Boxcar Press’ On My Own Time exhibit

Boxcar Press is proud to display the talent and creativity of our team members via our annual mini On My Own Time exhibit. This is our ninth year participating in this wonderful opportunity. The show is in partnership with CNY Arts’ On My Own Time larger exhibit at the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York. We hope you enjoy!

* This mark denotes an artist that was selected to have one of their pieces in the upcoming 46th annual On My Own Time exhibit at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. The group exhibit celebrates Central New York businesses and their creative team members. The show runs from October 12 – November 17th, 2019.

https://www.facebook.com/boxcarpress/photos/pcb.2457318430991006/2457311080991741/?type=3&theater

Carrie Valenzuela

This photography work is definitely not my usual repertoire. It’s quick & immediate gratification to take a picture instead of all the process & detailed drawn-out steps that goes into printmaking or bookbinding that I’m normally used to.

I’m drawn to weird things: lots of textures, patterns, mechanical things, antiques, fossils, decay, etc. For the photos at this year’s On My Own Time show, the subject focus was obsolete machinery. The Press Lounge (our storage area here at Boxcar Press) was getting tidied up and I always love to see the old forgotten things in there. I like the shapes & the look… like 1980’s machinery with big knobs you turn with your whole hand or curvy cast iron parts with raised lettering that takes forever to fade away. These photos were like documenting fossils – blocky, colorful; the guts of the old machinery. Bins of old wires and piles of old telephones were such a contrast to modern, sleek, white plastic minimalism. I took pictures to remember how things used to look.

It’s so interesting to see what artwork everyone is doing. Everybody is busy working but there’s so many interesting people & their stories here. We have people who make incredible embroidered boxes, creepy figurines, intricate multimedia drawings, delicious macaroons, etc. Seeing what my co-workers & friends make is so fun! I love learning about their techniques, what interests others & knowing that we all want to put our hands & hearts to making something.

Paul Van Atta*

Much of my work combines studies and exercises done in various institutions and studios. The piece exhibited in On My Own Time showcases a collage of materials from when I screen-printed at The Ink Shop in Ithaca and from the tail-end of a master’s program in SUNY New Paltz for printmaking.

In researching On My Own Time from past years, I believe it does a great job in constructing a forum for those who wish to pursue a creative means and expand upon the skills they’ve already attained. I would say to tune yourself into the methodology of others and remain curious as to how one can manipulate the materials we often take for granted. It’s all quite limited and special to behold. 

Jen De Roberts

This body of work is comprised of acrylic pour paintings.

Madeline Bartley*

This piece originally started as a large experiment. I wanted to learn how to best draw on tar paper in regards to painting, printing or drawing. This material was a curbside find back in 2014. I have been slowly learning what works and what doesn’t work on this roofing paper. In my artistic practice, I am fond of watercolor and inks. However, this paper is designed to be waterproof and I was forced to try out dry mediums.

In March this year, I was gifted a set of pastel pencils and a new drawing supply shifted my progress on this project. The vibrant colors and lines are all brought out by the pastel pencils and truly brought this work into completion. The vibrance from the vegetation stands out from the black background. It was also very interesting to bring out a subtle middle layer and stark whites from the black paper. 

The inspiration behind the imagery is from a recent trip to Joshua Tree, CA. I really enjoy illustrating imaginary landscapes, yet I include memories of places that I travel. The high desert received a great amount of rain this year, resulting in striking spring flora in a place I understood to be dry and rather desolate. 

On My Own Time is an opportunity for me to showcase my larger works. Because this is a local show in town, I do not have to be concerned with shipping and handling. Removing that hassle, I can confidently select bigger drawings and prints. 

Additionally, I really enjoy the moment before the jurors select works for the OMOT exhibit when everyone at Boxcar shows their work in a mini-exhibition. Seeing other artwork and discussing artistic practices with coworkers is energizing as an artist. 

Rebecca Miller*

Portrait (far lefthand side of the photo) came from an idea while I was mending and doing seamstress work. All the extra thread tails heaped up on a pile looked like a mess of hair. The concept evolved from there. The piece is influenced by both contemporary textile artists working in embroidery and artists who break the fourth wall in some unusual or clever manner. 

The other two pieces were part of a larger illustration series called “The Body Oddity“. The illustration series focuses on bone “oddities” — be it normal genetics or human-made alterations. The two pieces in this mini-show are “Sixth Finger (Polydactyl)” and “Elongated Skulls (Lipombo)“. Resources for the hand-drawn illustrations included x-rays of the bone conditions and photography from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. Osteology has fascinated me for quite some time.

On My Own Time is a great avenue for artists from all media to get a chance to share what drives them creatively. From Boxcar co-workers to team members in different business sectors across our area, this show gives local central New York artists a great opportunity to display their work.

Every year contains wonderful new artwork!

Inquisitive Printers Want To Know: Even More

This week’s Inquisitive Printer focuses on a new chapter for a letterpress printer, the cool printing history of Basel, Switzerland and a creative idea for sketch-booking in the summer.

REBECCA: 

It’s wonderful to see our letterpress friends grow and be on the move. Earlier this month, a cool Chicago-based letterpress printer, A Favorite Design, did just that. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Amber Favorite & her husband have been able to move into their own brick-and-mortar store in the Albany park area. Way to go and congratulations!

A. Favorite Design letterpress print shop Chicago

(photography courtesy of blockclubchicago.com / afavoritedesign.com )

JAKE:

A significant other’s trip to Europe became an occasion for me to do a little poking into the history of Basel, Switzerland. I couldn’t — and really, still can’t — put my finger on any one reason why Basel feels significant to me, as prominent as it has been in the back of mind. Perhaps it’s some subconscious awareness that many of my cultural heroes are alumni of the old university, like Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Gustav Jung, and Herman Hesse.

In the Renaissance, it was home to father of pharmacology, the astrologer and alchemist Paracelsus; in the modern era, it was the site of chemist Albert Hoffman’s famous bicycle ride over the course of which he became aware of the effects of the lysergic acid diethylamide he’d just invented. What a cute set of Basel historical bookends marking either end of the modern era of hard science, between magical herblore on one side and psychedelic cybernetics on the other.

At the University of Basel’s Museum of Pharmacy is yet another intriguing and world-changing artifact: the printing press owed by Amerbach & Froben. 

(Source: wikipedia.org and the BEIC digital library)

Amerbach is noted as the first printer to make the switch to Roman typefaces! If that ain’t notable, I couldn’t tell you what is.

MADDIE:

It is summer time, Ya’ll. 

This is the time when I just want to be active and outside. Taking in as much sunlight and warm weather as possible before the next season arrives. I relish these moments, yet have the feeling that I am not focused on my studio work. This little bit of guilt follows me around, but WAIT!!! I have dissolved this worry by combining my two favorite things: drawing and playing outdoors. 

Wherever I go on adventures, I make sure to always have space in my bag for a small notebook and a set for drawing tools. Pens, fine tipped markers and a handmade notebook. 

The sketchbooks are simple to make and can be constructed in a pinch. Yay bookbinding skills!!! Any found and recycled materials such as copy paper, string or staples are used to bind together this booklet. And there you are, ready for summer action and capturing your favorite moments. 

Above are images I have included are from a 2015 sketchbook. These were made while spending the weekend in a remote cabin in central New York. Below are this year’s (2019) sketches of some recent adventures. 

I can captures new experiences and practice my artistic skills all in this small item. I have even asked my friends to contribute to some pages. These become great collection pieces over time. I can look back at these works and enjoy my artistic practice through the summer months.  

Have something that you find intriguing? Let us know in the comments below!

Boxcar Press’s Donated Letterpress Paper In Action

Our practice of donating letterpress paper to local art programs and schools has become one of the most rewarding things we do, and it never goes unappreciated by the kids who benefit. Recently, we received a visit from a local teacher whose students used the donated paper to create books that they then read to children in the local area. The visit was a happy reminder of why we do what we do to help the kids in and around Syracuse.

As show of their appreciation for our recent donation, the seventh grade students at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse made us our own book full of their praise and thanks. Each student wrote us a personal, heartfelt and touching letter. The book is absolutely one of the coolest things we’ve ever seen. It’s awesome for us to know that our donation touched these kids and that, in turn, the stories they wrote, the books they made and the time they spent with younger students, touched even more kids in a positive way.

One student wrote, “Dear Boxcar Press, Thank you for letting us use your paper. We got to touch many hearts with the books we provided for the children…”

Thank you, to the students of Jenny Albicelli’s seventh grade English class. We are so happy you enjoyed the paper and so grateful for your gift to us.

Boxcar Baby makes brilliant art


Speaking of the wonders of children’s artwork — some of you know that Boxcar Press has a Boxcar Baby, and we’re pretty laid back about parental things. We are totally okay to have the Boxcar Baby grow up to be whatever person he wants to be — though ideally, that person would be a creative, artistic, kind, adventurous artist who loves travel and hiking and letterpress printing too. It’s true, we bought crayons for our little one when he was 3 months old and then wondered – why isn’t he coloring? So we’re thrilled that, at 25 months old, he is drawing everywhere — on magazines, sometimes in books (ugh!), on paper, on chalk boards, in coloring books, on sidewalks. He even is enrolled in his very first art class! We’re totally unbiased, but we do think everything he makes is brilliant. I mean, look at those lines! Those color choices! There are few things as joyful as 2 year olds making Art.

 

Boxcar Press donates letterpress paper to children’s art museum & elementary schools

Several times a year, Boxcar Press donates some of our letterpress paper to the local public schools & local art teachers. It’s one of our favorite days ever, where we get to help out cool local teachers dedicated to art & children….so when we received this email message and photos about our paper donation — well, it just made our year.

“Thank you so very much for all of the supplies your company donated to MOYA, The Museum of Young Art and also to Chestnut Hill Elementary School. Attached are photos of the museum space and the artwork created on your papers and cardstock. The photo of the young girl working on the McCaw is a fourth grader from Chestnut Hilll. The oil pastel rendering of the chair was created at MOYA from Boxcar’s cover stock and is hanging as a permanent piece, the first in our collection. One man’s trash is another artists’ treasure! We appreciate all of your generosity, more than you could know. Happy Holidays to all at Boxcar and a heart felt thanks.” — Susan M. Fix, Executive Director, MOYA and Art Teacher at Chestnut Hill.