 Not going to lie - I love a hometown gig! Recently, I was invited to guide a fun interactive letterpress activity with the lovely folks at Cochrane Tourism for their AGM (the goal for them was to "have a FUN AGM" and they absolutely succeeded). The hosts for the evening were Cochrane's little art hub, Route 22 Art Collective Gallery. Each participant received a colour your own letterpress printed postcard kit and we had activity stations set up around the gallery, including a spot for my trusty Kelsey 5x8 press where everyone could print the final touch in gold on their masterpieces!
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 Next Steps in Letterpress
Alberta Printmakers, Calgary AB 1 Day Workshop April 13th, 2025 10:00am – 4:00pm Course Description: Are you ready to expand your letterpress skills and broaden your printing abilities? Join us for a deeper look at printing with platen and cylinder presses and increase your independence within the print shop! The class is excellent for students who own or are considering purchasing their own press or those who want to independently use the A/P Studio presses with greater confidence. Cost: $135.00 Registration: Click here to sign up!  If the sight of this guy doesn't strike a little fear into your heart, my guess is you've never encountered the likes of him while out for a jog. Staunch defenders of their territory, the Canada Goose is an interesting national symbol to say the least! This print was especially fun to print with the reflective water background.
I've been exploring the complexities of reduction linocut, a printmaking process that uses only one block to print many layers. The artist starts with a barely carved block and prints a layer of colour, then carves away more of the block and prints the next colour. This process is repeated until all the layers of colour are printed, leaving very little of the original block behind. Since the layers are permanently removed from the printing block, the edition of prints is limited to the original printing session. If an error occurs, there is a chance that part or all of the work could be ruined. This piece has many layers of colour, each layer taking several hours to print all the individual pieces within the edition. I have printed this work using antique industrial printing presses, also known as “Letterpress Printing” which is a highly specialized artform that requires mechanical and artistic skill. This allowed me to be quite precise in lining up the many layers the application of ink was consistent. As a result, the colours are rich and highly pigmented, almost painterly in quality. You can purchase online here: http://www.michellewiebe.com/store/p27/The-Ambassador.html  We have a wonderful Cochrane based non profit organization, Wazin Ichinabi Ti, that is hosting Indigenous Art and Culture week from March March 15th - 23rd in a variety of locations around town, Route 22 Art Gallery being one of them!
When asked for a donation for their fundraiser, I jumped at the chance and gave them a framed print of "Bird on Fence". They do so much to connect the local Indigenous folks with the town through education and building community, I hope they have a successful event! If you love art, fashion, cinema and culture, I highly recommend showing your support and showing up this week at one of their events!  Are you one of those art lovers who has the best intentions, but just never gets around to framing the work you collect?
Luckily, I have a nice selection of my latest Alberta Birds series beautifully framed and available through Bluerock Gallery in Diamond Valley, AB. I am delighted to have these new pieces available in-store and online, ready to take home and hang on your walls. The image size is 5" x 7" and they are double matted and framed so that the total piece is 11" x 14" in size. They look sharp all together or solo! If you haven't been there before, I highly recommend the drive on a sunny afternoon. Their space is filled with light, books and art that will leave you inspired. They carry work by many highly regarded local artists! You can check my available here: https://bluerockgallery.ca/collections/michelle-wiebe  Relief Printmaking Exploration
Red Deer Polytechnic, Red Deer AB 5 Day Summer Series Course July 7th - 11th , 2025 Course Description: Join me for a deep dive one week printmaking intensive at Red Deer Polytechnic! Explore the art of relief printmaking, working with linoleum, wood type, letterpress, and more. Learn to incorporate inks, diverse printing surfaces, tools, and mixed media techniques into your creative practice. All levels accommodated. Cost: $695.00 Registration: Click here to sign up!  What a is Tennessee Warbler doing so far north? A better question might be why do they call it a Tennessee Warbler if it lives in the boreal forests of Canada for a part of the year? This print was so much fun to make with the juxtaposing pinks and greens.
I've been exploring the complexities of reduction linocut, a printmaking process that uses only one block to print many layers. The artist starts with a barely carved block and prints a layer of colour, then carves away more of the block and prints the next colour. This process is repeated until all the layers of colour are printed, leaving very little of the original block behind. Since the layers are permanently removed from the printing block, the edition of prints is limited to the original printing session. If an error occurs, there is a chance that part or all of the work could be ruined. This piece has many layers of colour, each layer taking several hours to print all the individual pieces within the edition. I have printed this work using antique industrial printing presses, also known as “Letterpress Printing” which is a highly specialized artform that requires mechanical and artistic skill. This allowed me to be quite precise in lining up the many layers the application of ink was consistent. As a result, the colours are rich and highly pigmented, almost painterly in quality.  These birds in flight were inspired by illuminated manuscript pages and my love of simple black and white linocut artwork.
Linocut is an artform where the artist starts with a block and carves away everything that is not a part of the image. The areas left behind form a stamp that receives ink and is pressed onto paper to create the one-of-a-kind print. Limited edition means that only a small number of these prints were made before the block was retired. It was printed using high quality, oil-based ink on printmaking paper with an antique printing press. Find it here: http://www.michellewiebe.com/store/p25/Chi-Rho.html |
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