B.Y.O. Print

Call for Print Exchange

2012-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a print suite exchange posted to our facebook page: http://www.ochosieditions.blogspot.com/

They are looking for prints relating to the Madonna, Virgin of Guadalupe, and motherhood in general...edition size is 15, cost to participate is $20.

Check out the link for more information if you're interested.

In other news, Happy New Year!

Polishing our final Etching Press.

2011-12-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome, Charlie. This vintage Charles Brand Etching Press is a beauty, shined, sanded, and painted to perfection by Aiden Rumack and Peter Haarz. Thanks guys!

The Charlie press is a 22" by 44" gear-reduced crank press, and is the third etching press at BYO. Our space is filled to the brim now, and our equipment list is finally complete!

New Years Day Holiday Party

2011-12-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Lisa Imperiale featured at The Soup Kitchen Cafe

2011-11-17T09:07:00.001-08:00

BYO Member, Lisa Imperiale, is having new woodblock prints and works on paper featured this month at The Soup Kitchen Cafe, Frankford Avenue's newest and tastiest Cafe. The show consists of a dozen richly printed, beautifully framed woodblock prints, and a dynamic, colorful installation of mix media on cut paper.
Be sure to stop by and take a look. The Soup Kitchen Cafe is located on Susquehanna and Frankford Avenue. The show will run from November 17th - December 30th. There will be a casual Sunday brunch reception where you can meet Lisa and enjoy coffee and delicious food on December 4th, 1-3 PM.

You can also find Lisa's prints and printed items for sale on her Etsy Shop.

Sneak Peek! detail from Obstructed Views, mix media on paper

Members Show Opens this First Friday on Frankford Ave!

2011-10-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

Ted Mosher just received a strong shout out in our CityPaper's First Friday Focus column. He has a solo show. "New Work" opening this Friday evening at Highwire Gallery. A bonus, the other members of BYO Print (where Ted prints etchings and monoprints) are featured in Highwire's back room Grey Wall Gallery (at least, that's what I'm calling it).

While you're roaming Frankford Ave this Friday night, be sure to push your way through the crowds of art-admirers to the back room of Highwire Gallery, and visit our prints!

"New Work" by Ted Mosher
"BYO Print Members Show" featuring print work by Katie VanVliet, Lauren Fischer, Lisa Imperiale, Chad Lassin, & Caroline Garcia Ziegler.
Highwire Gallery
2040 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
October 7-31, 2011
Opening Oct 7th, 6-10 pm

We're MOVING!

2011-09-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's official! BYO Print is moving down the street! Come late October, we'll be set up at 2206 Coral Street, just a few blocks away from our current location. Nestled in a homey rowhouse on an active block, we'll have more square footage for specific-use areas. Look forward to a new silkscreen room, exposure closet, acids being far away from flat files, and a CLEAN breakroom! Plus, all the amenities that a house has to offer, like hot water.

Want to help us out? The official moving day is October 23rd, and we'll be working on projects at the new space to get it ready for the printmaking studio in the meantime. Anyone willing to help us move or build things will be gifted with booze, food, and some free hours to work in the shop once we're all set up.

The Miss Rockaway Armada in Philadelphia

2011-07-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is some pretty exciting news so listen up!

The Miss Rockaway Armada is a group of artists that come together from near and far to build "floatillas", floating sculptures made from urban debris, and repurposed architectural/ industrial/ mechanical materials. The artists are builders, sculptors, printmakers, performers, musicians all living and working together to promote new ways of thinking about materials, habitats, community, and travel.

It's kind of hard to describe, you really need to see them in action. And you will have a chance to in the upcoming months. Sponsored by the Pew Foundation and Hosted by the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Armada is taking over Philadelphia with a fleet of floatillas, parades, marching bands, all sorts of shenanigans, and a huge exhibition at the Art Alliance.

Want to see the construction in progress?

Visit the build site anytime to take a look! 313 S. Broad Street

Want to join the Armada in a parade with your own souped up bike? all foot and pedal powered "floats" are welcome to join!

September 3rd: West Philly Broad & Spruce to Clark Park

September 10th: Kensington Little Berlin to Flux Space

Please contact: parade@philartalliance.org

Want to play in the Armada Marching Band?

Please contact: band@philartalliance.org

More Information & Pictures

I will be posting photographs and sneak peeks as an insider at the Art Alliance this summer, so please stay tuned!

Printing for 70 Rupees to Paradise Road

2011-07-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hi folks! I've been secretly assisting Rebecca Goldschmidt, the proprietress of The Random Tea Room, in organizing the festival, 70 Rupees to Paradise Road . Mostly to do with artists and google spreadsheets, BYO Print became one of the festival's sponsors when we agreed to print a very unique object for the festival, the rupee box! Artists exhibiting during the festival donated a piece of artwork to a raffle, a fundraiser for the historic boat that this all takes place on, The Gazela (docked at Penn's Landing, BTW). Each artist will receive a large silkscreen when they drop off work, which is a flat meant to be cut out and built into a sea chest! Artists are encouraged to personalize their sea chest, but they will all share the same basic shape and printed elements. The rupees, or raffle tickets, will go inside throughout the week until the closing party on July 30th when the winners of each artwork are drawn and announced. How fun!

Also, as an etcher mostly, this is the very first silkscreen I've ever printed, so if you happen to be an artist who gets one of these, don't judge me if the print is sloppy....it was a very ambitious print at 30" by 30" for a novice! PLUS, BYO's exposure unit is non-existent, so this is drawn completely by hand....yikes!

I also totally messed up the screen filler the first time and had to clean it off and start from scratch, oops!

Call for Submissions: New Prints, NYC

2011-07-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

International Print Center, New York, NY

New Prints 2011/Autumn
November 3, 2011 – January 7, 2012
In keeping with our mission to promote the greater appreciation and understanding of the fine art print, IPCNY
presents a selection of new prints several times per year. New Prints 2011/Autumn will be the 40
th
New Prints
Exhibition and the 5
th
in IPCNY’s new Gallery at 508 West 26
th
St, Rm. 5A. The opening will correspond with
Print Week in New York. Please note: The exhibition will tour to the Visual Arts Center at The University of
Texas, Austin from January 27 to March 10, 2012. Please submit to this special exhibition!
Criteria for selection are:
• Only original fine art (limited edition and unique) prints are eligible; reproductions of other artwork such
as drawings or paintings are not acceptable.
• Selections will represent a broad diversity of sources, geographical and otherwise.
• Prints must have been completed within a year of the submission deadline.
THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE. Independent artists, workshops, publishers and dealers are all welcome to submit
recently completed print projects. Please refer to the Submission Guidelines below. The Selections
Committee, composed of six members of the art community, will be announced in the coming weeks. All artists
whose work has been selected will be notified by phone or email. If you have not received word by
August 19, 2011, check the “what’s new” section of IPCNY’s website for the list of artists included. PLEASE DO
NOT CALL US.
Artists and publishers whose work has been selected will be responsible for the framing and delivery of work to
IPCNY by October 24, 2011. IPCNY will cover the return cost of delivery within reason. Due to the increased
number of international submissions being selected, IPCNY can only contribute $50 dollars on return shipments
overseas. Packaging must be provided by the lender for work being shipped outside of New York City. With this
40th presentation of New Prints, IPCNY continues its role as an important venue for the rotating display of
exciting contemporary fine art prints. We look forward to seeing your recent projects. Thank you.
*NOTE*: Please follow the guidelines when preparing your materials, or your submission may be disqualified.
SUMISSION GUIDELINES
1) Materials must be received by August 1, 2011
2) NO PHONE CALLS.
3) Send images in digital format on a CD (no DVDs)
labeled with the submitter's name. DO NOT SEND
ORIGINAL ARTWORK, ENCLOSE BINDERS, FOLDERS, OR
ANY MATERIALS OTHER THAN CD AND IMAGE LIST. A
maximum of five works per artist is allowed. There is no
size limit.
IMAGE REQUIREMENTS:
• Images must be clear, professionally presented,
and accurately represent the work.
• Images must be in jpeg format, the largest
dimension (length or width) should be 1000 pixels.
• Image resolution must be set at 72 dpi.
• Name each image as follows: artist's last
name_first name_entry number.
(For example; smith_john_01.jpg,
smith_john_02.jpg, etc )
All submissions must contain an image list, included as a word
document or plain text document on the CD, as well as a
hard copy printout. The list should be presented as follows:
• Title the list document file: artist last_artist first.doc
• The list must be headed with the name of the submitter
and complete contact information: address, phone number
and email address. Publishers, please include a new form
for each artist submitted.
• Each list entry should be numbered corresponding to the
number on the digital images. The list should include:
Entry number, artist’s name (first, last), title, date
completed, medium, edition size, dimensions: (Length x
Width in inches) plate size, paper size, printer, publisher.
Example:
1) John Smith
Love Song, 2009
Lithograph with chine collé. Edition: 25
Plate: 25" x 25", Paper: 30" x 30"
Printed by Editions, Inc.
Published by the artist
Mail to: IPCNY, New Prints Program, 508 West 26
th
Street, Room 5A, New York, NY 10001

Our newest member: Caroline Garcia Ziegler!

2011-07-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the BYO Print family, Caroline!

Here's Caroline's first print pulled at BYO Print!

According to her own blog, Okay Hooray! this block is based on a doodle from her sketchbook. This first layer, with some hand coloring is just the beginning! Stay tuned to her blog to find out just how she added the color, and for more layers!

Caroline was recently an Artist in Residence at the Print Center of New Jersey, and taught several classes there. She'll be teaching a class August at Peters Valley Craft Center, focusing on relief printing and book binding. I need a lesson in bookbinding...come to think of it....

Anyway, on behalf of BYO Print and our printers, welcome to the family!

Visit us THIS SATURDAY at Trenton Avenue Arts Festival!!!!!

2011-05-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

BYO Printers will be raising money this weekend at the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival by giving away hand-pulled prints in exchange for your donation towards our new exposure unit! We are planning a big upgrade to BYO's facilities, and need your help!

I carved this sketch onto a woodblock last night (first relief print in quite a while!) and will be printing it on Connie, our favorite mini-workhorse press, all day long!

Spring Open House

2011-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

BYO Print welcomes everyone to attend our Spring Open House/Members Show.

7pm-?

First Friday 5/6/11

Members will be showing work and we will be celebrating Spring!

As usual- we are BYO- feel free to bring us treats

2212 Sepviva (North Loft)

Philadelphia

Old Photos of an Even Older Press

2011-03-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

Last summer the machinists of Liberty Cycles, the motorcycle shop below BYO Print, helped us and the other artists on the loft assemble Matt Neff's amazing antique press.

Etsy Features Liberty Vintage Motorcycles

2011-03-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

BYO Print is in the loft above (you can see our windows). How cool is this? Congrats to Adam for being the subject of a great video.

BYO Founder gets quizzed at Phillyist!

2011-01-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Check it...I was recently asked a series of inquisitive artsy questions by a lovely design/style/fashion/arts editor for PhillyIST.

Here is the post!

How I spent my New Years Day.

2011-01-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

Making fake walls and a ceiling at BYO...

They're horribly unattractive, but these layers of plastic will give our space heaters a fighting chance of keeping printers warm through the rest of the winter. If you've been printing here already, sorry it took so long!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

"Merry Christmas!" Woodcut, 5 x 7

I printed my Christmas card at BYO last week marking my 1 year anniversary of printing on Connie (the shops little etching press). A year ago BYO was just starting up and Katie invited me to come see her studio and use her press. My woodcut Christmas card was a hit so I decided to make it a holiday tradition! Many thanks to Katie and Lauren, this has been a really awesome year for printmaking.

We are cold and have not posted

2010-12-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

Oops! BYO Print has been busy getting ready for the holidays. We've been crafting and printing and winterizing our space and haven't had time for blogging!

I attended the grand opening of Second State Press this past Saturday, and while they are technically 'competition,' they young folks in charge are very nice and I think that the more printshops in Philly the better! Come print etchings with us, but they have a lithography situation that is pretty tops.

I've also just picked up a guest blogging gig over at Handmade in PA, and will be posting every other Tuesday about all things Philly in the art and craft community. Sooo, look for my posts there!

-----

Other news, Lauren and I were finally able to start winterizing the shop (our semi-open floor plan is great for easy of access and spaciousness, but not the best for heating). We've hung a plastic ceiling over the printing area and will continue the ceiling over the rest of the shop this week. Our landlord loaned a serious blast heater that looks like it's right out of Star Wars...but it sure was warm!

Guest printers Melissa and Tim recently printed some nice etchings, and we hope to see them again soon!

We've updated some of the extra pages on this here blog, so you can have access to our rates and equipment lists and artist profiles (to come) without searching through blog post archives.

Cheers!

Trade Print for PCNJ!

2010-11-05T07:46:00.001-07:00

The deadline is approaching for submissions to The Printmaking Council of New Jersey's Trade Print. See this post for details about the trade.

Here is the Entry Form; just copy and paste the below information into a Word Document and fill it out to send along with your submission. Easy as pie!

PRINTMAKING CENTER OF NEW JERSEY: PRINT EXCHANGE ENTRY FORM

NAME:

ADDRESS: CITY: STATE: ZIP:

EMAIL:

SCHOOL/ORGANIZATION:

NAME OF EDITION:

PROCESS USED:

Printmaking Center of New Jersey, 440 River Road, Somerville, NJ 08876

PLEASE MARK ONE: CASH: CHECK MONEY ORDER:

tools

2010-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

etching on Arches Cover, plate is 1/4" by 1 1/4"

2010-10-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last week my good friend and printmaking buddy, Audrey, was visiting from Austin TX. We had a great time working on some collaborative mono-prints. We made this awesome monotype by drawing with relief ink on a piece of plexi-glass. Our session reminded me how mono-printing is such a great way to learn basic printmaking skills and and experiment with layering colors and textures. If you would like to learn more about mono-prints contact us at BYO! I'd love to teach you!

Thanks Temple folks for the awesome write up!

2010-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

David Aponte, one of our awesome member printers, was quick and witty enough to bring two Temple Journalism students into our lives this fall! They visited the shop, asked some questions, and met with all our printers. They were eager to learn about printmaking and how art is helping the neighborhood. What we showed them has finally made it into this awesome article all about BYO Print!

Here are some highlights....but check out the full article. There's a nice video too!

I'm showing them what ferric acid looks like...it's what etches copper plates! I keep a spent bottle around for when I need to etch brass too. (Note my re-use of a friend's old Starbucks apron, been using this since college!)

Lisa Imperiale lifts one of Lauren's exposed silkscreens to show how old images leave a ghost stain on the silk. Thanks to Norman Fetter & Honeymoon Music for those screens!

Three State proofs of an etching being printed in the shop, including the print I pulled for the students (far right). I'll put one aside for you, Lauren M!

Once again, thanks for featuring us! We're Leos, so we love the attention!

Open Studios Tomorrow!

2010-10-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow BYO will open our doors to all the POST'ers in Philly, so definitely come by! We'll be simmering spiced cider and have the rum on hand. I'm going to make an unusual foray into baking and make a spice cake of some kind tonight. It's not to be missed!

We'll have Connie set up for copperplate intaglio printing all weekend, the Whelan set for relief/woodblock/etc, and the cast iron press ready to roll for plexiglass prints. Come on over and experiment!

All members will be exhibiting new work around the shop as well!

Fishtown and Kensington have the most POST artist participants of all the Philly neighborhoods! Visit our neighbors too at Part Time Studios, and all the artists working hard at the Viking Mills Building, just to name a few.

PCB Blog: How Ink Is Made

2010-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

PCB Blog: How Ink Is Made: "The craftsmanship of making ink. This video is beautifully entertaining for you ink lovers."

POST season is upon us!

2010-09-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

BYO Print is teaming with its founder, Katie VanVliet, for a double header of printmaking excellence for this year's POST tours!

If you haven't heard, POST stands for Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, and is coordinated by the awesome Ann Koivunen, who is also a new neighbor to BYO! This is a yearly event, in which select artists and cooperatives throughout the city open their doors to the public for a refreshing October weekend. It's a great opportunity to meet all those artists whose works graces the galleries of this city.

The stats:

Saturday-Sunday, October 9-10, 2010

12pm-6pm each day,

2212 Sepviva Street, just off of Frankford Avenue at Susquehanna St.

BYO (and Kate VanVliet) will be open, showing off the artwork of our members and running demos of different printing processes. If you can never make it to our First Friday Open Houses, this is your chance! We want to see you there!

New Jersey Printmaking Council Autumn Trade Print

2010-09-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Call for Entries!

Thanks to Shelley Thorstensen, the PCNJ is now on BYO's radar. Linda Helm Krapf, their executive director, generously gifted an oversize light table to BYO a few weeks, and then promptly visited us during our September Open House!

Since my co-founder is a New Jersey resident, it's only natural that we make an effort to participate!

If you want to participate, but do not have access to a shop to do so; you can rent time at BYO!

If you would like to participate in the exchange (and who doesn't love a good print trade...), email us at byostudio.philly@gmail.com for the entry form.

Here's the skinny:

The Printmaking Center of New Jersey invites you to participate in our first autumn Print Exchange, to benefit the studio of PCNJ.

Theme:

“see”change: gradual transformation in which the form is retained but the substance is replaced

Requirements:

Any EDITIONABLE hand-pulled printmaking technique must be used. (woodcuts, litho, intaglio, photography, silkscreen, digital printmaking, etc)

(no monoprints or photocopies please!)

The paper size must be 8”x10” acid-free archival bond.

12 identical prints, that are numbered, signed, and dated (in pencil) should be sent in a envelope to the address posted below with archival tissue in between each print and a piece of thin cardboard to keep them as flat as possible.

Please include the following information on the back of each print (in pencil):

Print your name, process used, email, and/or website.

Donations Requested: Please send a donation to help pay for postage. Send cash, check or money order: payable to Printmaking Council of NJ Donations: $15 students and members, $20 non-members, $30 international. Along with Entry Form.

ENTRIES DUE: November 24, 2010 TO BE RETURNED BY: December 24, 2010

After receiving everyone's prints PCNJ will randomly divide up the prints and you will be sent 10 new and different prints from other participants. PCNJ will keep one of the 12 for its collection and a few selected prints will be chosen for a suite that will be on display at various locations. Postage for returning the 10 new prints will be paid for by PCNJ. Your donation will help us out tremendously.

Send prints to: Printmaking Center of New Jersey

440 River Road

Somerville, NJ 08876

ATTN: Studio Committee

Philadelphia Post Card

2010-09-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

I editioned this two layer woodcut at BYO this month. It will be available along with other petite prints at Little Berlin's BYOTY. Mail it to a friend or hang it on your wall with Philly Pride. Don't miss out on the fun September 26th!

Bring Your Own Table Yo at Little Berlin

2010-09-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

In the true sense of BYO, we will be participating at Little Berlin Gallery's BYOTY II at the end of the month. BYOTY is a fair for books, zines, prints, and other works on, with, and about PAPER. House printers Lisa Imperiale and Katie VanVliet will be there represent BYO and sell and show our own prints.

We will each be making special one page books to have on hand at the fair, Lisa's will be a mini woodblock print, and I will be making a mini handbook all about BYO Printshop.

Little Berlin will be binding a book with pages contributed from the participating artists for their zine library; awesome!

Come by and enjoy! I heard a rumor that the folks of Little Berlin will be brewing some hard ciders and other tasty libations for the event; it's not to be missed!

Vitals:

B.Y.O.T.Y. II

Sunday, September 26th

NOON to 6pm

@ Little Berlin

119 West Montgomery Philadelphia PA, 19122

P.S. This whole shindig is being planned and executed by Beth Heinly. She made the rad call for artists image below...

Calling all PRINTERS without PRESSES

2010-08-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

BYO Print OPEN HOUSE!

Calling all PRINTERS without PRESSES

Visit us on First Friday, September 3rd, 2010 from 7-10pm to see what BYO can do for you. We have some awesome recent acquisitions that just made printing here a lot more...more! Rent is cheap, so is our hourly rate, and space is ample. Join the club!

2212 Sepviva Street, North Loft (come in through the garage doors, head straight back and up the stairs)

Proofs for St John's Cathedral in the Wilderness, Denver, CO

2010-08-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ran these proofs for some nice folks. They are antique copperplate half-tones, which would normally be used for publications like pamphlets, newspapers, or other mass media marketing, circa 1900. A few are newer, and are more likely zinc with a blue coating. A few are probably not edition quality, but it sure was a joy to print them!

This is now ours

2010-08-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Oh hell yes.

The Whelan Press is a unique etching press, somewhere between traditional presses and proofing presses. The rollers pass over the press bed rather than pushing the med through. What a space saver!

Now, we can print up to 30" wide, and about 45" long. And it rolls like butter. And it has precise pressure gauges. And it's amazing. Did I mention that?

SOO...come print on it!

Delayed post from Wednesday....Philly street devils

2010-07-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

Philly street devils...
Parking my bike in front of the euro motorworks shop on 2nd street yesterday, and found to my delight this green creature guerilla installed on the sign post!

Later in the day I saw another similar sign in old city, but it was dark out so I could not photograph it. There is a post across from the Ritz at the Bourse and slightly north (on the east side of 4th street) that is worth noticing!

Kudos to this unnamed artist! If I had had a flat head screwdriver, I would have taken a souvenior.

For now, I'm off to the west coast for a week and hope to see some great street art and other exciting things!

Happy Birthday!

2010-07-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

Come party with Katie and I as we celebrate our quarter-life crisis!

As usual for First Friday we'll be hanging out at BYO, but the first Friday in August holds a special place as it falls right between our birthdays.

Besides the pleasure of our company that evening you will also get to enjoy a performance printing project by none other than myself. (Some may consider this a Risque show)

Don't forget: the name is BYO and our party is too. Bring anything you like, but please share with the birthday girls.

-Lauren

Stormy Adventures of BYO

2010-07-15T08:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was perhaps not the best day for a cross-state road trip. Nonetheless, Lauren and I took the day off work and hiked (drove) up to Warminster to visit the excellent Renaissance Graphic Arts, one of the few supply shops for printmakers exclusively. Not open to the public as a store, we went to pick up an order we placed online. It went smoothly, everything was accounted for, and the wonderful ladies in the office were nice, homely, and accommodating. They were excited to hear about BYO!

We picked up some new ferric chloride, LOTS of tarlatan, inks, barens for handprinting, and some soft ground for a performance/print project Lauren is about to start.

POST supply pickup, we continued north through the eastern mountains, and while snaking up 611 (you know, Broad Street...) parallel to the Delaware River, I managed to sneak this photo of the fog coming off of the trees.

Later, we got drenched getting to our car from a restaurant in Olyphant, just east of Scranton. We were trying bridesmaids' dresses on all day with the Stellatella clan. (Katie's first wedding party, aww!) The on-off downpours yesterday left the woods foggy, but beautiful.

We need a New Member!

2010-07-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

See how this fancy POST postcard is split into quadrants? That's because we are currently a foursome! We have room for one more printer in the shop, who would like the following perks:

Keys to the building, for unlimited 24/hr access.

A locker, for storing supplies, and non-flat stuff.

2 Flat file drawers, for storing flat things.

A nice place to hang out on First Friday, when our building is abound with activity!

Access to a 15" by 30" steel etching press.

A nice place to work and make prints.

With adequate knowledge, access to some of the machine tools in the building.

If you check through the blog's archives, you'll see that we provide some of the basics, and you supply your own materials for your project, series, experimenting, etc.

We have: blankets, acids, blotter papers, solvents, gloves, tarlatan, newsprint for intaglio

big spaces to carve, barens, and the above for relief printing

(coming soon) exposure unit and washout for silkscreen

We charge a very minimal monthly rent for the above plus access to our shared google calendar, which members use to reserve time on the etching press.

Cheers! And we hope to meet some new printers soon!

From our awesome Fishtown Star article

2010-07-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Printing the edition of the teacup lady. Come see the print on First Friday July 2nd, the ACTUAL first friday. Those folks in Chinatown are taking the week off and pretending that July 9th is First Friday...which is great, so everyone gets double the first friday goodness!

Relief Printing Workshop at BYO Studio

2010-07-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

So I will be doing some hands-on instruction ( a refresher course, mostly) for a neighborhood artist on July 25th, a Sunday morning. We will be going over relief printing, with some experimental stuff, and a focus on printing techniques to do at home (with a spoon or baren).

Holler if you want to get in on this workshop. It'll be fun!

In other news, Lauren and I will be hosting a large student group from Denison University in late August. It'll be a hot, sweaty mess while we teach drypoint intaglio to a bunch of college freshmen! Awesome!

Anyone have an extra press for us to use that day?

-Katie

I printed this at BYO....kind of.

2010-06-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

I etched this old brass doorknob at BYO, but it's not necessarily the most practical matrix for printing.

I Printed This at BYO

2010-05-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

This small, four layer, reductive woodcut is the first of many that I will be printing at BYO this year :) It is part of a mini series of prints that describe the urban language of graffiti in Philadelphia. Stay tuned for more prints from Lisa.

May First Friday- Meet The Peeps!

2010-05-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Lauren Fischer, co-commander.

Lisa Imperiale, woodcutter and lithographer extraordinaire!

David S. Aponte, woodblock cutter and general print expert on premises!

Curious printmakers...looking for a place to print?

Water Water Everywhere

2010-04-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE A SINK.

IN THE SHOP. It's like my dream has come true.

Spent all of Sunday printing, inking, making marks in soft ground, and splashing solvents.

What a treat (and functional safety feature) to have a sink so close to wash my face after splashing solvents all over myself.

Ran a proof of the largest copper plate I've ever worked on, and barely fits on the press at 14" by 20", and ran the edition of Marriage Beach, which has been due to run for about 3 years.

Have 4 plates ready for the acid bath tonight. MMMMazing.

9th and Spring Garden Street

2010-04-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Bike past this big wheat-pasting everyday and it's just kind of amazing.

Tonight! Tonight!

2010-04-02T08:07:00.001-07:00

We're having our welcome party tonight!
Do come!

2212 Sepviva Street
7-10pm

Same building as ExtraExtra Gallery; and they are having a series of performances tonight, including miss Beth Heinly, of Little Berlin fame.

See you there!

Welcome BYO to the Neighborhood

2010-03-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Hey printers, friends, and curious parties!

We'll be having a welcome party on Friday, April 2nd, so visit us during your Fishtown gallery rounds. We're in the same building as ExtraExtra Gallery, at 2212 Sepviva Street.

Meet me and Lauren, plus Lisa and Eric, our printing partners! See if BYO is the right place for you to make a print!

We'll be hanging out from 7pm and after, or earlier...

First Friday in our building is great if you like dudes, booze, dogs , and motorcycles...not your standard gallery fare!

Philly Famous!

2010-03-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Some very nice freelance writers over at the Fishtown Star visited Lauren and me on Sunday, and wrote all about what we're doing at BYO!

If you want to read the article, you'll have to hope on over to Fishtown and find the paper at your favorite pub, coffeehouse, or grocery store. There's no online version of the Star.

But it's worth it to see a nice full spread on page 6 to see us posing with a huge etching wheel, and me enthusiastically holding up the first editioned print to be made at BYO!

To correct a simple error in the article, Lauren is from Berlin, New Jersey. I am from Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Loves!

P.S. Yes, we will be having a little welcoming party on Friday, April 2nd to kickstart the printing! Visit us to see the space, chat about prints, motorcycles, art and enjoy the awesome weather!

Shop Shots! Finally!

2010-03-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some teasers for you, our printers. The shop, as we're starting to get things into place...Deciding where our inking tables and other work surfaces will live...

Parts of our neighbor's new old press, which has an amazingly huge star wheel.Lauren, after we completed our first workstation, for water baths and blotting paper.

Moving

2010-02-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

moving week. Wanna help?

Call for Printmakers!

2010-02-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

Hello printers! We need you!

Lauren and I have two wonderful printmakers joining us on our inaugural journey. We have room for 2-4 more people who want to be monthly shares! If you love printing, don't have access to an etching press and need it, and hope to be working in a shop regularly, call us! We aren't personal studio spaces, just the shared shop, so this works best for someone who keeps their studio at home, or in another space and needs shop access from a few times a month to a few times a week.

BYO is located in a loft above Liberty Cycles, a vintage motorcycle restoration shop. The space is filled to the brim with old Hondas, Triumphs, Beamers and Harleys, in various states of decay and life. There are two woodworkers in the space, a metalsmith, a miniature skatepark in the works, another printmaker extroadinaire, and ExtraExtra Gallery.
We are a hop, skip, or jump away from:
Philadelphia Brewing Company
Atlantis, the Lost Bar of Kensington
RocketCat Cafe or BellaSera Cafe
Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor
Highwire Gallery
Memphis Taproom
Part-Time Studios
Philly Pretzel Factory
EKTA
Johnny Brenda's
Wood Bros lumber & building materials
Silkscreen supply on Berks St.

The concept:
You have access to a communal printshop with on-site storage via a flat file drawer and a personal locker.
We all share access to an online calendar and reserve our personal time with the space.
You contribute a monthly "share" of rent for keys, storage, and open access. All utilities included.

BYO Studio is, well, a BYO.
Bring your own:
inks.
matrix.
paper.
grounds (if you can)
tools (if you can)
tarlatans (for colored ink)
solvents (if you can)
inspiration!

BYO has:
etching press
acid (for copper plates)
workspace
glass
water (brr...)
hot plate
rags, blotter paper, towels
solvents (the big three: spirits, acetone, alcohol)
basic tools for intaglio (needles, rocker, etc)
rollers/brayers
newsprint
tarlatan (for black inks, because those are usable by all)
gloves
random supplies
house printing paper
storage
friendly faces!

What do you already have?
What do you think we should have on site?
What do you think you would want to own yourself?

We are also open to guest stars! If you are interested in learning how to make a print, we can discuss workshops, private tutoring. If you know you need to run an edition soon, but only need access once or twice, or for a week, email us! We can make a deal!

Basically, when it comes down to it, we want to help you print. However you need to be printing.

Cheers.

-Katie

P.S. We have one of these:

And printed the text on our business cards with it. For reals. Include that in the list of things BYO has. Word!

Building Walls

2010-02-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

After snow delayed our plans we were finally able to get into the new studio space to build some walls and do some cleaning. Special thanks to Sam and my Dad for all of their help. I love my Dad's expertise in the building field-he figured out that we could shoot nails right into the steel I beam to build our walls-awesome! Since then Katie, Sam and Eric continued our spackling efforts and also painted, more pics to come?.....

Early Stages at Richmond Mills

2010-02-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

I should have posted this about 6 months ago...

Snowed In....

2010-02-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Lauren and I had grand plans for this weekend. More wall building, shop vac-ing, packing and some moving. We had even enlisted the help of new BYO member Eric. Unfortunately, at least a foot of heavy wet snow has settled over Fishtown, with more coming down. It looks like I'll be spending the day uploading old artwork to my website, and Lauren is at home making cookies and sledding. Lucky New Jersey, with hills and shit.

Some neighbor's car, and Oxford Street:

Card Making Machines

2010-01-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

Lauren and I spent out Saturday in the studio.

Welcome, BYO Studio business cards, to the world!

This is batch #1, a combination of woodblock, linocut, rotary letterpress, and intaglio! All-in-one! Some are lino and rotary letters printed on old intaglio proofs, others are printed over a woodblock background. All the way to the left, prints of an old Rx (prescription slip) letterpress block, printed on the etching press like a woodcut. So crisp!

Many more to come....Lauren spend all day working on a hand drawn silkscreen of beautiful curly-q's and scrollwork and a very nice and feminine "BYO." Next: more printing!

We're moving to a cozy new space!

2010-01-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

And restructuring!

But let's start at the beginning.....

Welcome to BYO Studio, a shared printshop based in Philadelphia that provides shared access to printmakers who need access to a press.

BYO was loosely established in 2008 as the brainchild/inkling of me, Katie VanVliet. After graduating from Moore College of Art & Design in 2007, I eagerly sought a volunteer opportunity to work in a Philadelphia printshop in exchange for press access. After having very little luck, and finding rental prices at educational institutions too high for a young artist, I vowed to start my own shop, where young artists like myself could come and make a print, on their own schedule, and their own budget. I wanted to get this done by the time Philadelphia would be hosting an international celebration of printmaking; Philagrafika 2010.

Well, I saved and saved and saved, and was able to buy a small scale, but professional grade etching press from Conrad Machine Co, built to my specifications. BYO started out in my living room, as so many communal studios and schools have historically, as VanStudio. Two printmakers visited and produced editions and unique prints at the shop while it was housed there.

In 2009, I moved VanStudio to a larger space, shared with 7 women artists, who are printmakers of some degree, with the hope that we would work alongside each other to create artwork and prints, and occasionally invite other printmakers to our space to make their own work.

BYO Studio had been born and named as a printshop collective, and aside from the artists with studio spaces adjacent, hosted two guest printmakers by the January 1, 2010.

Today, BYO Studio is officially branching out on its own, as the project of Katie VanVliet and Lauren Fischer. Longtime friends and studio mates, Lauren and Katie will run BYO Studio as a printshop share. Printshare members will share time and access to the communal shop. While we're a little sad to be leaving the vast space we currently share with wonderful women, we're excited for the next step for BYO!

BYO Studio will move into it's new space on Frankford Avenue in Fishtown in mid February. Housed above a vintage motorcycle restoration shop, BYO Studio is blessed to be across the hall from Upenn printmaker, Matt Neff. (We hope to collaborate and join forces with Matt soon...sshhh!) Also in the building; ExtraExtra Gallery, a group of guys building a miniature skate ramp/park inside of their space, a few woodworkers, an iron worker, and of course Liberty Vintage cycle shop. We're excited to be the only gals in the place, for now!

Check the blog soon for updates, photos of the new space, and profiles of our first group of printshare members!

Look for Lauren and Katie during Philagrafika openings next week! We'll be handing out mini-print business cards, and introducing ourselves!

A great big thanks!

2009-11-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who found alternatives to public transit to come out on Saturday for our inaugural Open Studio party! It was a wild success, and everyone had a great time. So good, in fact, that we forgot to take pictures. At least I did.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to visit us or be proactive and schedule an appointment!

Cheers!

Katie V

Welcome to BYO STUDIO!

2009-11-04T12:28:00.000-08:00