“Elephants In The Trees” – Our Test Print Gallery Show At Rotofugi!

Hello friends!

We have some exciting news on the fine art front that we’ve been dying to share for over a year. And now the time has come!

The fantastic Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago, IL is home to our new Gallery show of 16 hand silkscreened Test Prints / Monoprints as well as a brand new black & white silkscreen, monochromatic, oversized, 2-art-print-set. Our show, “Elephants In The Trees”, opens on Friday January 13,  2012. But don’t be scared, Friday the 13th is always a lucky day for Allison, she was born on one.

What’s a Test Print, aka a Monoprint? Glad you asked! It’s a form of absolutely one-of-a-kind printmaking. A great definition from Wikipedia:

“Monoprints are known as the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques; it is essentially a printed painting. The characteristic of this method is that no two prints are alike. The beauty of this medium is also in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting and drawing media.  Monoprints may also involve elements that change, where the artist reworks the image in between impressions or after printing so that no two prints are absolutely identical.”

We’re absolutely thrilled, nervous, and excited all at once. Allison is almost always working on a tall stack of silkscreen Test Prints in the studio with each new print run. However, they rarely see the light of day publicly. Especially over the past year while she has been working on a suite of individual prints for this Gallery show in particular. And this is a first, with the debut not only of most of these absolutely one-of-a-kind monoprints but also of a new oversized 2-print set, (expertly printed by our friends at Delicious Design League). All prints on display will be for sale exclusively through the Rotofugi Gallery, both in person and online.

And here’s the thing, we can’t show you much before the Opening on Friday January 13th, 2012 BUT! You can totally sign up for the Rotofugi Gallery’s preview email list RIGHT HERE and get a beautiful eyeful of this (and any upcoming shows) special private preview and see the artwork for yourself before the general public. Trust us, this makes trying to buy original art and one-of-a-kind pieces far easier. ‘Cause once they are sold ‘cuz, they’re gone forevers.

Until then, here’s a little sneak-peek teaser of just a few of our 16 silkscreen printed, individual, one-of-a-kind Test Prints in the our upcoming show.

We hope to see you there on Friday, January the 13th at the opening reception!

Sneak-peek at just a few of our Monoprints to be shown at Rotofugi.

The Gallery Show Details

Elephants in the Trees: Silk Screen Monoprints & Art Prints by strawberryluna

• Opening Reception at Rotofugi: Friday, January 13, 2011, 7-10PM
• Rotofugi Exhibition Dates: January 13 – February 5, 2012
• Rotofugi Location: 2780 Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614
• Rotofugi Phone: 773-868-3308
• Google Map

Ho Ho Holidays – December Sale in our @Etsy Shop!

The Holidays should be fun, easy, bright, and definitely not stressful. OK, we know that they often do end up being a bit stressy. To that end, we hope to help.

All December long we’re offering our HOHOHOLIDAYS Coupon Code for 15% off of any and all orders through our Etsy Shop. No matter what your total damage? We’re here to lessen it.

We’ll be shipping just about every single day in December to wherever you are, or to whomever you wish. We’re happy to ship directly to your gift recipients. And you know what? We even include customize gift notes for you.

Need expedited shipping? No problem! We’re experts at that too. We can ship via USPS, FedEx and Overnight Express. You name it, we can do it most any time. Feel free to inquire about expedited shipping costs!

Click the above or below images to visit our Etsy Shop and during checkout use the Coupon Code: HOHOHOLIDAYS for 15% off of everything!

HOHOHOLIDAYS Now through December 31st.

Happy & brightest Holidays to you!

New art print release: Tiger Birds, Moogfest Synth Art Show art print!

Hand silkscreen printed 3-color art print, "Tiger Birds", a part of the 2011 Moogfest Synth Art Print Show, now available! Click for more info or to purchase.

Tiger Birds, Moogfest 2011 Synth Art Show art print – brand new release!

We were super excited to be a part of the official Moogfest Synth Art Print show this year. 15 silkscreen printmaking rock poster artists were invited to create an original print using the space & time twisting sounds Moog as inspiration.

What do you see? Is it a panting Tiger? Is it two interlocked birds? It’s both! It’s everything all at once. Grarrr-tweet!

This is our art print for 2011’s Moogfest Synth Art Show, Tiger Birds. Inspired the man and the machine, Moog.

The Moogfest Synth Art Show is a super popular event and a part of the incredible Moogfest, happening this year on October 28, 29 & 30, 2011 in Asheville, NC. Moogfest is the annual event that honors the remarkable vision of Robert Moog and his amazing musical inventions that changed the course of music.

For more information about the amazing Moogfest click here and for the Synth Art Show click here.

Tiger Birds is our all hand silkscreen printed art print with hand mixed Transparent Cyan, Bright Red, and Midnight Black water based acrylic silkscreen inks. Edition of 100. Size: 16 x 22 inches (30.5cm x 30.5 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Tiger Birds is now available both in our webstore here and also in our Etsy shop here.

Dig process photos of the hand silkscreen printmaking process? Check out a selection of photos below, or visit my Flickr stream here.

Setting up the first color for "Tiger Birds", our Moogfest art print. Click for more info and more process photos.

A silkscreen print in the making: 1st color printed, Tiger Birds. Click for more info and more process photos.

Registering the 2nd color on our new silkscreen print, Tiger Birds. Click for more info and more process photos.

Ready to print the 3rd & final color for our silkscreen Tiger Birds art print. Click for more info and more process photos.

All done! Our brand new hand silkscreen printed art print, "Tiger Birds", for the 2011 Moogfest Synth Art Show. Click for more info and more process photos.

New release! Screens’n’Spokes “Thinking Of You” silkscreen art print

"Thinking Of You", new 3-color hand silkscreen printed art print for the MS150 Screens''n'Spokes art show & team. Click for more info & to purchase.

If you love your bike and you love your love, and you both love bicycles? Well, this is the print for you!

“Thinking Of You” is our 2011 contribution to the amazing Screens’n’Spokes (aka S’n’S) MS 150 Team and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of their efforts and art shows again this year to help raise awareness and money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In just 5 years, the Screens’n’Spokes Team has raised over $200,000 to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through enlisting top printmaking artists to create new art prints for sale through the S’n’S annual art show and their Etsy Shop.

Once again this year S’n’S will be organizing a month long art show in Philadelphia with hand printed art work from over 15 Gig Poster artists. Mugshots CoffeeHouse on Fairmount has graciously hosted S’n’S for all five seasons.

Check below for more details about the incredible Screens’n’Spokes team, their fundraising, the S’n’S show and the artists involved:
http://www.screensnspokes.org/

“Thinking of You” is our 3-color, all hand silkscreen printed art print, carefully printed one layer at a time, with soft cloud grey, bright love red, and black hand-mixed and non-toxic water based silkscreen inks. Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

This new art print is now available for sale in a bunch of places for your convenience too.

1. The Screens’n’Spokes Etsy shop here where all proceeds from the sale of any prints benefits the MS Society.

2. From our website here, with a portion of each sale going to the MS Society.

3. From our own Etsy shop here with a portion of each sale going to the MS Society.

4. From the show itself at Mugshots in Philadelphia in the lovely Fairmount section of the city with a portion of each sale going to the MS Society.

This is a limited edition print, so once it’s gone, it’s gone baby!

Below are some photos of the hand silkscreen printing process, and feel free to hop on over to our Flickr page where tons more process photos live!

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 1st color (grey) printed. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.

"Thinking Of You" art print process: 2nd color (red) ink on the screen, ready to go. Click for more info & more process photos of the silkscreen printing process.

New release: Inara George silkscreened gig poster!

Inara George silkscreen poster: 2 color, all hand printed. Click for more info or to purchase.

Brand new releases are always exciting around here. Sure. But I’m *superduperextra* excited this month to share one of the new pieces that we’ve produced for Inara George, of the amazing band The Bird & The Bee, just one of a few new things we’re working on in collaboration with one of our favorite bands around this Fall.

This poster is a two-fer print, in a number of ways. First, this hand silkscreen printed poster covers 2  LA shows for Inara George this Fall on September 23rd at Bootleg Theater in and also at the Getty Center on November 5th with Van Dyke Parks. Second, we’ve used tricky overprints to get 3 bold colors from 2 screens. That’s our way! That’s what we love. We hope that you do too.

Simple, sweet but not always straightforward and deceptively complex. Hand silkscreened poster for 2 shows for the incomparable Inara George of The Bird & The Bee.

Mid-century throwback style always seems fresh, just like the lady herself. This is our all hand silkscreen printed poster for Inara George with hand mixed scarlet red and transparent cyan water-based acrylic screenprinting inks. Edition: 50, each of these limited edition posters are signed & numbered (by me, strawberryluna) Size: 16×22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

This poster will also be available on tour and at shows with Inara George throughout this fall, and especially her show at The Getty Center on November 5th, as well as also from my website here and also in my Etsy shop here.

Like to know more about the hand silkscreen printing process? Boom! Photos below for you taken while hand pulling these posters in September of 2011. Even more process photos are over in my Flickr account too:

1st color ready to print for our Inara George poster. Click for more details & process photos.

1st color printed, screen flooded for more! Click for more details & process photos.

2nd color ready to rock. Click for more details & process photos.

All done! Fresh off the press and still glistening, our Inara George hand silkscreen printed poster. Click for more details & process photos.

New Art Print Release: Elephants Never Forget

New 4-color, silkscreen printed art print "Elephants Never Forget", click for more details or to purchase from my website.

Hooray! I finally had the chance to print a new art print that I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time. Introducing our new “Elephants Never Forget” hand pulled silkscreen art print. Sharp-eyed strawberryluna aficionados may recall a similar illustration from a poster for Xiu Xiu from way back in 2006. We still liked these two so much, we brought them back to life in a new hand pulled silkscreen art print.

Freshly available for purchase here at my website and also in my Etsy shop here.

Elephants really don’t forget a thing. And when you’ve found your perfect match, what’s to forget? Fall in love, stay in love. It’s simple!

• I love elephants.
• They are amazing and noble creatures.
• I think they are perfect to symbolize the “forever” part of being in love.

Elephants Never Forget is my 4-color, all hand screenprinted love forever art print with hand mixed Cyan, Magenta and Black inks. Super fun overprinting layers of ink make a soft purple where Magenta & Cyan overlap. Magic! Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Additional photos below are from my studio during the hand silkscreen printing process. Click any image below to see more process photos in my Flickr account too.

1st color (Magenta) ink waiting to be printed. Click to see more screen printing process photos.

2nd color printed, overprint fun! Click for more screen printing process photos.

Elephants peeking through the screen. Click for more details & silkscreen printing process photos.

All finshed! New 4-color "Elephants Never Forget" hand silkscreen printed art print.

Death Cab For Cutie: New poster released!

Fresh off the press! Death Cab For Cutie, 3-color, limited edition hand silkscreen printed poster for their Sasquatch Festival show. Click to purchase or for more info.

The newest of the new? Our new poster for the superfantastiche and always dang great, Death Cab For Cutie. All hand silkscreen printed, limited edition and a part of the legendary Sasquatch! Music Festival poster series, commissioned each year by Sasquatch! and representing the top poster artists working today. We’re thrilled to have been asked to participate for the 5th year in a row in this series.

What can we say? Bright & dark, sharp and open, all at the same time. Death Cab For Cutie is one of those bands that perennially seems to be at the top of their game, record after record, song after song.

This is our all hand silkscreen printed poster for the sonic & lyrical perfection the one & only Death Cab For Cutie with hand mixed midnight black, magenta, and metallic gold acrylic screenprinting inks. Edition: 150, each of these limited edition posters are signed & numbered (by me, strawberryluna) Size: 16×22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Freshly available now in my webstore here, and also in my Etsy shop here.

Below you’ll find a few selection of process photographs taken during the hand silkscreen printing process, click any of the below for more info and more photos in my Flickr account.

1st color ink on screen & ready to go. Click for more photos & more info.

1st color registering. Click for more photos & more info.

1st color printed. Click for more photos & more info.

2nd color, (gold!) printed. Click for more photos & more info.

 

All done! Death Cab For Cutie 3-color all hand silkscreen printed poster. Click for more info or to purchase.

 

New art print release: Rose Red!

Rose Red, my new 2-color hand pulled silkscreen print.

Rose Red, Dark, sweet, and full of secrets. Rose Red is the 2nd in print in my fairy tale inspired print series, (my now sold out print, The Lady & The Wolf was the first). I’ve been fascinated by, OK possibly addicted to, fairy tales and fables since I was very young. Their allure has yet to lose it’s magic, especially the older versions of fairy tales with darker themes and symbols.

These days, many people know these stories best as tales for children, however many of our most loved fairy tales have much more brutal original tellings than you might imagine something fit for little kids. I read folk & fairy tales obsessively, the darker the roots of the tale, the more I love it. It’s super interesting how the same stories appear in similar versions and places for both children and (especially originally) for adults as well.

Rose Red is my 2-color, all hand silkscreen printed art print using scarlet red and velvety black hand-mixed and non-toxic water based silkscreen inks. And yes! Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight. $25

Fresh off my press, hand printed and now available for purchase here at my website and also here in my Etsy shop.

Neato extra! This design is also available as a free iPhone & iPod Touch wallpaper at the super cool Poolga.com right here.

Are you a print nerd too? Check out some process photos from my Flickr account below.

 

Getting all set up to print Rose Red.

 

1st color of my hand silkscreen printed art print, Rose Red.

 

2nd and final color of my silkscreen printed Rose Red art print.

 

 

 

 

New print release: Going To See My Baby Yellow!

New, all hand screenprinted 6-color silkscreen art print Going To See My Baby Yellow available now! (Click for more info or to purchase.)

Spring is finally here! And to match the growing warmth and springy feel, here is a new silkscreen art print release! Going To See My Baby Yellow, a brand new colorway of my super popular art print about bicycles, love and that special glee. You know the feeling.

This hand-pulled & hand screenprinted happy day is a brand new colorway of a very popular print that I did in 2007, but in a super small edition for the Screens’n’Spokes fundraiser, now returned in fresh spring lemony yellow and soft sky-blue, just for you.

Going To See My Baby Yellow is my 6-color, all hand screen printed art print with fresh lemon yellow, bright bike red, dark grey, black and soft transparent sky-baby-blue hand-mixed and non-toxic water based silkscreen inks. And yes! The sky-baby-blue cloud breaks the margin/border just like a good cloud should, and it’s partially transparent over the white margin. Tweet! Edition of 200. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: no acid, archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

For more information about this print, or to purchase, visit my website here or check out my Etsy shop here.

Some of the previous colorways like Baby Blue, Orange, Lavender, and Sage are now all sold out, enabling us to donate to a cause we really have close to our hearts, The National MS Society. And, a portion of the sale of each of these prints is donated to The National MS Society as well .

3 New prints released for Poetic. Aesthetic. at The University Of Maryland Art Gallery!

Hello hello. It’s been a few weeks! And we’ve been hard hard at work on a bunch of projects, hence the radio silences, as it were.

One of the new news is our inclusion in the very cool and brilliant gallery show Poetic. AestheticAn Exploration of Creativity in Poetry and Visual Art at The Art Gallery at The University of Maryland, curated by John Shipman. For this show, visual artists were paired up with poets and asked to interpret 3 poems via their visual medium. In our case, we worked with the poems of 2-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Dave Smith to produce 3 limited edition silkscreen prints for the show.

The exhibition opens on Friday January 28, 2011 with an Opening Reception from 5:00 -7:00 pm, and will be on exhibit through March 5, 2011. Works will be available for purchase at the show as well!

Poetic. Aesthetic. explores the relationship between the lyricism of poetry and the aesthetic force of the visual. By probing this relationship, Poetic. Aesthetic. also seeks to foster creative collaboration across artistic disciplines. Working with the University of Maryland Creative Writing faculty, The Art Gallery has partnered Maryland poets with national and international artists to collaborate on visual works for Poetic Aesthetic. Each visual artist will create three new works of art based on, and incorporating, the poems of one poet. Poetic. Aesthetic. exhibits works in various media, including paintings, sculptures, videos, drawings, screen-printed posters, and installations.

We chose the 3 poems of Dave Smith’s that spoke to us visually the most, and they are as follows: Goose Blind, June Bug and Come-Along:

3-color hand printed silkscreen "Goose Blind", poem by Dave Smith. Click for more info or to purchase.

5-color hand printed silkscreen print "June Bug" (poem by Dave Smith). Click for more info or to purchase.

2-color hand printed silkscreen print "Come-Along" (poem by Dave Smith). Click for more info or to purchase.

Dave Smithis the author of more than a dozen books of poems, including The Wick of Memory: New and Selected Poems, 1970-2007 (Louisiana State University Press, 2000), which was chosen as the Dictionary of Literary Biography’s Book of the Year in Poetry, and Little Boats, Unsalvaged: Poems 1992-2004 (Louisiana State University Press, 2005). He is also a novelist, critic, and editor. He has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. He is the Elliott Coleman Professor of Poetry at Johns Hopkins University, where he is also Department Chair of The Writing Seminars.

The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland presents the exhibition Poetic Aesthetic: An Exploration of Creativity in Poetry and Visual Art. The exhibition opens on Friday January 28, 2011 with an Opening Reception from 5:00 -7:00 pm, and will be on exhibit through March 5, 2011. The multimedia exhibition brings together visual art with contemporary poetry in original, interdisciplinary works. Text from poets Elizabeth Arnold, R. Dwayne Betts, Lucille Clifton, Michael Collier, Jehanne Dubrow, Michael Glaser, Joseph Harrison, Ethan Huang, Linda Pastan, Stanley Plumly, Dave Smith, Saul Sosnowski, Elizabeth Spires, and Joshua Weiner will be featured in works from artists Kris Chau, Audra Buck-Coleman, Bill Dunlap, John Foster, Tim Gough, Dan Grzeca, Hero Design, David Hughes, Mirta Kupferminc, Ruth Lozner, Jefferson Pinder, Strawberryluna, Julianna Swaney, and James Thorpe.

If you are in the College Park / University of Maryland area, please stop by and check out this amazing exhibit, running from  Friday January 28, 2011 with an Opening Reception from 5:00 -7:00 pm, and will be on exhibit through March 5, 2011.