Last Night At The Creek

Well it's been two years since we moved to the Lena Street Lofts
(off Second Street) and it's been a good run durning the most difficult
economic times I have experienced.

If you are wondering why I have changed so much, (it's not me) it's just
that Buster Keaton illustrates my point...times are tuff. So two months
ago I put into motion a plan that might help create some prosperity for
me and the Creek. Consolidation, but not like the big guys do. Instead
I am going to once again live and work in one space, 413 Salazar Place
right here in the 87501 (Santa Fe). It was not an easy decision for me.
I originally move to the "Land of Enchantment" to, well be enchanted.
So I have lived in the countryside for the last five years and now for the
first time I am going to get out of my truck and walk to the co-op, farmers
market and even a little cafe around the corner. On paper it all makes too
much sense and will save me enough to get HBO and even go to Italy.

The new space is very roomy and comfortable.....a party for all my friends!

Where are the prints?

After a summer of heavy duty forest fires, the worst air quality in memory and a sputtering economy here in the southwest,  I'm ready for a vacation, aren't you? Which brings me to the point of this blog posting. Thanks to smart phones, ie; blackberry, iphone, android and a host of others, photography has taken yet again another turn since digital. As a friend just told me..."we are all photographers now!" Of course he is right and our new medium of presentation is online; Facebook, Flickr, Websites, email and even this blog. Billions of pics everyday produced as content, from the personal to the promotional, from the silly to the life transforming. As for the quality, well that's actually getting better and better too. Our world in photographs, 2011.

Only fifteen years ago 95 percent of all photos were printed in one way or another, including proof sheets, reference prints, fine art prints, books, posters, magazines, newspapers, snap shots - the whole circus. Now, just fifteen years later....not so, now maybe 5% on a really "good" day. So not only is there less work printed, but the stand alone digital camera is also becoming something only used by the serious minded photog or videographer, (that might be a good thing actually).

                                                                                                                     Iphone 4

Technology is our friend and our enemy, so we have to adapt, so what does that mean for us. Well, I have already given up on making lots of small prints for clients and now concentrate on the really big ones for exhibition and sales up to 64" wide by any length, "don't try this a home kids." Also, I am now doing workshops, teaching digital printing  and even an up coming workshop for curators and gallerists so they can understand what they are now having to look at, archive and present.

These changes are challenging for everyone. When I started printing of 40 years ago there were challenges then, including learning color and the dance with Kodak.  Now it's Epson, Canon, HP, Roland, producing printers and ink and a dozen paper companies. Still a great print is a thing of beauty and I make them everyday and say often, right out loud, "I like that."

THE WOMEN

I have recently come to realize that over the last five years most of my clients have been women. Bright, articulate, creative, imaginative, political, passionate, talented, deep, worldly, beautiful, precise, romantic, experimental, carefree, loving, nurturing, earthly, stylish and every other possible description you can imagine an artist and her work can be attributed too.

For me, as a printer and as a man I have found the experience to be wonderful, fulfilling and thought provoking. In my professional and personal life I have strived for and not always attainted, an understanding of how the opposite sex sees the world. It is somewhat different than men, but in the final analysis, it is all artists and their creations that bring us joy, challenge and amaze us, which makes the world a more interesting place to live in. I would like to honor and thank those women I have had the privilege to print for:

Alexandra Eldridge  Caren Alpert  Carola Clift  Chris Enos  Danae Falliers

Dianne Duenzl  Elizabeth Burns  Evalyn Bemis  Francesca Yorke

Genevieve Russell  Jane Bernard  Jane Rosemont  Jaune Evans  Jo Andres

Joanne Teasdale  Joy Silha  Juliet Wood  Kathleen McCloud

Kathryn Kleinman  Kim Kurian  Kimi Green  Laiyee Lee Smith  Lindi Teresi

Lisa de Croix  Lisa Van Styrgeren  Lois Gilbert  Lynne Pomeranz  Margo Cutler

Marie Wilkinson  Marion Padilla  Mary Hobbs

Maryanne Redding  Maurice Fitz  Melissa Ashleith Brownell  Meridel Rubinstein

Naomi Weissman  Nicole Katano  Patricia Turner  Sharlene White  Sharon Stewart

Shirley Fiske  Susan Bell  Susan Dunlap  Susan Ressler  Susan Slotter

Susan Thelwell  Susan Stella  Toni Greaves  Tushita  Wendy Jordan
Valerie Romano.

Creative Bliss in Santa Fe and the World

Was evident last Friday night starting at Photoeye Gallery with Jamie Stillings' show "The Bridge at Hoover Dam." We have been working on this body of work for nearly two years, opening originally at Photoeye as a small exhibit with Nick Brandt's amazing Africa work, then a large museum show in Las Vegas, then in Tucson at the Etherton Gallery, sharing the stage with Michael Berman and Martin Stupich. Later this year the Phoenix Fine Art Museum, then to the Boston's Klein Gallery for the first east coast exhibition and a book in the works. Wow, I am exhausted just thinking about what Jamie has accomplished and I am honored to be a part of it.

If that wasn't enough, I made my way through the crowds just off the plaza to see our very own Kate Ware, curator of photography at the New Mexico Fine Art Museum put on "Earth Now" an incredible exploration into the photographers relationship with the environment. This is one of the best group shows ever and a must see.

For the last five years I have made Santa Fe my home and it's been a wonderful and challenging experience. I have lived in four houses and the Creek is on its third location. Through it all I have seen a great deal of work come through the doors and to my delight so much of it is world class art. Beyond the expected, so many artists are pushing themselves to create, experiment and tap into a world consciousness. 

In this context, I just wanted to mention that the celebrated, Chinese Artist and Activist, Ai Weiwei is still being held on trumped up charges by the Chinese "Government." This man has never been afraid to speak out in voice and through his work. Remember, if we don't use our voices, we will lose them. 

Workshop is On!

Saturday May 7th and Sunday May 8th Rush Creek Editions will hold it's first Digital Printmaking Workshop here in our Santa Fe Studio. "The Print and How to Get There" is for serious amateurs and professional photographers as well as fine artists who wish to gain sophistication and mastery with their printing. You will learn how to achieve the highest quality images on a number of different materials. You will make a 40" print as part of the workshop. One or two spaces are still available. Please contact Steve Zeifman for additional information and registration: print@rushcreekeditions.com    
505-982-8293 

In and Out of Balance

With all things, the state of the world, at home here in the "United States" and even our Santa Fe, there is a need for balance. I know this as a printer, it's all about finding that sweet spot that every print has. The way color will pop naturally when neutral is found and then you push for the right hue and chrominance (saturation). The shadow and highlight detail is all about balance and compromise. Choosing the paper or material to print on, the texture and the base tonality. So much depends on balance, on experience, on knowledge and on chance. Then there is the artist and what they contribute. I have often said that Rush Creek is the Switzerland of printing, for my contribution must live in balance with what the artist wants. I try to achieve with every print, in a process of collaboration and joint knowledge, the right balance. I wanted to write about our world being so apparently out of balance, but in the end I decided to write about printing. Something I know.

Joanne Teasdale's Paintings and Photography can be seen on the Box Set Gallery and her website.

BIG PRINTS AT THE CREEK

Last night I made my first print on our new 64" Epson Printer.  WOW!  I had no idea how much bigger a 60x84 inch print is.  It's glorious and it's ready for your next project. Come over and see for yourself. 

Here's a video that Tony Edwards (13 yrs old) shot and edited on his iphone to
document the occasion (below)

BIG prints at Rush Creek! from Tony Edwards on Vimeo.

The Creek is Ready for Spring

As of today we have five photographers who have indicated an interest in our first workshop, looking for a one or two more to round out the session which will soon be scheduled for some time in April. Remember the workshop includes a large 40" print to be made by each participate. Please contact Steve for more information. 505-982-8293 or print@rushcreekeditions.com  Also visit the Virtual Workshop for some important tips about digital printing.

We are very excited about the "as big as life" addition to the Creek, an Epson 64" large format pigment printer. With this we will be ready for the really big prints, that some of us have dreamed about for years.

Also in the news:  Wendy Jordan, "Moments of Connection" box set is online at the Box Set Gallery and an exhibition of prints here in Santa Fe at Matrix Arts at 429 Sandoval Street through March.

                                                                                           ©2011 Wendy Jordan

Box Sets Make The Best First Impression

For the last seven years we have been creating box set portfolios for many photographers and other fine artists. My philosophy was simple, take the path that most successful fine art photographers take, build a portfolio and present it. Usually a box set would come later in game for an artist, an offering of a "body of work" as a coda to a career of many shows, publications and of course being collected.

All the major fine art photographers have created box sets and they are indeed a wonderful way to present. My approach was to bring this idea forward in the artist timeline, utilizing the digital printing format, the box set has become a tool to present an emerging or unknown artist to the world. The formality of the box set assists in open doors for shows, publishing and can be tool to create an environment for individual print & portfolio sales. I thought, why wait, "you" need all the help you can get right now.

For more info and examples please visit our Box Set Gallery and site on Artnet.

Rush Creek Announces Print Making Workshops

This spring Rush Creek Editions will hold it's first Digital Printmaking Workshop here in our Santa Fe Studio. "The Print and How to Get There" is for serious amateurs and professional photographers as well as fine artists who wish to gain sophistication and mastery with their printing. You will learn how to achieve the highest quality images on a number of different materials. You will make a 40" print as part of the workshop. Please contact Steve Zeifman for additional information and registration: print@rushcreekeditions.com  505-982-8293  
See you this spring in Santa Fe.

                                                                                                © 2011 Steve Zeifman

Big Things are Happening at the Creek

Rush Creek Editions has acquired a state of the art 64” Epson Professional Digital Printing System for our studio here in Santa Fe. With this equipment we will be able to produce the finest large-scale fine art and graphics available in the southwest for artists, photographers, museums and galleries.

No longer will you have to go out of state for the big projects. We have made arrangements with the best “local” mounting, lamination and framing companies, so all your presentation needs can be handled here in Santa Fe.

Your images can be made on an assortment of materials including: fine art canvas, 100% acid free cotton rag papers as well as glossy style photo papers, 100% recycled poster paper, vinyl banner, transparent backlit films and even silk cloth. Utilizing these materials for large installations and presentations will result in creating absolutely amazing large-scale images and text of brilliant clarity and impact.

Making large prints here in the land of enchantment will not only be convenient, but have a faster turn around and our pricing model will win you over as there is no out of state shipping and crating costs. Imagine all this right here in Santa Fe.

If that wasn’t all, we also create smaller prints of stunning quality for exhibition as well as box set portfolios. In addition we reproduce paintings, illustrations and ephemera with our high resolution “Betterlight” Camera System.

Remember, printing local is a “BIG” thing at Rush Creek Editions.

The State of The Creek "Address"

My fellow Artisans, thank you one and all for a great 2010 (still hard to get use to saying that) and now it’s 2011…  This is my address to the joint session of photographers, painters, mix medium artists, curators and gallerists whom I have had the privilege to know and to print for.

Simply put, the Creek had needed a technology and infrastructure upgrade, as well as a renewed commitment, to producing the finest prints in the land. Indeed, challenging tasks all, but ones we will rise to the occasion and meet.

First, our technology has taken a great step forward. For those you don’t already know, last fall we upgraded our wide format Epson printers to the latest available featuring a great new ink set which includes green and orange channels for enhanced color reproduction (a wider gamut) featuring the new HDR (high dynamic range) formulated pigment inks. These inks also yield amazing black and white images that compare side by side with air-dried silver prints. These printers are fast and produce amazing results on a mix of sub straights, including fine art rag, baryta gloss, canvas, rice paper, aluminum and transparent films making the possibilities endless. Of course we use all archival materials and recycle everything we can as good stewards to the environment.

Infrastructure too has taken a leap forward with the addition of a new Apple multi core processor computer, running “snow leopard,” (not an endangered species until the next OS is released) and of course Adobe CS5, Photoshop’s latest and greatest software. Handling raw and massive image files with this high-speed upgrade and network printing, the Creek is set to produce your work into this century with ease and finesse.

Our Betterlight large format camera system for paintings, oversize art and ephemera is still, ”Mo Better” than stitching up your hand held camera files. BTW, the Creek has a great new package rate for reproduction and limited edition prints for any artist that wants the finest prints available.

I am also announcing a series of digital printmaking workshops, hosted by Rush Creek Editions featuring many talented people in the field that will share years of knowledge and love of what makes a print, “a print.” Look for these workshops to begin this spring.

In closing, as your printer and collaborator I have made a renewed commitment to create the best prints possible, at a fair price, one we both can afford. I want Rush Creek to be a place where your art and creativity are transformed into something very special, because the spirit of your art will always endure and so should your prints.

Thank you and God Bless this Union.

                                                                                                                                                        © 2011 Don Peterson Trust