day operations of the shop.
IT: Your website distinguishes between "printmaker associates" and "artist associates." Why that distinction?
Drix: Because of liability and safety issues, we needed to distinguish between members who have had sufficient training in the different kinds of printmaking techniques and equipment. We carry a hefty amount of liability insurance in case of accidents. We have to insure that Printmaker Associates are able to work independently and safely without supervision 24/7. Printmaker Associates are juried in by submitting a portfolio and resume which is reviewed by the Executive Committee. Once approved, these artists are given a key to the facility and can work in the studio anytime, including after official open hours. Artist Associates have all the same advantages as Printmaker Associates in terms of receiving 15% discounts on all workshops and participating in all Ink Shop exhibitions on location or at other venues. They can also teach workshops if desired. Artist Associates cannot work in the studio after official hours, unless they team up with a Printmaker who can supervise their studio use.
IT: You recently moved your location to the CSMA building on State Street. How are you settling into your new home?
Drix: We are delighted with our new location on the second floor of the CSMA building. Our new space is somewhat smaller in square footage than our old location in the Handwork building, but we have gained a cement floor (which is better for our heavy equipment), large west-facing windows letting in a lot of natural light, tall ceilings with beautiful architectural features that give the space elegance and access to ground floor exhibition space in the hallway and lobby galleries in CSMA. We are delighted to be collaborating with CSMA as two non-profits committed to community access and education. It is also an advantage that eventually the Ink Shop will have wheelchair accessibility, since there are two elevators in the building, which currently need expensive repair but are potentially available.
IT: When planning your exhibits, what audience are you thinking about - students or the general public - local or beyond?
Drix: We aim to provide shows that teach, inspire, intrigue and fascinate people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. We mount six shows per year, and our biggest shows are generally selected for Gallery Night openings when we get our biggest attendance, even though we provide the highest quality of work in all our shows. We like to show local, regional, national and international artists in an interesting mix.
IT: I understand that you engage in projects with other print studios at home and abroad.
Drix: We have done collaborative work with five print studios in Ireland early in our organization. We have also collaborated with Open Studio in Toronto, and with the Washington DC Printmakers. We have been invited to show in various museums and galleries, including Osaka, Japan, the Opalka Gallery at Russell Sage College in Albany, NY; the Schweinfurth Museum of Art in Auburn, NY; and at the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell.
IT: In terms of funding, how does your organization manage to run what appears to be a thriving business, despite the current economic climate?
Drix: Running a non-profit is a challenge, even in a good economic climate. We designed our organization to benefit by having a variety of income sources, including membership dues, workshops registrations, print sales (from 30% commissions), special grants and of course tax-exempt donations. The fire last year caused about a six-month interruption in our business, which severely impacted our anticipated income. Fortunately, our insurance covered some of the loss, but we are still recuperating from that. These are precarious times for everyone. Until we have an endowment to sustain full time staff, we will not be secure in our future. We are coming up to our 10th anniversary next year and are hoping to have paid staff by then. We have survived 10 years on all volunteer help. It really is quite incredible.
IT: What is the basic ethos of the organization, particularly in relation to current printmaking practices in the contemporary art world?
Drix: The most important aspects of our shop are around two key ideas: going green and promoting community. Current practices in printmaking are much more oriented towards not using toxic chemicals, reducing the amount of waste, cleaning plates, rollers, and brushes with vegetable oil instead of turpentine or mineral spirits, and sharing a community studio in which expensive equipment and supplies, educational expertise and networking resources are shared.
IT: Tell me about the Olive Branch Press and the types of projects created under this title. Who publishes the works made under this name?
Drix: The Olive Branch Press is literally an offshoot of the Olive Press, a print portfolio project Greg Page and Stan Taft created at Cornell in the 1990s. We began the Olive Branch Press to continue the legacy of that wonderful collaborative professional effort. We choose artists who have interesting work with professional merit, that can potentially be of interest to museums and collectors. All of the published works are either edition prints or artist books. We publish the work, which includes a commitment to invest money, time or both in the production or marketing of these limited editions. Each party signs a contract, and future sales are divided between the parties as defined in the contract.
IT: What other shows or events are on the horizon?
Drix: Cornell has been asked to host the 2011 Southern Graphics Conference. We are discussing the possibility of helping to host this conference, an annual printmaking conference held each year in various cites. This year it will be in Chicago. If this goes through, we could be looking at about 3,000 printmakers from around the nation and world converging in Ithaca and Cornell for the event. It would put the Ink Shop on the map.
For the near future, we are planning a wonderful 'Exquisite Corpse' exhibition, which invites printmakers from around the world to participate. This will be a mix-and-match print show, presented in an out-of-the-ordinary way. Also, on view through March 6-27, I will present a body of work called "Pamela Drix, Haudenosaunee Project Pastels and Prints."
An opening reception for 'Processes' will be held Friday, March 6 from 5-8pm at the Ink Shop, located at 330 E. State St., on the 2nd floor of the CSMA Building. For more information, visit www.ink-shop.org or call 607-277-3884.
|  |
Article Comment Submission Form
|
|
Suicide has recently come to Ithaca in a very public, and at times controversial, way. This past academic year, after three years with no suicides, Cornell experienced what is known in the scientific community as a "suicide cluster." OK, so maybe you're like me and you thought this whole JetBlue flight attendant story was good for maybe one news cycle.  |
