Alex Lines – Artist Reception

Alex Lines is Saltgrass Printmakers’ current Artist in Residence. 

Alex Lines (they/she) is a printmaker and painter originally from Salt Lake City. Currently living in North Carolina, Lines has returned to the valley to extend their printmaking techniques while working in a collaborative printshop.

Their work often celebrates the beauty of the natural world and our connection to it. They are currently exploring what it means to develop a personal style as an artist.

Join us Saturday, September 14th – 3pm to 6pm for an afternoon exhibition with Alex!

Saltgrass Printmakers’ next Artist in Residence is Bruce Crownover. Bruce will arrive at the shop on April 14, 2024 and be working throughout the week. He will be creating a reductive woodblock print during his time at the press. Saltgrass Printmakers will be hosting an artist reception and Q&A session on Saturday, April 20^th, starting at 1pm.

Artist reception Friday, April 19th 6pm to 8pm.

“Continuing in the long-standing tradition of exploring nature, I am fascinated by ordinary–and extraordinary­–landscapes, weather, and space. From the micro- to macroscopic, I find myself in the center and am compelled to draw or paint this juxtaposition, as I perceive it.”More about Bruce can be seen here http://crownoverart.com

Since 2009, Bruce has been working collaboratively with Todd Anderson and Ian Van Collier on “The Last Glacier” project. Their collective artwork is presented in a limited edition artbooks. Check it out! https://www.thelastglacier.com

“As a professional artist and craftsman, it’s been my daily practice to draw and paint whether at home or travelling. Most recently, I have been investigating observable changes in the environment through paintings, prints, and books. 

The Last Glacier, a well-received book published in 2015 (sold out edition of 15), is now in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the U.S. Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. Additional books include ROMO: The Last Glacier (Rocky Mountain National Park) and Sentinels, which focuses on tree migration in south-east Utah. Currently, I am working on two books, Baffin Island and Wind River Range, in addition to large-scale woodcuts about the Himalayas.”

“As a master printer, I have collaborated with scores of artists, including Chuck Close, Judy Pfaff, Sean Scully, David Lynch, and Robert Cottingham, to co-direct and develop thousands of successful fine art projects in a variety of print media. I’ve closely mentored hundreds of student employees and volunteers.”

“I wanted to do something really intimate, really small that didn’t draw an attention to itself….that was about intimate viewing.” Jacob Samuel, New Ground 2023

Etching is a commitment, but this course is designed in small learning portions. Participants can sign up for the sessions they are interested in. Each session will focus on a particular etching  technique. We will begin each session with a demonstration of the technique followed by plenty of shop time to complete the print. 

While sequential, these sessions are designed as independent workshops for beginning to intermediate students. Each session fee includes all your tools and materials necessary to complete a 5” x 7” print. 

Line

First Session: Saturdays, January 6 – February 24, 2024 – 12:30pm to 4pm

Contact: Stefanie Dykes – stefanie.dykes822@gmail.com to reserve your place in the class.

Maximum 6 participants

Students will be working on copper plates and drawing with etching needles to create their imagery. We will be using a traditional hard ground application to draw through and expose the copper. Once the image is complete, students will submerge the copper plate in the etching bath to incise the drawing below the surface of the copper plate. We will cover basic copper plate preparation, image transfer, hard ground application, etching the image, ink applications and printing the plate with Saltgrass Printmakers’ Takach etching press. 

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Saturdays, January 6, 13 & 24, 2024 – 12:30pm to 4pm 

Class Fee: $135.00 includes 5” x 7” copper, etching needle/burnisher, ink, BFK Rives printmaking paper and everything else! If you have your own etching tools, class fee is $125.00.  

Line & Tone

“Discovering a new tool or a new medium was for him…an incentive for finding new ways for creating images.” David Hockney The Complete Early Etchings 1961-1964

Second Session: February 3, 10 & 24, 2024 – 12:30pm to 4pm

For the second session, we will be adding tone & value to our images. We will start with a line etched image and then apply an aquatint. We will cover the basics for applying an aquatint (so called because aquatints can look like watercolor washes) to establish values within the image. We will look at David Hockney and his early autobiographical etchings and Paula Rego’s nursery rhythm etchings. This session can be coupled with the etching one session.  

**I’m thinking about building our own DIY Claude glass which is a tool for drawing to help compress the value range. With a Claude glass, visible tones go from near black to some sort of grey. The Claude Glass appears to group images into a limited number of similar values. Many artists seem to work within a simplified tonal range, and this helps to give clarity to the image. 

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate 

Class Fee: $135.00 includes 5” x 7” copper, etching needle/burnisher, ink, BFK Rives printmaking paper and everything else! If you have your own etching tools, class fee is $125.00.  

A $25.00 non-refundable deposit will be required to hold your spot. Contact Stefanie Dykes stefanie.dykes822@gmail.com. 

During our 20th Anniversary party and Bogue Foundry Block Party, Saltgrass Printmakers will also have – what we are calling – ‘The Kleinschmidt Years’ prints for sale. Bob Kleinschmidt was known in the art community as a respected artist and teacher. He retired as Emeritus Professor from the University of Utah 1999 after a 30-year tenure in the printmaking department.

Bob’s estate has gifted Saltgrass with student portfolios from his teaching career. We are selling the prints as a fundraiser to support programing, community outreach, and facility upgrades. 

If you were a student of Bob Kleinschmidt and participated in any of the printmaking student portfolios during the 70s, 80s or 90s, we’d be happy to return your print to you.

Opening Reception for Saltgrass Printmakers’ 20^th Anniversary print portfolio, Luck of the Draw. All print sale proceeds will go to programing, community outreach, and facility upgrades. Join us to celebrate 20 years of making an impression in the Salt Lake Valley! 

Luck of the Draw – Saltgrass Printmakers asked each participating artist to respond to a drawn card from Brian Eno & Peter Schmidt’s ‘Oblique Strategies – Over one hundred worthwhile dilemmas’ deck. The results are diverse in their subject matter and printmaking technical application!  The portfolio will be exhibited at the next Rocky Mountain Print Alliance’s print conference in Spokane, WA – October 12 – 14, 2023.  

This event is Free & Open to the Public. Bring a friend!!