RAILSMTIH COLLECTIVE
COLLAPSE OF THE HOME: AUSTIN

First, so that you will have a better idea of what we are proposing, here is an image of the pop-up house, completely blank. Our plan is to invite roughly 5 Texas-based artists to create photolithographs that will cover this blank house, making this house their own. The negative for the lithograph will be drawn on a Mylar sheet according to a pop-up diagram guiding each artist where to draw. Once the Mylar drawings are complete, all drawings will be sent to Railsmith for proofs to be made. Proofs will be printed, cut, assembled and shown to each artist for their approval. Once all drawings are finalized, Railsmith will rigorously print all 125 prints (twenty-five per artist - five artists per book), cut and assemble each house and finally bind it all together into twenty-five limited edition fine-print pop-up books.

GETTING STARTED

The first step, therefore, is for you to draw - with opaque black ink - on the Mylar sheets included here. We have also included one Rapidograph pen with a small bottle of India ink. This ink can also be painted onto the Mylar with a brush. Since photolithography works by exposing drawings onto photosensitive aluminum plates - the opacity of your ink is very important. A highly opaque ink (India ink) will create a very dark line, while a less opaque material such as graphite will create a much more subtle line. To see the opacity of your drawing, hold the Mylar up to the light; if you cannot see through your line it will develop nicely - but if you can see through the line, so will the developing light into the aluminum plate (creating a faint mark, if any). In general, if you use the India ink in the rapidiograph or with a brush you will be good to go. If you are familiar with litho techniques, do whatever you would like - if not, just be sure to use a dark ink - one capable of obscuring the transparency of the paper as much as possible.

Each part of the sheet has a description of what that shape will become in the final pop-up, as well as a small cartoon house to further indicate what each part is. All the final prints will be done using only black ink. The sample pop-up house included can also be used to help understand where your drawings will end up. The paper samples included will also give you an idea of the types of paper we will be using in the final construction. The house itself will be printed on and constructed out of Fabriano Artistico - Natural White - 90 lb, while the pages of the book will be made from Classic Crest - Natural White - 100 lb Card Stock.

Once you have completed your drawing, you can ship it back to us using the mailing form provided, [which we have already filled out]. Or, if you are in the Austin area, we can either pick it up or you may drop it off at Slugfest Prints. Be sure to include with your Mylar the pop-up layout still attached. Once we have received it by August 20th, if not sooner, we will print out, die-cut and assemble a 'proof' pop-up. We will mail that proof to you for your approval by August 25th or a few days after we receive it (if receipt is prior to the 25th).

With your sample approved, we will begin production of the entire run in the beginning of September. The printing, die-cutting, assembly, and binding will take about three weeks. By the end of September we will hold an opening/workshop at Slugfest Prints in Austin to celebrate the completion of the book and to give people the opportunity to create their own pop-up house. By September 30th we will send you a copy of the book if you have not already have one.

TIMELINE

 August 20th 2009			Completed drawings on Mylar should be received 
					by Railsmith Collective.  
					Be sure to return your Mylar still attached to 
					the pop-up house layout.
					4515 Speedway
					Austin TX 78751
					(please use enclosed FedEx return shipping slip charged
					to recipient, feel free to send it overnight)
					If you are in Austin or the surrounding area, 
					we can either pick up completed drawings or they 
					can be dropped off at Slugfest Prints.  

 August 25th 2009			Proofs will be returned to Artists for their approval.
					(If drawings are submitted earlier than deadline,
					proofs will be returned to Artists earlier)

 September 1st 2009			Hopefully, all drawings will be finalized and 
					production will begin: printing, cutting, 
					assembling and binding.

 September 26th 2009			Completed books will be on display at 
					Slugfest Prints.
	
   10:00am - 5:00pm			Free workshop inviting anyone to make a 
					personal lithograph pop-up house.

   5:00pm - 8:00pm			Opening to celebrate the completion of the project.

Please email us if you are interested in participating in this project:
house@railsmith.org
Please include your mailing address so that we might fedEx overnight a tube with everything you need to get it done.

Sample of the INSTRUCTIONAL DIE-LINES, so you can see how easy it really is.

www.railsmith.org