Silkscreen Is Easy by The Little Friends of Printmaking includes a foreword by JW Buchanan, an interview with Chris Jalufka and an afterword by John Foster. Published on the occasion of the exhibition The Little Friends of Printmaking: Silkscreen Is Easy at General Projects from June 26 to August 22, 2021. Portions of the interview with Chris Jalufka were first published on eviltender.com and are reprinted here with permission. Additional photography by Linnea Bullion, Pat Castaldo, Yannick Grandmont, and Eric Nakamura.
"HEY! DID YOU KNOW: "Silkscreen is Easy!" Or, anyway, that's its reputation among snooty printmaker types (sorry to snooty printmaker types) who've never picked up a squeegee in their life. REAL HEADS KNOW that silkscreen is complicated and physically grueling. Anything and everything can go wrong; you're walking a knife's edge; your back is killing you, and-Whoops, now the ink is dry! Time to wash out or print off endlessly. Silkscreen is hell, and yet I love it and it's also better than anything else and please don't ask me to reconcile these disparate facts."--JW Buchanan
Foster, John: - John Foster is a Washington, D.C. based designer and writer. He is the author of New Masters of Poster Design, Paper and Ink Workshop, 1,000 Indie Posters, and Album Art: New Music Graphics, among others.
Jalufka, Chris: - Chris Jalufka is a Bay Area based art writer focused on the world of design, illustration, and silkscreen. His articles have appeared in HOW Magazine, Print Magazine, and Juxtapoz.
Printmaking, The Little Friends of: - The Little Friends of Printmaking are JW and Melissa Buchanan, a married duo of award-winning illustrators, designers, and silkscreen artists. They first made a name for themselves designing and printing silkscreened concert posters but soon branched out, making fancy junk for whoever would pay them money. In addition to their work as illustrators and designers, they continue their fine art pursuits through exhibitions, lectures and artists' residencies worldwide, spreading the gospel of silkscreen to anyone inclined to listen. Their clients include Disney, FX, Nike, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Little Friends currently live in Pasadena, CA with some very fat pets. Melissa Buchanan is one half of The Little Friends of Printmaking, a renowned silkscreen master printer whose printing process videos have been viewed by millions. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she has dedicated the last twenty years to silkscreen art and its instruction. With her trademark irreverence, she demystifies what can seem an impenetrable process. Melissa lives in Pasadena, CA with JW Buchanan and several flat files stuffed with prints. JW Buchanan is the other half of The Little Friends of Printmaking, an award-winning illustrator and an expert designer of silkscreen prints whose silkscreen printing ability can be most accurately be described as "fine." A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he has dedicated the last twenty years to silkscreen art and its design. With an eye towards materials, his prints seek to push to the foreground the aspects of silkscreen that make it unique amongst art disciplines. JW lives in Pasadena, CA with Melissa Buchanan and loads of heavy printing equipment.
