BIG INK

BIG INK 's mission is to inspire a greater public appreciation for large-scale woodblock printmaking and extend its practice. Founded in 2012, BIG INK was originally the brainchild of Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet. Castonguay, whose personal woodblock work is often monumental in scale, was seeking to organize a community of large-scale woodblock artists. Castonguay and Burnet began to host a series of informal get togethers at print studios around their local area. These happenings eventually evolved into the collaborative working model BIG INK utilizes today. BIG INK works by establishing a temporary print shop on site at affiliate organizations, most often at museums, universities, art centers, studios, and galleries. Artists are selected, either by personal invitation or through a call-for-entry process, to attend these events and print original woodblocks. Since the program's inception, hundreds of artists have participated in BIG INK events across the country.