Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker
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@Cody-Soule
How did you get started doing these types of prints?
Back in 2007-08 I got really interested in posters and specific artists. It took about a year or so of really educating myself on the different methods of production until i cam across a video of Jim Pollock printing at the Great Went. He said something to the effect of "what i like about linoleum printing is i can come up with an image and reproduce it in-house without relying on printers to do it" That stuck with me and i decided to give it a try. My very first print is a little 3 block lino print called "Everyone Wins". I thoroughly documented the process for a poster message board i was a part of so i actually have pictures.
here's the very first cut i ever made
and the print
What was the first Spafford poster that you made, and how did that come to fruition?
That was this one: http://www.expressobeans.com/public/detail.php/206710Long story short, Chuck had been asking me to come see Spafford and things finally lined up. It was midway through the first set during Windmill that I realized these guys had something
I wanted to help, after the show I told them i was making posters for their upcoming tour. All i asked was for them to cover cost of materials and if they did well we'd do it again and figure it out from there.What is your favorite Spafford print that you have done?
Super tough choice, super tough.
It might be the closing of the Sail Inn for a lot of reasons.What is your favorite Spafford song?
Gun to my head, Windmill.
Though Simon and Lily, Slip and Squander, and Hollywood have been in heavy rotation in my mind lately. -
and bear with me folks, i tend to be verbose and i type slowly
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@Jon-Rose take your time and be verbose. We're here to pick your brain and get a window into your experience and creative process. I doubt anybody is thinking "He's going too slow..." Your answer to @Cody-Soule is outstanding!
THANK YOU for doing this!
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@Jon-Rose hurry up
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@Jon-Rose beer with you? Great plan! Does Heineken deliver to the court complex in Newark?
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That first poster is Darkly beautiful!
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@Johnny-Love said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
If possible to describe, What does your process for coming up with the idea for a poster look like?
from cooking up the idea to final delivery, approx how many hours of love and labor go into each poster run?Thanks for all the amazing artwork!
If possible to describe, What does your process for coming up with the idea for a poster look like?
Oh man, it can come from anywhere. Typically i like to think about the city they are playing in or a specific song that i've been listening to lately. I definitely have a long list of ideas that come to me on a day to day basis (always keep a notebook and pencil handy!)
Mostly i just try to tune into the overall vibe as it relates to Spafford & the music at that particular time.
Sometimes it's instant, sometimes i stew on an idea for years (see: bluebird print)from cooking up the idea to final delivery, approx how many hours of love and labor go into each poster run?
speaking of the bluebird print
sometimes it takes years. I had been wanting to do something like that ever since the first april fools gig i saw. during the west coast winter tour i finally asked the band if they were ok with me misspelling the name on the poster, they liked it and definitely had some input.mostly, it depends on the number of colors and detail of the work. Some have taken me weeks of working 3-4 hours a day, others got the idea the morning of and cranked it out (see: the 8/8 windmill print)
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@Ian-Quinn said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
Has you technique changed over the years? Be it carving material, to pressing mechanism?the first print i made was using 3 blocks, i had so much trouble with registration (lining the layers up perfectly) that i decided that reduction/suicide cut would be better suited to me. So pretty much right off the bat i was making mistakes and learning from them.
the basic technique has stayed the same in that regard, but different materials, better tools and more refined designs have resulted in less 'mistakes'. though there is one mistake in every print, always.I just recently purchased a Vandercook Universal III to replace my 12" etching press, which replaced the top of a glass candle jar. Thinking back to how i would use that round piece of glass to print editions of 100 with 7 colors makes my back scream at me.
The vandercook has completely changed my life, it opens up so many possibilities. In fact I just received my first photopolymer plate that i'll be using on the fall tour poster. Thats certainly a first.
Thats what i'm most looking forward to actually, pulling in more traditional and experimental letterpress techniques into my prints. So many possibilities. -
sorry for the formatting on that one, here it is again
@VillaReality said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
How many projects do you think you have done total?
I saw this question earlier today and went and counted. I'm sure i'm off by 2 or 3 but i counted 94 total plates. I know a third of them have been for Spafford.Have there ever been any projects you've worked on that were disastrous?
I used to print in the backyard under the roof of my patio.
One time i had 125 prints hanging up drying and a monsoon rolled in. I quickly put up tarps to protect the posters but the wind was just too strong. There was me, my mother in law and my wife getting blasted by sideways rain while my daughter was screaming at us through the screen door trying to secure these tarps.
And then the line i was using to dry the prints snapped.
It all worked out, thankfully. -
@myanruth said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
What is your favorite print, Spafford or otherwise, than you have produced, and what is your favorite Spafford print by someone else?
My favorite Spafford print like i said before is likely the closing of the sail inn
it was my first time hanging at the merch table and selling the prints, it was such an overwhelmingly positive experience. There were many people who bought that print as a memento of the sail inn to keep forever. That was a high honor and i didn't take it lightly. Couple that with me getting to know the band better and having things work out definitely made me think bigger.
Each print is like a child, corny but true.Favorite print by another artist for Spafford? Impossible to answer!
I will say getting Jim to do the print for the Brooklyn show was a personal highligh and i just love it #catsforspafford.Each and every artist i've brought in has their perfect way of interpreting things with uniqueness. I'm very grateful for their hard work and general coolness. There's only a few at this point so i would say all of them are my favorite, and there are more to come!
Who is your favorite artist?
David Welker IF i had to choose in the traditional sense of favorite. I'm a fan of anyone who is constantly exploring new terrain and styles. The fact that he was a traveling mural painter just totally fascinates me, to think of where and how he draws inspiration from it pretty heavy to me.The list would be very very long honestly if i went down it, but would hold all of my peers way up at the top. The poster scene and letterpress world are just so densely packed.
How has your process changed since you first began printing?
see the answer i gave before
If you could have one current artist do a Spafford print, who would you want it to be?
My daughter Alice.
Aside from her, everyone. -
@Randy-Dallas said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
Hi Randy
How did you get started with Spafford?
Chuck.
Then Brian.
What was the first woodblock print you made?
shoot, i'm not sure when i made the switch I will figure it out and respond later, promise.You're mentioned on Live Vol. 1, how does that feel?
I remember standing behind the merch table right outside the door, i couldn't hear very well but i knew Brian was talking, Sashi came out and said 'Jon go in there now'
I did, stayed for the whole song, goosebumps during the whole thing. Those guys....
When it came out on wax and they didn't cut that part out i was like 'holy shit'.
That's how I still am to this very day.Other than Windmill, what is your favorite Spafford song?
right now it's ether Simon and Lily or Hollywood or Mind's Unchained -
@myanruth said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
If you could have one musician sit in with Spafford, who would it be and on what song?
Miles Davis on Dis Go in 5?
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@ObiJuanKenobi said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
Bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish are known for their iconic images. What iconography/aesthetic do you associate with Spafford?Cats.
There is this other thing though....
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gonna take a 10 minute break here and get more coffee
This is fun, great questions! -
If you could do a print for any band, past or present, who would it be?
Thank you for all of your responses so far!
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@virtualbeandip said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
Who would you consider to be your biggest influencers?
My family and close friends influence me the most by far. More so than any particular artist. I am always bouncing ideas off of them. My wife has most definitely changed the course of many prints in small and large ways. I certainly go through phases where i'll study and research an artist and their techniques and they will inevitable either profoundly influence the work (see BB Kings/FLW) or gently guide me in one direction of another. I pick up inspiration from everywhere though. From little logos i see or the way light falls on a mountain. My eyes have grown accustomed to trying to boil down what i see to 5-7 colors.
As of late i am awash in the letterpress world. This one guy Brad Vetter is one dude who is a bad ass letterpress artist. He's actually giving a talk tomorrow here in phoenix and i'm moving mountains to be there.When you aren't creating art prints, what other ways do you express your creativity?
I play a little guitar. Mostly it's playing with my kids, coloring with crayons, and lots and lots of playdough. Which is funny because that is by far my most favorite other artform, pottery/sculpting. I never get to do it, but the work of carving and shaping the printing surface is vry similar and gives me the same satisfaction.Are you surprised by the rapid growth in popularity of Spafford? And where do you see them in 5 years?
yes and no
A lot of us around here in Az were clued in that they had something very special to their approach, in that regard we knew they had the talent and mindset to entertain large audiences. It wasn't uncommon to have conversations in tiny bars with wide eyed people seeing Spafford for the first time and they start talking about "man in 20 years i'll remember this small show for how small it is".The absolute explosion of their popularity is surprising, only in that there are so many new bands that are coming into the scene that really have it together, it's really a bit mind blowing to see this resurgence of live music happening and drawing in all sorts of new dedicated fans. It's like the people want this experience, and there's Spafford to fill that spot. It's all working out just exactly perfect.
These guys have absolutely dedicated themselves and worked so hard to get where they are now and to do what they do on that stage. Hard work and determination goes a very long way.
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And where do you see them in 5 years?
playing in bigger sized rooms to bigger sized crowds, naturally
festivals
April Fools being their hardest ticket of the year -
@Jon-Rose you're the man! Thanks, Jon!
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@myanruth said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
Do you prefer making art or gig prints? Which do you prefer collecting?they each have their place in 'getting it out'
my approach leans very heavily on restrictions. sometimes i will set rules for a print like "the letters have to be almost invisible"....
Gig prints are more restrictive in that sense as i have other people to please, namely the band, and the audience. I have to balance what i want to do and what i find interesting with what i feel will appeal to a large group of people. What may be super interesting to me is totally boring to everyone else. Art prints i can do whatever i want.
Each print is an experiment and i try something new each time and they influence each other equally,
At this point i have a great balance going on.I collect art prints almost exclusively now, though I haven't bought much over the last few years at all. I have what is to me, a great collection of art prints and gig prints.
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@stazone said in Q & A: Friday 9/22, 2PM Eastern - Jon Rose, Artist and Spafford Print Maker:
I bought the CID package for NYE. Can I get a number 8?
yes
