Fresh InkWinter Newsletter 2008

Zygote Press, Inc.1410 E 30th StreetCleveland, OH 44114

1 W i n t e r 2 0 0 8 www.zygotepress.com

Fresh Ink Winter Newsletter 2008

Happy 2008 dear Zygotians!

This January began our 11th year as Northeast Ohio’s only independent fine art print collaborative, and we couldn’t be more excited! The new space has become a haven for artists and art lovers alike, and we look forward to a year of great programming, excellent exhibitions, and hands-on art making opportunities for all experience levels. Thanks to all of you who became members and/or helped us during our Annual Giving drive! All financial support helps sustain Zygote’s programs and staff and significantly endorses this unique non-profit organization.

This year we will be taking care of some housekeeping by working on a strategic plan to look into the next 5 years. We look forward to assessing Zygote’s strengths and needs for improvement as we launch into our planning for the future. Please feel free to send any thoughts or comments to me at bprintz@zygotepress.com - they will be very helpful as we embark in what is always a laborious but important activity for non-profit organizations.

We will be revamping our website to include our newsletter, class registration and donation opportunities, and exhibition and artist features. Special thanks to Elliott Hoffman who volunteered his time and skills to bring us up to the 21st century with our start-up site. Now it is time to make the website a primary access point for Zygote’s activities. The plan includes eliminating the paper newsletter in exchange for an online version, which will also be sent out as a web-blast to all Zygote supporters. In this effort, we can be more efficient and green, not to mention redirecting the cost of the postage and printing to other areas of the organization. So, with that said, WE NEED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES! Please send your email addresses to zmail@zygotepress.com or if you haven’t renewed your membership for 2008, include your email address with your membership info.

It seems odd, I am sure, that a print shop should actually cut out a paper-based form of communication. Never fear! Discussions are underway to begin a twice- annual broadside program, utilizing our fabulous letterpress facilities. In addition, our partnership with the Morgan Paper Conservatory will become an exciting element of Zygote’s programs later this year. The joint is swinging with new artists and some amazing exhibitions and classes on tap — it is a very exciting time to be a Zygotian. Things will be great in 2008 — and we can’t wait!!!

See you at the shop,

Bellamy PrintzZygote co-founder and Board President

. S p e c i a l T h a n k s

Thanks you to Bruce Ackerman for his donation of the ShopVac and Noel Reifel for his very generous donation of the intaglio press.

Thanks you to all the people who helped us with their skills and talents for MONOTHON: Karen Beckwith, Jen Craun, Nicole Haney, Skye Kellerman, Laura Kushnick, Michael Loderstedt, Liz Maugans, Bellamy Printz, Noel Reifel, E.D. Taylor and Rebekah Wilhelm . Thanks to our participating artists: Susan Danko, Sarah Kabot, Matthew Kolodziej, Harriet Ballard Moore, Dana Oldfather, Jen Omaitz, Troy Richards, Mindy Tousley and Chris Zahner.

. M i s s i o n S t a t e m e n t :

The mission of Zygote Press, Inc. is to enable artists to produce fine art prints within an atmosphere of collective exchange by providing them with affordable workspace and exhibition opportunities. Zygote is a resource dedicated to increasing awareness about contemporary printmaking by creating active communication among artist-printmakers and the broader community.

. C o - F o u n d e r s :

Liz Maugans

Kelly Novak

Bellamy Printz

Joe Sroka

. S t a f f / V o l u n t e e r s :

Liz Maugans Managing Director

Jen Craun Associate Director

Susan VincentGallery Director

Anne KibbeIntern Coordinator

Glenn Ratusnik Studio Manager

Deb Ramsey MoorIntern

Rebekah WilhelmIntern

. Z y g o t e W i s h l i s t :

Purgo or Wood Gallery Flooring

Darkroom Lights [2]

Electric Stove/oven

Floor paint [5 gallon buckets]

Digital Projector.Board of Directors:

Bellamy Printz Founder + President

Noel ReifelSecretary

Bruce Ackerman

Ben Campbell

Noelle Celeste

Joanne Cohen

Michael Loderstedt

Paula Mindes

Wendy Collin Sorin

Achala Wali

.Contact Us

Zygote Press, Inc.1410 E 30th StreetCleveland, Ohio 44114Ph: 216.621.2900TTY:800.750.0750info@zygotepress.com

.Visit Us

Gallery Hours Tue 11am-3pmSat noon-4pm [+ By appt]

I-90

Superior Ave

St. Clair Ave

E. 30th.Zygote Press

Zygote Press is generously supported by artist residents, members, donors and:

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. C l a s s e s

Classes have been f i l l ing fast, so cal l and reserve your space today 216.621.2900. Don't forget, members get a 10% discount on classes!

L o w T e c h , H i g h P r i n t : taught by Melissa Agriesti

This course will work with techniques and processes that are immediate and less labor intensive than other traditional modes of printmaking. Processes such as collagraph, paper litho, monoprinting, stencil + chine colle will be covered. Class runs from 10-noon on four consecutive Saturdays in March [8th, 15th, 22nd, + 29th] Paper + misc. collagraph material needed. One Open Studio Included $175.

X a n t e W o r k s h o p : taught by Karen Beckwith

This class will use a polymer Xante matrix to create immediate graphic images using Sharpie + other permanent markers to create the drawing. This process is similar to a paper litho but with more longevity. The plate[12x15] + a Sharpie marker included. Bring Printmaking paper + drawings with you to class. March 1st 10-noon. One Open Studio Included $55.

I n t r o t o I n t a g l i o / S e c t i o n I : taught by Kate Ward Terry

This introduction to intaglio will cover the basics of line etching, soft ground, aquatint + dry point. Preparation for plates and other relevant information will be covered. Bring a zinc plate + printmaking paper (Rives BFK, Copperplate, Hahnemeuhle) to class. Four consecutive Thursday evenings in March from 7-9pm [6th, 13th, 20th + 27th] One Open Studio included $175.

I n t r o t o I n t a g l i o / S e c t i o n I I : taught by Nicole Haney

This class continues the developments of section one, listed above, and runs four consecutive Thursday evenings in April from 7-9pm [3rd, 10th, 17th + 24th] One Open Studio included $175.

. M e m b e r s U p d a t eConnections II Ohio Artists Abroad, at OAC’s Riffe Gallery, Columbus -- exhibition runs from Jan 24 thru April 6th. The exhibition is curated by Wendy Collin Sorin and includes work by the following artists: Jennifer Craun, Phyllis Kohring Fannin, Udo Haufe, Andrea Joki , Michael Loderstedt, Stephanie Sypsa and Laila Voss.

Welcome to our new artist residents: Elaine Battles, Katherine Chilicote, Chris Davis, and Carol Mitchell.

Fresh Ink

. R a n t by L iz Maugans

Four Top: Dylan, Warhol, Dennis Hopper and Kelly Clarkson at Applebees

I am from a long line of fiscal Republicans and have always felt like the little weary Democrat when it comes to handling cash and balancing my budget. This anxiety comes from the fact that I am a Midwesterner at heart who feels that money should go a long way. (I like to call it thrifty) In lieu of recent conversations with friends, which is how these things get started, I began to wonder how influential money is on the art we make. The 1,000 readership that our tiny newsletter communicates to would suspect that those who predominantly make and sell work or buy art in this region would also be thinking some of these same thoughts. Not everyone will fit this bill. Get it, this bill!

For the most part we recognize that we are not art starlets and our prices tend to be reasonable and fair market value. The coastal collectors that visit our Rustbelt galleries cannot believe the bargains they can take back with them, even though they have to divulge, they bought it in Cleveland. Printmakers are lucky and unlucky when it comes to the market. We are known prostitutes, proliferating our editioned goods and services at low bargain basement prices. (You see we can make a lot of them and lower our prices.) We scoff in disbelief at you local painters and sculptors, slightly concerned about your rent check, as we laugh all the way to Applebees.

Recently, two friends attended the Miami Basel Art Fair and they both had radically different impressions on the extravagant affair. Both agreed that it was a soulless frenzied bacchanal and that the Dow generally reigned over content. One friend found folly in both the reality check they received and the “Greed is Good” mentality that many of the dealers peddling their wares emulated. My other pal, found it to be both debilitating and depressing. They felt that after cutting through the thick, pretentious hype that what was left was so ass-backwards and misdirected from the artists original motives and message, and adding to that,  hyper-inflating all of the price tags, that an ideology existed that if it was expensive, it must be good.

After wading through the topless super models on chaise lounges by the pool and bumping elbows with Dennis Hopper, the task at hand is remembered “oh yeah, we came to see some good art.” And reportedly, there is great art to be seen. It is the place to go and see extraordinary, wild, slick, amazing art and spectacle and everyone, I am told “must go“. It sure isn’t Cleveland in December at Applebees. But if you are like me and are trained and surprised each time someone purchases your work, it makes you light up at the very idea that, “hell, I was gonna make it anyway”. The money from that purchase is extra. We do not count on that money or expect it in Cleveland. It isn’t sad or depressing, or a holier-than-thou earnestness but a reality that many of those around me working everyday possess.

My friend that was humored by all the frills in Miami was right to compare it to any other business…fashion industry, Hollywood, ballcock manufacturers etc. I recently saw an interview with Simon Cowell, the notorious critic on American Idol, where he talked about the mediocre pop music he helps generate that has made him millions. He was snubbing Bob Dylan’s music saying it “bores him to tears”. He was unapologetic about the type of music (Idol) distributes to the masses and the bucket loads of cash he makes and he compared it to McDonalds. He talked about it in respects to gourmet food. He sold his soul to making “double cheeseburger music” and the money he stuffs in his pockets is laughing all the way to the bank.

Andy Warhol was more coy with his Brillo Box sale. His Duschampian gesture of exhibiting a refabricated Brillo box inside MOMA created the same loathing from the “true” artists and critics. ”You're a killer of art, you're a killer of beauty," de Kooning told him. Why is Brillo Box art when the Brillo cartons in the warehouse are merely soap-pad containers? Why is money at the Miami art fair so different then Cleveland’s market? Why is Dylan so different from Kelly Clarkson? And why can’t I get Filet de Beouf Port de Fare with my large fry? The answers may be that these new revolutionary (and seemingly superficial, shallow and empty) art forms and arenas make us less sleepy, they awaken us to new philosophies, new possibilities and new audiences. We may be envious and dismayed at these attitudes towards money and the art world but we are awakened from our slumbers by these new philosophies. Warhol's objects speak to these two oppositions --brilliantly, attractively, and undeniably the excitement of something we had not seen before in the art world and, “empty boxes, filled with nothing but air, as hollow as the rhetoric so boldly emblazoned upon them“ - and both concepts are worth something.

. Z m a i l @ z y g o t e p r e s s . c o m

ALERT! Final Newsletter!!

Finnnnnnaaaaaaaalllyyyyyy! Zygote is finally getting their website revamped, updated and relevant! Thank you to Elliott Hoffman who volunteered his time and got us through the 21st century gate. We are very excited that we can be more efficient and green by eliminating all of the hardcopy newsletters, not to mention the cost of the postage. Included will be all the web-blasts for exhibition, classes and other events. So, with that said, WE NEED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES! Please send your email addresses to zmail@zygotepress.com or if you haven’t renewed your membership for 2008, simply include your email address with your membership information and mail it in.

For the Zygotian’s on our mailing list that have no access to a computer, we will still have a hard copy available. These can be picked up at Zygote or can be mailed to you if need be.

. C a l e n d a r

CAMP OUT curated by Liz Maugans

Includes the work of: Adrian Bertelone, Janet Bruhn, Carla Fontecchio, Dan Gerdeman, Brooke Inman, Alex Katris, Michael Krueger, Glenn Ratusnik, Bernard Sokolowski, Amy Theobald, Arnie Tunstall, Molly Walker, Jess Wheelock + Chris Zahner Runs through Feb 23rd

Material Studies: Process + Play

Alicia Bassinger, Andrea Joki, Anne Kibbe + Margaret KimuraReception Friday . Mar 7th . 6-9pmRuns through Mar 28th

Pulled Passed

Emily Blaser + Corrie SlawsonReception Friday . Apr 11th . 6-9pm Runs through May 2nd

B i t t e r S w e e t

Shelly DiCello + Margot EckeReception Friday . May 9th . 6-9pm Runs through June 14th

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. O p e n S t u d i o

Tuesdays . 11-3pmSaturdays . Noon-4pm$20 members -- $25 non-members[No open studio Apr 5th]

.Work-in-Progress

WIP sessions support the development of new work. At each meeting, participants present their works-in-progress and exchange feedback artist to artist. All members are welcome. Sessions are Sundays at 2pm - the next two are February 24th + April 20th.

Thanks to all the people who contributed their time while Liz was out having this cute baby - Willam

Dan Morgan shot this image of Liz as part of his Facing NEO portrait Project - to see more go to www.FacingNEO.com

. J o i n

Simply mail us your information along with payment, to:

Zygote Press, Inc.1410 E. 30th St.Cleveland, Oh 44114

. Z y g o t e M e m b e r s h i p Quarterly newsletter Show announcements

Artist members informed of exhibition opportunities

10% discount on all Zygote classes and workshops

Access to open studio for $20

. L e v e l s

$100 Fr iend*

$50 Family*

$35 Indiv idual

$20 Student/Senio r * special gi ft incentives