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| Intern Eileen Fritz (center) with press assistants Amy Fillipp (L) and Justin Archer (R) |
P.R.I.N.T Press thanks Eileen Fritz for serving as an intern in fall 2014. A BFA candidate with a major in Printmaking, Eileen worked on several projects:"This fall I have had the tremendous opportunity of interning at Print Research Institute of North Texas (P.R.I.N.T Press). During my time at P.R.I.N.T I have been able to learn, first hand, what it takes to run a fine art publishing studio, and about the role that a non profit press serves in the printmaking and creative community.
My first tasks at P.R.I.N.T focused on the ongoing project with Kiki Smith, and a continuation of work I did over the summer as an assistant. . . .
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| Eileen working on Kiki Smith's prints |
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| Eileen Fritz (R) works with Preston Bradley (L) on Nicole Hand's print |
During September I worked on a lot of shop maintenance and inventory tasks, such as inventorying and cleaning litho, relief, and intaglio inks, and preparing tarlatan. Most of these tasks were in preparation for artist Nicole Hand's visit to UNT and P.R.I.N.T. Nicole visited from October 20-24 and it was a great experience to take part in! This project started a new subscription program for P.R.I.N.T, which let me see the community getting excited about and engaging with printmaking. My duties as an intern for her project ranged from cutting glassine to operating the press while printing Nicole's multi plate intaglio edition. The project was a blast to work on, and gave me insight into just how many people and how much work it takes to produce an edition from start to finish!
Some of my last tasks at P.R.I.N.T had to do with preparing Kiki Smith's finished editions for transport to New York City. For a couple of weeks I worked alongside graduate assistants Jessie Barnes and Kayla Seedig to put together boxes, build bumpers, alter outer boxes, and build cradles for Kiki's work. Each edition was given its own flat box, with padding inside so the prints would not move, then packed inside of an outer cardboard box, altered to a very specific size, and padded with insulation foam to surround the inner box. Everything was labeled and marked amply to ensure that everyone knew to handle it carefully. Learning the proper process and precautions that must be taken to protect artwork when en route was staggering, but very enlightening.
After everything was packed, Laura Drapac (Assistant to Director), Lari Gibbons (Director) and CVAD Interim Dean Eric Ligon took the pieces to New York for approval and collation. This was a very exciting occasion as we, along with many others, had worked very hard for a long time on this project. Being able to see the prints through many stages of production was an incredibly rewarding experience, and it really made me appreciate how much communication goes back and forth from studios to coordinate a project, and to make every decision together with the artist.
Interning at P.R.I.N.T has been a privilege for me, and I am very grateful to have had this opportunity. I was able to hone a range of skills; from cutting newsprint to operating the press. I was able to have a part in a true effort of teamwork, and see how much thought and care goes into making a studio run smoothly. I am now much more interested in working in an environment like P.R.I.N.T Press, and will take the experiences I have had here with me into my future career."––Eileen Fritz, December 2014
