2023 into 2024

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” –John Muir

These prints have something to do with seeking solitude away from the manufactured chaos of the Christmas season; something to do with seeking something more. The tranquility and open embrace of nature seemed alluring at the time and hiding out in the workshop to toil away on something special for friends and family – while the madness of December unfolded elsewhere – was quite cathartic.

If you didn’t get one and would like to be added to the list for 2024, hit us up with your address and we’ll hook you up.

Happy New Year!

Four-color screenprint on 80# French Factory Green Cover.

See us at Cherokee Heights Arts Festival 2023!

Join us for another spectacular autumn day of great art, music, and food on Saturday, November 11 from 9am–4pm! This is our neighborhood fest and we’re always proud to represent. So get ready, we’ll be stacked with new goods – of the knitted and printed varieties, of course. See you there? See you there!

Check the CHAF website and Instagram for details and updates.

Prints: Untitled, 2021

After the better part of the year making sense of the archives, cataloging work, and sketching out new ideas, it was a treat to get back out to the workshop this fall and actually pull some ink and make some new prints.

This series uses a directional motif that I’ve been thinking about lately and haven’t been able to shake. So, of course, I had to work it out of my system by making it real. Some people have said it reminds them of a castle or flags or mountains – interpretations that are all fine by me.

Each piece features a slightly random sampling of colors, topping out at six colors on some prints. Colors were mixed and applied on the fly and in the moment, so most pieces are unique one-offs while a few ended up in editions of two. Most are printed on white cover stock while a few are on gray, kraft, or chipboard.

All prints “Untitled, 2021″ at 8″ x 10” each.

Things We Like: Slowdive, “Slowdive”

Slowdive’s self-titled “comeback” record was floating around my Spotify playlists last year and it was a nice little reminder of a band I enjoyed in my earlier years. While they weren’t my favorite shoegaze band way back when – that honor goes to Lush – they were a reliable go-to for some solid atmospheric guitar tunes. 

But the couple of songs I heard nearly 25 years later wouldn’t leave my head. Select melodies drifted back and forth and I kept coming back for more. A taste here, a taste there. The songs were good, but I had no idea how irresistibly good until I let the whole album run through – at full blast. Then I finally got a copy. It’s barely left the turntable since.

Woozy and atmospheric, tranquil and sometimes rocking, Slowdive is perfect for these long, damp, gray winter days that seem to have settled in. All the sounds – angelic vocals and chiming guitars among them – congeal in a beautiful haze that’s hard to navigate. It doesn’t really matter, though, for the melodies, textures, and pure emotion are enough to push you through. Besides, sometimes it’s best to just surrender and let the sounds wash over. You know, just numb out and stare at the sky for a while.

Again, they weren’t at the top of my list, but Slowdive could seriously put them over the top in a retroactive best-of. Why? Because the record continues to deliver song after song, time after time. And it definitely gets better with age. As with most great records, there are certain moments that jump out immediately, while other more elusive sounds don’t reveal themselves until that fifth, sixth, seventh listen – when you really start digging in. Slowdive is teeming with these tiny little jewels and you’ll be rewarded handsomely for taking the taking time to settle in and discover them.

Anyway, give me a nudge in April to see if any other record has replaced this slab of excellence on our turntable. At this point, I’m not confident anything possibly could. 

2020 into 2021

One chapter ending, another just beginning. Celebrating the end of a dizzyingly bizarre year with a simple gesture via our Christmas card was quite cathartic. And looking ahead is now so very satisfying. 

Things We Like: Keluar, “Panguna”

On Panguna, Keluar deliver an inspired combination of the exotic exuberance of 80’s synth-pop and classic, hard-edged EBM. But unlike many of the recent retro-electro throwbacks, this one sounds exotic, somewhat mysterious, a little bit dangerous, and – dare I say – fun. 

Keluar manages to capture the mysterious, globe-trotting themes of so many 80’s synth-pop hits. Here, I’m thinking specifically of Duran Duran. The tracks carry the torch of classics like ““Rio”, “Hungry Like the Wolf” or “Wild Boys” to foreign lands and destinations unknown. And the lyrics pair nicely with the sultry, emotive delivery of vocalist Zoe Zanias.

But where the choruses on those 80’s hits can veer straight into middle-of-the-road, crowd-pleasing purgatory, Keluar instead ground the songs securely in the darker BPMs of classic electronic body music like Front 242 or BiGod 20. Really, the tracks on Panguna could best be summed up as “Wild Boys” meets “Headhunter” meets “The Bog”. Darker Duran Duran or lighter Front 242. No other description necessary, really.     

Even as a fan of so much new music these days, rarely does a track excite and surprise as much as the title track. Everything here is interesting, complex, fresh and mysterious. When I put this on, I’m reminded of that rush of excitement you’d get when the DJ would put on an epic synth 12” to crush the dancefloor. One of those rare tracks that would get everyone moving, not just the electroheads.  

An added bonus, here, is the addition of a Hacker remix of the title track. It’s an outright banger that delivers by smoothing things out with a roiling synth line and taut, crisp beats that crack like whip.

They tried to tame you, looks like they’ll try again.

Prints: New. Improved.

Some prints get wrecked in the printing process. It makes sense that hand-printed works are more susceptible to flaws than mechanically printed ones, but knowing that still doesn’t make it any easier to take. Inconsistencies – whether it’s ink flow, a knick in the stencil, a fingerprint or smudge – can ruin a perfectly good print. It happens. It’s just part of the process. I know this, yet I still take the flaws pretty hard.

But I got tired of feeling this way and sought to do something about it. Rather than looking at flaws as a door closing, I decided to look at them as a window opening. By doing so, there’s an opportunity to add new ideas or, in this case, make corrections. I embraced the flaws and just canceled them out. Literally.

My first step was to unearth slightly less-than-perfect prints from the depths of purgatory (i.e. the neither-here-nor-there void of the flat file) and assess the damage. Next up was fixing them. That’s achieved here by masking the flaws with a big, blunt mark. Simple as that. Rather than just erasing the flaws, I chose to acknowledge and celebrate them.

In some cases, crossing out the mistakes added to the composition. In others, it was just a means to an end. While making perfect compositions was certainly not the goal, there are some beautiful moments to behold.

There’s beauty in everything. Finding it is just a matter of perspective. Clearly my interest in signage, typography, and found objects influenced the direction, but, in retrospect, there are other references that come to mind, like the butterfly joint in a George Nakashima table or even the knots in a piece of plywood.

These days, it’s about accepting what comes your way. Taking each day as it arrives – with all the highs and lows – and making the best of it. That, in a sense, is what the Correction Series is all about.

Pictured: “Untitled (Correction)” 2020, “Untitled (Correction)” 2020, “Untitled (Correction)” 2020, “Untitled (Correction)” 2020. 

Prints: Monoprint #27, 2020

Here’s a monoprint that made a cameo appearance in a recent video for Grant Design Collaborative. I was wavering on whether this one was complete, but with a slight trim (and some much-needed time/distance) this one is officially complete. Nine colors on white.

Prints: Strange Days

On March 29, Kurt printed a variation of an old design that had been sitting dormant and neglected, having never seen the light of day. Until now! It felt like a good way to start off 2020 and a much-needed bright spot during these otherwise unusual days. The edition features a randomized mix of colors in a tight edition of 19. All signed, dated, and numbered.

Prints: Untitled (Composition)

Somehow never got around to posting this little gem from 2019. Another one that was years in the making and finally wrapped up late last year. Four colors on mustard yellow stock. In the shop if you want it.