We have moved!

Hi All,

I combined the BIG INK blog with my site.  Check it out here.

www.lyellcastonguay.com/big-ink

Same content in a different place.  Hope you like!

BIG INK, Big Night at Zea Mays Printmaking

Gallery goers peruse the show

BIG INK on paper, video, and live action!!!

Chris, Ned, and Lyell rocking the block

Juicy Inkness

The Rub Down

Pulling the Print

BIG INK WORKSHOP

Pulling a large print!

Want to learn how to print BIG???

BIG INK: large-scale woodcut 

Zea Mays Printmaking, Florence, MA

Lyell Castonguay

Wednesday evenings from 6-9 PM, May 29-June 26, 2013

$275 non-members $245 members

Expand your scale in this 5-week big woodcut bonanza!

Learn how to transfer an image and properly tint and seal a 24” x 48” piece of plywood. Wood chips will fly as you chisel a variety of marks into the wood's surface. We will discuss proper ink consistencies and show examples of different types of oversize printing papers. Then get down and dirty with press and hand printing techniques using a baren, burnisher, and a variety of homemade tools. Become a large woodcut impresario and impress your friends with knowledge of all things BIG!  Every skill level is welcome.

Watch this video of last years BIG INK event and see all the fun you can be having printing BIG!

About Lyell:

Lyell Castonguay is a knock down, drag out, no holds barred relief printmaking extraordinaire.  Originally from the deep woods of Maine, Castonguay traveled to the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH where he received his BFA in Illustration after completing intensive study in printmaking and drawing.  His most recent series of seven large woodcut portraits, ranging in size from 36" x 54" to 36" x 72", depict 19th and early 20th century magicians.  Castonguay is now interplaying splatter and woodgrain textures, bright colors, and calligraphic lines to illustrate birds.

Castonguay's work has been exhibited at APE in Northampton, MA, the D'Amour Museum of Fine Art in Springfield, MA, the Aberystwyth School of Art in Wales, Lorg Fine Art Printmakers in Galway, Ireland, and the Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, MA.  Castonguay is a past recipient of two Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants. At his most recent community project, entitled BIG INK, Castonguay collaborated with a group of volunteers to print 7 large woodcuts on Main Street in Northampton, MA.  To see more of the artist's work and community projects please visit  lyellcastonguay.com and biginkprints.blogspot.com.

BIG INK @ Zea Mays Printmaking

A show of work by BIG INKers at Zea Mays Printmaking this February.  Printing in real time on February 22nd.

Elena Betke Brunswick and Jamie Sweeney | Red House Farm

Great print by Elena and her husband Jamie which was printed at the BIG INK event last September.  This print and many others will be on display the month of February at Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, MA.

Bryan Nash Gill - Willow

Check out Bryan Nash Gill's awesome book Woodcut.  He prints these great cross sections of different trees.  Look at that grain!   Bryan talks about his work in the studio here.

Willow 49" x 38"

Mini Ink - Behemoth T-Shirt

My nephew is getting the greatest gift of all.... an awesome woodcut t-shirt!

People in Print - Louise Kohrman

People In Print - Louise Kohrman from Zea Mays Printmaking on Vimeo.

I recently recorded and edited this video for Zea Mays Printmaking.  Check out Louise's website for more of her work.

Harbinger Update | Two Colors Down Two To Go!

Carand and I printed a bright lemon yellow background and then overprinted a terra cotta color grain texture.  I was surprised how well the grain texture translated considering it is all hand printed.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

The first peek at the print is always awesome!

Couldn't Be Happier With This So Far.....

Julie Rivera - Treehouse Update

BIG INK help Julie print this woodcut during the Sept 14th event.  Since then she has added collage and color work.

Full Color Harbinger Print

Lyell Castonguay created a single color 36" x 48" raven entitled, Harbinger, for the BIG INK show at the Northampton Center for the Arts.  He is now in the process of expanding that image into three color blocks for The Dirty Truth show in November.

Original Print

Harbinger Line Block

In Process Color Block

New Photos by Ellen Augarten

Professional photographer Ellen Augarten has created an online gallery of BIG INK photos that detail the Sept 14th event.  Click here to check out these fantastic photos!!

BIG INK by Nick Ashe

Nick created this awesome video with clips from our first BIG INK outdoor event.

Big Ink from Nick Ashe on Vimeo.

Hot of the Press!

Suzanne Wilson and Rebecca Everett did somef great write ups on the Northampton Center for the Arts show and the outdoor event.

BIG INK SUCCESS!

Thank you, Northampton!!! In 4 hours we hand printed 13 large woodcuts. We wouldn't have been able to do that without our volunteers, Zea Mays Printmaking, Gravity Press Experimental Print Shop, and the community! We reached over 200 community members who helped contribute to BIG INK being such a success!

In the upcoming weeks, we will be posting professionally produced photos, videos, newspaper articles, and images of finished pieces from the event. Here is a small sample (taken by a volunteer) of what's to come.

BIG INK Radio Interview WHMP 96.9 FM

Check out Lyell Castonguay's interview with Bill Newman during his morning radio show.  This clip originally aired Sept 14th 2012

BIG INK Interview WHMP 96.9 from Lyell C. on Vimeo.

Julie Rivera - Birdhouse

Julie Rivera's in process woodcut for the BIG INK outdoor event this Friday.

 



Zea Mays Printmaking

Liz Chalfin, director of Zea Mays Printmaking, has volunteered her time and studio equipment for Friday's event.  Come chat with Liz about her studio and the great workshops that she offers to the beginner through experienced printmaker.

Zea Mays honors the rich tradition of printmaking by exploring alternatives that are safe for artists and the environment.

Zea Mays Printmaking offers:

• A fully equipped printmaking studio providing a solvent-free working environment. 
• An educational facility offering workshops and private instruction in safer and non-toxic approaches to intaglio, photopolymer, relief and monotype printmaking.
• A contemporary print gallery
• A private editioning studio for rent by artist/printmakers. 
• A resource for offsite demonstrations and workshops as well as consultations about setting up a safer studio.             
• An archive of prints.
• A community of artists

Zea Mays Printmaking just moved into our expanded facility at 320 Riverside Drive in Florence, Massachusetts (just outside of Northampton). We now occupy a 6,000 square foot studio in the Baystate section of Florence in an old mill that once made Cutlery.

 

Ned Roche and Cait Guinta - Behind Closed Doors

Ned and Cait are making this is a monster 4' by 8' footer!

The Northampton Center for the Arts Show Is Up!

Sept 1st through Sept 28th we are BIG INKin the Center for the Arts in Northampton, MA.  The gallery hours are Tues- Friday 11am-4pm.

 

 

Carand Burnet - Henhouse

Carand Burnet is a community artist contributing this 2' x 6' woodcut for the BIG INK outdoor event.

Elena and Jamie Betke-Brunswick

Elena and her husband Jamie are community artists creating a 2' x 6' block for the outdoor woodcut demonstration. 



Liz Bannish - Process Pics