The Ink Shop Printmaking Center

Dan Welden has been a pioneer of alternative printmaking since 1970. Nationally and internationally recognized master printmaker, he was the first artist to initiate Solarplate and waterbased monotype workshops, placing him squarely in the vanguard of healthy and safe creative practice.

The series “Aesop’s Fables” is a series of symbolic gestures which employ visual opposites, including the hare and the tortoise and the grasshopper and the ant, as metaphors for the Yin Yang philosophy. Resurrecting 50-year-old found zinc etching plates that had oxidized beyond redemption. Making his own tools, the artist employed drypoint lines, salt etch, ink, paper and a press to subject the dilapidated plates to a maelstrom of mark-making gestures. This "Color Sequel” is a hybrid of his earlier black and white Aesop's Fables series, augmented with acrylic, watercolor and crayon.

Exhibition duration: November 5, 2021 – January 14, 2021
Opening Reception: November 5, 2021, 5-8pm EST

The 21st Mini Print International is a juried exhibition of prints no larger than 4”x4”. A maximum of Four (4) original prints in any traditional or contemporary graphic process, including computer generated prints, are accepted. The Exhibition has been held bi-annually since 1985 and was founded and directed by Bev McLean who sought to challenge artists and provide an affordable form in which international art could be brought together. The Ink Shop began organizing this exciting exhibit starting with 16th Mini Print International. Our recent Mini Print shows have attracted artists from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand, as well as many artists from the United States.