Paper and Ink Workshop

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Paper and Ink Workshop page 58 Why Do We Print? page 59

didn’t have the strict methodology drilled into their

heads, and their audience was accepting them uncritically.”

Seeing that the market had opened past the tiny circle

of collectors that had kept it going, “that really opened

our eyes,” he admits. “We realized we could be making

multiple editions of our popular prints, which is something

we never would have considered earlier. But the audience

is telling you what they want, and sometimes you have

to be smart enough to listen.”

Emotional Connection

Creatives create. Sure, they have to eat and pay rent

and find one or two articles of clothing to cover their

body before they go outdoors, but they are driven to

make things, in a way that only fellow creatives can

appreciate. They can’t turn it off, and everyone finds

a different catalyst for each project that they feel

compelled to take on. It could be a unique personal

experience, like interacting with a somber landmark

in a foreign country, as is the case in the usually playful

Jesse LeDoux’s stark Permanent Shadow. Or, it could

be the bittersweet feeling he experienced in leaving

Japan to return to the U.S. that he expressed in

Sayonara Gohan.

Having this outlet to express themselves is vital for

designers and artists, but they must also focus those

feelings into something that connects with the viewer,

and reaches deep inside to tap their own emotional well,

and compels them to take a printed piece home with

them. Forming that bond between the person behind

the art and the consumer, with paper and ink holding

them together. That is one of the true joys of these methods

of printing, be it silk screen or letterpress, as they allow

for an economy that would normally be unobtainable,

so that anyone off the street that feels connected to

a piece could actually own one of the limited-edition

prints. It is a win/win in the purest sense.

There is also a release available in pulling prints. “I love

the ritual of it all. The very act of printing,” explains Denny

Schmickle. “It also requires dedicated time,” he adds.

“I can’t walk off and do something else, because the ink

will dry in the mesh and screw up the works. It’s meditative

and relaxing when it’s working right.” He also taps into

its low-art appeal, adding a voice to what so many probably

don’t even realize is a core reason why they do this. “I also

print because I have a chip on my shoulder. I had a very

blue-collar upbringing, and I learned to respect manual

labor and hard work. Screen printing is a very lunch-pail,

blue-collar kind of printing.” With its history as strictly

an option born from economic needs, he literally hits

the nail on the head.

For many, it is a calling. Fowler explains the feeling he

had when he visited the iconic Hatch Show Print and

saw letterpress for the first time. “I knew instantly, after

seeing the process, that it was what I was meant to do.

I love the tactile quality and the fact that you can see

and feel the printing. Quite simply, I was in love.”

Sonnenzimmer’s Nick Butcher sums up a lot of the

appeal, on both ends, when he says, “Screen printing

is accessible, cost-wise, to get into, but the results can

be extremely high in quality. The same can’t be said for

any other print medium.” Surveying his studio, he adds,

“You know what my favorite thing about the final result

is? That we’ve built it from scratch, right here in our little

studio and print shop.”

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