"Let me take you upstairs and show you my etchings..."
I am a BIG fan of Flatbed Press. I happened upon their printmaking shop not long after they opened in 1989 and I found their compassionate and intense outlook on printmaking and life to be a haven of creativity and brilliance.
Katherine Brimberry and Mark L. Smith have the midas touch for choosing an excellent location for their business and committed people to work with... they also retain an artistic integrity in what they do and HOW they do it.
Flatbed is a publishing workshop which means they do collaborative work with artists. They also work with other entities on printing limited editions of etchings, monotypes, lithographs... prints. ORIGINAL prints. which may seem like an oxymoron to some, but it makes sense if you have ever seen an edition of etchings. Each print is pulled by hand, each one an original print, from a piece of copper of a piece of zinc that an artist has labored over for years sometimes.
Their location in East Austin has an exhibit space, printmaking studio, and office. Gerald Manson, Master Printer Emmeritus, is also the Master of Dry Humor and he loves NPR and great classical music...
Flatbed World Headquarters shares space with 8 other creative professionals. Flatbed's workshops are stellar and I would always recommend anything Kathy Brimberry is teaching... Solar Plate would be a good start. Another great beginner class would be Intro to Copperplate Etching with Teresa.
If you are a printmaking afficionado, maybe you would enjoy PhotoPolymer Film Intaglio. Mark Smith offers individual 90 minute critiques, which, for the active artist, can be informative, intense, and fun. Flatbed also offers business courses for artists including one about tax tips from a CPA and an internet promo class for artist on how to promote work by increasing web presence.
My yelp disclaimer is that I taught printmaking to UT Architecture students at Flatbed for a summer ...
If you are looking to buy original art for your home, stop by at one of their gallery exhibits or make an appointment... so you, too, may someday soon be able to say "Let me take you upstairs and show you my etchings..." read more