We're still keeping tabs on our Mome-veteran Andrice Arp, and tonight, Thursday, May 2nd, she has some original artwork debuting at the SoHiTek Gallery in Portland, OR!
To celebrate the gallery's birthday, they have curated a show dedicated to our astrological sign, the Taurus. Dig In Your Heels: A Taurus Art Show features work from Sean Christensen ABT, Cameron Hawkey, Graham Kahler, Marsuplala, Mark Quemada, Amber Smith, Daria Tessler, Rebecca Urias, as well as Andrice! She explains on her blog:
So maybe I've been looking at too many sci-fi paperback covers from the '70s lately. Whatever, I think maybe it's OK. I'm also super excited to be OIL PAINTING again! I've been thinking about it for quite a while, and this show seemed like a good opportunity to pull out my box of oil paints that I haven't opened since I moved to Portland.
Nice! SoHiTek Gallery is located at 625 NW Everett St #102, in the Everett Station Lofts in downtown Portland.
The Giant Robot Post-It Show 8 runs from December 8th through 16th at GR2 [ 2062 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA ] with an opening reception event on Saturday, December 8th from 6:00 - 10:00 PM. Come prepared to "cash-and-carry"!
Find your roomiest tote bag, and stop by the bank for dollar bills... It's time for the 2nd Annual Short Run Small Press Festthis Saturday, November 3rd at the Vera Project in Seattle Center!
Short Run runs (heh) from 10:30 AM - 5:30 PM. A little advice, if I may: get there early! There is so much to do and see at Short Run, and this year's fest is even bigger, if you can believe it!
There's nearly 100 small press exhibitors offering their comics, zines, and art books, from $.50 to $50.00! Plus, enjoy local animation screening all day, featuring Seattle Experimental Animation Team (SEAT), Reel Grrls, and other independent filmmakers. Exhibitors will be showing off all the ways they blend genres, such as advice expert Nicole Georges, writer/professional barber Zach Mandeville who will be giving free haircuts, and puppet master Erin Tanner. You can participate in live silk-screening where you can screen print a comic drawn by local artists or print one of our designs onto clothes you bring yourself. And like last year, there will be another decadent bake sale with donated goodies from Macrina Bakery, Grand Central Bakery, The Bang Bang Cafe, Stumptown Coffee, and our exhibitors and supporters!
So, run, run, run to Short Run Small Press Fest this Saturday! The Vera Project is located on the corner of Warren & Republican Ave N, next to the Key Arena in Seattle Center. See you there!
• Portland, OR: Come hear Joe Sacco speak at the Portland Central Library from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Tickets for this event are free, and will be available 30 minutes prior to the program. Space at programs is limited, and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. (more info)
Gung Hay Fat Choy! According to Chinese astrology, it is the Year of the Dragon, and our friends at Giant Robot are celebrating with a fiery dragon-themed show, featuring mythical creatures from our own Andrice Arp, Renee French, and Steven Weissman, among many others!
Astrologists say the Year of the Dragon is a year of change and mobility, so it's only appropriate that this event also serves as a farewell to Giant Robot's Michelle Borok, who is moving to Mongolia. I will miss seeing her and her awesome eyeglasses at conventions!
Year of the Dragon opens on Saturday, January 28th with a reception from 6:30 to 10:00 PM at GR2 [2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA], and the show runs until February 15th.
• New York City, NY: The mighty Michael Kupperman hosts another installment of his monthly comedy series The Crime Stoppers Club, co-hosted with Kate Beaton, and this month, featuring Matt Koff, Lisa Hanawalt, Dyna Moe, Geoff Lapid, Anthony Wilson, and Sam Henderson! The fun starts at 7:00 PM at Luca Lounge. And stay tuned to the FLOG for some video sneak peeks tomorrow!
Saturday, January 28th
• Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics is proud to co-sponsor the 2012 Graphic Novel Panel, held by the Seattle Graphics Arts Guild, featuring panelists Megan Kelso, Matthew Southworth, Brandon Jerwa, Emi Lenox, and Chuck Messinger. The panel is from 1:00-4:00 PM at the Seattle Design Center, and the after-party will be held at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery from 4:30-6:00 PM. (more info)
• Los Angeles, CA: Giant Robot kicks off the exhibit Year of the Dragon, featuring work from Andrice Arp, Renee French, and Steven Weissman, among many others! The opening reception is from 6:30 to 10:00 PM at GR2, and the exhibit runs until February 15th.
Thanks to everyone who came by and bought books at the Fantagraphics tables at the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival this past weekend! Here's a look at what events are coming up this week:
Wednesday, December 7th
• Los Angeles, CA: It's your last chance to see the The Art of Problem Solving at Giant Robot, a spotlight on the animated series from Ben Jones, featuring fellow Fantagraphics artists Jon Vermilyea and John Pham on staff. Make a pizza date out of it! (more info)
• Seattle, WA: It's also your last chance to see the Short Run Art Show at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery! Curated by Kelly Froh, the exhibit features original comix art, illustration and book works by Max Clotfelter, Patrick Keck, Martine Workman, Elaine Lin, Jason T. Miles, Chris Cilla, Andrice Arp, Tim Root, Billis Helg, Marc Palm, Eroyn Franklin, Tom Van Deusen, Tim Miller, Tory Franklin, Jesse Reklaw, Sean Christensen, and Erin Tanner. (more info)
• Los Angeles, CA: Join Tony Millionaire at the third annual Feral House/Process Media Winter Solstice Celebration at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery. He'll be signing copies of his gorgeous new collection 500 Portraits. (more info)
It's that time of year again! The time of year where a flock of Fantagraphics artists participate in the annual Giant Robot Post-It Show, and like last year, it will be curated by the inspirational husband-wife team of Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd.
The Giant Robot Post-It Show 7 runs from December 10th through 29th at GR2 [ 2062 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA ] with an opening reception event on Saturday, December 10th from 6:30 - 10:00 PM. It's "cash-and-carry," so don't forget your bag-and-board!
Seattle has always had a reputation for its strong underground comics scene, but dang it, how is it we haven't had our own small press show before?
Well, that all changes thisSaturday, November 12th as the Short Run Small Press Fest makes its debut at the Vera Project at Seattle Center, from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
As we were preparing for the art show, I thought it'd be fun to chat with the organizers of Short Run -- that would be, Martine Workman , Kelly Froh, Jenny Gialenes, Eroyn Franklin -- about the inaugural event:
So, how did the idea of Short Run come together?
Martine: I've been going to comics events since 2004, even though I don't really make comics. I always wanted to attend an event that welcomed all sorts of makers and small publishers of comics, writing, poetry, zines, and artist books. Last year Eroyn saw my work and contacted me out of the blue since we were both publishing our own books in Seattle. Our friendship grew out of conversations about self publishing, art, craftsmanship, and wanting to create a community for ourselves. Around this time, Profanity Hill was up and running for a bit, and it was exciting and surprising to see so much local work being made. After talking to my pal Jenny, who works in literary event promotion and moonlights as a zinester, it seemed possible to bring the self publishers of our region together by organizing a small press fest! She came up with the name -- which I love! -- and agreed to help coordinate the event. Kelly, a true blue mini-comix maker and fantastic organizer, joined us soon after and rounded out the group. We've had a lot of fun and I feel really lucky we work so well together as a team.
Jenny: The first night Martine and I spoke about Short Run, we were talking about the need for this kind of event - I had just come back from SF Zine Fest and felt like I found my mission in life. There was this sense of community there that I had only seen small glimpses of in Seattle.
What do you see as the main focus of Short Run?
Eroyn: Short Run hopes to extend Seattle's exposure to the small press world that exists within and around it. We want to expand the audience for small press work and let artists engage directly with the people who like what they do. Short Run will build on the small press community that we do have and foster communication between artists who work in different mediums and styles. As a group we don't commit to any particular medium or aesthetic -- we are not a comic-con or a craft fair or a zine festival but we encompass aspects of all of these because we think they can all be engaging.
How do you define what is "small press" to you?
Kelly: Small press, in regards to what you will see at Short Run, are hand-made, self-published, “short run” art books, comics, zines, and literary works. You’re going to see a lot of work that has been photocopied, screen-printed, side-stitched, glued, covered in gold leaf, stencil-cut, and folded in ways you can’t conceive of! Many of the artists and writers have had one or more of their books “professionally” published, or hope to some day, but Short Run’s heart is the home made.
Even though Fantagraphics won't have a table, several of our artists will be in attendance... like Megan Kelso! How did you get Megan involved?
Kelly: We are honored to say that Megan contacted us! In fact, when we received her email, we knew we were on the right track, and it gave us confidence. Megan might be a published cartoonist, but she has a career history built on DIY, Riot Grrls and self-published zines and minis. Her zine collection that was on display at Fantagraphics a few months ago was inspiring.
Kelly: We are totally excited that Michael Dowers will be at Short Run! We don’t think mini-comix ever went away, but the people creating them scattered and many new comic artists were not aware of any kind of “scene”. Seattle does not have a Fallout Comix anymore, or a Confounded Books, or even a Pilot Books. Besides a few dusty spin racks, there is no physical hub for selling and sharing mini-comics. There are lone creators and drawing groups all over Seattle that meet on different nights in difference places, and mini-comics are being made.
Eroyn: The capability to self publish is more attainable than ever and people are definitely taking advantage of new technologies and affordable printing to produce great work.
Kelly: The problem is that once they’re made, they’re usually not going very far out into the world. Larry Reid is bringing in an assortment of minis at Fantagraphics, and there is a small press section at Elliot Bay Books but for the most part, you are on your own to market your mini-comic if you make one.
Eroyn: Along with these stores and a few independent distros like Jason T. Miles’ Profanity Hill, we hope to help foster underground press in Seattle.
And, finally, what sort of future do you guys envision for Short Run? Do you hope to keep it small and local? Or will it eventually be the Seattle-version of an APE or Stumptown?
Jenny: I would like to see Short Run grow into itself organically. Big is not necessarily better - unless there is a solid community there providing the support. It's the difference between a stadium concert and going to see a local band at your favorite club - both have equal measure, they are just two very different experiences.
Kelly: It was our experiences at these larger festivals that helped us to decide what we did and didn’t want to be. We want to always be free to the public, and we want to always have low cost tables. Being local was really important to us as well, and one aim of Short Run was to draw out first-time tablers and try to reach people who had maybe shied away from other larger conventions. Looking over our exhibitor list, you will see that we have a lot of exhibitors from Portland. We can learn a lot from the comics community that they have built but Seattle has its own history of alternative cartoonists, and we need to grow from there. Short Run not only has a few of these “legends” of small press in attendance, but we have a ton of more obscure artists and writers, not only from comics, but from zines, animation, and the literary world. It’s a great showcase of artists and writers and we are really excited to share Short Run with Seattle!
The Short Run Small Press Fest is this Saturday, November 12th at the Vera Project [ Warren & Republican Ave N ], and the Art Show & After Party is from 6-9 PM at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery [ 1201 South Vale Street ]. See you there!
