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NewslettersFrom the Don Widmer Gallery
From the Don Widmer Gallery
Category: Prints, Etchings & Lithographs
Title: La Befana: vien di notte, framed and matted – 2 color Letterpress Broadside on Handmade Hemp Paper (2018), item 279.01
Description: According to southern Italian folklore, the Magi visited an old woman named La Befana (whose name may derive from "Epiphany"). Because she is busy, La Befana does not join them on their way to find baby Jesus. She soon regrets her decision but it's too late. To this day, on the eve of Epiphany she visits every house to find the baby Jesus, visiting children asleep in their beds. She travels by broom or donkey, entering the home through the chimney. La Befana leaves toys for good children, garlic or coal for bad ones. The title comes from the first line of a traditional Italian children's song, which translates as "The Old Witch comes by night." The text within the illustrations comes from my original poem. Letterpress printing is a form of relief printing which uses a printing press. I start by creating pen and ink drawings. I scan the drawings and create raised polymer plates from my digital files. These plates are locked onto the bed of a Vandercook printing press, inked, and transferred onto paper through the application of pressure. The text on the bottom of the broadside is printed using hand-set metal and wood type. I printed this artwork on a Vandercook model 4 at Spudnik Press in Chicago. The hemp paper was made by me in Bridgeport (Chicago) from raw plant material which is tested after rinsing to confirm its pH neutral state. The artwork comes signed and numbered (no. 1 in an edition of 11), with a one-page description of the process. The simple wood frame is dark brown with a distressed finish resembling barn wood. The artwork is matted using an archival mat (army green). Non-glare and UV resistant museum quality glass highlights the depth of the relief print process. Created in Chicago, Illinois. Artwork Size: 18 (h) x 12 (w) inches (approximate); 45.7 x 51 cm. Frame Size: 26 x 20 inches; 66 x 60.5 cm. Package weight = 7 lb.; 3.2 kg.; free shipping includes packaging cost and insurance.
Theme: Whimsical
Color: Earth Tones
Texture: Flat
Finish: Art Only
Edition: Unique
Style: Letterpress
Dimensions: 20 inches wide, 26 inches tall, 1 inch as its depth
Shipping: $0.00
Price: $350.00