The Medium of Print
Pointing out the obvious
Print medium is inconvenient. Inconvenient for who? Inconvenient for you and more so for anyone that is not in your physical presence. That’s the entire point of it. In fact that is the completely opposite way of looking at the point of printed work. You must be in its physical presence to see it. The inconvenience of having to be in the presence of anything and everything is somehow inconvenient. Therefore our modern society recoils at anything that cannot be consumed on-demand, in an instant, wherever it might cross our mind until something else distracts us to the next convenient thought.
Yes, the entire point or at least some significant part of making prints is absolutely to demand people to be physically present to see them. Real people in a physical space enjoying the experience and being in the physical presence of what you have made. Speaking for myself, I want to be inconvenienced, I want to be with other people and have a shared experience with them rather than an AI cultivated personalized solo experience that’s much more “convenient”.
Make some tangible photographs that exist in this physical realm we live in. Unplug yourself from the matrix and maybe a handful of others. You definitely will not go viral but that’s the point or do you really want to “go viral”. Make some prints, then figure out a place with a physical address to share them. Go make some photographs of your neighborhood, or your neighbors, somewhere close or somewhere far away if you want, make them interesting to some group of people that are close to you. Then show them in any space available.
The last series of DIY newsletters was all about this. It’s a reminder that exhibition spaces are all around you. It doesn’t need to be a “gallery” just a place where people can get together. It doesn’t need to be big or complicated, those DIY newsletters do point out how to make it fun, there is work involved but that’s what makes it an experience that gets people to forget how “inconvenient” it is to leave the chair in front of their computers. If your subject matter is narrowly focused, especially if it’s of the place you plan your “exhibition” say… Summer North East, MD 2025 — in my case, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make a small event a successful fun way to share your work locally in a fun way that people will thank you for doing it.
Yes, be inconvenient. You’ll be doing a public service, partner with a local restaurant or any kind of place where people gather. Do it well, do the work to promote it, trust me you’ll be far happier and far more rewarded than carelessly posting your work to IG or FB or anywhere else for that matter.
Workshop Updates
I promised to keep all of you updated to our workshop availability. I didn’t forget, the reason for the lack of updates is that all of our 2025 workshops filled up almost immediately and we had no time slots to schedule more. Today we finalized dates for some upcoming 2026 workshops so here they are.
The Portfolio Workshop
I’ll give you the bad news first. We scheduled two in 2026, they immediately filled up, yes both of them with people that asked to be on a waiting list when I posted those availabilities. So, if you are interested we’ve opened up a date for 2027. Registration is available over on Les’ site.
If the date does not work for you we also decided to offer the same experience for those that want a more customized experience and cannot travel to us. We’ll be taking a very limited number of people for this custom, remote version of the workshop. You can sign-up at Les’s website but feel free to email us at portfolio@paperartscollective.com with any questions.
Intro To Fine Art Printing
We’ve opened up two different dates for our 2026 Introduction To Fine Art Printing workshops. This is an in person only workshop strictly limited to four participants for each date. The first one will be on March 21, 2026. Register on Les’ site. The second workshop will be held August 1, 2026. Registration and more information is available on Les’ site.
Matting & Framing Workshop
This workshop is not about printing, instead it’s a hands-on workshop that shows you how to mat and frame your work. Due to the hands-on nature of this workshop it’s limited to three participants and is offered once/year. Get more info and register on Les’ site.
That’s it for now but we have some other workshop topics in the works for 2026 but we’ve had a hard time keeping up with our most popular workshops. If the dates currently available fill up please do not hesitate to ask us to be on a waiting list. We’ll do our best to make sure you get the first opportunity for newly scheduled dates.
Thank you to all of our subscribers, and especially those that help fund this newsletter.
When teaching photography in a high school I would have to rush over to the office between classes to take a pee. One day as I stood there I noticed a hole in the wall where something had previously been hung. That gave me an idea. I hung one of my prints there where the other male teachers would have something to look at. It was gratifying to get some nice comments, so I started changing out the photos every now & then. I have had very few of my prints shown in public, but when I write my tongue-in-cheek CV my first proud listing is "rotating exhibition, Gallery P."
It is after all, simply the love of seeing that moves us.
For an annual gathering of friends, I filled up an empty Moab Somerset paper box with some prints to share with the group. Some were established artists, but I was not, so it was a rare self-promotion for me. As we sat and chatted (before the food came out) I passed the prints out, one at a time. They liked the images, but they loved the paper! I could see the way they held them and rubbed thier fingers over the paper. That tactile experience enhanced their experience!