Strawberryluna

New poster released: Moe. Snoe.down 2010

My new screenprinted poster for Moe.'s Snoe.down 2010, 4-colors (click for more info or to buy)

This is our newest poster release all new and ready to go home with you:

It’s the good time winter fun fest of  Moe. and their huge Snoe.down Festival jam. We’re super excited to be working with Moe. When they contacted us, the mission was to mix things up from their previous posters and produce something fun, child-like and fresh. So, we Let loose & had a snowy good time with it for them. Wheee!

Snoe.down is the all-ages annual winter music festival hosted by moe. and not only features multiple sets by Moe., but in 2010 also playing are funk/soul group Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, jam-grass favorites Railroad Earth, Assembly of Dust, and Hot Day at the Zoo, southern rockers the Bridge, up-and-coming jam-rockers the McLovins, and the Heavy Pets plus Leroy Justice, Lynch, and Moon Alice.

This is my 4-color, hand screenprinted poster with snowy light blue, warm orange and black hand-mixed, non-toxic water based acrylic inks. Super secret magic: transparent baby blue & orange inks = light brown, magical overprints. (Overprints are when semi-transparent layers of ink combine and overlap to make another color.) I will have a very limited number of this poster for sale, as most of the edition was sold by the band during the Snoe.down festival. Size: 18w x 24h inches. Edition of 675. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight. $25

I design and hand screenprint all of my posters and prints. Let me know if you have any questions! Unless otherwise requested, all orders are shipped within 5 business days, though usually much sooner. I like stupid little toys, hopefully you do too because there will be one or two in your tube.

My new Moe. Snoe.down Festival poster is now available for purchase, click this link for my website or on the image above.

2 new rock poster releases! St. Vincent & The Wreckids


My 6 color, hand screenprinted poster for St. Vincent's show wi/ Wildbirds & Peacedrums in Pittsburgh on 2/21/10. (Click to purchase or for more info,)

After taking the month of January off from printing to work on some big design projects, as well as recover and regroup from a fantastically hectic summer + fall + winter 2009 work schedule, we were finally able to really focus on getting my new studio up and running for real. Craig found the space in July ’09 and I signed the lease starting in September. It was love at first sight for sure. A blog post covering the set up and construction of my new solo studio (nicknamed Friendship Studio) is definitely due. And now that it’s been one week since completing my first prints and posters there from start to finish? I’m feeling really great about all of the crazy and hard work that we did. But, more on that soon.

For now, I’m really stoked to post these new releases, as they are the first posters out of my Friendship Studio!

First up is actually the 2nd poster printed at my new space : that being my poster (pictured above) for St. Vincent. I’m really proud to be a part of the tour series organized for this tour, with the super cool (& Swedish!) Wildbirds & Peacedrums. The show was…amazing. Definitely try to catch St. Vincent on tour at some point this year. The above is my 6-color all hand pulled screenprinted poster with bark brown, clear yellow & magenta hand-mixed, non-toxic water based acrylic inks. Super secret magic: Three inks & 3 screens were used to make a total of 6 colors utilizing lots of overprints. (Overprints are when semi-transparent layers of ink combine and overlap to make another color.) I will have a very limited number of this poster for sale, as most of the edition was sold by the band on the night of the show & on tour. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Edition of 125. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight. Click here for more information on my website or to purchase.

And next up is actually the FIRST poster that I printed in my new studio. Is it backwards posting this first poster one second? Yes. But cousin, that’s how I roll.

My 2 color, hand screenprinted poster for The Wreckids CD release show in Pittsburgh on 2/19/10. (Click for more info!)

This poster is special all over. It’s for our dear friends The Wreckids CD release party in Pittsburgh, and you need to know a few things. 1. They are the coolest. 2. They’re awesome. 3. This poster is ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY available through the band. Yep, that’s right. So if you like it? Please help support them and purchase a poster from The Wreckids directly via their Myspace page HERE.

The Wreckids are some sweetie pies in disguise. This poster is for their CD release party for the record “Singing You To Sleep But Giving You Nightmares”, and doesn’t that just about folktale style say it all? The above is my 2-color all hand pulled screenprinted poster with blood red and midnight black hand-mixed, non-toxic water based acrylic inks. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Edition of 25. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight.

And, I finally got to take some more screenprinting process shots, only these offer some sneak peaks into my new print digs. Holy moly! Natural light! Click HERE or on the images below for more information about my hand screenprinting process & to see more photos at my Flickr page.

St. Vincent poster process photos:

2nd color printed of my St. Vincent poster. (Click for more information & photographs.)

My completed hand screenprinted St. Vincent poster, drying on the rack. (Click for more information & photographs.)

St. Vincent poster process, 3rd color flooded in the screen backlit screen. (Click for more information & photographs.)

The Wreckids poster process photos:

The Wreckids CD release poster 1st color screen. (Click for more information & photographs.)

The Wreckids CD release poster, racked & done SON! (Click for more information & photographs.)

My above St. Vincent poster is now available in my webstore here.

Have questions about these posters or screenprinting? Ask away! It might take me awhile, but I always write back.

ModCloth’s Blog did a lil feature on me = the poster artist is ::blushing::

My poster for The Dandy Warhols in ModCloth's feature on Gig Posters. (Click to read the piece.)

One of my favorite online clothing and accessories stops (I seriously look over there weekly) is ModCloth. They’re awesome, and they really capture the mix of vintage and modern style that I adore with their selections.

ModCloth also run a blog, and to  my utter flattered and shyly amazed delight, their Lifestyle writer Natalie B. wrote a piece about Gig Posters and featured my work. (!) It’s always so cool as a printmaker and designer to hear about what I and others in our little field think about our work, both in a personal way and just generally. Especially since while many of us posters artists know each other, we tend to be far flung and each working in our own microcosmic corners of the scene.

Anyway, thanks so much Natalie & ModCloth! Below is the article, and you can also click the links in this post (like right HERE) or the image above to read the comments posted on the ModCloth blog post about my Dandy Warhols poster (available by clicking HERE) and other poster artists. Or, be awesome and post some of your own comments about poster art & artists here on my blog too. Don’t be shy 😉

Have you ever seen a flier for your fave indie act and thought, “That is too awesome to throw away”? Then you’re already familiar with the artistic allure of gig posters!

The 60’s spawned some of the first fantastic fliers, but today there are a plethora of places that you can suss out posters of beloved bands, from A Tribe Called Quest to Rachael Yamagata, as well as superior sites which feature vast collections, such as GigPosters.com, and individual artists’ sites, like Todd Slater’s. You could even ask around your city to find local haute handbill-creating talent, such as my favorite Pittsburgh poster gal — StrawberryLuna!

One thing’s for sure — if you’re a lover of music and appreciator of art, you will be captivated by gig posters. Do you have a favorite gig poster artist or fantastic flier that you’d like to share? Tell us about it!

New poster released: Magnolia Electric Co.

3-color, all hand screenprinted poster for Magnolia Electric Co.'s show on 7/15/09.

3-color, all hand screenprinted poster for Magnolia Electric Co.'s show on 7/15/09.

Heartbreakers. In a great way. That’s what Jason Molina’s band,  Magnolia Electric Co. are, and they’re amazing. I’m pleased as puch to be a part of the summer 2009 Magnolia Electric Co. tour series of posters, (a different limited edition, hand screenprinted poster was produced by artists from all over the country, one poster for each night of the tour) and had such a fun time at the show last night at The Andy Warhol Museum seeing MEC and the super cool Sand Diego band, The Donkeys. Thanks so much again!

Sometimes something beautiful goes wrong, in a beautiful way. KABOOM! This is my all hand screenprinted poster for the heartbreakingly lovely Magnolia Electric Co. It’s a 3-color, print with heart red, alarm-orange and midnight black inks. The orange ink is swirled into the red throughout the bombs and the text so that each print is unique and different. (Just like you Butterfly.) Edition of just 85, so they’ll go quick. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight.

* This poster is now available on my website here, and also on tour with Magnolia Electric Co. this summer! *

New poster released: Wilco!

3-color

3-color hand screenprinted poster for Wilco at The Fox Theater in Pomona, CA on June 26th, 2009.

I’m super thrilled to be working with Wilco, one of the most supportive and pro-screenprinted poster bands around. This poster is for Wilco’s SOLD OUT show on Saturday, June 26th at The Fox Theater in Pomona, CA.

It’s a 3-color, all hand screenprinted poster with fire-truck red, sky-blue and midnight black inks. Edition of 200, with 180 copies going to the band on tour. NOTE: I only have 20 copies of this limited edition Wilco poster available, so they will be going fast. Size: 16x 22 inches (40.6 cm x 55.9 cm). Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar, 100lb White, cover weight.

For more info, or to purchase, visit my website here!

I also took a few photos of the printing process, with a few below and more are on my Flickr page too. Enjoy!

This is what 4 inches of posters looks like on press.

This is what 4 inches of posters looks like on press.

2nd color (red) flooded in the screen and ready to print.

2nd color (red) flooded in the screen and ready to print.

5 posters to a shelf, whew! 200+ Wilco posters printed and drying on the rack.

5 posters to a shelf, whew! 200+ Wilco posters printed and drying on the rack.

New poster released: The Detroit Cobras!

Don’t mess with these badass ladies. Just, effin’ don’t.

2-color, hand screenprinted poster for The Detroit Cobras.

2-color, hand screenprinted poster for The Detroit Cobras.

Yeah! Kitty kitty. This is my all hand screenprinted poster for the awesome, kickass band The Detroit Cobras‘ show with Dex Romweber Duo on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at Mr. Small’s Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA. I got to catch the show last night and they were fantastic! Even with singer Rachel Nagy admitting to feeling under the weather, the band was hot and ON. We loved it. Thank you Detroit Cobras! They are still on tour, so do catch a set if they are in your town.

So excited to once again do a poster for some of the most kickass ladies of ROCK, the awesome Detroit Cobras. This feline of a poster is a 2-color, multi-layered print with blood red and midnight black inks. The black is slightly transparent, allowing repetition of awesomeness to show through. See it? Yeah, that’s right pal. Edition of just 80. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight.

Here are a few process photos of this poster as I printed, with more over on my Flickr page too.

1st color, red, flooded and ready to go.

1st color, red, flooded and ready to go.

First color red, bloody red, flooded in the screen and ready to print (pull). “Flooding” is a lighter pressure pass of ink with a squeegee across the stencil and is the way to get enough ink across the screen to fill the stencil and allow for one perfect print pull with the squeegee.

1st color, red red red, printed, down and done.

1st color, red red red, printed, down and done.

Below is a close up of a freshly printed Detroit Cobras poster showing the red underprinting a slightly transparent black, allowing the red to show through.

Close up and angular to show underprinting.

Close up and angular to show underprinting.

This limited edition Detroit Cobras poster is trimmed, editioned, signed and ready to go. Look for these (and many other awesome posters for the band) on the rest of their tour this summer, and also at my website here.

“Naïve: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design”, aka I can’t believe I’m in this book (!)

This year is rich with books celebrating and exploring current graphic design, screenprinting and the vibrant hands-on design processes. The newest book that I’m beyond in love with is Naive:  Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. And I am thrilled and honored to have a selection of my posters in this book with an amazing collection of ridiculously talented artists from around the globe.

Published by the German art & design publishing & curration house Gestalten, they describe this beautiful book best:

“Naïve documents the extraordinary renaissance of Classic Modernism, from the 1940s to 1960s, in contemporary graphic design. This compilation introduces a new wave of young designers who are rediscovering the stylistic elements reminiscent of classic graphic design such as silkscreen printing, classical typography, hand lettering, woodcutting and folk art and integrating them into their work. Inspired by 20th Century American legends such as Saul Bass, Charley Harper and Alexander Girard, the burgeoning designers and their work showcased this in this book are inspiring, ranging from illustrations, poster art, editorials, book covers and record sleeves to stationary and textiles.”

Naïve is a seriously stunning book filled with jaw-dropping illustration and design work at every turn of the page. No foolin’. Naïve is available at Gestalten’s website, or Amazon, and book sellers near you.

Venus Magazine interview; Spotlight on women in rock posters

Miss Amy Jo

Miss Amy Jo's take on poster art & artists. (Click for a larer view.)

So, wow. When the extremely rad, Chicago-based Venus Magazine contacted me at the end of the winter about doing a feature on women in the rock poster scene, I was floored. But, also, in true strawberryluna fashion, pretty sure that not a whole lot would come of it. I mean, come on, Venus is a great magazine dedicated to women, art, music, culture and the places where they collide. It seemed too cool to be true.

Well, I was wrong. Happily. After talking on the phone with Christine Bejasa for about 45 minutes one very grey, dreary and cold Pittsburgh afternoon, I was pretty excited. And now, I can share my stokage.

Some things that I said about posters...

Some things that I said about posters...(Click for a larer view.)

Profiling Miss Amy Jo of Minneapolis, Judge from Chicago, and myself, strawberryluna, straight outta Pittsburgh, the article was a fun read and definitely sheds some light on not only what’s it’s like being a working rock poster artist, but in being part of a larger world of printmakers, illustrators and designers making a go of this weird life. For larger and easier to read images head over to my Flickr site here!

Th art & words of poster artist, Judge.

Th art & words of poster artist, Judge. (Click for a larer view.)

The article is on news stands now, in the summer 2009 issue of Venus Magazine. If you like it, and dig the issue, consider a subscription. I promise, this magazine never fails to be rad.

Thank you Venus Magazine! Keep rockin’ the awesome!

Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, new book!

It has finally arrived!

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Freshly published and totally incredible. I’m so proud to be a part of this rad book, as is taken from the imaginations of, and containing the work and words of 101 working, contemporary and kickass rock poster artists from around the globe. All compiled into a nifty book format. Just for you! Each poster artist talks about their work, influences and process as well as providing a full page format, perforated page tear-out poster. It’s a lot of awesome, and not just because I’m in it. In fact, I would venture to say despite the fact that I’m in this book.

Published just this May, you can now find this fantastic book at booksellers everywhere. Or, you can order a copy from the following websites:

Directly from me, at my website here, NOTE: personalized and autographed by me, just for you, with a bonus set of stickers, over 15 designs in all.

Directly from the author at Gigposters.com here. NOTE: BONUS ART PRINTS (While Supplies Last!!):
Order now from GigPosters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan! Jay has created 3 different 10″x13″ art prints for the book release. The first 900 orders get free art prints! (300 of each) *Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!*

Directly from the publisher, at Quirk Books here.

Directly from the publisher, at Chronicle Books here.

Publisher’s description: 11×14 inches, paperback, 208 pages.

Since 2001 Gigposters.com has been the Internet’s first and best resource for rock-show poster art; their massive online database showcases more than 90 000 posters from 7 000 different designers including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the 700+ best examples in their collection including 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters for bands such as Radiohead Wilco the Decemberists the Shins Arcade Fire Sleater-Kinney and TONS more. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and one hell of a cheap way to decorate a dorm room or apartment). Author Clay Hayes is the founder and proprietor of Gigposters.com. He lives in Alberta, Canada.

Designers included in Volume I:

3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot

Thoughful oversized, yet lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book.

Thoughful oversized, yet conveniently lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book by Clay Hayes.

New poster released: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Hand screenprinted, 3-color poster for The Pains Of Being Pure At Hearts show in Wallingford, CT.

Hand screenprinted, 3-color poster for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart's show in Wallingford, CT.

So sweet they could wilt a flower. And on tour now, so check them out.

New poster out today! This is my all hand screenprinted, 3-color poster for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart‘s show on April Friday 24, 2009 with Stephen Brodsky and The Inclined Plane at The Wallingford American Legion, Wallingford, CT.

This poster is a 3-color fella with warm orange, bright red and black inks. Edition of just 88 with 25 going to the venue & the band. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight. Now freshly available on my website here. As always, there are a few process photos in my Flickr account here for you.