Flatbed Press

I have known co-​owners Katherine Brimberry and Mark Smith for several years. I have acquired a few prints from Flatbed during that time, all of which are of exceptional quality. Katherine and Mark are knowledgeable and responsive to questions (even some of the dumb questions from those of us who love fine art, but who don’t always know how the various print types are made). Visiting Flatbed in person is a delightful experience as oftentimes there are print exhibitions on view — as well as artists actually working on prints in Flatbed’s impressive print shop. Flatbed has also been kind enough to provide a convenient layaway plan for my «must haves,» and that has helped me acquire works that would otherwise have been impossible on my modest budget. For that I wish to thank them! If you haven’t gone to see Flatbed Press in person, make a date today. My visits are always unforgettable.

I discovered this studio yesterday during Austin’s annual E.A.S.T. this space is a beautiful exhibition gallery for the pieces produced inside. I am not a painter, nor do I screen print. After visiting this space I have a new found appreciation for the medium (s) employed by the tenants in this space.
Alfonso Huerta was especially delightful and helpful in educating E.A.S.T. visitors about how he produces his art work in the flatbed press space.
If you are looking to add to your art collection the gallery boasts several artists and several different types of artwork to choose from. If you are curious and artistic you can even sign up for classes with Flatbed tenants.
Check them out next weekend on E.A.S.T. and see for yourself why this is especially inviting to artists and art aficionados alike.

I am not an artist but I have to say that I love Flatbed Press. I took my parents there when they where visiting just to look around and it ended up being one of their favorite things in Austin. Now we go back every time they come to town. It is a beautiful space, there is always something interesting and provoking up and the people are very welcoming.

As much a working artist space as it is a gallery, Flatbed really does a wonderful job of encapsulating the marriage of East Austin and bleeding edge inspiration. It is, essentially, a large warehouse that’s been divided into the aforementioned working spaces and gallery strolls, and the provocative and intriguing nature of the work here is always worth lingering over.
I might describe what I’ve most often seen as ‘modern art with a conscience’ but ultimately one of the things I think that they offer that really moves the creative needle are the classes they offer. Lithography, monotype, relief work, there’s plenty going on if you want to learn how to express yourself. Who knows, maybe one day it’ll be your work adorning these walls… or others.

Like Slugfest around the corner, Flatbed Press is a gallery/artist’s printmaking studio/​art school. It’s a huge hulk of a building with a couple of independent galleries. The printmaking area is at the back of the building. Everything you would ever need to pull a print — intaglia & lithography presses, lith stones, etc. Flatbed offers classes throughout the year — mainly on fine art printmaking but also photography and arts management. Exhibits of prints from artists like Frank X. Tolbert, Bob Schneider and others open on a regular basis. Great place — but prints are still cheaper at Slugfest.

«Let me take you upstairs and show you my etchings…»
I am a BIG fan of Flatbed Press. I happened upon their printmaking shop not long after they opened in 1989 and I found their compassionate and intense outlook on printmaking and life to be a haven of creativity and brilliance.
Katherine Brimberry and Mark L. Smith have the midas touch for choosing an excellent location for their business and committed people to work with… they also retain an artistic integrity in what they do and HOW they do it.
Flatbed is a publishing workshop which means they do collaborative work with artists. They also work with other entities on printing limited editions of etchings, monotypes, lithographs… prints. ORIGINAL prints. which may seem like an oxymoron to some, but it makes sense if you have ever seen an edition of etchings. Each print is pulled by hand, each one an original print, from a piece of copper of a piece of zinc that an artist has labored over for years sometimes.
Their location in East Austin has an exhibit space, printmaking studio, and office. Gerald Manson, Master Printer Emmeritus, is also the Master of Dry Humor and he loves NPR and great classical music…
Flatbed World Headquarters shares space with 8 other creative professionals. Flatbed’s workshops are stellar and I would always recommend anything Kathy Brimberry is teaching… Solar Plate would be a good start. Another great beginner class would be Intro to Copperplate Etching with Teresa.
If you are a printmaking afficionado, maybe you would enjoy PhotoPolymer Film Intaglio. Mark Smith offers individual 90 minute critiques, which, for the active artist, can be informative, intense, and fun. Flatbed also offers business courses for artists including one about tax tips from a CPA and an internet promo class for artist on how to promote work by increasing web presence.
My Unilocal disclaimer is that I taught printmaking to UT Architecture students at Flatbed for a summer …
If you are looking to buy original art for your home, stop by at one of their gallery exhibits or make an appointment… so you, too, may someday soon be able to say «Let me take you upstairs and show you my etchings…»

If you are into printmaking this is an important place to go.
They are very a well run studio producing international work.
They have a good reputation and it makes sense.