We are proud to announce Night Owls Print Shop’s participation in the “HOUSTON INK” gallery on display at Rice University from June 1st-August 24th. Opening reception at 7pm Friday June 1st.  We will have some of the latest silk screened work on display including pieces from:  Jermaine Rogers, Natalie Irish, Brian Ewing, Justin Anville, and Shelby Hohl.  Scroll down to read the press release and event information:

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The Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts at Rice University is pleased to host Houston Ink in collaboration with PrintHouston 2012. The exhibition will be on view from June 1 until August 24.
Gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The gallery is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

The exhibition, opening reception, and panel discussion (7 p.m.) will be in the Rice Media Center Building on the Rice University campus on June 1 from 6:30 until 9:00 pm.

“HOUSTON INK”: A Panel Discussion moderated by Professor and Printmaker Karin Broker. Panelists include Kelly Moran of Nau-haus Art & Graphic, Carlos Hernandez and Pat Masterson of Burning Bones Press, and Isaac Menge of Night Owls.

Why a Neu-haus, Burning Bones Press and Night Owl Press exhibition for PrintHouston 2012 ?
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Curator statement

As a printmaking educator and the Director and collaborative printmaker for the PrintPalace Press at Rice University I’m interested and fascinated by the dynamics of a group of people working in sync to produce an artist’s vision on a piece of paper, the surface of a six pack of Saint Arnold’s Beer (Burning Bones Press) or in the case of Night Owls Print Shop on sheets of wood.

It takes a toolbox filled with inventiveness, superb technical skills, very cool equipment, a willingness to work hard, and a search for new technology to bring a visual idea to the final state of Editioning. But there must also be a mix of niceness, kindness, good sense of humor, generosity, laughter and more than a little alcohol to ever insure that this process will repeat itself with another artist. I believe that without a healthy and even insane collaborative spirit the concept of working with artists wouldn’t interest the three print shops in this exhibition.

Their ability to forge ahead with first-class printmaking tools and more than a fair share of creativity makes Neu-haus Art & Graphics, Burning Bones Press and the Night Owls Print Shop places of magic. You only need to walk into these ink scented, press and computer heavy shops to realize that your brain automatically jumpstarts itself into high gear creativity mode.

These guys are hubs of print energy. Whatever art ideas you walk through their doors with Dan Allison, Carlos Hernandez, Pat Masterson and Isaac Menge are automatically and genetically tuned to take hold of those bits and enthusiastically convert them into shinier, more exciting, more “you” pieces of art worthy of multiple production.

The exhibited works from all three shops are dynamic and they beautifully reflect the artists’ own singular expressions but the collaborative teams behind these works are the silent magicians who have made these art productions a merry dance of brilliant expertise and eye-popping wizardry. I thought you should see for yourself what the best of Houston has to offer.

Karin Broker
Professor of Printmaking and Drawing
Rice University

We just released a benefit shirt for CASH Music. Designed by Chunklet and produced here at Night Owls, “The Music Industry is Ruining Lawsuits” is available on unisex black Anvil tees. Printed with discharge ink, for a soft wearable feel. Sizes available include: Adult Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, and XXL.

Everything in this business starts with musicians, but with all the money around music they’re often the last to see any. Most of the artists we know are working so hard just to keep their heads above water. CASH Music is building a totally free platform of tools for artists and labels to sell, share, and promote music directly to their fans. It’s something they have been working on for a long time because they feel it’s vital that all musicians have access to basic web tools that are free, open, and theirs to own.

Please drop by and visit: cashmusic.org for more information. Pick up a shirt in our web cart to help support their great organization!

-Night Owls

“Sometimes the thing you set out to make turns into something you didn’t expect along the way. Inspired by the song “Eyeoneye” from Andrew Bird’s new record, this poster began as straightforward exploration of two eyes overlapping. What emerged was a bold and simple owl head. You know, a bird…” -White Bicycle

Printed in four colors on an 18×24″ sheet of Cougar 100lb. creme cover stock. In an edition of 125. Most of the edition was sold at the recent Andrew Bird show in New Orleans at the Howlin’ Wolf March 16th 2012. We will be releasing our copies online at a random time tomorrow, Thursday April 26th.

-Night Owls

We will be heading to Austin, TX again this year for Flatstock 33/SXSW, and Buffalo, NY the following weekend for the 2012 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair. This year Brian Ewing will be joining us at our booth during Flatstock. We are excited to have him on board showcasing a lot of new work from the past year. We will also have new print work available at both events from: Justin Anville, Shelby Hohl, White Bicycle, Jermaine Rogers, along with some older rare goodies, and even a special Flatstock 33 pre-release mini edition from Anville from his upcoming Obsidian Print Series. We hope to meet some new friendly faces at both events!

Another first for us in 2012. We will be releasing a series of Night Owls tees! Artists lined up include: Carlos Hernandez, Anville, Henry Owings(of Chunklet), Jermaine Rogers, and Brian Ewing. A few shirts from the series will be available prior to release at Flatstock 33 & The Small Press Bookfair.

Need some more details on either of these events? Visit them online at: http://www.sxsw.com/tradeshows/flatstock & http://www.buffalosmallpress.org/

“Tyto Alba” is a 9-color silk screen, 18×24″ in size, printed on 290gsm Coventry Cotton Rag Fine Art paper in a limited edition of 75. Both editions are signed and numbered by the artist.

“Tyto Alba – Midnight” is a 10-color silk screen, 18×24″ in size, printed on 290gsm Coventry Cotton Rag Fine Art paper in a limited edition of 35. Both editions are signed and numbered by the artist.

We also just released a few prints from the “Hollywood Babble-On” Art Show hosted by: Alamo Drafthouse, along with some special rare hard to find printers proof goodies from Jermaine Rogers & Anville.

“Dante Christ” is a 4-color, 12×16″ silk screen, printed on 100lb. cover stock in a limited edition of 37.

“Dante” is a 3-color, 12×12″ silk screen, printed on 100lb. cover stock in a limited edition of 28.

“Randal” is a 3-color, 12×12″ silk screen, printed on 100lb. cover stock in a limited edition of 28.

“Dante & Randal” is a 3-color 24×12″ silk screen, printed on 100lb. cover stock in a limited edition of 18.

Artwork inspired by Clerks and done by Gregory Pepper.

Here is Jermaine with his input on the print release:

“What does ‘Stairway To Heaven’ look like? I’ll admit, I’m still not quite sure: there are as many interpretations for this song as there are individuals who’ve heard it. For me, it’s a song drenched in ‘duality’. It lyrically defines two paths: the choice to follow some ‘script’ in life, dictated by dogma, tradition, or teaching OR the option of trusting the inner voice, the ‘humming’ in your head.

I believe that there is energy within each one of us that naturally attempts to sync up with the pulsing of the universe, the grid connecting everything and everyone in existence. As a race of beings, we’ve become so very distracted over the ages that we’ve gradually forgotten how to ‘hear’ it. I think the song celebrates the option to ‘listen very hard’ & to follow the primal music in your head.

Still, the choice is ours…and the image I created is dominated by that same aspect of duality. Two paths. You can try to cheat the game and buy the ‘stairway to heaven’…or you can surrender to the wheel of fortune and just live it out day by day.”

Printed in two editions: both on creme paper, foil, and white birch plywood. Silk screened 20×30″ with a 3-color split fountain blend & metallic brown key line illustration.

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