Along the Way
As traveling artists began reaching out to us to explore our space for printing, we saw an opportunity to create a mutually beneficial arrangement: Let's facilitate a printing experience that not only meets the needs of the artists but also gives them a platform to share with the local community! And while we are at it, let’s make sure everyone who attends walks away with a print. This collaboration embodies our commitment to fostering connections and creating meaningful exchanges between artists and our community.
Along The Way is an event designed for artists to share their knowledge with the community, whether they’re riso experts or have recently worked on a riso project. The workshop will include a presentation about the presenter’s area of expertise or project and a related demo. In exchange, the presenter will get a portion of the proceeds and any extra prints made during the event demo. The workshop is flexible, and each artist can make it their own, but the focus should be sharing learning with the community.
Format
These workshops consist of a presentation and a demo. The presentation can be an overview of someone’s experience with riso, a lesson on a specific riso-related skill, or an explanation of a riso project. The second part of the workshop is a hands-on demo related to the presentation. This can be a demonstration of riso printing, bookbinding, file preparation, or anything else pertinent to the subject of the workshop.
Beyond the workshop itself, the artist will also provide a take-away for participants. This can be something created by each participant themselves in the demo exercise or something that the artist and the Risolana team create beforehand.
Previous Along the Way Workshops
Nat Center
“Hey, I’m Nat, an LA-based Illustrator and Risographer. I fell in love with Riso printing at zine fests and print fairs, embracing its vibrancy and quirky imperfections. My illustrations are inspired by flora, fauna, food, positivity, and cuteness. With a background in printmaking, I've developed Riso resources and color tests to make the medium approachable for my students and clients. Come learn with me and discover the quirks of this 80s copier!”
“During our time together, I'll be running a two-color illustration of adorable ducks and geese. I’ll explain my process from inked original to Photoshop color breakdown, to getting on press. I'll share tips and tricks I've learned over 9 years with Riso and bring examples of my work, my collaborators, and clients, sharing lessons from these pieces. Print is a journey, and I’m excited to take you on one!”
Instagram: @printedpony
Karl Orozco
“My work investigates the typologies and iconographies of the manufactured world. I draw on my training as both a printmaker and animator to combine the repetition of print with the scalability of video to craft large, interactive installations.”
“In this demo, I will be breaking down my current project ‘Signs of Life’ to talk about Blender and riso printing, how to use the double print methods to achieve greater saturation, and talk about benefits and best practices for coil binding books.”
Instagram: @yung_buko
Kenneth Oravetz
“It is vitally important to open the notion of comics and extend its reach, moving not just beyond ‘superheroes,’ but also beyond the “literary,” and beyond the formal realm of what we traditionally think comics can be and do.”
In this Along the Way, comics scholar Kenneth Oravetz explores the world of contemporary experimental comics, introducing audiences to the wide range of formal and expressive possibilities of comics beyond the norm. As they investigate the power of image, text, layout, and material for surfacing marginalized creators and their experiences, Dr. Oravetz invites the audience to peruse works from his collection of independent comics, graphic novels, and zines. Both the collection and the presentation focuses on the vibrant power of risograph as a medium for experimental comics expression – its aesthetics, its mechanics, its economics, and its culture – as it also digs into the literary power of experimental comics.
LinkedIn: Kenneth Oravetz
Julianne Marella Villegas
“Heyo! My name is Julianne Marella Villegas (they/them). I am a queer trans Filipino-American printmaker and handpoke tattooer based in Sacramento, CA. My work illustrates universal emotions through the Adorable, imagining a softer world, kinder towards ourselves. With an appreciation for printmaking as translation, the Riso printer offers a whimsical color palette and gentle graininess to my otherwise sharp digital designs.”
“During our time together, I will show off a portfolio of the color charts and prints I reference, my physical separations for previous colorful prints, and the final outcomes. I'll walk you through my design process, from sketch, to haphazard Photoshop layers, to completed print, while I run a three-color illustration about how much I love my cat. :-)”
Instagram: @singlepickles