"DAISY BOUQUET" WOODCUT, 1st PROOF!

"DAISY BOUQUET" 

20" x 16" Woodcut on Natural Kitakata

Tugboat Printshop (Valerie & Paul), 2015.

While we wile away the hours on large & super intensive projects, we keep a lot of drawings on wood in progress going behind the scenes. Sometimes we get so excited about a new image, we have to make it! In that spirit, of new things growing & summer awakening, we introduce a surprise new woodcut print!

A still-life composition, printed from 2 woodblocks in dark & light, the "DAISY BOUQUET" is a pretty & classic print. Blossoms fringed with white-tinted petals burst from branching stems. Whimsical patterns of star shaped pollens tip each flower's center.

Simple, serene. Get a "DAISY BOUQUET" from the online shop HERE!

PROOFING "COMMUNITY"

We rolled some ink on the "COMMUNITY" key woodblock today to proof & transfer the image to color blocks. We'll now be busy drawing & carving the 4 color blocks… onward!

THE ARM, BROOKLYN

Opening this Thursday, November 7th, at The Arm Letterpress in Brooklyn, NYC ~ BRAVE NEW WORLD: Woodcuts by Tugboat Printshop. Join us! Thursday, November 7th from 7PM - 10PM.  Lots of new prints, fresh off the press!

Next week, Nov. 6-10, is Print Week in NYC & the IFPDA Print Fair. We will also be tabling at Prints Gone Wild VII, at Littlefield in Brooklyn on Friday, Nov. 8th, 6PM - 1AM.

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Brave New World is a show of recent work by Pittsburgh-based woodcut print artists Tugboat Printshop. Their intricate color woodcuts celebrate the natural world and our relationship to it.  With extreme focus on craft and detail, the artists build idealistic, nostalgic and meticulously patterned worlds with their traditionally made prints. Rich color is layered in multiple impressions from hand-drawn, hand-carved and individually printed wood blocks. A marvel of process and DIY spirit, Tugboat Printshop's BRAVE NEW WORLD narrative is one of sustainability, resourcefullness, and upbeat do-good attitude.

This show will be on view at The Arm from November 7th to January 5th, 2014 with the opening reception on November 7th from 7PM to 10PM.

Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth are the collaborative woodcut artists Tugboat Printshop. The couple has been publishing their traditionally hand-crafted color woodblock print editions from Pittsburgh, PA since 2006. 

PARTY FOR "THE MOON" PRINT!

This Friday, April 5th, from 5-8pm, we are having a release party to celebrate & unveil "THE MOON" woodcut print! 

Enjoy light refreshments at this free & family friendly event and take advantage of this rare opportunity to learn about traditional woodcut printmaking from artists & printers Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth. Bring along a pal or a bunch of friends, the more the merrier! Party takes place from 5-8pm at our studios (298 Main St. in Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh)

The party will be themed for "THE MOON" print, but we actually have a handful of new prints to celebrate, AND are about to jumpstart our frameshop so everything you see on the walls will basically be available framed & ready to go. PLUS we'll have a couple of our latest BIG works in progress on display, for those curious about process & eager to see what's coming up from Tugboat Printshop…
A good time to stop by, we hope to see you!

"THE MOON" is a 35.5" x 30.5" color woodcut print on BFK Paper. 

Also, feel free to join & share the MOON EVENT ON FACEBOOK!

PRINTING THE MOON

A few photos in sequence as the paper is pulled up from the key block after a final run through the press to print "THE MOON" woodcut. We're almost done printing, so the price soon go up. Intro rate available for just a very limited time longer! You can get your copy from the edition here! Maybe the perfect gift for your moon and stars this Valentines?

THE MOON WOODCUT

The first proof of "THE MOON"! We are now in the process of publishing this print here at Tugboat (requires some reconfiguring of our space to handle the scale!). We expect the first batch to be able to ship out from Pittsburgh the 2nd week of January. 

"THE MOON" has been a real hit over the holidays! We are planning to print an edition of 200. If you'd like a copy, they are still available for a limited time at the introductory rate HERE. 

"THE MOON" is a 35.5" x 30.5" woodcut print on White BFK paper. Two blocks larger than the size of the paper were hand-drawn and hand-carved to produce this image (the blocks print bleed off the deckled edges of the paper). 

THE MOON

The biggest piece we've tackled to date--AND we have a special offer for the holidays to be able to get one at a really great price!

Subject of myth, fable, story and wonderment…our constant extraterrestrial partner, producer of tides and stepping stone to the great abyss beyond…THE MOON!

We look to the sky knowing that shining little circle is out there, it's radiant face reflecting light down through the dark of night. Nestled into a backdrop of twinklin stars (yes, this print will have those!), "THE MOON" is blown up to fantastic degree, illustrating the terrain and seas of craggy grey surface, both a map and an image. 

Really just so excited about this new print in the works that we can hardly contain ourselves! Shown above is the key block being drawn in for this new 36" x 32" print. "THE MOON" is now available for a limited time intro pre-order rate (delivery by Dec. 25th!) on our site.

IMPROMTU AUCTION!

Due to popular interest after posting this mix-up proof to our Facebook today, we are auctioning this print! To bid, visit our Facebook page and comment on the post. Half of proceeds will go to Sandy Relief.

ORIGINAL, COLOR WOODCUT PRINTS

We've made some updates to oue website recently ~ explore around and check out the changes! In the bustle of tidy up, we took some new shots of the "BONFIRE" woodcut (click on images above for a zoom view). A perfect fit for the season of campfire dances and outdoor adventuring, a reminder of the glow of the summertime sunset ~ perfect over the mantle year-round! 

We also have a new shop policy: FREE U.S. SHIPPING for orders over $150 & FREE INT'L SHIPPING for orders over $300! Applies at checkout when you hit the magic number. Visit our new PRINT SHOP!

THE FARM BARGE

Sloping green-tinted waves push the great red "FARM BARGE" across the rolling sea. Equipped with a green deck, lush vegetable sprouts pushing up from a myriad of folky raised beds, this repurposed ship is a futuristic and self-sustainable mobile farmland. A daydream invention, the "FARM BARGE" idealizes resourcefulness.


"FARM BARGE" is printed from 4 woodblocks (yellow, red, blue, and black) onto Ivory White Somerset paper. Paper size is a standard 16" x 20". Edition size of 100 prints. Pre-order intro rate still available for a limited time HERE and in our ETSY.

YELLOW!

Color #1 for the new "FARM BARGE" print ~ complete!

NEW PRINTING VIDEO!

FARM BARGE PRINT!

Been tinkering with this print in the sidelines of the "GARDEN" and wanted to finally show some pictures! A repurposed barge afloat on the sea ~ decks peppered with crops in tidy rows, barns, greenhouses and wind turbine power. Color will be nostalgic, like an old timey ship lithograph, but the setting is the present/future… watch it as it develops online HERE! More photos, too, on our flickr.

PRINTSMAS SALE!

Merry Printsmas! It's newsletter dayat Tugboat Printshop! The latest? Now through Friday, December 2, 2011 use holiday discount code "PRINTSMAS" to receive 15% off orders places in our ETSY SHOP! Holler from the hilltops!

BEARS, GARDENS, OH MY!

As many of you may know from our most recent newsletter, life has been a-changin' around Tugboat Printshop! With our first little one well on the way, we've been undergoing some overdue updates to our in-house space…which has displaced most of our printshop activities for the bulk of the past 2 months or so making it pretty challenging to find little nooks to set up amidst the clang and the bang to draw and carve.

With great relief, we are back in full swing in our space again this week! Expect to see more updates, more photos and some finished prints wrapping up shortly! Oh geez we can't even begin to communicate how exciting this feels!

Photos above feature a couple of new blocks in progress…more soon!

SURF WOODCUT

"SURF"

Series: THE DEEP BLUE SEA
13" x 17" Color Woodcut Print on Pale Pink Arturo Paper
Paul Roden + Valerie Lueth, 2011.

LIMITED EDITION OF 150 PRINTS.

NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!

GARDEN WOODCUT IN PROGRESS

Finding much inspiration in DIY gardening this summer…not only in the fresh, flavorful, sun-ripened bounty but also in the design & layout of daintily orchestrated spaces. Just finished drawing in this handsome little plot…and now carving now begins! The final print will be larger than the key block featured above and in full, rockin' color. This print will be a part of our LIFE OF LEISURE Woodcut Series ~ imaging color like "FOREST" or "RV" or "LIVING ROOM" right now…

Will probably be doing a pre-order sometime soon, stay tuned!

LEAF BOAT WOODCUT CARVED!

"LEAF BOAT" wood blocks are carved! Key block above & color block below. (Print size will be roughly 9in x 8in) Part of our ongoing LIFE OF LEISURE Series. Proofin' time!

LEAF BOAT WOODCUT

About to begin printing this little charmer of a print today! "LEAF BOAT" will be a 2 color woodblock print, much like "HOUSE TREE" another print in our LIFE OF LEISURE Print Series. This whimsical print celebrates the art of using ones imagination to sculpt even the simplist of ideas into reality.

To be the first to know when this print hits our online shop, sign up for Tugboat's mailing list on our website! www.tugboatprintshop

HOUSE TREE PRINTED

Just finished printing up this little "House Tree" print we put together for Martha Stewart's Crafts Dept. Blog as a 2 color woodblock print ~ soon for sale online in our various shops! Fresh, minty green was printed first, the second block overlaying with rich honey gold ochre detail. Printed on Ivory Somerset Paper, sized 9" x 7".