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About Curtis Wright and Anniversary Year Press Anniversary Year Press is an 1,800 square feet safer printmaking studio specializing in Intaglio, Relief and Monotype printing situated on a farm in Monroe, Washington. The studio is equipped with a two Tackach floor model etching presses one 26" x 48" and the other 34" x 60". There is also an Ettan tabletop 24" x 48" etching press. The studio is equipped with a floor pedal type plate metal shear capable of cutting plates up to 24" x 36". We also have two vertical etching tanks--filled with different dilutions of ferric chloride-- capable of etching plates up to 18" x 24". There is a Nuarc 26-1KS photo exposure unit for exposing photo sensitive plates as well. Custom made workbenches for applying grounds as well as dedicated inking tables are part of the well designed space. Also part of the plate making space is an aquatint spray booth. The studio has been designed to create full color work in an orderly fashion. Anniversary Year Press also does contract printing as well as individual or small group instruction. The studio can also be rented by the day by an individual or small group of artists. Please contact me for pricing regarding contract printing, individual/small group instruction or studio rental. The idea for Anniversary Year Press began in 1997 with the birth of my daughter Anna. Always having an aversion to using oil-based materials, I switched to acrylic paint soon after I received my M.F.A. in 1989. In graduate school I did some printmaking--mostly monotype--and while loving the process, I hated the chemicals! Often times, though, artists will sacrifice things to get a necessary result and a few years after grad school I was pursuing both monotype and etching in my paint studio using toxic solvents because I honestly didn't know a better way. In caring for Anna it soon became apparent she would be spending a lot of time with me in my studio. The thought of exposing her to the chemicals there was unacceptable --as was giving up printmaking. Thus, I began years of research--taking each intaglio process one by one--in a attempt to continue to make prints in a safer manner. This needed to be done without sacrificing quality as I was working as an exhibiting artist showing work nation wide. Keith Howard, due to his own health needs, had done research and was a good starting point. Mark Zaffron of The CRATE who manufactures Z*Acryl products became a friend and he both assisted and encouraged my pursuit. By 2004 I was teaching safer printmaking to my students at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, California. In 1999 I was introduced to Anniversary Year. It was the end of a long losing day at Santa Anita racetrack. Anniversary Year was entered in that day's final race and looked to be a standout. He ran as advertised and produced a rather large--for me--payoff of over $200. As the years went by, I would run into Anniversary Year during subsequent trips to the races. By 2003, Anniversary Year was in need of a new career, his sore feet not conducive to further racing. Not knowing what to get me for my 40th birthday, my wife Margo encouraged me to claim Anniversary Year from a race and retire him. Soon I had my first horse! By 2007 Margo and I opened our press in a store front space in San Pedro, California. The business needed a name and since that original payout had long gone toward hay and oats, I decided to have Anniversary Year lend his name so he could earn his keep. Thus, Anniversary Year Press was born. In 2009 Margo, Anna and I, along with Anniversary Year in tow, moved to Monroe Washington. Now Anniversary Year Press is on our property--a small 4.7 acre farm--as is Anniversary Year, or A.Y. as he is known to his friends. Now when you are working on plates in the studio you can look out the window and see A.Y. grazing in his pasture along with his friends Border Run--also a former racehorse and a son of the famous Secretariat--and Opie, a Welsh Pony. Bring a few carrots and you'll have friends for life!
--Curtis Wright
CURTIS WRIGHT, TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
EDUCATION:
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
PUBLICATIONS:
TEACHING APPOINTMENTS:
SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
Dr. Joseph Moshy, Sierra Madre, CA Linde and Buck Buzard, Los Angeles, CA Drs. Grady Harp and Armand Lizardi, Altadena, CA Norman and Zoe Friedman, Manhasset, NY Thomas and Brooks Belfored, Arlington, VA Tom Papadimoulis, Cleveland, OH Dr. Donald and Elizabeth Campbell, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Richard and Trina Lopez, Long Beach, CA Robert and Geri Witt, Bel Air, CA Glenn and Marylou Reed-Quinn, Long Beach, CA Mr. and Mrs. Larry Merchant, Santa Monica, CA Kathan Brown, San Francisco, CA
AWARDS:
Nicolet College, 1999 Northern National Art Competition, |
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Quick Contact
Visit Our Studio
By Appointment ONLY - please call:
+1 360 348 7945
15820 291st Ave. SE
Monroe, WA 98272 [ Directions ]
Upcoming Classes
- June 8 : Intro to Safer Intaglio
- June 21 : Intro to Safer Aquatint Etching
- July 5 : Intro to Safer Multiple-Plate Color Intaglio
- August 9 : Intro to Safer Multiple-Plate Color Intaglio