McClain’s Newsletter – Spring 2025

May 5th, 2025

McClain’s 2025 Catalog

We are thrilled to announce Matthew Willie Garcia is the 2025 McClain’s Catalog cover artist with his mokuhanga print “And From a Nowhere Place”.

Matthew Willie Garcia’s work moves far beyond the traditional print media and includes screen printing, mokuhanga, projection-mapping, animation and large-scale installation. Driven by a passion for both science and science fiction, Garcia explores his queer identity and the mysteries that lie within the vast universe. Garcia employs his knowledge of printmaking to explore these themes through color abstraction, the graphic image and nonrepresentational forms.

Garcia is a California native now based in Kansas City, MO. He holds a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and an M.F.A. from the University of Kansas. Garcia has earned acclaim regionally, notably exhibiting at the Nerman Contemporary Museum of Art, Des Moines Art Center and internationally in Japan and Spain. Garcia is currently serving as the Grant Wood Fellow at the University of Iowa and will be teaching mokuhanga at Frogmans Print Workshop this summer.

Check out more of Matthew Willie Garcia’s work at matthewwilliegarcia.com and @matthewwilliegarcia on Instagram.

We hope you have received the 2025 McClain’s catalog. If not add a free copy to any order.  

PDiM

McClain’s is a proud annual sponsor of Print Day in May (PDiM), a day when printmakers from around the world celebrate the art and community of printmaking and always held on the first Saturday of May. Participation is free and simple, just make a print and post it on Instagram, Facebook of PDiM’s blog. That’s it! Tag @printdayinmay and a participating sponsor in both your caption and photo for your chance to win a sponsor prize.

This year we are giving away two $150 McClain’s Gift Certificates with a McClain’s Logo Apron (to be sent when the gift certificate is redeemed). To be eligible to win a McClain’s prize the print must be a relief print. We are looking forward to seeing everyone’s work on May 3rd. Print on!

Handle with Care

In 2022, after two years of COVID, we decided to host an online exhibit based on the theme Daily Companion. During those years, many of us had turned to some sort of companionship: a person, a pet, a ritual, a creative outlet. One hundred and seventeen of you sent a us a print for exhibit! Because of that amazing response, we’ve decided to do it again.

The theme of this year’s online exhibit is Handle with Care. The country and the world are in a period of upheaval and uncertainty. We hope you are finding ways to look after yourself and those around you. How are you keeping your spirits up? What helps? Taking on a new skill, screaming while running through a field of flowers, ticking off items on your to-do list, the companionship of people or pets, making art? Or perhaps there is a deeper meaning to the idea of handling with care that you would like explore. Whatever inspires you, we invite you to create a relief print and send it to us.

The Handle with Care exhibit will go online in October, 2025. Here are the rules:

-Prints must be received by August 31, 2025

-One print per person.

-Prints sent for the exhibit will not be included in the 2025 Catalog. If you have prints for the 2026 Catalog, please go the Gallery section of our website for information on how to join.

-Email your image, along with the full title, your full name and email address to alex@imcclains.com so we can credit your work.

-Please label image files with your last name and the title of the print, i.e. “Smith, My Dog Benny.”

Try to lose yourself for a while and enjoy the process. Most of all have fun! We are looking forward to seeing your work.

Thank you PUERTOGRABANDO!

Daniel and Nabil were in beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico earlier this month for the 2025 SGCI conference. Always an adventure, SGCI conferences pulse with activity and opportunities to connect with fellow printmakers, with everything from demos and exhibits to open portfolios, artists talks and panel discussions. Thank you to the host institution University of Puerto Rice and participating venues Rio Piedras Campus, Liga de Arte de San Juan, Museo de Las Americas and Casa del Libro for making this year’s conference possible.

Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI) is the largest print organization in North America connecting artists of original prints, drawings, books and handmade papers. The SGCI conference is held at a different host institution annually. Stay tuned to the SGCI website for updates on the next conference and other opportunities.

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