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Why do fine art prints (etchings, woodcuts, lithographs, screenprints, etc.) and printmaking draw such fervent practitioners, collectors, and fans? Find out how prints were the first internet disseminating images since the mid-15th century. Find out why it takes a village to make, sell, study, and collect these affordable beauties. Who are all these people in the print ecosystem, anyway?

Series one looks at prints and printmaking and how they fit in in the context of museums, the market, critiques, and the print ecosystem. Series two offers a history of prints and printmaking in the West. Series three offers interviews with the people who perform various roles in the print ecosystem. Join us and find out why prints and printmaking occupy the best little corner of the art world. We'll turn you into a fan, too.

Platemark offers a bit of art history, artistic creativity, and introduces listeners to artists, printers, dealers, print publishers, gallerists, art historians, curators, and scholars.

Host Ann Shafer is a curator specializing in prints and printmaking. Formerly she was a curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art. She's a podcaster, blogger, and organizer of the Baltimore Fine Art Print Fair (baltimoreprintfair.com). 

Oct. 8, 2024

History of Prints Bonus Episode Our Art Origins

We're replaying a past bonus episode in which History of Prints SME Tru and Platemark host Ann talk about their art origins. They come from pretty different backgrounds, but they are in complete alignment about art, art history, prints, and print...

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Sept. 24, 2024

s3e65 behind the scenes with conservator Alison Luxner

In this episode, go behind the scenes at the museum with Alison Luxner, a paper conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Alison shares her journey to becoming a conservator, the lengthy education and training process, and her diverse...

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Sept. 17, 2024

s2e32 History of Prints Maria Sibylla Merian

In this History of Prints episode of Platemark, host Ann Shafer and subject matter expert Tru Ludwig explore the extraordinary life and legacy of Maria Sibylla Merian. Celebrated for her pioneering work on insect metamorphosis and her detailed...

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Sept. 10, 2024

s3e64 starting a printshop with Jenny Robinson

In this episode of Platemark, host Ann Shafer talks with renowned printmaker Jenny Robinson who recently opened up her eponymous print shop in Sydney, Australia.   Jenny shares her experiences moving from America to Slovenia during the Trump era,...

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Aug. 27, 2024

s3e63 multi-plate color etching with printer Peter Pettengill

In s3e63 of Platemark, podcast host Ann Shafer talks with collaborative printer Peter Pettengill. Peter founded Wingate Studio in 1985 on his family’s dairy farm in Hinsdale, NH. Originally trained at Crown Point Press, Peter specializes in...

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Aug. 13, 2024

s3e62 artist Teresa Cole on the humanness of pattern

In this five-part mini-series, Ann is talking to five artists who were selected to be included in an exhibition called 5X5, that was part of Print Austin's winter festival this year in 2024. The juror of the show is Mysczka Lewis, who is a curator at...

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Recent Blog Posts

Why the podcast is called Platemark: Unveiling the Framework of Printmaking

Did we ever discuss why the pod is called Platemark? The term platemark refers to the indentation at the edge of a printed image that indicates the outer edges of the printing matrix. This term is used mainly with intaglio prints, etchings, etc. Any…

2023 Holiday Gift Guide

Platemark's guests are a creative lot and many of them produce wonderful works of art that would make great holiday gifts. Here's a selection of prints from our guests. Click on the print to see purchase options; click on the episode to lis…

Images reset--update and a new FB group

Happy to say that I've now repopulated each episode with its images. Shew! But, honestly, it was good to go back and better organize the process from the start. Those first few were not well documented. But it's all straightened out now.  In o…