Thomas Brown
Thomas Brown is a self-taught printmaker, focusing on woodcut and woodblock printmaking.
Thomas began working in screen printing while living in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009, and later continued after moving back to Southwestern Pennsylvania. Over time, he worked in different shops with large scale screen-printing presses, as well as spending years supervising the print floor, burn, and reclaim areas, Throughout that time he began working with hand-cut stencils for street art, carving woodblocks and linoleum for public art display, self-educating himself by learning from the environment around him.
In 2012, Thomas met Starr, who also works with her hands. Together they began combining carved woodblocks with letterpress type, making one-of-a-kind posters. That collaboration opened up new ways of working and thinking about print. In 2014, they started The Milk House Printery, in a old milk house that was located on a nearby farm and in 2015 changed the name to Talkingleaves.
Thomas has moved and rebuilt studios throughout the years — from makeshift apartment and kitchen-table studios to fully dedicated workspaces. In 2018, Thomas and starr put together a full letterpress studio in the town of Thomas, West Virginia, where they worked out of till 2023.
That studio is still being occupied by a close friend that purchased a few of the presses and equipment and rename the studio to "trash palace press" That same year Thomas built his current studio near a wetlands area behind their home in Acme, Pennsylvania, equipping it with a 20×40 Charles etching press, a 40×72 Takach etching press, small letterpress equipment, type, and lots and lots of windows.
Thomas does not use digital tools in any part of his process — not as a preference or out of trying to be a Purist, But from Digital illiteracy most likely in part from being dyslexic.
"I have Learned everything i know by spending time with the materials"
As well of being a printmaker Thomas has become a skilled Carpenter building all the Structures on the couple land in Acme a complete off grid facility, they call the Artistry Oasis, A tree planter, a once time farmer, and everyday Tradesmen.
Thomas Brown
Thomas Brown is a self-taught printmaker, focusing on woodcut and woodblock printmaking.
Thomas began working in screen printing while living in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009, and later continued after moving back to Southwestern Pennsylvania. Over time, he worked in different shops with large scale screen-printing presses, as well as spending years supervising the print floor, burn, and reclaim areas, Throughout that time he began working with hand-cut stencils for street art, carving woodblocks and linoleum for public art display, self-educating himself by learning from the environment around him.
In 2012, Thomas met Starr, who also works with her hands. Together they began combining carved woodblocks with letterpress type, making one-of-a-kind posters. That collaboration opened up new ways of working and thinking about print. In 2014, they started The Milk House Printery, in a old milk house that was located on a nearby farm and in 2015 changed the name to Talkingleaves.
Thomas has moved and rebuilt studios throughout the years — from makeshift apartment and kitchen-table studios to fully dedicated workspaces. In 2018, Thomas and starr put together a full letterpress studio in the town of Thomas, West Virginia, where they worked out of till 2023.
That studio is still being occupied by a close friend that purchased a few of the presses and equipment and rename the studio to "trash palace press" That same year Thomas built his current studio near a wetlands area behind their home in Acme, Pennsylvania, equipping it with a 20×40 Charles etching press, a 40×72 Takach etching press, small letterpress equipment, type, and lots and lots of windows.
Thomas does not use digital tools in any part of his process — not as a preference or out of trying to be a Purist, But from Digital illiteracy most likely in part from being dyslexic.
"I have Learned everything i know by spending time with the materials"
As well of being a printmaker Thomas has become a skilled Carpenter building all the Structures on the couple land in Acme a complete off grid facility, they call the Artistry Oasis, A tree planter, a once time farmer, and everyday Tradesmen.
TalkingLeaves Studio
Thomas’s self-built talkingleaves studio, sets in Acme, Pennsylvania, along the Chestnut Ridge of the Laurel Highlands. Designed by a printmaker for a natural flow of work and movement, the space supports both his own creative process and that of anyone who comes to to the space to create.
Constructed from roughly 50% reclaimed and upcycled materials, the studio stands in a meadow dotted with trees and surrounded by ponds. The area is alive with wildlife. Frogs, wild birds, turkeys, deer, and the occasional bear.
Completely off-grid, the studio carries a character of its own, it's grounded, and deeply connected with the land it rests on.
TalkingLeaves Studio
Thomas’s self-built talkingleaves studio, sets in Acme, Pennsylvania, along the Chestnut Ridge of the Laurel Highlands. Designed by a printmaker for a natural flow of work and movement, the space supports both his own creative process and that of anyone who comes to to the space to create.
Constructed from roughly 50% reclaimed and upcycled materials, the studio stands in a meadow dotted with trees and surrounded by ponds. The area is alive with wildlife. Frogs, wild birds, turkeys, deer, and the occasional bear.
Completely off-grid, the studio carries a character of its own, it's grounded, and deeply connected with the land it rests on.
