Hope Your Christmas was as Good as Brussels Sprouts

...and if you are Sarah Jane Coleman of Inky Mole Illustration, that would be a very good thing. These are the Christmas cards she made this year and her vegetable of choice (said brussels sprout) is front-and-center. Cheers to you, Sarah. I'm sure you made all your friends and family smirk a little this year.

Recycled Gocco Bulb Ornaments

Marlene Watson of Northwoods Studios offered me this image of her recycled Gocco bulbs. She creates these adorable Christmas and Easter ornaments in crafty classes she instructs. When I learned to Gocco, the teacher showed us how to crush the still-warm bulbs in bare hands. If you think that's scary, I've heard another printer claim to crunch them in his teeth, yikes! What do you do with your spent lamps?

New Featured Artist on Save Gocco: Schmuttergold

I've seen Schmuttergold's cards here and there on Flickr and Etsy and they always make me chuckle. Their motto is: "Good Jewish Design." Along with their spunky-sayings, they also offer beautiful typography hand-lettered and illustrated designs in their website and Etsy shop. This spin me round card is offered at $3.50. Mazel tov!

2010 Gocco Printed Calendar by Anna Cote

I have to give kudos to Anna Cote of Modern Printed Matter for using her Gocco to print a calendar this year. The high price and low availability of Gocco supplies would have deterred most folks. I gotta tell you though, after looking at the images she picked to print, it looks like Anna will have approximately 12 sweet masters to work with from here on out, so all is not lost. Beautiful work, Anna.

Gocco Fix from Heatherjeany

Remember Heatherjeany? She has a Mr. Gocco and lightbulb tattoo...such a rockstar. These coasters are one of her newer Gocco printed items available in her Etsy shop. The master was made using a photo Heather took of a tree stump behind her house. Printed on chipboard, a set of four runs $5.00 USD. Purchase here!

New Featured Artist on Save Gocco: Hellojenuine

This is the first in a small series of holiday Gocco prints I'm featuring on the Save Gocco home page. I love this one. Mr. Deer doesn't exactly look excited about the upcoming season. Check it out and read about Hellojenuine here!

100th post. Money Money Money Money

So, this is the 100th post, which I actually did not realize until I opened up my account to write about a giveaway of 100- 1 dollar bills. Swear. So, without further adeu...I was looking through the flickr Gocco pool recently and came across these printed dollar bills. They were created to mark the launch of Keith Scharwath's new blog. He is giving away 100 Gocco'd one-dollar bills to his readers. Now, I need to preface this by saying I'm not sure that this is even LEGAL but it's definitely clever. All you have to do to receive some of this Gocco'd buck goodness is visit the new Carwash blog and "contact" Keith. He will promptly send one off to you (pending availability) along with a little note. Spend wisely.

Gocco Giveaway at Pikaland

Gocco giveaway alert! Hop on over to Pikaland for 1) a fabulous giveaway featuring the work of Minkee. 2) a super fun and inspirational blog in general. Stick around after the giveaway post, you won't be sorry.

new Featured artist on Save Gocco: Leigh Wells

Whaaat, already? Have you noticed that Save Gocco home page is now being changed once per week instead of once every 6 weeks? I'm the biggest critic of stale web pages so I've decided not to continue to bug myself and take the time to change it every week. Likey? This image comes from Leigh Wells. Intriguing, no? I suppose it's one of those things that means different things to different people. To me it seems to imply being "grounded," but only partially. Partially grounded and partially up in the air. Pretty much how I feel most of the time. What does it say to you?

Gocco Fix from Paperday Studio

Guess what? Paperday Studio is ME. Besides blatantly promoting myself, I wanted to show what is in my opinion the best feature of Print Gocco: application variety. Besides paper, you can print on: napkins, wood, glassine, fabric, and.....Polaroids. Did I leave out anything? This run was upcycled from a stack of lemon film. I made lemonade, freshly squeezed with my Gocco.

Gocco/Yudu/Traditional screenprinting comparison article

What a gift! Naomi Duckworth of "Eleventy" has written a wonderfully thorough comparison article of Gocco, Yudu, and traditional silkscreening methods. In her words: "I'll start with some background about traditional screen printing, the Gocco, and the Yudu. Then I'll dive into a detailed explanation of how the methods differ, followed by a comparison chart summarizing the differences. I'll end with a final analysis of the pros and cons of each method, and recommendations for who might choose which one. " Holy crap, does she know that there's no grading on blog posts? If I were the teacher, I'd give this one an A+ for sure.

Side note: Eleventy also has a great Etsy shop. with some really neat-o stuff in it. Thanks for being a super-star, Naomi.

Gocco Fix from Grumble Toy

This is one of the swell Gocco prints featured on Art Wall's Gocco Studio. I think it is just the sweetest. Do you see what I see? Little secret fluff-guys hiding under the mushroom's umbrella. Ainsley of Grumble Toy named it "Mushroom Gnomes." Guess what? It could fly to you direct from Winnepeg, Canada for the low-low price of $5.00 USD! Seriously. Find it here.

Gocco Fix from Sarah Parrott and Swallowfield

I haven't featured an invitation in a while...and there are soooooo many super-duper Gocco'd invitations out there to choose from, but this one really caught my eye recently. If you've ever been to South Carolina, you know that this Live Oak tree is the quintessential icon for an S.C. wedding. The illustration is perfect. I love how the leaves/moss are made to look almost like lace. Swallowfield did the drawing and Sarah Parrott did the typesetting and printing. A perfect creative collaboration. I wish I were invited, those Carolinians really know how to party.

New Featured artist on Save Gocco: Fric de Mentol

Ok, I know I say this every time, but I think this is my new favorite Save Gocco home page. Mushroom Girl just looks so so sweet in the Riso frame. I want to take her home with me, stick her in a terrarium with all my other mushroom people and fairies and live happily ever after.

Gocco Exhibit at Art Wall Online

I want to share a new project with you that I've been working on for quite some time. After I re-launched the Save Gocco site this spring, I wanted to add a page that featured a styled display of Gocco prints in illustrated frames on a wall. I liked the concept so much that I decided to add other pages for different kinds of art. One thing lead to the next and Art Wall was created. The "studio" room is dedicated pieces made with Print Gocco. I included some well-known Gocco artists, along with a few that are new to the scene, but they're all very special. Jess Gonacha Swift (a fellow Gocco gal) created the illustrations for the website, and also came up with the sweetest animation for the launch which happens to be today! The site also has a blog. I hope you enjoy Art Wall, I had the most fun putting it together.

Gocco Giveaway at Share Some Candy

Wooo, hooo. Share Some Candy just posted a wonderful and very thorough article about Print Gocco which includes interviews of 13 Gocco artist along with a giveaway from each one! Talk about sharing candy. Check out the eye-sweets.

Gocco Fix from Cortney Emerson

I wanted to point out the lovely work of Cortney Emerson. These four "Forest Tale" prints are sold together as a set. They are the perfect mixture of eerie and whimsey. $40 USD. Available in Cortney Emerson's Etsy shop.

Gocco Commercial

Heatherjeany, a darling in the world of Gocco (you might remember I mentioned her before here and here) pointed our Gocco Yahoo group toward this crazy commercial. We love the roosters, and the fact that the "toy" is so easy, even puppies can make prints. Not just one puppy though, guys, it takes a pair!

Oops.."contact me" button, out of commission

Whoopsie. I've just realized that the "contact me" button on the Save Gocco site was out of comission for a while. I wondered why I was only getting twitter and facebook emails to that address. Sheesh! I apologize if anyone sent an email that went without response. It's working just fine now so contact away!

New Featured artist on Save Gocco: Dee Beale

I've featured Dee on this blog before, but I had to give special attention to this beautiful Poppies print again. It is the newest feature on the Save Gocco site. It might just be my favorite image yet in the Riso frame. Check it out!

Loaded Question: Is it Worth It?

I came across a loaded question as a comment to this post. I'm sorry, I usually answer questions right away but unfortunately, this one was way too heavy for a quick response. I've got some time this morning so here goes:

Question:

Hello!
I've just recently discovered Goccos, and obviously am lusting after one. I was thinking of purchasing a used one somewhere, or having a friend in Japan search one out, but now I'm worried... what is the future of supplies? Will I just get addicted only to find myself unable to obtain screens and bulbs before too long, and I regret spending money on ebay or on the cost of shipping from Japan? In short, given the cost of these machines at this point, is this a bad investment?
Thanks! -Anon.

Answer:

Dear Anon-

I think it depends on your definition of the word "investment." For one person, paying a couple-hundred dollars for art supplies is part of a business. They might stamp out 100 prints in their first go and sell each one for $50. Investment recouped. Even if it's simply for the sake of learning or a creative hobby, there is inherent value in that. How much is too much can only be answered by you. A few years ago, my husband spent several hundred dollars on bicycle repair parts and lessons. In the end it would have been much cheaper to simply "pay the pros" to fix his 10-year-old bike, but he found enjoyment in that learning process, rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty, literally. If you are someone who tends to buy gadgets that aren't ever used, then no, buying a Gocco is surely not a good investment for you, BUT it's people like that (in my opinion) who will keep Gocco alive for quite some time. I'm guessing that supplies will long be available on sites like Ebay and Craig's list because of those gadget-getters, people who decide to jump in on a whim, never to open that box for reasons of fear or time-constraints or maybe pure laziness. Who knows? I'm not sure how many households currently have shelved Gocco supplies but judging from the masses of Japanese families who used Gocco over the past 30 years, I'd venture to guess that supplies will be around for a while.

So, as you can tell, there is no real answer to your question I can hand to you. You have to decide for yourself. If you take the plunge, and regret your decision, there's always Ebay :)

Fondly,

-Katie

New Resources on Save Gocco Site

I sound like a Jr. High counselor: "NEW RESOURCES, kids. Stop by the student center..." Really, it's just that I updated the Save Gocco site with a few new resources. Mint design blog has a nice Gocco FAQ's page on her blog I thought I'd pass on. I also added the previously mentioned Gocco comparison article that Jamie Pulley authored after laboring over it for who-knows-how-long. His pocket pal Gocco charts are also a new listed resource. Unfortunately, I had to delete a few of the suppliers who were listed. They're cold out of supplies, boo. Please pay no attention to the extra spaces between the new links. Wordpress, you really get my goat sometimes, you know that? Grrrrrr. Also, if anyone has any info on classes being offered, I'd love to update that list as well. Thanks, and enjoy.

Gocco Fix from Space Oddities

Printed on wood venier. Love that. Blue hearts? Love that too. Knee-high socks? Sign me up! This print is titled: "Raining in my Heart." I think it's pretty special. Available for $15 in SpaceOddities's Etsy shop here.

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago

I'm so bummed I missed the Renegade Craft Fair last Sunday in Chicago. I was actually in the city Tuesday through Friday of last week celebrating my 5 year anniversary. I had planned on driving down again on Sunday with a buddy but she bailed and I was too lazy to go solo. Oh well, next year. Here's some of the cool Gocco-related people and stuff I could have enjoyed. From top left to bottom left: Lucky Bee Press, Circa Ceramics, Cindy Tomczyk, Jess Gonacha Swift.

Gocco Giveaway from Brid Bird

This lovely print was handmade by Bridget Farmer of Bridbird. She is making an overseas move in the near future and to celebrate (and lessen stock) she's offering a sweet package up-for-grabs. To enter, visit bridbird on etsy and leave a comment on her blog about your favorite Gocco-printed item. My favorite is the Kitchen Utensils Gocco print. The winner will get SIX different prints similar to the one pictured. Yes, I said six. If you don't feel lucky, every print is being offered at just $10. Go, go, go-the offer ends Saturday.....and good luck!

New Featured artist on Save Gocco: Emily, OrangeBeautiful

I updated the featured artist today on the Save Gocco site. Sheesh, I don't know why that is so hard for me. Each time I manage to omit some important step and screw it up. Anyway, it is all set and the "Love Together Forever" print looks oh-so-classy in the Gocco frame. Emily from OrangeBeautiful is a super-talented designer. I've been creepily lurking around her blog for years now, but we've only just "made friends." Please read all the sentiments, so you don't miss the funniest one (bottom right.)

Gocco fix from Blancucha

My friend Sarah of: The Hungry Bambino tipped me off to this artist. Blanca Gomez is the inventor of these darling Gocco-printed images. She lives in Madrid and you can definitely feel a European influence in her work. I could see these little folks being front-and-center in the most charming children's books ever to-be-made. These prints along with the notebook are available in Blanca's etsy shop: Blancucha. Too sweet.

Gocco fix from Lisa Solomon

Have you heard of Lisa Solomon? She's a Bay-area artists I saw on one of Design for Mankind's Dialogue videos. Turns out she uses Gocco in some of her pieces. These Doilies are right up my alley. I love anything printed and stitched: hand-embroidered to be exact. They are $45 and can be purchased at airstream gallery.

Gocco Card Sale at Paperleaf

This is great news for all you non-Gocco-ing fans of Gocco. The talented Kate of Paperleaf is headed across the pond to our beloved New York and is unloading stock from her shop. This is kindof an insane sale, folks. Any 5 cards are $8USD. That's $1.60 a card which is roughly half the price of a drugstore card. Good luck with the sale, Kate. Relish the big apple.

Homemade Stamp Kit

Thanks to Annaklara of famed canary loveliness for sending me her homemade Gocco stamp kit. Anna made this stamper out of  "an old wooden handle and some material that you put in suitcases." The clips are made with wire.  What's that, you say?  You don't have an old wooden handle, and you have never heard of suitcase material?  I think you could easily make the handle out of a cabinet pull screwed into a piece of wood.  Firm upholstery foam should fill in for the suitcase material.  You can see the sweet bird sachet bags that were made during this demo here.  Thanks again, Anna.

New Featured artist on Save Gocco: Lisa Congdon

I updated the featured artist today on the Save Gocco site.  Lisa Congdon is one talented mixed media artist.  She's usually got at least one Gocco print available at her shop.  Find out more about Lisa and this lovely print here.  

Gocco Fix from Dana Robson

I've been meaning to feature Dana Robson for some time now.  She's a mixed-media artist who works with some of my favorites: maps, thread, book pages, and Gocco.  This piece would be just right in the imaginary cabin I have up in the North woods of Wisconsin.  It's the perfect combination of modern and nostalgic, and for $225, it's yours.  

Sizes and Types of Gocco Printers

If you're in the market for a used Gocco, Jamie Pulley has put together the best comparison list I've seen for what each model does, and the differences between them.  Jamie also put together a little resources guide at the bottom of the article for people to reference when (in his words) "getting their Gocco-action on."  Thanks, Jamie. 

The One Flash Wonders

Okay, this is something I never thought I'd say:  "step right up and get your toys made from used Gocco bulbs."  What the?  I just love people sometimes.   These illuminoid "toys" are made with cast resin bodies around hand-painted bulbs.  They come in sets with fun packaging and no two are alike.  The men behind the madness are Paul Burke and Jon Paul of Porlzilla.com.  It looks like the crazy things these guys make sell out pronto so if you want your own personal pair of illuminoids, you'd better add to cart.  

Update: they're gone :(

Gocco Fix from Annaklara

Can I tell you something?  I'm a little tired of the bird motif.  I admit, I'm guilty of bird-mania in my shop but lately it seems like everything is: birds, birds, birds.  A little unoriginal. However....this guy, I like.  He reminds me of a parakeet I had as a child, that lived for 9 years.  Okay maybe not nine but I'll tell you I was in college when he finally left for parakeet heaven.  He's five bucks, He's pink and turquoise, and he's going to live a nice long life framed on my wall.   

Gocco Fix from Tessar Lo

"We're on our way home" is the name of the print.   Judging from the fact that there are only 9 of these charming gals available for purchase, I would imagine they will be on their way home soon.  4-color Gocco on wood, $150, available here. 

I have a secret...

I have terrible handwriting.  Bad, so bad.  I used to be able to write nicely when I really concentrated.  Now, I feel like my phalanges are shot from years of computer typing and mousing and it's gotten...it's bad.  The way I see it, a career in calligraphy is pretty much not an option for me at this point,  but I so lust over beautiful hand-lettering.  Jane Farr, the calligrapher behind A Place to Flourish is a pen's best friend.  This is a piece she created by hand, then Gocco'd into an amazing wedding invitation for her niece.  A work of art.

Gocco Fix from Jane Hancock

Isn't this shop name clever?  I think I've told Rajshel 3 times now that I really like it.  At least she knows I'm sincere.  I've been wanting to feature her shop and website for some time now. She participated in the swap and gave up some really neat-o cards.  I really dig the way she layers prints.  It adds an interesting look and texture, something that's hard to see in pictures. This Flying Whale Note Card is my favorite Gocco'd item in Jane Hancock's etsy shop.  I never knew a whale could be so darling.  

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

If you participated in the card swap, you should be receiving your completed package soon (if not already)  I really had a fun time putting the packages together (not to mention receiving them in the mail.)  I have a few ideas for future swaps brewing so if you missed this one, stay tuned. 

And the winner is....

...by way of random.org, the winner is ......#1 Nicole, who believes in luck but hasn't had any lately.  Looks like the winds are changing. Yay, Yay, Yay.  Nicole, please get in touch with me at paperdaystudio(a)gmail.com with your address so I can send Birch Perch your way.  Congrats.