RMPA 2023 Second Round Call for Participation
Click the plus sign to the right of each title to expand the tab and see the details of each proposal and contact information for the organizers.
Portfolios
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For many printmakers, “found objects” occupy a central or generative point in an art making practice. This portfolio will explore the intersection of found objects or materials not usually considered part of the printmaking vocabulary and the revealing biases afforded by direct (and very nearly direct) print processes. In our materially overloaded environment, can a “printerly” translation of surfaces to a flattened substrate reveal qualities of detail, form, and character not otherwise seen? Can objects be repurposed as information carriers or to transcend their everyday sources?
Chance findings of objects with some glimmer of promise as print matrices bring the joy of potential and technical challenge to the print artist. The discoveries that arise as these familiar objects are reconsidered through their printed recordings create new relationships that oscillate between “object” and “printed object” truths.
The particular sensibilities of a printmaker employing found objects and the manner in which they apprehend aspects of our world begins with chance, fate and “Kismet” and ultimately celebrates previously unknown visual richness between matter, artist, and audience.
To Participate
Contact Mike Sonnichsen (msonic@uidaho.edu)
Fee:
$25
Portfolio details:
15-18 participants will be accepted for this portfolio.
Paper Size:
TBD - Contact the organizer for details
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The purpose of this exchange is to explore the use of paper, particularly how it folds and changes shape. This opens up new possibilities and opportunities for discovery when used in conjunction with print media. The folding paper reflects the conference theme and the concept of discovery and bringing things together.
Folds and creases will be utilized in this exchange to explore the potential of paper as an expansive material that both holds images and functions as a design element. The imagery in this exchange has no theme. Instead, the folds and transformation of printed paper are the connecting themes. We are interested in exploring the ways that paper can transform a printed image. In doing so, the image can in turn respond and interact with the movement of the paper. Inspiration from maps, folded book forms, pop-ups, and origami are all encouraged!
Paper size can vary but finished prints must fold down into a flat 8 x 10-inch rectangle that can fit in an envelope and be no thicker than ¼ of an inch. All prints must include at least one-fold or crease.
To Participate:
Contact Nichole Wolz (nwolz@iu.edu)
Fee:
$15 per participant
Paper Size:
Variable - but must fold down to 8x10’ and ¼ maximum thickness
Edition Size:
15 prints - with glassine interleaving
Medium:
Any editionable hand-pulled printmaking medium acceptable.
Panels
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Organizer and participation contact:
Andrew Franklin Meyer (Andrew.Meyer@unco.edu)
Description:
This panel discussion will welcome a wide array of testimonials, research, and advancement in the field of environmentally sustainable new methods in printing.
Printmakers are very aware that the foundations within each type of printing have deep roots, however, there are new and innovative approaches to adapting these media to a more environmentally sustainable production model. The discussion invites panelists to showcase methods that have been researched, developed, or practiced within the last three to five years (pre/post-COVID-19) either in a classroom or studio setting.
Each panelist is asked to provide images or video of the processes and their raw materials which encompass an environmentally sustainable printing model. Additionally, the panel will navigate the question of future forecasts for the medium and where the innovation is headed with environmentally sustainable printing.
I will be presenting my research into using a Roland Eco-UV printer as a means of creating a non-toxic resist on an intaglio plate and individually printed images. The CMYK printer uses environmentally sustainable ink that is cured to a surface using low-heat UV-LED lamps that can virtually print on any material or surface. The printer also allows the user to print on a three-dimensional surface if desired. My research specifically targets using this printer to print or temporarily adhere a raster or vector-based resist onto a copper or zinc plate. Due to the efficiency of UV-LED curing, the inks (resist) last for an extended period (upwards of six hours) in a copper sulfate or ferric chloride etching bath (pending the metal type). The etch has a substantial amount of fidelity and when completed, can be simply removed from the plate using Dawn dish soap and warm water.
Activities
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Organizer and participation contact:
Edie Overturf (ejoverturf@gmail.com)
Description:
POW (Printmakers of Wrestling) will hold their inaugural event, “Printmania”, at the 2023 RMPA Symposium. This event focuses on the concept of opposing forces within art making, and places the opposition in direct contact with the strong community network of the printmaking world.
Within the typical narrative arc of performative wrestling, there is always the babyface (good guy) and heel (bad guy). POW asks for proposals of characters, narratives or duo performances that can embody the opposing forces against or within printmaking (ex: painting vs printmaking, analog vs digital, non-toxic vs traditional, just to name a few options).
There is a parallel between the fandom of wrestling, and the fandom of printmaking. Though one is a form of entertainment, and the other is an artmaking process, there is a fervor of those that advocate for either that is similar. This event seeks to bring that entertainment aspect into the print conference, and provide conference participants with an opportunity to represent a part of our community through performance.
Though this event is titled as “wrestling”, it would not include full contact wrestling. Instead, it would focus on variations that could include low impact forms of performance, such as arm wrestling, thumb wrestling, or prop performance.
Some specifics of the event:
Main organizers:
Kaleena Stasiak, Cammy York and Edie Overturf
MC:
Ry McCullough.
Music provided by:
Small Bars (Nick Satinover and Ry McCullough)
Participation proposals should include:
Character development, story lines, and potential duos. Organizers will pair “opposing forces” characters if they are solo
A few more details:
A time for rehearsal at the beginning of the conference weekend will be scheduled
An added element available at the event will be a low-impact, accessible activity open to all audience members. This will be determined based on the content from the organized performers.
Organizers will bring any mats, ring materials and merch for the event.
Full projects - no longer accepting submissions
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Project is full and no longer accepting submissions.
The human need to mark space or territory reaches back to the earliest evidence of human development. Whether it be the image of an animal pecked into stone or a sticker on an alley wall, the visual gesture communicates, 'I was here, I value this image'.
As Spokane continues its upward trajectory as a center for the arts and printmaking, stickers communicate the value of art and printmaking from a DIY perspective. The tradeable format of stickers coupled with their subsequent posting on possessions, buildings, or carefully saved until the perfect moment presents itself, allow people from all over the world to connect and communicate the value of visual dialogue in each of their respective hometowns and personal travels. It is in this spirit that we propose a portfolio of printed stickers. The democratic nature of the medium and the casual nature in which the imagery is encountered often frees the artists from anxiety when making a sticker. As professors teaching printmaking, we have both found that students and visiting artists alike take great delight in the opportunity to make a small sticker or receive one from a classmate or instructor.
Portfolio Requirements
Edition Size - 42
40 to exchange, and 2 to archive in the printmaking collections of UCLA and La Sierra Univeristy, the home institutions of the organizing artists
Paper/sticker size:
3 inches by 4.5 inches; 7.6 cm by 11.4 cm
Method:
Any traditional printmaking medium (screenprint, monotype, relief print, letterpress, intaglio) printed onto a sticky backed or gummed paper, vinyl, or other surface.
Signed on the front or backing of the sticker
Digital printmaking may be used in conjunction with one or more of the media listed above.
Please do not use interleafing.
To Participate:
Contact Tim Musso (tmusso@lasierra.edu) or Camilla Taylor (camilla.a.taylor@gmail.com) to express your interest in the portfolio. Include a link to your artist website and briefly describe the medium you intend to work in.
FEE:
$10 participation fee to cover the costs of shipping the portfolios to participating artists, or they may be picked up in person. Payment via Venmo or Zelle to camilla.a.taylor@gmail.com
Display:
The portfolio will be displayed on a series of objects, supplied by the organizing artists, replicating an urban environment: stuck to traffic signs, utility poles, on sketchbooks, and on the wall itself.