RADIANT COLOR FOR "JEWEL" WOODCUT!

Released the 1st proof of the color "JEWEL" woodcut today ~ read about it in Tugboat Printshop Newsletter #145!

Pre-order available through next weekend!

Xo, Valerie

"JEWEL" Woodcut-in-Progress - NEW!

New project in the works! The "JEWEL" woodcut will be 7" x 6" on Natural Kitakata paper, printed from 2-3 blocks. This block (the key) will not be printed in graphic black--my aim is for the print to have an multi-color, jewel-like vibe.  Expect a few colorful split fountains (rainbow rolls)... A small print, but a rather large jewel!

I've posted the pre-order for "JEWEL" in the T.B.P.S. online shop, and as with all pre-orders at Tugboat, the price will go up when production wraps up! (I won't be dragging my feet, but it might take a couple weeks to get from here to finished edition.) Feel free to watch along; I'll post around as progress is made on this and some others!

XO, Valerie

"YOUNG PINES" WOODCUT

Drawn & carved from a single woodblock, each tree with distinct charms! New today in our shop, the "YOUNG PINES" woodcut is printed in classic black ink to natural tone Kitakata paper. An edition of 100 prints. Pre-order now available HERE!

FIRST PEEK IN B&W

The countdown to the "OVERLOOK" woodcut is on! Mark your calendars, we're unveiling the 1st color proof on August 21, 2015! (Join up to our mailing list/newsletter to be the 1st to see it)

Until then, enjoy this B&W teaser of the key block on newsprint... This is just a detail from the middle of the "OVERLOOK" print, see the full B&W test proof on our site!

RED BLOCK FOR "LOG"

Just updated the "LOG" page on our site with all of the finished color block carvings! Stay tuned for a color proof in the coming days, hoping to have a copy to show by Friday's newsletter. Join up at tugboatprintshop.com to be the first to see the color print!

CELEBRATING 100 TODAY!

100 woodcut prints made! 

100 newsletters sent!

We're celebrating big landmarks with a woodcut special! 

For the next 100 hours we are gifting $20 in T.B.P.S. gift certificates for every $100 spent! A really great opportunity to invest in future prints!(Offer expires 3/31/15 at 2pm EST)

Visit our shop & take advantage of this (once every 100) special special! No coupons necessary, deal is automatic at checkout through the end date (3/31/15). Gift certificates will ship with orders. 

Thanks for all of your support!

Here's to another 100!

PRINTING RED & YELLOW

After countless hours carving color blocks, we are now printing the "COMMUNITY" woodcut! See the first run here, lots of additional shots of the lengthy process on our flickr. 

And, heads up, the pre-order special expires tomorrow! 

COLOR BLOCKS FOR COMMUNITY

Penning in rainbow color as we imagine up a world lush with greenery, brick, stone & log for the new "COMMUNITY" woodcut. The blocks above are being carved in low relief and will then be rolled up and inked for printing to paper. These are not the final colors of the print, these are color separations that guide our block making. The black detail block will be the last to print, atop all of the layers of printed color, to complete the print.

"COMMUNITY" will be 16" x 20" on Ivory Somerset Paper. Printed with a 1" white border around the print. Currently up for grabs at a special pre-order rate!

And on Friday, May 30th, from 4:00-7pm we're hosting a special Happy Hour Open Studios here at the printshop to celebrate the completion of the "COMMUNITY" woodcut edition! This print is currently in production, but pre-orders will be ready for local pick-up during open hours & with a festive atmosphere to boot. RSVP stopping by & please freely share the date!

"COMMUNITY" // BLUE BLOCK

Wrapping up the color blocks for the "COMMUNITY" print, which we have set to debut during a Happy Hour Open Studios later this month, on May 30th! We plan to have production completed & prints ready to ship and pickup! 

Pictured above is just the blue block for the "COMMUNITY" woodcut, almost drawn in (not yet carved out). 3 additional color blocks are also in the works. Final print size'll be 16" x 20". 

See the intricate key block detail in B&W here, but imagine a colorful world of greenery, brick, stone and log (that is what it will be!) 

Pre-order a copy here!

MORE ABOUT "COMMUNITY"

"COMMUNITY", currently in progress here at Tugboat Printshop, is a ecclectic little neighborhood, a hodge podge of home styles & outdoor retreats. Gardens and porches, parks and fountains, rolling hills and treelines, the "COMMUNITY" is both the people (and organisms) and the place. Here, we focus more on the less transient place.  Isn't it interesting to think about land and history? How some way or another, others have shared the space we now occupy, walking & building upon it. Here we are, living alongside that immense and powerful history while at the same time building upon it, changing and adapting it to suit our future needs. How resourceful and wonderful! 

"COMMUNITY" will be a full color print, size is 16" x 20". Early intro pre-order is up online for just a little big longer HERE.(And here's the full photo of the block being carved, for some reason the new photo wouldn't load up.) More soon!

"DESERT ISLAND" BLOCK #1

Printing the first run on the "DESERT ISLAND" woodcut edition. Limited edition of 50 prints, sized 22" x 38" with 1" white paper border around printed image. 

THIS BLOCK + THAT BLOCK + ONE MORE

We are in the midst of tackling the color for the "DESERT ISLAND" woodcut now, experimenting with layers & layers of pastel color combinations. Deciding what we want the color to lend to the linework we've been developing in the blocks is a big task!

Anyway, at 20" x 35",  the "DESERT ISLAND" print is really quite large. We are reminded of this every time we heave-ho the blocks onto the press bed (there are 3 total, one's not pictured here) and register the long scroll-like sheets of paper. The edition will be small in the end, like 50 prints. We're leaving the pre-order up until we get that first proof photographed. Then the price will probably nearly double.

What to expect? Paradise color! 

CURATING THE "MOTH" EDITION

Signing up the edition of 100 finished "MOTH" prints! This print & all of our prints are authentic, handmade woodcuts. No computers or digital technologies are used, just the basics: our hands, imaginations, wood, handheld carving tools, ink, paper & time. We think it turned out really neat, so warm & golden! Two blocks make this image, see them HERE!

FLASHBACK: "MOON" MAKING!

This time last year, we were hard at work on "THE MOON" woodcut and *wow* was it ever a project! We spent many a night & day hunkered over these big blocks drawing & carving. And we loved every minute of it. We learned all of the oceans and seas, we thought long and hard about the space-battered surface of crater wells & dusty dunes. Hours and hours of drawing and dreaming about the moon. What a marvel it is!

We continue to find photos that we took to document the making of the print (as above, turning the jigsawed moon shape into place in the sky with a screwdriver)! Root through all of our photos up online in this PHOTO SET.

Prints are still available from the limited edition, but no telling for how long. Gift or get your very own 'MOON' & stars HERE.

TUGBOAT PRINTS at THE ARM, BROOKLYN!

Last week, we made the trip to NYC for Print Week and our first solo show in a while at The Arm Letterpress in Brookyn! We also tabled for an evening at Prints Gone Wild VII, an annual affordable print fair held this year at Littlefield in Brooklyn.

Our exhibition at The Arm will be on view through January 5th, we are planning a big closing party for that time with many of our current works in progress to make their NYC debuts. So stay tuned for info about that! Join our newletter for a reminder as the date nears (also a good idea because we have a secret whopper print in the works you just might want to catch a glimpse of early on...)

So, if you are in the big city, The Arm is a very pleasant stop and if you are keen on seeing our BRAVE NEW WORLD woodcuts in person, the chance is now yours! The Arm is located at 281 N. 7th Street, more details about their hours can be found online at www.thearmnyc.com.