Category: - Martha Kelly Art

Announcing a Letterpress CSA

2/1/2019

I'm trying something new, and just in time for Valentine's Day. I'm offering a winter/spring note card subscription. I'll mail a 6-pack of hand carved letterpress note cards to the recipient of your choice for four months running. I'll carve a new design for each month and ship out a package in mid-February, mid-March, mid-April, and mid-May. You or your giftee get four presents (and postage x 4) for $65 total.

My Valentine Open Studio Sale is this Tuesday, Feb. 5th, 5-8 pm at 1780 Autumn. If you'd like to pick up the first one to give in person for Valentine's, I'll have them ready, along with a gift card explaining the subscription. You can also choose a different set to start with, if there was an older card you really liked (the baby owl or tree and moon, for example). Otherwise each new month will be a brand new design.

You can sign up in my online store at https://squareup.com/market/martha-kelly-art

Valentines

1/30/2019

I got my Chandler and Price printing press (see previous post for a video of it in action) in 2010 just before Valentines Day, and the first block I carved for this new love of my life was a valentine. I try to do one every year to celebrate this magnificent beast. This year I did two, one more traditional, and one for Mr. Darcy, my love and muse.

I'll be having a Valentine Open Studio Sale this Tuesday evening. It's a happy hour affair, 5-8 pm at 1780 Autumn Avenue, Memphis, so come have a glass of wine, see my new prints (the Memphis bicentennial pair should be ready by then), see Melissa Bridgman's new pottery, and meet Katrina Perdue. She's a knitter and has collaborated with Melissa on knitted cosies for coffee cups. She'll also have a selection of great hats.

Press in Action

1/29/2019

I’m printing valentines today on my Old Style Chandler and Price press. It’s treadle operated, as you can see in the video, so it keeps me working off my grandmother’s apple cake I have leftovers of from a dinner party over the weekend. I’m doing two different valentines (currently having second tea after the first and gearing up for the second one). This press is so easy to print with once you get it set up. There is a bit of time getting everything inking evenly and dropping in straight, but after that, I can easily do several hundred at a time. I wish I could print all my prints like this, but it only take small prints and note cards. It’s a total joy, though, and I’m working on more smallish prints I can do this way instead of hand inking and lining each one up separately, then carrying it to my other press.

The valentines will be ready for my Open Studio Sale next Tuesday. We’ll have a small happy hour for painless valentine (or other) shopping on Tuesday, Feb. 5th, 5-8 pm.

Show Season

11/26/2018

I've been packing art lately rather than making it, since I had two shows this past weekend, and my Open Studio Sale is Dec. 1-2. I'm looking forward to getting back to making art again after this mad rush, but I'm also deeply grateful to the folks who show up to buy local art for holiday presents instead of choosing large manufacturers and mail order. Y'all make it possible for a bunch of us to do what we love and create a little beauty for the world, and I'm so grateful.

Holiday Card

11/20/2018

Here's the second new holiday card this season. See the last post for my owl one. I figured the world could use a little more kindness, affection, and, if we're all very lucky, kissing. A small push for greater happiness.

This is a handcarved linoleum block paired with wood type. I can put them on the press locked into a single chase. I build wood pieces around them, called furniture, that are a little bit shorter than the block or letters (so the ink won't hit them and print them as well). I tighten it all down with "quoins", metal bars along the sides that expand as you use a small wrench in the holes to open them out a bit. Then the whole thing can be vertical in the press without dropping pieces everywhere. See the last post (again) for a video of the press in action.

Printing Press Day

11/17/2018

I had a big printing day yesterday. I hit a personal best with about 1000 cards printed on a heavy, turn-of-the-last-century, treadle operated press. It’s good exercise for me, and I ended up with 600 postcard invitations for my upcoming Open Studio Sale (December 1st and 2nd), plus a bunch of new note cards for the sales. I based this owl on a baby rescued barred owl I got to meet a few years ago on his way to a wildlife rescue group. He was adorable.

Here’s a video of the press running. I love the majestic way it orbits and works so quietly. It’s such a pleasure to use.

Holiday Shows

11/2/2018

I'm pleased to announce my holiday shows this coming season. I always have my own Open Studio, which will be with Melissa Bridgman again. I love spending the weekend with her and her gorgeous pottery. (Something always stays with me when she leaves. I'll be back at Tsunami again for their nicely curated, one day, manageable sized sale that I love. And this year, for the first time, I'll be joining MAC for five weeks at Crosstown Concourse. I've never done such a long show before, and I'll be curious to see how it goes with my stock. I'm excited to do a show at Crosstown, though, and it's a neat group, so here's to new things!

Valentine Open Studio Sale

2/1/2018

I'm having my annual Valentine Open Studio Sale this coming Sunday on Feb. 4th. It will be from 12-5 at 1780 Autumn Avenue in midtown Memphis. I've got new "Midtown" note cards (that several people have been requesting for a while), bunny prints, watercolors, and some oils on paper of clouds and skies. Please come see me if you're around this weekend, and feel free to invite any friends you think would be interested. I'm working on a new tree print as well and hope to have it ready and dry by then.

Open Studio

12/19/2017

Melissa Bridgman and I had our annual open studio sale this past weekend. I love having her pottery in my home, and I feel so grateful to everyone who came out to support independent artists. It takes a whole community to support the arts, and we have an amazing community here in Memphis. I so appreciate all of you who read this blog, share my work, invite your friends, and maybe take something home to live with. Thank you, friends. And have a wonderful holiday!

Holiday Open Studio Sale

12/8/2016

This weekend! You're invited! Bring friends if you like.

I've been busy with shows and making very little art this week, but I still have a lot of new stuff from this fall for the show, as does Melissa, who is always trying new things. I love her new "Onward" plates, to go with my small letterpress banners.