Tommy Washbush
Polka! co-president Bernie Witzack using a T-shirt printing press.
Screen time: Bernie Witzack uses the shop’s four-screen T-shirt press to create shirts of Witzack’s late cat, Zuzu. Zuzu was the inspiration for her company’s name, bernie & zuzu, which sells printed shirts, hats and one-of-a-kind gifts.
Studio Paran owner Richard Jones was looking for the motivation to do something with his former glassblowing studio, which he shuttered in 2019. “I thought about starting an artist co-op, but I didn’t have the energy to herd cats,” says Jones.
After learning that local print collective Polka! Press needed to move out of its basement studio on Fordem Avenue, Jones was eager to make a partnership work. “My motivation wasn’t me being a landlord, it was getting involved in the community again.”
Three months later, the Winnebago Street space was transformed from a storage area into a spacious new studio.
Polka! Press has spent a lot of time underground. Originally known as Madison Print Cooperative, Polka! was first located in the basement of Nature’s Bakery Co-Op. It operated out of the Fordem location for over a decade. The new Winnebago spot provides increased accessibility and visibility. “This is an incredible location, and we have an incredible financial deal,” says Polka! co-president Bernie Witzack.
The new studio’s two-story high ceiling and windows add much-needed breathing room. “The last place’s ceiling was like seven feet,” says Lesley Numbers, Polka!’s other co-president. And, since it’s on the ground floor, it’s much more accessible. “It already feels like more of a sense of community. We have an open door — people come in from the neighborhood,” says Numbers.
This community reach was evident at Polka!’s open house in early June. Numbers says it was “by far the most well-attended event we’ve had since the Nature’s Bakery days.” The event was timed with a GoFundMe, to cover moving costs and raise funds for additional equipment and supplies.
Members of the co-op gain access to equipment for woodblock printing, paper and textile screenprinting, and letterpress. There’s ample table space, an exposure unit, drying racks, a washout station and drawers of wood and lead type. Jones converted an old furnace area into a screenprinting dark room.
Scheduling is a balancing act. “Right now we have few enough members so it’s not a problem,” says Jones. “We want to see membership grow, but we have limits. It’s an evolving thing.”
Polka! is still looking to add to its inventory. The co-op applied for a grant from Dane Arts for a tunnel dryer, which accelerates the drying process for printing on fabric and hopes to add more lighting and color-correcting lights. “At night it’s hard to see your print,” says Numbers.
Numbers says there is opportunity to grow in their new space, to a side room or an upstairs area. “We’d like to offer bigger classes, but don’t have the space right now,” she says.
Jones’ appreciation of traditional art makes him the ideal partner for Polka! Press. “So many art forms take infrastructure but our economy doesn’t really value it,” says Jones. “Artists have to carve out this space to pursue this thing that shouldn’t even be commodified in the first place.”
Tommy Washbush
Polka! Press member Kerry Ervin holding up a woodcut print.
Meet Wild Jean: Polka! member Kerry Ervin creates a woodcut print using the shop’s etching press. The donated press came affixed with a name tag that says ‘Wild Jean,’ and the name stuck. ‘Almost everything here was donated, or acquired by members over time,’ says Numbers. ‘We regularly have people from the university or artists reach out about equipment or supplies they no longer need.’
Tommy Washbush
A wall of prints at Polka! Press.
Wall of fame: Prints from various current and former Polka! members adorn the wall, including Isthmus cover artists Emily Maryniak and Christina King. Artwork from printmaking groups that have inspired Polka! over the years, including Just Seeds Collective, Bread and Puppet and Hatch Show Print are also among the collection.
Tommy Washbush
Richard Jones demonstrating letterpress printing.
Print ain’t dead: Richard Jones uses the Vandercook SP15, a traditional printing press designed to create proofs and test ink and paper. ‘Us doing this is keeping stuff alive. It has to be used or it’ll be lost,’ says Jones. Operating and maintaining vintage specialty equipment poses challenges. ‘There’s no repair person — you have to figure it out. That’s the fun part.’
