| Allen Ye Printmaker's Brief Biography Born of common lineage in 1942, Allen followed an adequate, albeit traditional course of instruction in his native shire of Worcester. Sheepskin in hand, he toured the Western regions of Africa as an itinerant teacher of English literature. Returning home, he again sought sanctuary in Academia, focusing on the quiet skills of library science. It was in 1970, while working in Boston's public scriptorium as a librarian, that Allen discovered his prodigious talent as a printmaker, and founded his first studio, The Wayzgoose Press. See also Allen's resumé. The Picture Connection The Picture Connection art print source and custom framing is a street level store-front beneath Allen's studio. It is run by Allen's wife Mary Lou and has all of Allen's titles available for sale year round. Located at 169 West First Street, Oswego, NY 13126 phone (315) 343-2908, the shop is usually open 10 - 5 Tuesday - Friday and 10 - 1 Saturday. Hours vary slightly with the seasons. Fenix Art Studio Allen Ye Printmaker's Fenix Art Studio is an upstairs workshop open only by appointment. The logo Allen uses to represent himself is taken from Jost Amman's Eygentliche Beschreybung aller Stände auf Erden, The Book of Trades, 1568. It shows a portrait of Der Formschneyder, the wood-block cutter. |
| Resumé/Background Allen Bjorkman Fenix Art Studio 169 West First Street, Oswego, NY 13126 (315) 343-2908 Experience 1999- Owner, Fenix Art Studio, Oswego, NY. 1990-1997 Art & Craft Director, Sterling Renaissance Festival, Sterling, NY. 1986-1999 Owner, Fenix Art Studio, Fair Haven, NY . 1982-1986 Owner, Renaissance Forgeries Art Gallery, Manteo, NC. 1973-1974 Publicity & Public Relations Director, The Experiment, Holden, MA. 1973 Coordinator, The Experiment, Holden, MA. 1971-1985 Gallery Affiliations with several dealers including the Sales and Rental Gallery, Worcester Art Museum, MA, and the Raymond Duncan Gallery, Paris, France. 1971-1973 Gallery Director, The Experiment, Holden, MA. 1971-1973 Solo exhibits at Schools, Colleges and Galleries in NY and MA. 1971- Exhibitor as Allen Ye Printmaker. 1971-1973 Affiliated Artist, Unicorn Studios, Worcester, MA. 1970-1971 Co-founder, The Wayzgoose Press, Cambridge & Boston, MA. 1970- Production and exhibition of original designs as ABstracts. 1970- Developed (and practice full time) the craft of replicating Renaissance woodcut designs as linoleum block prints and screen printsfrom hand cut stencils. Personal 2003- Member, Steering Committee, Oswego 2020 Arts Group. 2001-2003 Co-Chair, Oswego County Cultural Arts Center Task Force. 2001- Member, Board of Trustees, H. Lee White Marine Museum. 2000-2003 Member, Board of Directors, Oswego Opera Theater. 1969-1970 Student, Simmons School of Library Science, Boston, MA. 1968-1969 Adult Librarian, Boston, MA Public Library. 1966-1968 Peace Corps Volunteer, Ikole Ekiti, Nigeria. 1960-1965 BA English, Dramatic Literature, Clark University, Worcester, MA. 1942 Born November 1, Worcester, MA. Memberships Art Association of Oswego. H. Lee White Marine Museum. Oswego County Historical Society. Oswego Opera Theater. Allen Ye Printmaker Renaissance Forgeries http://www.replicaprints.com ABstracts IMAGES OF THOUGHTS http://www.allenbjorkman.com |
| How My Art Career
Began (or How I Killed Leonard Bernstein) © 2000 by Allen Bjorkman The circumstances under which choices are made form the memory matrix of our lives. Remembering and sharing these events further an understanding of the meaning of life. It was in May, as I remember, in Boston, and I'm almost certain that the year was 1969. I was a graduate student at Simmons School of Library Science, and was having profound doubts about my career choice. During the winter before, I had become involved with two other librarians in opening a private art studio. We could only afford to purchase one piece of equipment, so we had drawn lots: Penny wanted a loom, I wanted a potter's wheel, and John wanted a printing press. John won. We called the place Wayzgoose Studios (it was in a basement storefront on St. Botolph Street), and working on the press was great. John taught us how to set type, and Penny showed me how to cut linoleum blocks for prints. Soon we were making art prints and limited edition books. I spent more and more time in the studio. One morning in May (or was it June?) I was taking my customary walk to school from my apartment in the Fenway section (where there are gardens, a park, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, Fenway Park, etc). It was a gorgeous day, and the trees were just beginning to blossom. I lingered under a large tree for a while, briefcase in hand, dressed in jacket and tie, as joggers and dog-walkers passed by. The weather the next day was just as beautiful, and this time I decided to climb up this particular tree for a few minutes. It was the third day that I ended up sitting in the tree for quite a while. The unresolved question of career choice was causing me to stall out. I didn't want to attend classes. I didn't want to go to the studio. I was just enjoying this wonderful old maple tree. One of the joggers I had observed was Leonard Bernstein, and to my surprise, he trotted over to the tree and stopped. He lit up a cigarette, and without looking up, asked me what I was doing up there in a jacket and tie. I told him about my indecision, and he told me that I had already decided; I just didn't know it yet. He said that a librarian in a jacket & tie was unlikely to climb a tree, but that it was a perfectly usual thing for an artist to do. I thanked him: I told him how the perspective he brought to me as an uninvolved observer, and his resultant clarity of perspective, made my choice seem so obvious to him, just as his conflict seemed so obvious to me. He asked me what conflict I had observed, and I answered that it was likely that the healthful effects of jogging would be cancelled out by smoking. He said he would quit jogging. From this event, my art career began. I dropped out of graduate school and have been a full-time artist ever since. Leonard Bernstein died of lung cancer in 1990. I really don't think of myself as his murderer. I'm sure that he knew what the consequences of smoking were, but I do remember the event as a tragic-comedy lurking behind the scenes of my past. |