Slugfest Printmaking-Austin, Texas

On Sunday I got to visit Slugfest Printmaking in Austin, Texas. What first caught my eye was the beautiful garden and patio surrounding the building. When I walked in the whole studio was flooded with the warm, late afternoon sunlight. Slugfest is run by Margaret Simpson and Tom Druecker and has been in operation since the summer of 1996. Margaret and Tom gave me a tour of their space which has a main studio area and then another smaller room in the back with a kitchen, plate maker, and space for curating prints. On the other side of the building is a gallery/classroom where they host shows and classes. When I got there I actually came at the end of a drawing class, so I got to see the shop in action. Slugfest is set up for a variety of print processes including lithography, relief, intaglio, and letterpress. Aside from classes they also offer memberships to the studio where you can rent time and print your own work. They do the occasional contract printing job but the studio is much more set up as a community shop. Margaret and Tom showed me a variety of really cool prints and were incredibly welcoming, as they invited me to hangout with them and the drawing class! I learned that they had spent a bit of time in Boston and it turns out they went to MassArt and are big Red Sox fans, both things I connected with. I got to meet a couple of the cats that hang around the shop too, which reminded me of Pratt. Overall it was a great visit to a beautiful space run by two awesome printers and artists and I can't wait to go back and visit next time I'm in Austin!

http://www.slugfestprints.com