The Firecracker Press at the SGC International Conference

The Firecracker Press, a St. Louis graphic design and letterpress  studio, is pleased to announce their involvement in the 2011 SGC International Conference. The conference is an annual printmaking conference hosted by a different city each year. St. Louis was selected  as the 2011 host city, and artists from all over the United States and several other countries will attend the conference. This year is St. Louis’ chance to shine, and all of its printmakers are working hard to  make that happen, including The Firecracker Press.

Both Eric Woods (owner) and Matty Kleinberg (shop manager) are  participating in several art exhibits and demonstrations. Although there are conference events happening all four days, Friday night’s activities highlight the Cherokee Street area, where Firecracker is  located. Between printed yet tasty tacos, printing presses turned musical instruments and a wall of type, there is something to keep you busy all night long.

The following is a list of activities and events The Firecracker Press  will be involved in, and we hope you are able to attend at least a few. Firecracker will also be open for regular business hours, Mon-Fri 10-6 and Sat 11-5 pm.

Friday, March 18th:

Cherokee Printmakers' Special
Time: 5-10p
Location: In front of Latino Americana, 2800 Cherokee St.

Project coordinators Eric Woods and Kim Wardenburg are collaborating with Carlos Dominguez of Latino Americana Restaurant, as well as Ana Rivera of El Chico Bakery and other participants from the neighborhood, to serve up the "Printmakers' Special"—a taco meal complete with edible, printed tortillas inspired by the people of Cherokee Street. A free, limited-edition zine with their stories will be given to the first 250 people who purchase the "Printmakers' Special."

Manual Feed
Reception: 8p
Location: The Firecracker Press, 2838 Cherokee St.

Join The Firecracker Press for the first and only performance of Manual  Feed, an experimental music group comprised of print-makers and print-lovers! We'll click, rattle, and roll our way to an ear-shattering fusion of printmaking and musical experimentation as we play our presses. All this cacophony will produce a physical realization, a short book printed before your very eyes as we play that will be free to all takers. Audience members are welcome to join in.

St. Louis Typefoundries
Opening Reception: 5-10p
Location: The Firecracker Press, 2838 Cherokee St.

In the late 1800s, St. Louis was rich with typefoundries that were  casting the popular typefaces of the day. A few were even hiring designers to develop new type styles that would also be cast and distributed from St. Louis. Many of those typefaces are still being used today and have been transformed for use in digital form. The Firecracker Press is exhibiting a host of type specimens and samples that were designed and cast just blocks from our studio door.

Saturday, March 19th:

Publisher’s Fair
Time: 8a-3p
Location: Lindell Ballroom Prefunction and Khorassan Ballroom, Chase
Park Plaza.

The Firecracker Press will be out in force to bring you a selection of  our prints, books and cards. Take a little bit of the River City home with you!

Amos Kennedy demo
Time: 9a-12p
Location: The Firecracker Press, 2838 Cherokee St.

Amos Kennedy, letterpress printer and subject of the documentary, "Proceed and be Bold", will be hosting a demonstration of various printing techniques at The Firecracker Press. Amos left his white-collar job to pursue his love of printing and never looked back. Come learn and  listen. Free to the public and open to all!

Ongoing:

PrintTruck
Time: Various times
Location: Various places

A distant relative of the food truck, the PrintTruck will nourish  passersby with an up-close-and-personal look at a tabletop platen press, a foldout exhibition of letter-pressed posters, and the knowledge of the printers themselves. Sponsored by The Firecracker Press, this mobile  letterpress demonstration will pop up in several locations over the course of the conference with little to no warning aside from periodic updates via Twitter @FirecrackerP. Fabulous samples and fun await all who approach the PrintTruck—keep your eyes peeled for it as you  explore St. Louis.

Lights Along the Cherokee
Time: Friday night
Location Cherokee Street

6-foot-tall paper lanterns, each constructed and designed by a different  group of local artists, community organizers, and citizens, will be placed at various points along Cherokee Street by lead artist Bob Hartzell, a local printmaker, will also make a series of  silkscreen-covered towers, all based upon a common theme, to provide a design touchstone that ties this diverse group of lamps together. Several of these lamps will be designed and printed by, and installed at  the Firecracker Press.

Exhibitions:

Be Still My Heart!
Organizer: Xenia Fedorchenko
Location: Second Floor, Bixby Hall

Be Still My Heart! is an exhibit of prints exploring the different  meanings behind these phrase.
The Firecracker Press participating artists: Eric Woods & Matty Kleinberg

MONSTERCISE! Pick Your Print
March 17, 2011 - 10:30a-1p, 1:30-4p, 6-9p
Location: Lewis Center, 721 Kingsland Ave.

At the conference, there will be live printing of these pre-carved linoleum blocks, which will consist of images of various appendages, heads, and torsos of beings real and imagined. Conference attendees will select from a multitude of blocks to assemble their own unique prints.  The Firecracker Press participating artists: Eric Woods & Matty Kleinberg

IMPRESS(ed)
Opening Reception: 6-9p, March 17
On View: March 17-April 9
Location: Hunt Gallery, Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves

This exhibition features both traditional forms of letterpress, as well as depictions of contemporary evolutions linking the idea of text and image—and of letter and line—allowing these components to become co-expressive elements within the object or composition. This show features the work of both individuals and some of the finest print shops in the nation.
The Firecracker Press participating artist: Both The Firecracker Press & Matty Kleinberg

The Love Library Project by Chido Johnson
March 17-April 24, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 17, 6-8pm
In conjunction with Washington Universities Printmaking Conference, "Love Librarian" Jana Harper brings Chido Johnson's Love Library Project to Craft Alliance. This project takes the concept of love as a theme to be explored in book form.
The Firecracker Press participating artist: Matty Kleinberg