RENEGADE LA + SAN FRANCISCO!

Tugboat Printshop will pack up her prints and head to the Wild West this July! We'll be taking part in two Renegade Craft Fairs, the first in LA (July 11-12) and the following weekend in San Francisco (July 17-18)! You can read more details about these events and get directions through the links below :)



The 1st ever Renegade Craft Fair in LOS ANGELES!
JULY 11 + 12 from 11am – 7pm @ the California Market Center!

FOR MORE DETAILS: www.renegadecraft.com



2009 Renegade Craft Fair in SAN FRANCISCO!
JULY 18 + 19 from 11am – 7pm @ Fort Mason's Festival Pavillion.

FOR MORE DETAILS: www.renegadecraft.com

UNICORN MOUNTAIN // ON ECHO RIVER

ON ECHO RIVER, an exhibition presented by Unicorn Mountain, is up now, down soon, @ Mendelson Gallery (5874 Ellsworth Avenue, Shadyside) in Pittsburgh.

FEATURING ARTWORK BY:

Elina Malkin
Jon Carling
Bill Wehmann
Jeff Schreckengost
Masha Vereshchenko
Ian Finch
David Grim
Christopher Kardambikis
Jenifer Cooney
Ben Kehoe
Beano
Christopher Cornwell
Tom Hall
Katherine Young
Amy Conroy
Brian Holderman
Laura Jean McLaughlin
Paul Roden & Valerie Lueth

A portion of art sales from the show will go toward the publication of "The Black Forest" Unicorn Mountain's third anthology of Pittsburgh art/music/comics/writing (Late September 2009).

Read the Pop City Article Review of the show!

MEET YOUR PRINTMAKER IN DC

MEET YOUR PRINTMAKER
Washington Printmakers Gallery
June 29, 2009 – July 26, 2009
Opening Reception: Friday, July 3; 5:30-8:30pm

For over a year Meet Your Printmaker has been compiling a directory of independent print/printmaking studios around the world through its blog. Meet Your Printmaker shifts the emphasis away from the artist/printmaker and presents the printers/printmakers as a unique workforce … the groups and individuals who uphold and evolve new and traditional printing/printmaking techniques, whether in the form of commercial work, artist editions or retail products and who share their skills and educate their respective communities.

The work in this exhibition presents a selection of printed matter from 40 print/printmaking studios around the world.

Participating studios in no particular order (apologies if we left your studio name out): DWRI Letterpress, Dirty Hands Serigraphie, Bleu Acier, The Little Friends of Printmaking, Sycamore Street Press, Dieu Donné, Deep Wood Press, Standard Deluxe, Patent Pending, Outlaw Print Co., Erika Ebert Press, Cannonball Press, Atlanta Printmakers Studio, Common Press, Stumptown Printers, Slugfest Printmaking Workshop, Extrapool, Squid Ink Kollective, Tugboat Printshop, Lunalux, Purgatory Pie Press, The Firecracker Press, Thomas-Printers, Aesthetic Apparatus, The Lower East Side Printshop, Iskra Print Collective, Halo Halo Screen Printing, AS220 Community Printshop, Proyecto´ace, Elshopo, Low Rider Tee Shirt, Starshaped Press, Pinball Publishing, Uhrgalo, Sonnenzimmer, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions, Polluted Eyeball, Spudnik Press, Bob Eight Pop.

WASHINGTON PRINTMAKERS GALLERY
1732 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20009
www.washingtonprintmakers.com

Galaxy Map--cut!

We're back to work on the final 6-8 woodcut prints in THE DEEP BLUE SEA Series! This one ("Galaxy Map") has been on hold for a while--we drew it a few months ago but haven't been able to carve it out until recently. It's pretty exciting to see all of those tiny little seashell spirals staring back in relief! More pics of everything soon!

Renegade Brooklyn June 6+7!

We'll be setting up our printstand in McCarren Park in Brooklyn this weekend, June 6+7, 2009, at the Renegade Craft Fair! The fair runs Saturday + Sunday from 11am-7pm and features over 250 amazing vendors! Make our weekend and come out and say hello :)



MORE ABOUT THE RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR:

The Renegade Craft Fair is a unique DIY event held annually in Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles & San Francisco. RCF has gained a reputation over the last six years as being the biggest, best and the most well-known of all the DIY craft fairs out there. Each individual fair draws hundreds of applicants and tens of thousands of shoppers from all over the country and abroad! At RCF you’ll find all sorts of cool handmade stuff - including plush items, jewelry, posters + prints, craft kits, clothing, stationery + more.

The Renegade Craft Fair is one of the first events of its kind, getting its start in Chicago’s Wicker Park in 2003 and spreading like wildfire ever since! The first fair was 1 day and featured just 75 booths. The second fair was 2 days and showcased 125 crafters. In its third year, we went on the road and took over Brooklyn’s McCarren Park with 150 vendors - and eventually moving into historic McCarren Park Pool with 200 booths! In its fifth year, we traveled to the west coast and set-up shop in San Francisco. This year, we’re going on a little tour and heading south to Los Angeles too!

Today in 2009, each unique event features hundreds of the most talented craftsters nationally as well as from around the globe! Brooklyn’s event takes place at McCarren Park - this year along the paths of the track + field area. Chicago’s September event stretches down Division St. from Damen - Hermitage. San Francisco’s show takes place at scenic Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. The 1st ever Los Angeles fair is slated to take place at the California Market Center, with 360 views of the city from the Penthouse. And our annual Holiday Sale is held in the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.

The Renegade Craft Fair is organized by Sue Daly, whose a crafter herself, and designs jewelry under the name
Timber! Her husband Mat Daly makes all of the posters for the events, always being sure to include the beloved owl mascot! The inspiration for RCF came when Sue wanted to take her jewelry-making hobby to the next level, and try selling her stuff at local art fairs. After looking into it a little, it quickly became apparent that there were no shows representing the DIY craft community, which already had a huge presence online. So, with a childhood friend the Renegade Craft Fair was started and provided an exciting, fresh venue for artists and shoppers alike.

Turtle Island

We have finished another in our THE DEEP BLUE SEA color woodcut series! The bulk of our winter has been spent on "America the Beautiful," so we're both feeling pretty excited to be back at the drawing board again and wrapping up the last 6-8 prints in this collaborative series. Check it out...


"Turtle Island"
THE DEEP BLUE SEA Series
14" x 18" Color Woodcut on Pale Pink Arturo Paper
Paul Roden + Valerie Lueth, 2009.

Shimmering golden sand castles drip and slide down the back of a wave-cutting jade/teal sea turtle in "Turtle Island." Drawing from creation myths and legends as source material, "Turtle Island" imagines a cascading world built upon a curved shell--the transport and sharing of that world determined by the path of its host. Now available on our website and in our Etsy shop!

Art Star in Philly May 30-31!

Tugboat is headed to Philadelphia this weekend, Saturday, May 30th from 11-6pm & Sunday, May 31st from 11-6pm, for the Art Star Craft Bazaar at the Great Plaza @ Penn's Landing! Hope to see you there! Official press release loaded with event details below...



Art Star is pleased to present Philadelphia’s most cutting edge craft show - The Art Star Craft Bazaar. The show will take place on Saturday, May 30th from 11-6pm & Sunday, May 31st from 11-6pm at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza, which is along the waterfront on Columbus Blvd. between Walnut Street & Market Street. The event will go on Rain or Shine. It is Free & Open to the Public.

The ladies behind Art Star have juried in over 100 of the most talented emerging artists from the Indie Craft Scene. Crafters & artists from across the country will be selling handmade goods & artist products in a variety of materials. Shoppers can expect clothing, jewelry, prints, accessories, bags, dolls, hats, craft supplies, house wares, stationary, sculpture, fine art, ceramics, glass, baby items & so much more! All items for sale will be incredibly unique, affordable, of high quality, and reflect the aesthetic of Art Star Gallery.

Participating artists will include Kg & Ab, Fisticuffs Leather, Pinecone & Chickadee, Cakehouse Designs, AntiGenre, Nicole Carey, Emmalynne Photography, Cutesy But Not Cutesy, Little Flower Designs, Something’s Hiding In Here, Giant Dwarf, Figs & Ginger, Rocks & Salt, Red Prairie Press, My Favorite Mirror, Loyalty & Blood, & so many more!

Jack McBrearty of the beloved local band The Mural & The Mint has organized live music all day, each day. We will also be raffling off a gift basket filled w/ handmade goodies & donations from local businesses. The raffle will be free & the winner will be contacted after the show. The event will also include food vendors – like NoLibs favorites A Full Plate & The Soy Café, hands on ceramic projects for kids w/ The Clay Studio & Saturday book signings by embroidery queen Jenny Hart.

Plus – the early bird catches the worm! We will give out 250 tote bags (silkscreened w/ Julie West’s incredible Art Star Craft Bazaar Logo) per day filled with gifts from our sponsors, handmade donations by our vendors, & coupons to area restaurants & shops. The earliest arrivals will get a tote bag + first dibs on the coolest crafts! What more can you ask for?

Spring Fling @ the Warsaw

It was a crowded house at the Warsaw in Brooklyn on May 17th for the BUST Magazine Spring Fling Craftacular! Eventually, we managed to wiggle through the crowd to snap a few pictures of the action...

Links!

Check out this great review of Spencer Museum of Art's Trees and other Ramifications: Branches in Nature and Culture by Review Magazine. Valerie has one of her etchings in the exhibition (Programmable Do-gooders) and it has a nice picture in the article. Many thanks to Steve Goddard for curating such an interesting show! You can read more about the exhibit on the Spencer Museum of Art webpage...

Also, we have a little interview talking about our work in collaboration that just posted online at Studio Snapshot.

MAY 17 @ BUST Magazine's SPRING FLING!

Come and find the Tugboat booth at BUST Magazine's SPRING FLING this coming weekend! We'll have bunches of prints--including our latest full color collaborative woodcut, "America the Beautiful!" That's Sunday, May 17th, 2009 from 12-7pm @ the Warsaw in Brooklyn, folks! Official press release with more info follows below...


A CRAFT FAIR GROWS IN BROOKLYN

The Second Annual BUST Spring Fling Craftacular Goes Green With a Garden Party Theme in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

New York, NY (March, 2009) – BUST Magazine, the cutting-edge pop-culture magazine for “women with something to get off their chests” is hosting their second annual Spring Fling Craftacular Sunday, May 17, 2009 from 12 to 7pm at the Warsaw in Brooklyn, NY.

Featuring a juried selection of 50 of the best indie crafters from around the country, the BUST Spring Fling Craftacular will also offer shoppers tasty food, drinks, and a chance to win fabulous raffle prizes and snag a goodie bag, all while enjoying great music courtesy of some of the city’s most innovative DJs. And for this year’s “Garden Party” theme, BUST is giving the over 2,000 expected attendees a chance to really get their hands dirty, with eco-conscious demos on guerilla gardening, growing your own food, and DIY screen-printing, presented by Trees Not Trash, The Farm Sanctuary, Provocraft, the makers of Yudu and many others.

Founded by Debbie Stoller, BUST’s Co-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and author of the New York Times bestselling knitting book series “Stitch ‘n Bitch,” and Laurie Henzel, BUST’s Co-Publisher and Creative Director, the BUST Craftacular was created as a way to support the handmade and burgeoning DIY movement. Since its debut in Brooklyn five years ago, the event has experienced tremendous growth, prompting its expansion to both Los Angeles and London, and twice a year in New York. Recently, the BUST Holiday Craftacular was awarded both the Gold FAME Award for Best Special Event, and the Grand FAME Award for Best Overall Magazine Event, by Folio Magazine.

The addition of a green theme to the BUST Spring Fling Craftacular was a natural choice, according to Stoller. “There is so much overlap between people who are interested in crafting and those who are interested in the environment, sustainable living, and gardening. After all, what’s more DIY than growing your own food?”

Tickets for the BUST Spring Fling Craftacular will be available at the door for $2. The BUST Spring Fling Craftacular is sponsored by Provocraft, the makers of Yudu.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

America the Beautiful

"AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL"
24" x 32" Color Woodcut on Heavyweight Ivory Somerset Paper.
Paul Roden + Valerie Lueth, 2009.

Ta-da!!! We finished proofing the color for "America the Beautiful" late, late last night (or, more specifically, early this morning at 7:00am). So, needless to say we are exhausted. But we are SO excited about how the color printed--the registration on all 5 blocks was basically flawless and the image, well, we remain absolutely flabbergasted. It looks SO awesome.

Above is the first professional photograph we've had taken of our work (by someone other than ourselves, so many thanks to Larry Rippel for such a great shot on such short notice!

The full color print is now available for purchase in our online store!

Stay tuned for more elaboration on this post tomorrow-ish :) Yay!

Turtle Island

Coming soon to THE DEEP BLUE SEA Series! This print, tenatively titled "Turtle Island" will soon have a dripping, golden city of sand upon this turtle's back. The rolls of the waves will be blue, the turtle will be a combo of gold + blue.

Seashell Galaxy!

The next woodcut print in our 2nd collaborative series, THE DEEP BLUE SEA, is officially drawn in! We won't start cutting this block until "America the Beautiful" has been printed, but we're pretty excited about this one! "Seashell Galaxy" is a 17" x 23" color woodcut, the 18th print in THE DEEP BLUE SEA Series. Due to hit our online shop early May!

Cutting on the last block for "America the Beautiful!" Proofing and printing to begin later this week!

Beginning the cutting on the 24" x 32" light blue block for "America the Beautiful." Just one more block to cut after this one and we can start proofing. Yay!




Just as a brief FYI, this print is currently available for pre-order on our website. The price will go up when we wrap up the color printing and replace the black + white stand-in proof with a picture of the finished, full color print! So, if you're looking for a whopper of a deal, there's about a week or so left to order this print at the pre-order rate.