Historic Block Restrikes by The Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum

As we get closer to the spooky season, it's time to put up those decorations! And if you're like me, the standard off-the-shelf fare from the chain craft stores just doesn't cut it. If your exacting standards are in search of something a little more special (like mine), might I suggest these insanely cool historic wood block poster reprints from the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum?

Hand-printed from the original blocks, these posters recall a simpler time and just ooze with incredible Halloween nostalgia with wonderful, bold typography, color and illustration...

All these incredible, spooky posters (and tons more!) are available at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum website. Enjoy!

  

The Phantom

While digging through some old things, I found an old art project that I had done back in my college days (which for anyone wondering was roughly 25 years ago... sheesh!). I have been a fan of classic horror for a LONG time and this piece proves it.

It was a linocut print done for one of my great Printmaking classes, and it features none other than the Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney, and his iconic portrayal of The Phantom of the Opera...

Now I will be the first to admit that the art itself isn't very good, but this was early in my college life and I was just learning my craft. But upon rediscovering it, I was immediately brought back to those truly crazy days and all of those memories gave me a warm fuzzy inside.

Here's to those early steps. The necessary steps upon which to build upon and continue to master your craft.

Go out and make something cool today.

 

Classic Monsters Linocut Book Project

Recently, I was digging around in my mom's basement and I found an old art project that I had done while I was a student in college. It was a book of three linocut prints done for a printmaking class in about 1996. I decided to do a book on classic movie monsters.

I started with the cover, which was completely covered front and back in black fur (I was in a black fur phase, because I also used it to cover a CD packaging cover project as well as a lowrider bicycle seat around the same time - I only got a C on the cd project, but I still have that sweet bike in my basement)...

The first spread was dedicated to my all-time favorite, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster!

The second spread was Count Dracula, although I'm not sure why I went with Hammer's version, played by Christopher Lee. I guess I had something against Bela Lugosi back then? But I love Bela Lugosi, so Christopher Lee must have been the only reference material I had handy for a project that I was surely running late on...

And the final spread goes back to Boris Karloff, this time as The Mummy. And yes, I did glue real sand to the edges of the pages...

For each spread, I ended up doing a linoleum cut of each monster, printing each color sequentially. I then did the background spread for each, adding the printed pages for each, cutting out the print, and then assembling all the pieces together to form each page spread. I don't recall what grade I received on this project, but it must have been okay because I ended up getting a minor in printmaking. 

I spent many hours in the printmaking studio, including many hours of making screenprints of band shirts that we sold on the side to make money. Maybe I should have also gotten a minor in business!!