Yaybig Southwest: April 2015

I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the print fair in Houston -- It Came From the Bayou -- at the Saint Arnold Brewery, on Sunday, April 19th.

Houston Print Fair
Sponsored by PrintMatters

Big Houston Print Fair
Flickr photos of the event!!!!!!!!!

I bought many very affordable prints for the YayBig Southwest collection from:

Lucas Ball Denton, Texas
Carlos Barberena Chicago via Nicaragua
Dylan Goldberger New York
Guerra Studios South Texas
The Amazing Hancock Brothers* Beaumont, Texas
Carlos Hernandez* Houston
Amber Kaiser Houston
Lady Lazarus printmakers Houston
Brian Maclaskey Austin
Marogon Kingsville, Texas
Dennis McNett* Houston
Carlos Pozo Houston
Matt Rebholz Austin
Jonathan Rebolloso Austin
Christopher Wallace Houston

* part of the Outlaw Printmakers

Students from Texas A&M Kingsville made me a t-shirt on the press:

Meanwhile, the main event was big steam roller prints. Between 11 am and 3 pm, they made 50 prints (using Gamblin relief ink):

The previous day (Saturday, April 18) I went to the Open House at Burning Bones Press. Besides demonstrations,they had people from Drive By Press, Gamblin and Speedball.

Burning Bones Press

Letterpress demo

Burning Bones studio

I came to Texas to see the big steam roller prints in a San Antonio museum, which were done in El Paso last October. On a lark I decided to sleuth prints in Houston, after finding the Burning Bones Press announcement online. The print show far exceeded my expectations. Congratulations Houston!

"It Came from the Bayou"
Facebook event page

Gallista Gallery

On the evening of April 11th, I set up a pop-up print table in front of the 3rd Space Art Gallery space, in the back of the Gallista Gallery complex, near downtown San Antonio. It was so much fun showing the artwork during the Second Saturday artwalk. Thank you Kim Bishop and Luis Valderas for having me!

A print selection from our collection,

both from the Southwest and Oaxaca

Print connoisseur

The scene in front of me

Projection of video

showing the steam roller prints

that Kim and Luis produced

at Texas A&M San Antonio

Alejandro Macias had the main show at the 3rd Space Art Gallery:

I bought 4 thick books on Chicano Art at the Gallista Gallery:

Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Work, Culture, and Education (2 Volumes)

Chicano Art for Our Millennium: Collected Works from the Arizona State University Community

Santiago Perez on the cover

Triumph of Our Communities: Four Decades of Mexican American Art

I also bought a new prints from Jenn Rodriguez and Arthur Morales at the Ⓡspace across the street, least I return to Tucson empty handed. Last summer we bought one of her prints front Etsy for the YayBig Southwest collection, but I had never met her before. So this was an unexpected treat, finding her there.

Jenn Rodriguez

Jenn introduced me to Alex Rubio last night, as she was exhibiting in his gallery. Alex has prints showing currently at the Vincent Price Museum-- Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection -- and next month we intend to drive out to LA to see them.

Alex Rubio electrifies San Antonio

I came to San Antonio to see the steam roller prints displayed at a fancy museum downtown -- Texas A&M University-San Antonio Educational and Cultural Arts Center (ECAC) -- in a show called Texas Sized Breach. Kim and Luis came to El Paso last October to print with El Paso artists Jesus "Cimi" Alvarado, Zeque Penya and Francisco Delgado. (and we sided busted, bringing two Tucson artists into the mix -- Ruben Urrea Moreno and Marcus Robiason).

See all the steamroller prints in the museum at this blog link!!!