It's the most wonderful time of the year

No, no. It's not that time of the year, far too hot and muggy for holiday cheer. But it is the time of the year when we start receiving all of the new prints. I reached our HQ this afternoon to find 9 fantastic new prints waiting for me (with still many more to come). Honestly, it's like Christmas morning or the first night of Hanukkah (or insert your own metaphor), tearing open serious packaging to see what our old (and new) friends have put together this year.

Over the next three days I'll be organizing our inventory, working on show details, and framing these new beauties for our upcoming show at Mugshots on September 11. More importantly though, we'll begin officially previewing this year's crop of prints on Wednesday, with weekly previews to follow.

Back to the S'N'S cave for me, but I'll check back in shortly.

PS - In case you haven't been by our Etsy Shop recently, until our 2010 prints are in the store, we're offering a bonus print (selected by us) with every order!

Bike MS celebrates the big 3-0!

Join the Screens 'N' Spokes bike team today! The finest cycling team around, for all levels, shapes, and sizes. Riding to Ocean City and back on September 25 and 36, 2010.

Can't make it? Won't you consider making a donation in support of our work?

And check out Bike MS as it gears up for its 30th year as the premiere biking event in the Delaware Valley.

PS....The SNS 2010 prints are coming soon! Watch this space.

S'N'S Teammates training like pros

Last week, Screens 'N' Spokes teammates Ian Harris and Barney Leonard rode one circuit (approx 15 miles) of the Philadelphia International Bike Race. The pros do this 10 times at much higher speeds!

"We set off at 7.15 am and had the opportunity to feel like a pro racer. There were barriers protecting all the intersections and some early spectators were ringing cow bells particularly at Manyunk Wall. The air was cool as we set out in the morning for what was going to be a steamy 90+ degree day.

The shotgun went off and all the amateur riders spurted forward. It was an easy flat ride along Kelly Drive and Schuylkill River into Manayunk. Then came the big challenge – the famous wall! We cycled with utmost focus for about 10 mins up the wall and into the narrowing ‘tower’, standing up and feeling our thighs burn to make it all the way up without stopping. Key was to avoid falling riders. Relieved at the top we then had a glorious ride on Ridge Ave downhill to the Schuylkill River. However, some more hills snuck up on us. Finally we reached the finish in a total time of 45 mins.

After resting up a little we made our way to the start of the pro race at 9 am. Seeing these cyclists is truly amazing - their lithe bodies all in unison and a huge peloton that whizzes by in a flash. They started with 2 mini circuits to Logan Circle and then headed out to Manayunk. They rode for the next 6 hours.

All in all a great morning!"

With less than 4 months remaining until the 2010 City to Shore Ride, Ian, Barney and the rest of our squad will be shifting into high gear on training and fundraising.

A weekend filled with Flatstock in NYC

I'm back in NYC for the summer, and I'm thrilled about it because of weekends like the one starting tomorrow. If you are a fan of art, crafts, paper, screen printing, cool people, film or any combination thereof, this is a fantastic weekend for you. Take a look below for some awesome upcoming events.

Rock Paper Show book release party at The Strand

Friday, June 4 | 7:00-8:00 pm | The Strand - 828 Broadway, NYC

First up is a party for the newly released Rock Paper Show, a compilation of posters created for Flatstock, the American Poster Institute's ongoing rock-poster exhibition. The book was curated by Geoff Peveto, President of the API and partner in The Decoder Ring Design Concern (Screens 'N' Spokes 2009). Geoff will be on hand along with a bevy of other S'N'S favorites including strawberryluna (S'N'S '07-'08, '10), Hero Design (S'N'S '08-'09), Mat Daly (S'N'S '09-'10), Tara McPherson and Michael Michael Motorcycle. They'll be there to sign books and chat about the past and future of gig posters.

Renegade Craft Festival at McCarren Park

June 5-6 | 11am - 7pm | McCarren Park, Brooklyn

You might ask why all these great artists are in town, and the primary reason is the 6th annual Renegade Craft Festival which begins Saturday and runs through Sunday. Over 300 artists from all over the country will be converging on McCarren Park to sell there goods. You'll find printed matter, t-shirts, sculpture, carving, jewelry, knitting, and just about anything else you could think of.

Atlantic Avenue Art Walk

June 5-6 | Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn

Going on simultaneously to Renegade is the Atlantic Avenue Art Walk. Tons of artists will be opening up their studios this weekend. I'm not too familiar with most of the artists, but I highly recommend stopping by Axelle Fine Arts where you can see the work of Master Printer Luther Davis and his crew. I always find it awe-inspiring whenever I get to check it out.

Died Young Stayed Pretty - Brooklyn Premiere

June 5th | 7:30-11:30 pm | UNION DOCS, 322 Union Ave., Brooklyn

Finally, if you have had your fill of gig posters, check out the Brooklyn premiere of Died Young Stayed Pretty at UNION DOCS. The LA Weekly calls it "The Citizen Kane of underground rock poster art documentaries." So what's not to like??

I'll be trying to hit up most, if not all of these events, so say hi!

-Sam

The Heart of Etsy

“Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
~Albert Einstein

Screens 'N' Spokes was featured yesterday on Wildblueberryink, in the weekly column "The Heart of Etsy."

In her post Shirley shares a poignant account of MS, through the eyes of a college freshman.

Give it a quick read. Sometimes we ride together, and other times...we need to ride alone. Either way, we inspire each other by as we gain momentum through uneven terrain.

-Jess

Ride Together

As we began to plan for Screens 'N' Spokes 2010 (our 4th year running), I wanted to introduce something new to the mix, something to change things up a bit. At the same time, I didn't want to mess with the formula too much.

I had a few faint thoughts floating around, tandem bicycles, teamwork, quotes from Lost (yes that Lost), when it hit me: Collaboration. I had long admired some really great collaborations between some of my personal favorite artists like Aaron Horkey and Emek, and the entire Decoder Ring Fine Art Print series. Collaborations can take the art in new directions, or bring out the finest in an artists' particular style.

So when Jess and I sent out our invitations this year, we gave artists the option, they could work alone, or, if the wanted, give the tandem bike a spin and collaborate with someone else.

Of course, not long after we announced our collaborative efforts, two awesome things were apeared. First was the incredibly exciting collaboration between Jay Ryan (Screens 'N' Spokes superstar) and the incredibly talented Aaron Horkey. The best part? They documented the entire print making process in painstaking detail (which can be seen here, skip over most of the comments though...). The final piece? A triumph of screen printing (25 screens!!!) and two distinct illustration styles coming together in a print aptly titled "Versus."

And then? Diana Sudyka (returning to Screens 'N' Spokes this year!) decided to give Jay a run for his money, joining the Decoder Ring for their latest fine art print. The art of "Taiga" is all Diana's, but it's been painstakingly printed by the DRDC wizards.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing what Screens 'N' Spokes artists will come up with this year. As previously announced, Jay Ryan will continue his highly collaborative year, working on a piece with the awesome Dan McCarthy. Officemates, and past S'N'S participants, Dan Judge and Kevin Mercer will be working together (after hours I hope). The ever growing Half and Half will be collaborate amongst themselves, and may work with one of our favorite West Coast artists. And that's just to name a few, not to mention the return of awesome, and awesomely talented, folks like Judge, Mat Daly, Cricket Press and strawberryluna, and new S'N'S friends like landland, Justin Helton, and Adam Turman, to name just a few.

Can you tell I'm excited?

A Weekend in Lausanne

Team Screens 'N' Spokes (well, just Sam and Jess) took a short trip to see these cyclists in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ok, not just to see them...Jess is working in Geneva for the summer and we spent the weekend in Lausanne for her birthday.

If you ever get the chance to get out here, definitely head to the Olympic Museum! It's awesome, totally up to date with lots of interactive stuff and tickets/medals/equipment/uniforms from all of the games.

We planned on riding around Lake Geneva in free bikes from Geneve Roule/Lausanne Roule...but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. All the reason to plan another trip?

I hope the weather stateside has been ok - I've heard it's been cold! It's time to get that bike out and start riding into summer...the preparations for SNS 2010 are well underway!