Blog
April 27th, 2015
I only have a few photos of Wayzgoose to show you this year, because just manning my table had me so busy that I barely made it outside all weekend. I think making it a two-day event gave us a record-breaking attendance, and the weather came through to allow the steamroller artists to shine.
So I’ll just leave you with a few snippets of the weekend’s highlights,
and hopefully tempt you to come and see us next year!
Many thanks to the fabulous artists and printers who make Wayzgoose the best arts event in Tacoma (not that I’m biased or anything…); to King’s Books and the Tacoma Arts Commission for making it possible; and to our founder Jessica Spring and her crew of volunteers for running a tight ship.
Most of all, thank you to the many hundreds of lovely Tacomans (and Seattleites! And Portlanders, too!) who come to show their support for what we do. My favorite part of Wayzgoose is how every year it reminds me just how much I love my city, and the people in it.
See you next year!
April 24th, 2015
We’re ready for the Wayzgoose tomorrow—are you?
I’ve got a whole host of new paper goods ready to show you (look for some of them online next week), and you’ll find them at my Wayzgoose table this weekend. So if you’re local, strap on your printing apron and come on by for the biggest print event of the year.
See you there!
April 21st, 2015
It’s that time of year again—the annual Tacoma Wayzgoose (our local letterpress and book arts extravaganza) is just around the corner! This will be the eleventh year of the event, and we’re expecting a record crowd. Because attendance has grown so much over the years, we’re expanding to meet the demand. For the first time ever, Wayzgoose will now be a two-day event, with artist vendors and steamroller printing on both days:
11th Annual Tacoma Wayzgoose
Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26, 2015
11 am to 4 pm, Free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, WA
Jessica and I are sitting out the steamroller printing this year, to give more newbies a chance to play, but we will both have tables inside. So make sure to stop by and say howdy, and see all the new goodies we’ll have there!
As always, I like to give a run-down Wayzgeese Past—and the list is getting mighty long! So if you’re new here and don’t know what a Wayzgoose is, or you just want to relive the glory days, here are my posts from previous years:
• 2009 (Tacoma)
• 2010 (Tacoma)
• 2011 (Tacoma)
• 2011 (San Francisco)
• 2012 (Tacoma)
• 2013 (Tacoma)
• 2014 (Tacoma)
All fired up? Good. See you this weekend!
The Tacoma Wayzgoose is a collaboration between King’s Books and Springtide Press with support from the Tacoma Arts Commission. Steamroller Printing is possible through a partnership with neighboring businesses Doyle’s Public House, the Harmon Tap Room, and The Hub. Many thanks to legions of volunteers who make this event possible, especially from our local institutions including Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound, Charles Wright Academy, Stadium High School and Tacoma Community College.
April 30th, 2014
Don’t be distracted by Ric’s smile—see the puddles everywhere? See the winter gear people are wearing? Sunday was the craziest Wayzgoose yet, hands down. That’s because we had both the biggest crowd ever and the worst weather imaginable. So that smile is one of triumph: getting a decent steamroller print that day required beating some serious odds.
It rained sideways while Jessica inked.
It hailed while we lined up our block.
Photo by Dr. Jamie Brooks
It froze while we peeled our prints up.
Photo by Dr. Jamie Brooks
It blew a gale while I painted.
Still, despite the mishaps, I think it turned out alright. Jessica and I are calling our print “Park Place”—created in gratitude over the passage of a bond that would fund our city park system. The map in the center shows most of Tacoma’s parks, with twelve of our favorites called out like properties on a Monopoly board.
We even took a snippet of the illustration and sent it over to the talented screenprinting booth folks, who turned it into a t-shirt design during the event (you can just see a peek of it in the upper left corner).
Since the rain and wind prevented us from hanging the finished prints outside during Wayzgoose, most of the people who came that day didn’t get to see anybody’s finished print. So today Ric, Jessica and I remedied that.
Thanks to Spaceworks Tacoma, all of this year’s steamroller prints are on exhibit in the Woolworth Windows downtown…
…where you can see them—in fair weather or foul—now through August 21.
Thanks to everyone who visited or volunteered at Wayzgoose this year, and to King’s Books and the Tacoma Arts Commission for making it all happen!
April 25th, 2014
The carving is done, and we can’t wait to show you the finished product. See you at the Wayzgoose on Sunday!
April 21st, 2014
Here we are: year ten. Since the time Jessica Spring founded the Tacoma Wayzgoose all those years ago, it’s become one heckuva beast—and a veritable Tacoma institution.
So here are a few sneak peeks of the giant linoleum block Jessica and I are carving—and we’ll reveal all on Sunday:
10th Annual Tacoma Wayzgoose
Sunday, April 27, 2014
11 am to 4 pm, Free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, WA
If you’re new here and don’t know what a Wayzgoose is, or you just want to relive the glory days of old, here are links to all the Wayzgeese (gooses?) I’ve been a part of:
• 2009 (Tacoma)
• 2010 (Tacoma)
• 2011 (Tacoma)
• 2011 (San Francisco)
• 2012 (Tacoma)
• 2013 (Tacoma)
Itching for more? Well, then, see you on Sunday!
March 13th, 2014
Well, I only just realized that my only photo of last night’s opening (stupid phone!) was so out of focus, but oh well. It still gives you an idea of how nicely the Wayzgoose steamroller prints look on a gallery wall!
Thanks to everybody who made the trek down to Parkland last night for the shindig—and to Jessica Spring for organizing, curating and installing these beasts!
March 10th, 2014
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Tacoma Wayzgoose! The festival isn’t until the end of April, but we’re celebrating early with an exhibit of all the giant steamroller prints created over the years at the Pacific Lutheran University Gallery. It’s going to be a doozy!
And I’m honored to see that the artwork I created with Jessica Spring is gracing all the promo materials for the exhibit! (Thanks, PLU.) If you’re in the Seattle-Tacoma area this Wednesday, stop by for the opening, won’t you?
In the meantime, we’re about to get crackin’ on this year’s steamroller print…look for a teaser soon.
September 8th, 2013
Jessica and I (and our friend Caitlyn) were invited to have a table at this yesterday’s Wayzgoose at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle. We didn’t contribute a steamroller print this time, so it was fun to just be part of the audience outside, and enjoy the show! I love the sort of mischief that happens when a bunch of letterpress printers get together for a day.
April 30th, 2013
Wayzgoose worked like a well-oiled machine this year—and that’s the way we like it.
(Even if we were just a little extra tired afterward.)
We were finally able to have the event in the parking lot next door, which allowed way more people to gather ’round the steamroller—and gave the artists more elbow room for spreading ink and chatting it up.
Steamroller prints by Ric Matthies (left) and Charles Wright Academy students (right)
The usual suspects were up to all kindsa good on Sunday—
Our print (left), Beautiful Angle (center), Maggie Roberts (right)
—and it was fun for Jessica and me to come back after a year off.
Photo by Victoria Bjorklund
This year, we added something a little different to the mix—just like we did in 2011 in San Francisco. After Jessica inked up the block…
Photo by Victoria Bjorklund
…and the steamroller packed its punch…
Photo by Victoria Bjorklund
…I set up shop across the parking lot, adding a few hand-colored touches to the piece.
Here’s the finished product—and for those of you who don’t happen to live in T-town, I’ll need to provide a little back-story. You probably recognize the reference to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, but there’s a second tribute to pop artist Andy Warhol, as well. And I’m not just talking about Venus herself—to whom Warhol did pay homage in 1984.
You see, over thirty years ago now, Warhol was one of several artists to propose a permanent public artwork to adorn the roof of the Tacoma Dome. Not only was his proposal rejected at the time, but the whole project resulted in an enormous backlash of public opinion, insurance nightmares and political in-fighting—which literally derailed the city’s entire public art program for nearly two decades afterward. Fast-forward to today: not only is our public art program back in the saddle and going strong, but now there’s a growing movement to put Warhol’s flower on the Dome after all—which, in fact, would be the world’s largest Warhol original.
Whom do we have to thank for both the…uh…Renaissance of our public art program, and the push to bring Warhol back? Our wonderful City Arts Administrator, Amy McBride (click to see her talk about the Warhol story)—who, incidentally, drove the steamroller that printed our Venus linocut on Sunday.
How’s that for coming full-circle, huh?
Many thanks to everyone who stopped by on Sunday, and to Amy and the Tacoma Arts Commission for continuing to make art happen—both for Wayzgoose and for Tacoma.
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