I want to tell you about Flatbed Press and the wonderful people who work there. Flatbed – founded in 1989 by Katherine Brimberry and Mark L. Smith – is located at Flatbed Press and Gallery, an 18,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Austin, Texas. It’s located in the warehouse area, east of downtown and is actually a community of creative professionals, including Gallery Shoal Creek, Photo Méthode Gallery, CAMIBA Art, 26 Keys Inc., Austin Book Arts Center, Hubbard Birchler Studio, Daniel Arredondo Studio, NJ Weaver Studio, Jacqueline May Studio, Troy Brauntuch Studio, and Sharyn Richey Studio. Austin is known for it’s music, its great Mexican food, the shops on S. Congress, and it’s museums, but it’s also known for Flatbed Press. If you are ever there, be sure to explore those spaces and also view the Flatbed prints hanging in the corridors throughout the building.
Flatbed comprises two divisions: Flatbed Press, a publishing workshop which collaborates with artists to produce limited editions of original etchings, lithographs, woodcuts and mono prints, and Flatbed Gallery, a private art gallery which specializes in original prints. They have done work for artists: Sterling Allen, Terry Allen, John Alexander, Michael Ray Charles, Susan Davidoff, Kelly Fearing, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Jack Hanley, Luis Jimenez, Celia Munoz, Linda Ridgway, Dan Rizzie, Margo Sawyer, Katie van Scherpenberg, Julie Speed, James Surls, Joan Winter and many others.
There’s something about running an artist’s press that requires a servant’s heart. Founder and Master Printer, Kathy Brimberry, exemplifies this as much as anyone I know, but this attitude permeates the entire operation. The people who work at Flatbed are all notable artists, but such pros, they are able to put their own egos aside in order to help visiting artists make tangible their own vision. Their hospitality is such that they keep track of the kind of music you like and make sure it magically comes on whenever you are working. There aren’t too many experiences much more fun than collaborating with them.
Flatbed Press has been an essential part of the arts of the region for the past 25 years. To celebrate this, the University of Texas Press is publishing a book that documents the work they have done. Take a look at it here.
Click here to explore the website and learn more about this amazing place.
The image above is from an edition we just published at Flatbed. If you are interested in knowing more about it, contact them here.
Thanks to each of these friends at Flatbed for making this possible:
Katherine Brimberry, Co-Founder, Owner/Director, Master Printer
Annalise Gratovich, Associate Director, Workshop Coordinator
Tracy Mayrello, Master Printer and Shop Manager
Veronica Ceci, Master Printer
Cordelia Blanchard, Assistant Printer
Alex Giffen, Apprentice
Mike Brimberry, Preparator
Jerry Manson, Master Printer Emeritus
Alfonso Huerta, Assistant
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