Greetings from the snowy coast of Canada. It’s been a freaky week here weather-wise with unseasonable snow and sleet. It’s all melted now of course but it felt like a few steps backward after all the magnolia blooms and cherry blossoms of the past few weeks. I’m super-psyched to be here this week guest blogging (thank you Grace!) and I plan on bringing some very fun studio space interviews from artists such as Camilla Engman, Lisa Solomon, Lisa Congdon, Bookhou Design, Helen Dardik, Diana Fayt, the folks from Uppercase (Vangool Design in Calgary and to start off with today, one of my favorite letterpresses in the world, Yee-Haw Industries. I’ve also got a little treat from a few shops here locally, including my favorite papergoods store, The Regional Assembly of Text where they make some amazing screenprinted goods and have the most amazing interior. (above typewriter photo from The Regional Assembly of Text and one of their Bear envelopes which can be purchased individually for $2). So to start, I’m thrilled to bring a Studio Space interview from Julie and Kevin of Yee-Haw Industries:
Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress & Design Studio
Artist Name(s): Kevin Bradley, Julie Belcher - owners of the studio plus Adam Ewing and Bryan Baker, resident printmakers.
We also collaborate with artists outside of our studio
Website(s): www.yeehawindustries.com, yeehaw.etsy.com
Blog(s): it’s not up yet
City: Knoxville, Tennessee
Where is your studio located?
Historic Building in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. We have a tiny retail store in the front of our studio.
What equipment/tools do you use?
We hand print on vintage relief printing presses - like our 3 Vandercooks and we print our large pieces on an etching press upstairs. Tools and materials: wood gouges, antique lead & wood type fonts, linoleum & wood to carve stuff out of, recycled papers, recycled ink and a good sense of humor.
Do you use an inspiration board or can you tell us what is inspiring you at the moment?
Lately - nature and a lot of nature photos & we are obsessed with typography - see pix of some of our type collection as well as a hot off the press specimen sheet of some wood type collection. We also use pop culture and political innuendo in our work so we to read the National Enquirer, the Star, the Globe - to get the true facts.
[Photo: specimen sheet of large wood type with an antique wood border around it, not for sale online yet but is $500 - this large print is 30″x42″ on acid free 100% cotton paper with deckled edges, signed & numbered. This has only been shown at the American Craft Council show in Baltimore last month-you are the first to see if besides those folks.]
How do you create best (e.g. listening to music, etc.)?
Music galore - we do a lot of music inspired artwork so we have a big stack o’ records, 45s, cds, & ipods full. Right now I hear some Captain Beefheart.
Are you working on anything new and if so, can we have a sneak peek? (even if it’s just a corner of something if you don’t wish to reveal the entire project yet)
We are on our 4th poster this month for the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans (festival dedicated to recognizing the unsung heroes of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop, reggae and soul) at the end of April. This sneak peek is of a poster for the Mighty Hannibal who is a soul singer from the 1960s and he will be performing along with many other great musicians (we also made posters for this year’s performers- Mary Weiss, Herbert Hardesty and Question Mark & the Mysterians.) You only see some white ink now but it is getting printed in gold & blue on top of that… I can send pix when done.
List three of your favorite artists (with links please):
There are so many…
Sean Starwars - a great printmaker in Laurel, Mississippi! His web site is under construction tho…He found some family photos at a yard sale & made them into plywood-cut prints - he was all hopped up on Mountain Dew! True hillbilly. To see pix of him drinking the Dew.
Tim Hawkinson: Awesome art!! he made a bird skeleton with his own fingernail clippings & a spiderweb out of his own hair.
Martha Rich: Another great wig draw-er!
Chris Robert Antieau: How amazing it this - her “paintings” are all made of fabric stitched & sewn & embroidered on like a big ole crazy quilt… she learned to sew in home ec class in 7th grade! Attached is “The Recovery of Roy” like a comic book all about Roy of “Sigfried & Roy” fame & his convalescence after being attacked by his white tiger.
If yours isn’t, what would be your perfect studio?
We have built the best studio from the ground up -We collected or salvaged or made our surroundings… we’ve taught at many other printmaking facilities but there’s nothing like our own space. We have everything we need & it’s within arm’s reach.
Thanks Julie & Kevin!
-Jan
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