Flatbed Press: Under Pressure
Where Aspiring Printmakers Ink
Words by Jessi Devenyns Photos by Shelby Bella
Thirty-one years ago, Katherine Brimberry opened the doors to the first iteration of what would soon become an institution on Austin’s art scene. Thanks to the groundwork laid by the matriarchal patrons of Austin’s creative life like Clara Driscoll and Jane Sibley, Katherine arrived in Austin and was greeted by a thriving community of painters, musicians, sculptors and graffiti artists. What Austin did not have, however, was a home where aspiring printmakers could ink their unique contributions onto the creative capital.
“I wanted to have a community studio so that people, like myself who didn’t have access to a press, would have a way to continue their practice in printmaking,” Katherine says. However, bringing a community studio into being required Katherine teaming up with Mark L. Smith and merging visions to not only create a dual-purpose space where artists could produce artwork but also have gallery space to display their pieces and build a community around creating and appreciating art.
Over the years, this model developed into a tenuous balance where gallery blended into workspace, and community classwork found its way before patrons. However, that all changed when Flatbed moved to a 6,000 square foot studio with a physical and temporal separation between collaborating artists and the community crafters. Now, several etching presses are ensconced in a community press where members have 24/7 access to the facilities. Of course, the limitations of the moment require them to sign up for socially-distanced time slots.
The remainder of the studio space is dedicated to a gallery where Katherine curates exhibitions and a workshop space where connoisseurs of printmaking come to be coached through the process of etching, coating, and printing their imagery with the aid of a public print press. While workshops were paused for the majority of the summer, they picked up again in September, with limited capacity. Katherine explains how the in-person workshops allow for participants to access the hands-on component that is so integral to the printmaking process. “There are things that happen in printmaking: [for instance] wiping a plate and putting on a ground. It’s all physical … And then there’s the smells and the sounds that go into doing some of the techniques,” she explains, emphasizing that teaching through Zoom is just not the same. “Unless you’re there and you get the feel for it, it’s really hard to perfect something.”
While the intricacies of an etched print can be mesmerizing and the mottled color on a sheet of paper emanate the unique beauty that is the hallmark of printmaking, Katherine says that the entire process can sometimes feel just outside of the artist’s control. However, she maintains that it is the unexpected hiccups that make printmaking such an enduring art form and primes the medium for those looking to express a momentary state of mind; much like thoughts, rarely are two prints identical. Katherine describes the process with affection, “You really get interested in what happens with the transfer; sometimes you have control over it, and sometimes you don’t. And sometimes the things that are not controlled become the most interesting.”
The Show Must Go On
Flatbed Press will host two workshops in October. The first will be a course on monotyping on Oct. 10-11 where attendees will learn to create monotypes using an experimental layering process. The second workshop will be on relief printmaking on Oct. 17-18. Participants will be introduced to designing woodcut images and then transferring them onto a surface using a printing press.
Contact:
(512) 477-9328
3701 Drossett Drive Suite 190
info@flatbedpress.com
flatbedpress.com
