PENDLETON, Oregon — Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts (CSIA) is pleased to announce the arrival of a new Takach Floor Model Lithography Printing Press, purchased with funds generously provided by The Ford Family Foundation (TFFF) of Roseburg, Oregon. TFFF Capital Improvements grant program approved the $28,500 press purchase for its impact on CSIA’s printmaking capacity.
Custom built by Takach in Albuquerque, NM, the new press has a bed size of 40” x 72”, which increases the overall size of print that can be produced at CSIA. It features an electrically-driven motor with updated technology and locking mechanisms to accommodate both litho plates and stones. The press will be used as the primary publishing press for the studio, replacing the previous 30” x 64” 1977 Takach- Garfield brand press that had been the workhorse of the studio for the past 20 years.
The 43-year-old press will still be in the studio, but the manually-cranked press will no longer be CSIA’s primary editioning press. Along with the ability to make larger-scale prints, the new Takach press adds essential safety features and will limit some of the wear-and-tear on the physical demands of the Master Printer’s body while editioning these labor-intensive artworks. According to Crow’s Shadow Master Printer, Judith Baumann: “This new, modern press allows Crow’s Shadow to continue publishing exciting lithographic works by contemporary artists with fewer technical and physical restraints on the press, and the printmaker. I can’t wait to see the art made on this press!”
The Capital Improvement grants from The Ford Family Foundation have significantly impacted Crow’s Shadow over the organization’s life. These grants are for Oregon visual arts presenters whose principal mission is the exhibition, preservation, and creation of art. Crow’s Shadow is grateful for their support.
