Printmakingblog

Graphic Chemical & Ink Company is a world leader in the fine art field of printmaking. We manufacture our own time-tested inks for etching, litho and relief printing, as well as sell screen print inks, papers, tools, chemistry, plates and supplies for all of a printmaker's needs

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Location: Villa Park, Illinois, United States

I have worked for Graphic Chemical & Ink Company since 1968 - with a brief hiatus(almost 4 years) to travel the World courtesy of my uncle. Sadly it turns out it was my Uncle Sam, and I wasn't too thrilled about the places that he chose to send me. My wife and I have run Graphic Chemical for many years, and have enjoyed the travel that comes with the position. We get to meet our customers (and the occasional vendor) from all over the World

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

WHAT A YEAR


2009 has been quite a year, and while it's not over yet, I feel compelled to at least begin a retrospective.

Susan and I have been traveling more than usual, and some of it was actually vacation for a change. It's not that we're workaholics, but in this industry, it's almost impossible to travel somewhere without running into printmakers, usu
ally without trying too hard.

January saw a last minute trip with friends to Orlando - and no, we didn't go to Disney World. Our friends are avid golfers and saw Orlando as heaven on earth. I, personally, think that golf is a four letter word. I was impressed with the fact that even the golf carts have GPS's on them. It's sad that my golf balls didn't have one too.


Later in the month, we were off to Frankfurt, Germany for the Paperworld show. This is likely the largest art materials show in the world, coupled with a larger office supply show, a beauty show and a Christmas show...it's just huge. We managed to find several new products which you will (or in some cases, already have) find very interesting. New products include two lines of brayers from England along with several safety supplies, and a remarkable 3 in 1 tool set that serves as a plastic baren, cutting tool set, and hand stamper.


March brought the Southern Graphics Council show in Chicago, which had the best attendance of any SGC show ever.

May represnted a personal milestone, but one which many of you are probably grateful for. I decided to retire from the Illinois State Board of Education after almost 6 1/2 years. Served with three Governors (1 in jail, 1 headed that way, and 1 still with a clean reputation), three State Superintendents and 16 different colleagues on the Board.

Never one to let too much grass grow under my feet, I have already added two activities to fill the gap. I agreed to be appointed by the current Governor to the Education Funding Advisory Board, a board I served on from 2000-2003, and I have agreed to serve on the Midwest Regional Board for a non-profit group called Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.

It's just never dull around here. September took us back to the IMPACT show in Bristol, England. This was the 6th show that they've had, and we've attended 5. In two years we'll be in Melbourne, Australia and two years after that it looks like Dundee, Scotland is slated for IMPACT 8.

The Fall has been busy for the family with weddings (my niece), births (nephew's wife) and a trip around the World (another nephew) We've got one more trip planned for November, and then by golly, we're staying home - at least for a little while.

Oh, I almost forgot the picture at the top. That's my youngest grandson. This fearless mountain climber got up on the counters in Mom & Dad's kitchen, got into the cinnamon, and then posed for the picture!


2 Comments:

Blogger Liz Clark Shambaugh said...

I just love that photo of Noah. He's such a little ham.

2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Dean,

Wow, what a year ! Sorry to have missed you at the SGC and your retiremtent from the Education Board is a big loss for Illinois. Glad to see you guys are keeping busy, will stop by Graphics soon.

all the best....Julio Rodriguez

10:13 AM  

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