Through a grant provided by the Northampton Arts Council, equipment and technical support from Zea Mays Printmaking, and organizational and logistic support from C3, Now.For.Art is proud to announce the first Northampton Steam Roller Printmaking Workshop to take place May 15th 2010, at a TBD location in downtown Northampton. We are currently accepting proposals for participation in the workshop. This workshop provides the opportunity to create wood block relief prints up to 4’ x 8’. A limited number of slots are available and proposals will be juried. We will accept proposals from individuals as well as “groups” working collaboratively on one block/print. We have approximately 18-20 slots for printmaking available for the day.

For participation in the project you will need to provide:

• Your own board for carving, which MUST be 1/2” MDF up to 4’ x 8’ (No exceptions)
• Your own carving tools. Printmaking paper of your choosing, paper will be available through us at cost however it is encouraged to supply your own should you have a strong preference over brand/weight/ etc.
• You must be able to be present at the workshop on May 15th. Ideally we would like you to be present for the entire day as extra hands will always being needed to help maximize the efficiency of the flow of the workshop.
• If you live locally and do not have means of transportation to acquire your own board we can help you obtain one. Boards do not need to be exactly 4’ x 8’, they can be smaller but we really encourage applicants to capitalize on the opportunity to go big.
• If your proposed printing block smaller than 3’ x 3’ please do not apply!

DO NOT PURCHASE MATERIALS UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED THAT YOUR PROPOSAL HAS BEEN ACCEPTED!

We will provide:

• Steam roller and driver
• Ink
• Brayers
• Cleaning supplies
• Technical assistance
• Storage of wet prints
• Exhibit and artist reception (TBD) including all advertisement and promotion.

To submit your proposal please follow the guidelines below and mail your proposal no later than March 19th.

Mail to:

Katherine Romansky

103 State St, Apt 4

Northampton MA 01060

Proposals may also be submitted via email to Now.For.Art@gmail.com. If submitting via email please place your proposal in the body of the email, no text based attachments, you ay however attach photographs and sketches as JPEG’s. Please label jpeg attachments as Lastname_sketch1.jpg. Also, please title email under “Steam Roller Proposal”.

Include this information in your proposal in exactly this order:

1. Your Name, Address, phone number, email address and website/blog
2. Please give a description of the print you intend to make and the dimensions you anticipate working with. Be as elaborate as necessary but try to be direct and concise, describe the visual and conceptual components of your idea.
3. Does your proposal tie into a greater body of work (please describe)? If so, how would the opportunity to create such a large scale print help in the development of this body of work? If your proposal is intended to be a “stand alone” project, what are your intentions/ motivations for the project, where do you see this print ending up?
4. What direct and indirect benefits do you anticipate gaining from participating in the workshop? Why is this opportunity important for you at this point in your artistic career?
5. Lastly, if your proposal is not accepted what measures would you take to bring your proposal to fruition? Is the success of your proposal absolutely contingent on materializing via large scale relief printmaking? The answer doesn’t necessarily need to be yes and this question isn’t meant to be cruel, try to convince us that you are really dedicated to your ideas, don’t be a car salesman either, be a passionate artist!
6. Provide up to 4 images of sketches or photographs of your idea, if submitting by email please submit JPEGS. If submitting by mail please make sure your prints are clean and clear!

Some Pointers:

Be direct and concise, don’t try to impress us with flowery language or big words, impress us with clear explanations of your project. Try to fit your written proposal on no more than two pages not including images. Also know that we are interested and open to all sorts of ideas, got a big idea and want to run with it? Let us know what you are thinking! Lastly, do not hesitate with any questions regarding your proposal! If you are concerned about any aspect of your proposal please write us and we will gladly help, we want to facilitate art!

Please forward all questions to Now.For.Art@gmail.com We look forward to your proposals!

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Northampton Arts Council, A local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Additional support from ZeaMays Printmaking and Commonwealth Center for Change