Dear friends of Spudnik,

Since I founded Spudnik Press Cooperative 15 years ago, I have lived and breathed every moment for the betterment of the organization. Printmaking in all of its forms is who I am, so while this is hard to say, the organization is ready for change in order to grow stronger and continue its journey.  

As many people may know, I had a long-planned sabbatical that was supposed to start in April 2020. However, the pandemic had different ideas. I stayed on and through my efforts we were able to secure needed funding to remain open and viable, and offer ongoing studio access to the artists who rely on our studio. Now that the emergency is over, I intend to take a creative retreat in order to explore what is next for me.

As part of this transition, I support the open call for applications for a new Executive Director.  I will be available during this search and for an expected transition period though Mid May. Between now and when a new Executive Director is fully onboarded, the Board of Directors will be determining the short and long-term strategy of the organization.

I founded Spudnik Press Cooperative with the aspiration of creating a cooperative space where printmakers can thrive. Together, with the support and dedication of the community, it has grown to become a dynamic organization built on a multi-faceted, welcoming, and resilient studio model.

I have loved my time at Spudnik Press, and deeply appreciate the opportunities I have had to collaborate with our staff, board of directors, teaching artists, members, and students, the countless artists who’ve come through our studio and our programs, and the staff, artists, and students of the dozens institutions and organizations we’ve partnered with over the years. 

I look forward to staying connected.  

With gratitude for your ongoing support,
Angee Lennard
Founding Director of Spudnik Press Cooperative

Spudnik Press Cooperative is excited to announce the five Resident Artists in 2022 who will bring new research, programming, and experience to our community: Cameron Mankin, Susy Bielak, Elizabeth Rose, Hale Ekinci, and Hui-min Tsen. The Residency gives mid-career and established artists full access to our studios for the completion of new print-based artwork, along with a stipend and support from our staff of professional printmakers. Each Resident also engages our community in unique public programming that is connected to their practice and open to all.

In addition to these five artists in residence, we are also excited to be hosting artists re-scheduled from 2020. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement welcoming these artists!

Resident Artist Project Statements:

Cameron Mankin, March/April 2022

Susy Bielak, May/June 2022

Susy Bielak will use a residency at Spudnik to create a suite of portraits of people in the act of listening. This is part of an ongoing series that draws relationships between people and infrastructural and natural disasters.

Inspired by Pauline Ontiveros’ expansive understanding of listening as an act of meditation, tuning, and focus, and R. Murray Schafer’s concept of hearing as “a way of touching at a distance,” Bielak will photograph choreographers, musicians, and poets as they stage acts of listening in their homes. Bielak will translate the resulting images into a series of prints, with accompanying short texts based on conversations with the artists.

Elizabeth Rose, May 2022

Working with intaglio, relief, and risography processes, I will produce a series of unique and editionable works on paper based on my recent experiences living in Poland.

I am interested in ecological shifts as they relate to Northern latitudes within the broader global context, with specific attention to the correlation between Poland’s landscape and the United States.

I will work from my photographic archive along with bright and colorful resource materials I collected while in Poland to create my new work at Spudnik Press.

Hale Ekinci, July/August 2022

Collage and techniques of transference are integral to my multidisciplinary practice. As an immigrant female artist, my work deals with acculturation, hybrid identity, and ideas about gendered labor. Influenced by Islamic ornamentation, my visual language references a mixture of coded symbolism such as oya  (lace edging that traditionally contained meaning in the patterns on a headdress) and kilim rug symbols. As a resident at Spudnik Press, I plan to continue my mixed-media works on textiles and add printmaking to my visual vocabulary.

For this residency, I have a range of processes I would like to experiment with to expand my mixed-media mark-making. I plan to use silkscreen printing and transparent inks instead of solvent photo transfer, which would allow me to layer and play with colors while reducing toxic exposure. I will also use linocut motifs to create repeated patterns and textile materials to make impressions for monotypes. I have a collection of textiles, mostly from thrift stores and my dowry that I want to use to translate onto surfaces. After printing on fabric and/or paper, I will layer embroidery and hand painting as I typically do in my work.

Hui-min Tsen, September/October 2022

I will use the residency to develop a series of small, riso-printed books. The series is part of an ongoing project that brings the reader across a successive line of frontiers, starting with the Illinois prairie and heading westward across the American interior.  Individually, the books tell specific stories of prairie remnants, Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home, the crossing of the 100th meridian, and how-to-find-the-frontier (among others). Taken all together, the books use moments of westward migration to explore the identities and paradoxes of the American narrative, forming a loose story about the ways in which imagined and tangible landscapes can co-occupy a single space.

Learn more about the Spudnik Press Artist Residency

Image Credit (left to right): Details of “Ronald Reagan Rides a Horse” by Hui-min Tsen, “Covid Atlas” by Cameron Mankin, “Untitled Ellis Island” by Hale Ekinci, “Listening, Fireplace, Susy, 2020” by Susy Bielak, and “Altitudinal Zones”  by Elizabeth Rose.

Spudnik Press Cooperative is proud to introduce our 17th Studio Fellowship cohort:

golden collier
Clara Fischer
Frannie Miller
Alexander Tsanov
Logan Woodbury
Xingyi Zhao

Eight months of free and unlimited studio access is the foundation benefit of the program. Additionally, through the course of their fellowship, these artists will receive professional, artistic, and technical support catered to the needs of printmakers. Through working in our shared studio and monitoring weekly Open Studio sessions, fellows engage with our community of printmakers and benefit from ongoing support and feedback from staff and peers.

Established in 2013, this program to date has supported 66 artists with unfettered studio access to support the creation of both traditional and experimental print-based artwork, as well as a variety of other resources and opportunities.

Studio Fellow Bios:

golden collier

golden collier is a multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago who is deeply inspired by the creative vitality of the margins and places where disciplines, techniques, and ideas overlap.

Clara Fischer

I am a research-based artist who uses science fiction to talk about humanity’s relationship with nature and the impact this relationship has on food systems. My practice is an extension of my core belief for environmental justice and an examination of the destruction caused by agriculture. These passions are a reflection of my upbringing in rural New Jersey and my parents’ joy for the outdoors. My printmaking and material explorations delve into the extraordinary capabilities of plants and enthuse the vast unknowns of the plant world. I allow my interdisciplinary practice to be dictated by material and earth sciences.

Frannie Miller

I am a cartoonist from Skokie, IL. For the past five years, I have been teaching people how to create using technology in public libraries and academic spaces. I started making comics as a teenager and after, as an Orthodox Jewish schoolgirl, I read all of Love and Rockets haven’t been the same since. I went on to study comics and technology at the University of Michigan and have been living in Skokie since I graduated with my tiny, bossy Pitbull, Matilda.

Alexander Tsanov

I am a multimedia artist and recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA in Printmaking and Visual Communications. Much of my artwork deals with the combination of mediums to process and re-contextualize memories and emotions. I often tie-in my multicultural background to my pieces as a way for me to come to a better understanding of my identity. Since graduating from SAIC, I have primarily been working at Fulton Market Kitchen as the Marketing Director and Art Director, where I have organized a number of gallery shows and live painting events with Chicago artists.

Logan Woodbury

I am a graduate of Northern Illinois University working with relief and lithography.  I moved to Colorado for four-ish years, working as a commercial screen printer and doing some studio work on the side.  I also spent time there learning 3D and animation.  I recently moved back to the area and am trying to get back into print fully.  I am an LGBTQ+ artist exploring ideas along that vein with newer work while also using my knowledge of 3D to create mixed media projects.

Xingyi Zhao

Xingyi Zhao is a Chicago-based artist. She creates prints and handwoven textiles that investigate our relationship with domestic space and everyday objects. By taking daily life as subject matter while commenting on the everyday aesthetic of the 21st century, her work deals with memory, privacy, and a sense of forced optimism with a subtle minimalistic approach. She is currently in her final year as a BFA student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with an emphasis in printmaking.

Image (Clockwise from top left):
golden collier, Frannie Miller, Xingyi Zhao, Clara Fischer, Logan Woodbury, Alexander Tsanov

Spudnik Press Cooperative is excited to announce the following open position:

View the Education Lead job description

Spudnik Press Cooperative seeks an organized, outgoing, and collaborative individual to support our mission to provide education in printmaking practices through bringing together a diverse community of learners including emerging artists, established artists, youth, and adults.

This is a permanent part-time position (30-32 hours/week) with flexible hours and a blend of in-person and remote work. Benefits include paid time off, some paid holidays, and unfettered studio access.

To apply, please send e-mail with cover letter and resume to angee@spudnikpress.org. Applications review will begin January 3, 2022 and continue until the position is filled.

Spudnik Press Cooperative does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

With the end of the year rushing up at us, Spudnik would like to take some time to sit with our community and reflect on everything that makes us who we are. Starting November 30, we invite you to come help us in Unwrapping Spudnik. We have five weeks with five themes that will focus on different elements of our community, artistic life, and what makes Spudnik such a dish. We’re also asking you to help us raise $5,000. That’s just $1,000 a week, and will help us keep the studio stocked, supplied, and affordable. 

Every week from now to the end of the year we’re going to unwrap another gift. Everyone who donates $25 to us that week will be entered into a drawing to win that gift. If you want to make sure you’re entered in all five drawings, just donate $100 at any time during the campaign and you’ll be entered in all the remaining drawings. However much you give, make sure you leave your mailing address; we’re sending something special to everyone. 

DONATE NOW

Here’s a sneak preview of the treasures we’re sharing with you.

You probably know we have a risography printer, but have you been formally introduced? Do you wonder what it’s like to be a piece of retro-modern equipment that’s equal parts charming for its simplicity and full of moving parts ready to wear out? Check out the equipment week announcement to learn more about what it takes to keep our beloved riso printer running and some of the very cool projects that it has helped make during its time with us. Also, take this opportunity to share a tool, space, or piece of equipment you love and use in your artmaking. 

Help us maintain our equipment. Give today!

Our members are the core of our Cooperative here at Spudnik Press, so our second unwrapping week is going to focus on them. Meet some of the fabulous and remarkable people who’ve joined Spudnik, the amazing work they’ve done, and revisit what it means to be a non-profit, community-driven print studio. Do you have a favorite Spudnik memory that you’d like to share? Pass it along by email or social media and you can be part of the Unwrapping.

Give the gift of creativity, gift a Spudnik membership!

The studio is more than the walls and the presses; Spudnik is its people, too. At that intersection is Spudnik’s staff, the intrepid team of folks who keep Spudnik running. For staff week you’ll get to know some of the staff, hear about their art, their pets, and their favorite part of Spudnik. You should be prepared to share back, especially if you have cute photos of your pets!

Become a sustaining donor.

Twenty-five dollars to enter a drawing is just $5 a day, which is basically the price of a nice coffee. But we all know one cannot simply deprive the artistic muse of caffeine tithes. Instead of pitching the virtues of chemical withdrawal, we’re spending a week focusing on coffee, and more importantly, what different members of the Spudnik community do to focus and find inspiration even when the flow isn’t coming easily. Do you have something you’d like to share for this week? Share ahead of time and we’ll include you in Coffee Week! Tea drinkers are strongly encouraged to join in and start the theobromine-addicts of Spudnik club.

A sip is good. Investing in the Chicago creative community is great.

Twice a year Spudnik brings in a cohort of fellows who get access to the studio, professional development, and peer support to further them in their artistic practice and support their emerging careers. This is one of many ways we support our community and foster an expansive love of print. Fellowship week will give you a closer look at this program, a chance to meet some of our fellows, and an exciting window on the real world impact of your spudly support. Speaking of support, do you still have your first print? We want to see it! Don’t have a first print to share? Show us any piece of art you have and love.

Help us continue our Fellowship Program. Donate now.

For sharing each week, you can interact with us on social media, or email jessica@spudnikpress.org. Also, keep your eye on your inbox and on our social media to see the prizes each week unwraps (hint: week one has art!) and get updates on our progress.

HELP SPUDNIK FINISH 2021 STRONG

In recognition of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, we will be adjusting our regularly scheduled hours:

Open Studio Hours

We will not hold the following Open Studio hours:

Thursday, November 25 (Thanksgiving Day)
Friday, November 26
Friday, December 24
Saturday, December 25 (Christmas Day)
Friday, December 31 (New Years Eve)
Saturday, January 1 (New Years Day)

Business Hours

Spudnik Press will be open by appointment only during the following times:

Wednesday, November 24 through Friday, November 26
Thursday, December 23 through Sunday, January 2

Online Benefit Auction
Launches: Monday, October 11, 2021, 8:00 a.m. CST
Closes: Sunday, October 24, 11:59 p.m. CST

VIP Reception
Friday, October 15, 2021
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. CST
$250 for Admission for two

Staff Skill Share Watch Party
Monday, October 18, 2021
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. CST
$25 minimum donation

The Spudnik Press Cooperative Annual Benefit is back! Now known as The Spudraiser, this annual fundraising rally is the fertilizer that keeps our doors open, presses running year round, and programs within reach for anyone who wishes to be creative through print.

Our annual art-focused auction returns with a refreshing twist: In addition to being able to bid on artwork from established artists, up-and-coming artists, and Spudnik members, supporters will be able to directly purchase select artworks from our Editions Program or sponsor exciting opportunities and training for artists and students.

Embracing that education is baked into every aspect of our organization, our staff has pulled together the ultimate Skill Share: Join the Watch Party to learn six new skills from the fine folks who run the studio day in day out, or download the recording for when you are ready to try out pysanky egg dying, make a handmade pillow, or cook up a French crepe!

For our VIP guests craving a visit to our studio, we are hosting an intimate limited capacity reception (proof of vaccination required) where you’ll be able to tour the art, enjoy appetizers and drinks, partake in live art demonstrations, and more.

Only have $10 to give? Our raffle for Untitled, 2018 by William J O’Brien is the perfect way to support.

Artwork for Auction by:

Mara Baker, Leslie Baum, Elijah Burgher, Holly Cahill, Edward Cushenberry, Michael Goepferd, Adriane Herman, Richard Hull, Carol Jackson, Valerie Jacobs, Jaclyn Jacunski, Vesna Jovanovic, Arnold Kemp, Dutes Miller, Dominic Moore, Yasaman Moussavi, Aya Nakamura, B. Ingrid Olson, Carl Ramsey, Steve Reinke, Richard Repasky, Jake Saunders, Hugh Spector, Ann Toebbe, & Scott Wolniak

and Spudnik Press Members:

Alexandra Antoine, Elizabeth Burke-Dain, Riley Brady, Cam Collins, Hellen Colman, Aaron Hughes, Abbas Husain, Kumaran Mudaliar, Nat Pyper, Osée Obaonrin, & Don Widmer

Plus Spudnik Editions for Sale from:

Alberto Aguilar, Erin Hayden, Sarah Hotchkiss, David Leggett, Joe Tallerico, & Latham Zearfoss
(Additional artworks to be made available upon sales of these prints)

Host Committee:

Holly Cahill, Jessica Cochran & Eric Matthews, Mary DeYoe & Christopher Smith, Adriane Herman, Claudine Isé, Jaclyn Jacunski, Steve Reinke & Brian Jones

Spudnik Press Cooperative is proud to introduce our 16th Studio Fellowship cohort:

Cam Collins
Lily Cozzens
Kirstin Dunlap
Kyle Dunlap
Alex Fox
Yu Wei

Eight months of free and unlimited studio access is the foundation benefit of the program. Additionally, through the course of their fellowship, these artists will receive professional, artistic, and technical support catered to the needs of printmakers. Through working in our shared studio and monitoring weekly Open Studio sessions, fellows engage with our community of printmakers and benefit from ongoing support and feedback from staff and peers.

Established in 2013, this program to date has supported 61 artists with unfettered studio access to support the creation of both traditional and experimental print-based artwork, as well as a variety of other resources and opportunities.

Studio Fellow Bios:

Cam Collins

Cam Collins is a fine artist born in Chicago, IL in 1999. His work conveys ambiguous narratives that revolve around colorful figures and sprawling objects, prompting the viewer to investigate, but also have fun doing so. Collins went from Chicago High School to the Arts and moved on to get his BFA in Printmaking at RISD while working as a studio technician in Benson Hall. He has done his own solo exhibition in Providence titled Colorstroll, and has won various awards from Scholastic and AIGA.

Lily Cozzens

Through the lens of realism and observation, Lily Cozzens’ practice primarily utilizes the medium of drawing to explore and balance the ideas of banality, sincerity, and representation and to create an authentic experience for the viewer. Realism as a practice–and going beyond simple reproduction–embraces the instantaneous and fleeting subjectivity of daily goings-on. She explores and embraces memory and its subjectivity to create third-hand retellings of first-hand experiences. As an attempt at connection with others and with the world around her, she tells her own truth through her work.

Kirstin Dunlap

“My battery is low and it is getting dark” were the final works sprawled across news headlines to announce the death of the Mars opportunity rover. Those final words struck Kirstin Dunlap as undeniable human and since then she has worked to try to convey the intangible world to others in the only way she knows how: through print.

Her work primarily takes form through screen and risograph printing and book binding and works to bend the norms of the medium to best represent a particular concept. Experimenting with self publishing as of late has also increased her representation possibilities.

Kyle Dunlap

Kyle Dunlap a multi-disciplinary artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During his time in school, he studied printmaking and photography. In the past he has worked at photography labs, archival facilities, and most recently has transitioned to working in a wood shop. Previously, he made work surrounding themes from classic literature to childhood experience. Oftentimes, he works through these ideas in small print sets or comics. Currently, his goal is to continue expanding his skillset and education while being able to work with his hands alongside other creative-minded individuals.

Alex Fox

Alex Fox is a printmaking artist from Des Moines, Iowa via Bulgaria. He recently graduated with honors and distinction from the BFA printmaking program at the University of Iowa. His current area of focus is silkscreen printing on fabric, and he plans on combining this with sculptural elements moving forward. In April 2021, he showcased his first exhibition titled Façade, exploring themes of identity and encompassing a variety of mediums such as oil painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and textiles. As a new graduate, he is looking for opportunities to develop his printmaking career.

Yu Wei

Yu Wei tells stories through multiple visual approaches. She designs, draws, prints, photographs, writes, and edits. And most importantly, she makes books. Book is the connection between her inner self and the outside world. Now she is just a book artist based in Chicago and Beijing, floating in the cosmos.

Image: Clockwise from top left: Details of artwork by Cam Collins, Lily Cozzens, Kirstin Dunlap, Kyle Dunlap, Alex Fox, and Yu Wei

Spudnik Press is turning 14! We are celebrating through three different avenues that bring our community closer despite being socially apart since the pandemic. We invite you to support our milestone and make a huge impact on Spudnik’s mission today and beyond. 

Throughout the month of June, we are highlighting the amazing people that make up our community through a series of email interviews! On our birthday (June 8th), we will launch a flash fundraiser on Facebook to raise money for a wheelchair-accessible hand sink with eyewash station and we need your support! Please consider pitching in to buy us a communal birthday present.

Later this month, we are also launching a limited edition shirt to raise funds as we continue to safely re-open and resume more classes and workshops.

After a challenging year, we definitely need a steady and predictable source of funding to fuel our many programs and studio upgrades. We invite you to bring stability to the studio by supporting our new Sustainability Fund by giving a monthly recurring donation. In light of Spudnik’s 14th birthday celebration, we suggest $14 a month, but any amount makes a difference. And it’s super easy to set up!

Our goal is to welcome 25+ sustaining donors by the end of our birthday campaign so we hope you can share this cause with your friends and family. Thank you so much for your support!

Spudnik Press Cooperative is pleased to announce the completion of a new invitational project with Latham Zearfoss. The broadside, Many Happy Returns, addresses the interdependence of consumption and production.

Each print is dyed with a natural pigment on the left side, corresponding to a list of things that can be composted. The right side of each print is dyed with a synthetic dye, and corresponds to materials that are not typically composable. The text doubles as both a functional resource list and a meditative poem.

Latham began this project with Spudnik Press Cooperative by creating a collection of paper pots from recycled paper pulp and natural pigments. These pots were used to hold sunflower seedlings and intended to be planted in the ground as part of a virtual installation debuted during EXPO CHGO ONLINE in April 2021.

This initial publishing project of 2021 offers an affordable and utilitarian option for supporters to begin or add to their art collection.

Spudnik Press Cooperative is excited to announce the following open positions:

View the Development Lead job description

This role will provide an organized and outgoing individual the opportunity to support our mission to provide education in printmaking practices through bringing together a diverse community including emerging artists, established artists, youth, and adults.

The ideal candidate will have an appreciation for printmaking and the visual arts in order to better serve our community and will enjoy working collaboratively. Staff are expected to bring passion and integrity to their work while enjoying the community of creative artists, makers, students, and teachers that contribute to Spudnik Press.

This is a permanent part-time positions with flexible hours and a blend of in-person and remote work. Benefits include paid time off, some paid holidays, and unfettered studio access.

To apply, please send e-mail with cover letter and resume to angee@spudnikpress.org. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

Spudnik Press Cooperative does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

On Friday, May 7th, Spudnik Press Cooperative will host The Hashbrown Re-Hash: Virtual Event & Cookbook Launch. 

The virtual event will be presented as a cooking show featuring a variety of guest chefs including Adam Schulte, Certified Cicerone® with Whiner Beer, Patti Swanson with Chicago for Chicagoans and past Hashbrown chefs, pastry chef Dutes Miller and Alex Gilbert of CHIRP Radio. Spudnik Press staff will kick off the evening by sharing beloved cocktail recipes, baking tips, and cheese-making processes. The main dish will be prepared on screen by a guest chef, to be announced when tickets launch.

The Hashbrown Re-Hash: 10 years of Chili Cook-Off Recipes will feature a wide range of chili recipes as well as appetizers, sides, and desserts that pair well with spicy stew. This commemorative cookbook, designed by Andrew Mariscal (Spudnik Press Intern, 2020) includes photos and other highlights from past events.

2019 Hashbrown Chili Cook-Off

Spudnik Press first presented “The Hashbrown” as a community potluck in December 2009.

Inspired by a cook-off fundraiser presented by the now defunct InCubate (2007-2011), the Hashbrown transitioned to a chili cook off in 2011. In the early years, all chefs represented printmaking studios including student shops like Harold Washington’s “Prinstitute”. The pool of chefs gradually expanded to include community spaces like Comfort Station, arts-related businesses like One Design, and member teams. As the event grew, so did the spectacle with games and music contributing to the festive atmosphere. For example, 2019’s “Heavy Metal County Fair” theme included midway games like face painting with options ranging from youthful rainbows to Alice Cooper-inspired corpsepaint. This Chicago tradition has been equal parts fundraiser and community celebration. 

Spudnik Press Cooperative has now gone more than a full year without any onsite group classes. Suspending group education was essential for community health and safety, but has caused a huge loss of revenue. “The Hashbrown Re-Hash” virtual event and commemorative cookbook is an essential community fundraising campaign to support the organization as they transition back to onsite public programs.

Event tickets and cookbook pre-sales will launch on Thursday, April 8th.

View Last Year’s Hashbrown Photos