Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and the Manhattan Graphics Council (9/13)

Last Thursday, our class took a trip down to Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan and visited two really great printmaking studios.

Our first stop was the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop on W 39th St. and 8th Ave. This workshop is an awesome little studio on the second for of a beautiful building full of other artist studios. This Workshop is also incorporated with this really cool zine "Carrier Pigeon".  It was really great to see what was being made by, what mostly seemed to be, recent college graduates and how they were able to make their way in the printmaking world. Our tour guide was actually a purchase alumnus who seemed to have come very far, which helped make the future look a little bit brighter for us.
The studio had a beautiful lithography set up - much nicer than what I was used to at Purchase. Everything in the studio was spotless; you were actually able to lean against furniture without fear of getting ink on your nice pants! We learned the "proper way" to dry prints (flat, between boards, not on drying racks). 
Yet, as nice as the Workshop was, it seemed a bit chaotic. There were a lot of different programs, internships, and memberships going on. It seemed difficult to keep track of all of it. It was also a bummer that they didn't seem to have any good silkscreen facilities.

Our second stop was the Manhattan Graphics Center, located on W 40th St.
This studio was amazing to see in contrast with the Robert Blackburn studio. The MGC was run by an older generation of printmakers. Right off the bat, you saw a huge difference in the generations. There was food and drinks waiting for us as we walked in, they made sure to tell us where both bathrooms were and just seem genuinely excited to have us there. They were extremely knowledgable about everything they were talking about and you could clearly tell that they love what they do. I really loved the fact that they completely ignore newer digital approached to printmaking, yet still provided facilites for silkscreen, block printing, lithography, intaglio, and still managed to make room for a dark room. 
It was great to see all the work coming from the studio and from students that they taught and to learn the history of the company.
The MGC also provides different programs for people who are interested in all different types of printmaking, including internships, open workshops and classes. This is definitely a studio I would love to visit again.