Screens 'N' Spokes Opens Tonight!

The day has finally arrived! Screens 'N' Spokes opens tonight. We're still running around doing last minute errands (ie picking up beer and wine...), but the hours are counting down.

Screens 'N' Spokes Opening

Mugshots CoffeeHouse

21st and Fairmount

6:30-Close

As an added bonus (as though you guys needed more than the opportunity to hang out with us), we are offering the beautiful Jay Ryan/Dan McCarthy Collaborative prints at a one-night only price of $115 before they go on-sale to the general public. So come hang, grab a beverage, buy some awesome art prints, and help out a really great cause: The National MS Society.

Screens 'N' Spokes 2010 Print Preview - No. 4

Hello!

As promised, included within the confines of this post are previews of the final 5 2010 Screens 'N' Spokes prints. If I will allow myself to pat myself on the back for a second, this year's show may be our most diverse yet, and the final previews today really bring home that fact.

I know you're all anxious, so I'll just get right to the art.

1. Bobby Dixon has been collaborating for the past two years, but this is the first year you'll see his printed art. Last year we invited him to design our Screens 'N' Spokes Bike Team jerseys. He did an awesome job and we got a ton of compliments out on the road. We knew we needed him to design our jerseys again, but he wanted to raise the stakes and design a print of the show as well. The result is a bold composition that commemorates old-school cycling.

2. I mentioned diversity in styles earlier, and that was one of the reasons I was so excited to have Mat Daly participate last year. Mat is back again this year, and probably represents the most abstract artist in the series. Despite the abstract printing style though, Mat's work sends up lush landscapes that feel like something out of a memory.

3. Diana Sudyka is back for the first time since 2008. Bicycles have always played a major role in the daily life of Diana and her husband (and, oh yea, fellow S'N'S contributor Jay Ryan). This year Diana shares the tale of her beloved Banana Bike. I've also included a detail shot of the print, so you can see how the story was incorporated.

4. The Half and Half's second print in this year's show brings a completely different style. Nick, Sara and Thomas have experimented with designing in CMYK in the past (see S'N'S 2008), and this year they utilize the process for ghostly effects.

5. The final print, and I think one that a lot of people have been waiting for, is the collaboration between Jay Ryan and Dan McCarthy. When I first introduced the idea of collaborative prints I wasn't exactly sure what I had in mind. I wanted to let artists find partnerships that would really motivate them to create great work. When Jay suggested working with Dan, I was immediately thrilled. I had wanted to get Dan involved since the very beginning, having been a huge fan of his iconic print of the month club. Still, I wasn't sure exactly how their wildly different styles would blend together. But they definitely achieved it. Those McCarthy trees really set the scene, while Jay's night riders bring a story to life.

And that closes out the 2010 Print Series. Well, in preview form only. If you've purchased our prints before you know they really come to life when you see them in person. So I encourage anyone who can to come to ourOpening, this Saturday, 6:30 at Mugshots Coffee (21st and Fairmount) in Philadelphia.

For those of you who cannot join us, fear not. All 2010 Screens 'N' Spokes prints will be available starting Monday, September 13. We'll send out a price list and any and all ordering directions on Friday.

Thanks for following along and thanks for all of your support. It's always a lot of fun for us to unveil the show to you folks. As always, if you have any questions at all, shoot us an email.

Very Best,

Sam

Screens 'N' Spokes 2010 Print Preview - No. 3

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

I hope everyone is enjoying their last summer weekend. Down here in North Carolina I don't think the heat is going anywhere, but sadly classes for us start on Monday.

Just a little reminder...

Screens 'N' Spokes 2010 Opens Next Saturday, Sept 11 at Mugshots CoffeeHouse!

The show is being hung tomorrow evening, and if you'd like an in-person preview by all means check out Mugshots this week. The Opening will be next Saturday, starting at 6:30 PM. We'll have snacks and drinks, and yes lots of prints. If anyone has been to our openings before, you know this is the best time to purchase framed and unframed prints in person. We will primarily be selling 2010 prints, but will also have select prints from previous years with us as well.

That said, you still haven't see all the great prints this year, so allow me to preview 5 more for you, right now!

1. Last week I showed you one half of Cricket Press' contribution to Screens 'N' Spokes, and today you'll see the other half. Brian Turner has been a long-time contributor to S'N'S, designing prints in '07-'08 as well as designing our jerseys those two years as well. For those of us whose bikes are less transportation and more in-house (or apartment) statues, this one is for us.

2. A newcomer to Screens 'N' Spokes family, Justin Helton and his Status Serigraph studio has been pumping out fantastic posters for the past 5 years. Recently he's memorialized gigs for bands like Phish, Wilco and the Avett Brothers. In his S'N'S debut, Justin gives us a seriously sweet cruiser.

3. Columbia, South Carolina's The Half and Half have supported Screens 'N' Spokes from the beginning. Like Cricket Press, they are upping the ante this year with two excellent, and completely different prints. Today I'll preview one of them. Everyone knows riding in the rain is rarely fun, but sometimes you just have to break out your umbrella and keep on moving.

4. I've got two Collaborations to share today. The first comes from officemates Kevin Mercer of Largemammal and Dan Judge. This print feels like Mercer's style, but with Judge's flair for color, and as Dan told me: "Two bikes for two guys."

5. Our second collaboration comes from previous S'N'S contributor Mike Munter and his recent partner Jessi Preston. Mike always ties his Screens 'N' Spokes prints to the ride, and has done so again with Ed Roth style caricatures of Philadelphia forefather Ben Franklin and, well... the Devil.

We've got 5 more prints to go, including a fantastic collaboration from Jay Ryan and Dan McCarthy. That'll be coming at you right after you get back from your fabulous Holiday Weekend.

Screens 'N' Spokes 2010 Print Preview - No. 1

With the 2010 Screens 'N' Spokes Show opening in 2 weeks (holy cow!), it's the time of the year when we preview for you our latest crop of inspired, and inspiring, prints. In 2007 I wasn't sure if Screens 'N' Spokes would continue past that initial show, four years later, I'm happy to say I think we've hit our stride. This year we'll be presenting to you 20 prints from old friends and new.

We'll preview the show for you in 4 easily digestible installments, all leading up to our opening at Mugshots CoffeeHouse in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 11.

1. Judge is one of only a couple artists who have been with S'N'S from the very beginning. She's developed quite a portfolio of ocean-scapes over the past three years, and this year's entry continues the trend.

2. Mark Forsman may just be entering his senior year of college, but he's already built up an extremely impressive portfolio of art prints and gig posters for the likes of OK GO, The Tallest Man on Earth and The Appleseed Cast. Mark's first Screens 'N' Spokes print in 2008 has been long sold out, and this one may go pretty fast as well. Thank goodness we don't need to navigate any mountains like this on our our City to Shore ride.

3. Now that Jess and I have relocated down to North Carolina, it was important for me to include some local talent. Chris Williams, who prints under the Plastic Flame Press moniker, is my favorite poster designer in the area. His style combines playful illustrations with handmade edge and can be seen advertising upcoming shows all around town.

4. Rich Kelly's unique illustration style immediately caught my eye when posters for Yeasayer and The Mountain Goats popped up on the internet. For his first S'N'S print, Rich chose to immortalize the legendary Marshall "Major" Taylor, who won the world one-mile track cycling championship in 1899 and became the first African-American world champion.

5. This year we are also featuring 5 collaboration prints. The first we'll preview is by the duo of Gina Kelly and Justin Santora. Gina paid a visit to Justin's studio last month during a visit back to the States. The outcome is a subtle yet beautiful print that melds both of their styles seamlessly. This is the Lemuel Gulliver of Bicycles.

We'll be back tomorrow with another five prints for your viewing pleasure.

Screens 'N' Spokes 2009 Prints now available!

Thanks so much to everyone who was able to make it out for the Screens 'N' Spokes opening last Thursday. Sadly I was stuck in North Carolina, but Jess held down the fort and by all accounts it was a great success and a lot of fun.

I also wanted to let you know that... Screens 'N' Spokes 2009 Prints are now Available Online!

All your favorites are up on our Etsy store now: screensnspokes.etsy.com

If for some reason you do not see the print you're interested in, check back (or shoot us an email). We don't add all of our inventory at once to Etsy, so if you don't see a particular print it's likely we'll be adding more to the store shortly.

Thanks again for the continued support. It's time for us to buckle down on our bike training. If anyone is interested in joining us on the road, please get in touch)!

Screens 'N' Spokes Opens Tonight!

Thurs., Aug. 6 at 7pm
Join us for wine, beer, snacks and art!
Mugshots CoffeeHouse (Fairmount)
2100 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19130
P: 267.514.7145

Stop by and say hi!

We're On the Move!

I know you haven't heard much from us recently, but I can assure you that doesn't we haven't been working. Screens 'N' Spokes is back with another fantastic show of bike-inspired artwork. I've got a lot of info for you, and I'll try and dole it out as succinctly as possible. First off....

Screens 'N' Spokes 2009 - August 6th, Mugshots Coffeehouse in Fairmount, 7PM.

We're really pleased to be appearing at Mugshots for the third straight year. In fact we'll be opening in just a little over a week. Next Thursday, August 6th, Screens 'N' Spokes will officially kick-off with a little party starting at 7PM. If you've ever been to one of our openings before, you know they're a fun time. We'll have light refreshments (beer, wine, snacks) and we'll be selling unframed and framed prints from this year's collection. Speaking of this year's collection...

Screens 'N' Spokes Artists

The 2009 collection will feature serigraphy and letterpress work from artists around the country. Many of the names you may be familiar with, and we're excited to be working with a number of great new artists as well. The full list in no particular order:

Jay Ryan

Leia Bell

Mat Daly

Greg Pizzoli

Dan Judge - Warm Design

Kevin Mercer

Decoder Ring Design Concern

strawberryluna

Nate Duval

Jon Smith

Marq Spusta

Silent Giants

John Vogl - The Bungaloo

The Half and Half

Mike Budai

Hero Design

A couple more notes

For those on the twitterverse, please follow us at http://twitter.com/screensnspokes. You can find pics from my framing endeavors this week.

Speaking of our blog, Screens 'N' Spokes will soon have a full website! We're hoping to have it live by the time the show opens, so keep your browsers tuned to: http://screensnspokes.org

That's all for now, but keep an eye out, we'll be posting previews and further details on this year's show.

Thanks so much for the continued support,
Team Screens 'N' Spokes

Screens 'N' Spokes returns!

The time's almost here, folks - keep your eyes peeled for new prints coming in the next month or so!

The theme 0f the art prints this year will be "The Tour" or "The Move" to "Join the Movement." It relates to the MS150 bike tour, or to the music tours that gigposters memorialize...and how these come together to join the movement to end the devastating effects of Multiple Sclerosis.

Perhaps it is therefore appropriate that Sam and I will be making a big move of our own - we are leaving New York City for Durham, NC - we're going to graduate school! Sam will be a MBA student at Duke's Fuqua School of Business and I will be studying public policy at Duke's Sanford Institute.

Again, sit tight...it's gonna be a busy summer!

SNS Opens in T-6 days!

Just a quick post to say we've raised over $15,500!

Keep up the good work, we're over half way to our goal!!!

Now, it's time to stop looking back at the starting line and start looking ahead...

The Screens 'N' Spokes 2008 Art Show is opening in less than a week! We'd love to see you at one of the openings in Philly and Ardmore!

Please email screensnspokes@gmail.com with any questions and please bring all your friends and family to the show!

In other news, two weekends ago, a bunch of SNSers went out to Lancaster County for a ride through the Amish cornfields...we all made it to the finish line (OK, so what if I was overtaken by a horse-and-buggy and was the LAST RIDER ON THE ROAD - I rode 63 very hilly miles and it felt GREAT!) Pictures to come...

This weekend, Mara, Matthew and I plan to ride from Park Slope to Coney Island...and Ellen, Sam and I may do a "Donut Derby" fun ride in the Lehigh Valley on Labor Day Monday (time deductions for every donut eaten)...we'll be sure to post pictures as they are available!

Screens 'N' Spokes Bike Team Update

We decided to keep you posted about our bike team progress through a series of emails written by our Philadelphia Site Coordinator, Bradley Harris. Please check out all the details (it's not too late to join us at the ride!) at the Screens 'N' Spokes official team page.

As of July 18, our ranks have swelled to twenty five riders, and our fundraising goal sits at $30,000. It seems like a pretty ambitious number, but in 2007, we raised over $31,000. Although of course we aim to beat that figure, we'll settle for matching it. So far as a team we are at 11% of the total.

Jess is leading the pack at $1,340, 27% of her $5,000 personal goal!

With the bike ride just over two months away, now is the time for each rider to go full throttle in their fundraising efforts. We are going to need everyone to pull together in order to reach our goal.

We'll keep you posted...in the meantime, check out the posters as they arrive, and save the date for SNS Opening night - Thursday, Sept. 4 at Mugshots and Friday, Sept. 12 at Chapterhouse and hopefully a Screens 'N' Spokes/MilkBoy party on Friday, Sept. 5!