That night in the mail, I got a supply list two pages long! Even with the huge array of supplies I have around the house, I didn't have things like: 1 yard of 10xx silk; or inking cards; or brayers for rolling ink. Foolish me! I thought signing up for a printing class meant they would supply the basics -- like brayers for rolling ink. I made noises to withdraw because, even at a glance, I could tell this was going to run me almost as much as enrolling in the class itself! But the woman on the phone persuaded me to continue (pretty much by pleading that if I withdrew, they’d have to cancel the class, said the teacher was a renowned printmaker, etc). I gritted my teeth and went to purchase supplies.

I work in mid-town Manhattan (not, sad to say, as an artist) and there aren't many art supply stores nearby. So, I went downtown to Utrechts, which has a store on 4th Avenue and 12th Street, near NYU and Cooper Union. Utrechts is big, and bright, with lots of shelves holding lots of art stuff. But after a half hour of looking, I couldn't find a majority of the items on the list. I finally snagged one of the clean-cut young men (didn’t see any women) wearing white shirts and snappy aprons that said "Utrechts." But after perusing my list, he couldn't help me much, especially with printing supplies. He advised me to go to New York Central Art Supply just around the corner, which was damned nice of him, and I hope it wasn't professional suicide.

NYCAS is *exactly* my kind of store. It is old (on it's website it says 98 years), in a three-story 19th century building on Third Avenue. It's narrow and not very brightly lit; it has floor to ceiling shelves and drawers smushed side-by-side, and every nook and cranny is crammed with supplies. And the staff are young and they certainly don’t wear aprons. Their hair and dress are totally non-corporate, reflecting every style from student grunge, to neo-punk, to impossible to define. But they are bright, talkative and helpful beyond the call of duty! There are little pieces of their art everywhere. And they know their store. The girl at the counter went over my list and marked exactly where to find each item (basement for printing supplies, top floor for paper, ground floor for sharp implements), saving me a lot of wandering around. They were interested in what I needed the supplies for, and had suggestions for different items and what they thought worked better. And they insisted on giving me a 10% student discount! (Which Utrechts did not, and which was much appreciated because it at least saved me the cost of the taxes on what turned out to be a lot of $ worth of supplies. It’s a good thing I had some simple things at home like cardboard, and papers and a mister and rubber gloves, otherwise who knows what it would have run me.)

Trying to be a working artist is a strain anywhere you go. In New York it’s harder than most places. Would-be artists often work dull, boring or physically exhausting jobs to pay the bills, squeezing time in to make art. The culture we live in is unsympathetic to the artist. (I can just hear some of you saying, “Most of the world has to work regular jobs, you know.” But most of the world doesn’t have talent or a burning desire to express it. Where are the Medicis when you need them?) Having to run from store to store to find the things you need just adds to the strain. Recently, I have taken to ordering some of my supplies in bulk from an online art supply store (Cheap Joe’s) or, when I have access to a car and a friend (MaryAnn) to drive me around, going to some of the supply superstores and just loading up on things like mats in bulk.

But it’s always good to have a store within quick reach for supply emergencies, or just to handle the products. A store where the staff are artists themselves and intensely interested in the items used for creating art. And for me, that store is New York Central Art Supply, 62 Third Avenue at 11th Street, New York, NY 10003. http://www.nycentralart.com/