Bursary Winner

T Laurin, phototype with hand colouring and chine colle, 2014

In the spring of 2014, I was fortunate to be awarded the King Family Bursary of the Georgian Bay Land Trust.  As a recipient, I proposed making a series of prints about life on the Bay.  Below are a few of the works.

Tim Laurin, Ruth Refreshes, prototype with intaglio and hand colouring on chine colle, 2014

Go to www.kingfamilybursary.blogspot.ca for more!

Artist Books

I have been enjoying time in the studio this summer and as a result I have finished a project I started earlier this year - a new artist book!  With the advent of new technologies such as the internet and so-called smart phones, I have noticed that much of my social life is mediated through a 2 by 3 inch screen.  

My recent artist book is called: Some Men I Know - and it is a series of ten profiles created full-scale (to size of an iPhone screen) using traditional techniques of drypoint and spit-bite etch.  By using the screen capture function, I save the profile pic of my guy-pals and then begin scratching their likeness into a metal plate.  The result is a tiny print on Japanese Washi tissue that is also laminated onto BFK cotton paper (chine colle).

Now the exciting part - I have two of my artist books; Some Men I Know and Masc-U-Line included in an international exhibition of handmade books at the Redland Museum in Queensland, Australia!  The exhibition, Personal Histories, will open Oct. 12, 2014.

Timothy Laurin - Some Men I Know - Artist book of 10 prints - Edition of 3 - 2014

I'm pretty thrilled to be a part of this…..

BANG! - you're dead.....

Tim Laurin, Rain Dance - a Self Portrait. 2012

Following my interest in memory and identity, I have begun to look at my own childhood playtime games and my lost family heritage.  This has sparked what I affectionately call my "Cowboy and Indian" series. This series of works looks at this question, both from a existentialist point of view as well as a pragmatic one.  Approximately 15 years ago it was discovered that I am descended from an Ojibwa heritage, thus making me Metis.  This information was a family secret lost for many years.

At the time of Confederation, much of the inhabitants of Drummond Island, north of Manitoulin Island, were relocated to the shores of Georgian Bay.  During this time of displacement, there was a decision made to conceal our past. I am a product of this conflicted identity.  As a craftsman, I have a fascination with post-war "made in Japan" kitsch - these bizarre figurines made by the hands of some of the most traditionally skilled people in the world, became our souvenirs, mementos and trinkets.

Part of my Kitsch Collection

Heritage Book Plates

A dear friend (and museum expert) recently gifted the studio 5 boxes of letterpress book plates that were from a small press that specialized in book publishing. These copper-faced plates are a combination of diagrams, book covers and halftone photo plates. I have been staring at them and trying to conjure up my own narrative for some of these images. Recently I began printing them with painterly swatches of colour to draw attention to the areas that intrigued me. While they produced beautiful images when printed onto handmade japanese tissues, I felt they needed another element to carry them further........ so I naturally fell into my default process of combining previously created print ephemera. The result is shown above - Yarn. I welcome any comments good, bad or indifferent!

New year .... New works

Its been a crazy fall with the Guilty Pleasures show at the Gladstone Hotel for the alternative art fair, UpART (see www.kitschstilllife.blogspot.com) But I am happy to say that the studio is a great place to make prints and I'm loving every minute I get to spend in it.

Ink in all it's glory!

A light at the end of the tunnel!

We have all been busy little beavers here at Octopus Studio Press this past year - Besides the never-ending renovations to the historic Tyrone School House, I have acquired a new letterpress: the coveted Vandercook SP-15! I have also been very busy with my exhibition schedule, showing at Bohemia in Barrie, and Telephone Booth Gallery in Toronto, both in Ontario, Canada.

The photos here are part of an exciting project I was part of - I worked with students from area high schools where each student developed a 12 by 12" woodblocks. At the "Splash" water-festival the students were to bring all their carved blocks to be assembled like a patchwork quilt. One day at the studio, a few fellow artists and myself each carved a block and used my "Lawn Roller Press" to make banner prints as a test run.......

Our First Workshops...........

Wow - our first series of workshops have started. My dear friend, Amanda Brittin ran a one day Bead and Wire workshop this month to rave reviews. I offered a Card Making class which introduced relief and letterpress printing - the first run off my new Vandercook press. Cookstown artist, (and Grande Matriarch) Christina Luck, is running a Transfer Drawing class inspired by the works of Paul Klee.

While all the reno's are not complete, the studio seemed to embrace the workshop formats very well. Luckily, the participants overlooked the patches of unfinished plaster and lack of a central heating system. The creative juices were overflowing and I am excited about the possibility of more classes in the new year. If you want to be included on our education mailing list, drop me a line here and I will make sure you are notified.

Tim