Nashville's famous Hatch Show Print, America's oldest continuously running print shop, is hosting a special event of giant proportions: a workshop featuring "Big Tuna," a huge format relief printing press. Participants can bring their monster size woodcut block (up to 96 inches) to be printed by the experts from Big Ink. Come and print or just observe.
What's cool about Hatch Show Print letterpress and relief printing? In a time of digital graphics and slick AI imagery, the old school process of ink-hits-paper has an authentic look, feel and smell. Hatch Show Print has created eye-catching posters and bold show bills since 1879 with their hand set, chunky and distressed wooden type and vintage printing blocks. The intentional imperfections from chipped type, nearly straight and spaced interchangeable blocks, and split "rainbow" fonts of bold ink colors are printed slowly on old presses. No phony Photoshop filters.
Big Ink, founded by Lyle Castonguay in 2012, helps artists tackle large-scale woodblock printmaking through a combination of at-home carving and collaborative printing sessions.
The process, as demonstrated at Providence's WaterFire Arts Center, combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary accessibility. Artists begin by transferring their designs onto large wooden blocks, then meticulously carve away the areas that will appear white in the final print, leaving raised surfaces that will catch the ink. While the basic technique hasn't changed much over time, modern access to large sheets of quality wood allows artists to work on an unprecedented scale.
Big Ink's hybrid workshop model reflects post-pandemic adaptability — participants learn carving techniques through online classes and work independently at home before coming together for communal printing sessions. "Big Ink is about encouraging people to carve on a grand scale and creating a community through public printing demonstrations," explains Castonguay in the workshop video.
As Castonguay notes, the workshop welcomes all skill levels: "Although the skills and tools needed for large-scale printing remain specialized, workshops like Big Ink make it easy for people to jump in and have fun with this process."
Check out the historic rock and roll show posters and country music event announcements, as well as current work at The Hatch Show Print website.
The event is October 25 & 26 and costs $340 plus materials to print. Register by August 8th. All details at the Big Ink website.
