Risograph Printing and Art Books with BearBear

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Photo by Erin Lynne

Ben Grzenia of BearBear

Ben Grzenia of BearBear

BearBear is a creative studio with the mission to “expand the collective definition of identity, selfhood and beauty through the medium of experimental art books,” as their website states. Co-founded and owned by Diana Chu and Ben Grzenia, BearBear is located in The Bindery in Bay View and specializes in risograph printing, a method that involves a stencil wrapped around the machine’s ink drum to digitally duplicate images. They strive to be a hub for artists who challenge the status quo through personalized storytelling and offer a multitude of workshops, events and services to enable folks doing so.

Having met while working as graphic designers in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Chu’s artistic background has a focus on illustration and zinemaking while Grzenia’s focuses on printmaking. They became intrigued by risography from going to zine fests and alternative comics fairs, observing its efficiency, unique print quality and low costs to use. “Usually, you find risographs in places like schools and fire departments,” Chu explains. “It’s a technology from the ‘80s invented in Japan, and artists have taken a new love for it because it’s perfect for making art books.”

Chu and Grzenia acquired a risograph once they moved to Milwaukee in 2018, housing it in their basement studio. Like many artists who own risographs, they obtained theirs secondhand from a business. Chu continues, “We were just printing our own work, which was the impetus. It was so fun and such a cool resource but the only risograph press we knew of at the time was Martian Press, and they left Milwaukee around the time we moved here. Our ultimate goal was to figure out how we could bring the risograph out of our basement and into a public space.”

Double Happiness

Around that time they met Zachary Lifton, owner of The Bindery. Determining a mutually beneficial situation for both businesses, he invited Chu and Grzenia to join the space, where BearBear has now been since 2021. The studio’s name comes from the Chinese motif of “double happiness” combined with reference to Grzenia’s nickname from friends, “Griz” (akin to “Grizzly Bear”). “I think it’s important to note that we’re not “BearBear Studio” or “BearBear Press” or anything else to qualify it,” Chu elaborated. “The name “BearBear” stands alone so that we can be flexible.”

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Photo by Erin Lynne

Diana Chu and Ben Grzenia of BearBear

Diana Chu and Ben Grzenia of BearBear

The studio offers risography classes in the form of monthly workshops to teach folks the basics, one-on-one sessions for artists working on personal projects and group sessions catering to larger projects. “You don’t need an artistic background to show up to the basics class,” Chu says. “You don’t need to be able to draw. You don’t need to be able to write. Anyone can show up. By the end, you’ll get a sense of what risography can do while you make your own two-color prints from scratch.”

BearBear independently publishes art books by means of risography, which Chu and Grzenia began doing as a way to create meaningful work during quarantine. “I started this series called “Wisconzine” where each volume was about a certain feeling or thought and consisted of collected illustrations and photos,” Grzenia recalls. “We found that a lot of people connected with the idea as they would look through it.”

Chu simultaneously made zines of her own that explored her family history. She adds, “To be more specific helps you find a more universal audience. I collaborated with my mom on a zine about my grandfather, who I had never met before. Putting something like that out is like a beacon that attracts similar folks who look for something outside of a more commercial outfit; they’re able to see something that you handmade, which leads to a lot of fulfillment. Our art books are short runs, so they feel ephemeral and urgent.”

BearBear stocks 15 different colors of ink for risograph printing. The printer uses far less energy than traditional machines, they are sustainable long-term and riso ink is vegan and organic-based, making it an eco-friendly alternative for artists. Membership at The Bindery starts at $40 a month.

One of BearBear’s services is Prints for Justice, in which they support intersectional, inclusive messages and uplift the voices of marginalized folks and activists through text or imagery on posters. “If anyone has something that they want to say as a peaceful protest or act of resistance, bring your own paper and we’ll offer free service for 50 copies of a single color,” Grzenia said.

The studio has been commissioned for beer packaging artwork and coffee mug artwork as well; BearBear’s project “Cozy Mugs” was done in collaboration with Shelby Page Ceramics. Their beer artwork designs can be seen on cans from Eagle Park Brewing (Milwaukee), Solemn Oath Brewery (Napeville, IL), Elysian Brewing (Seattle) and Other Half Brewing (Brooklyn).

Another recurring event BearBear hosts is “Slow Mӧrn,” a Sunday morning office-hours hangout where the studio provides free coffee and invites folks to work on projects or flip through their massive 300-piece zine collection. “It’s our version of the Sunday paper kind of thing,” Grzenia laughs.

BearBear will be at a number of events coming up, starting with Bay View Gallery Night this Friday where Lion’s Tooth will be debuting their “A Mary Nohl Sunrise” zine. The following two days they will be at CAKE: Chicago Alternative Comics Expo 2023 at Broadway Armory in Chicago. Then on Friday, June 9, they will be back at Lion’s Tooth for a chat with Cris Siquiera and Alex Gartlemann to discuss the new zine.

Visit BearBear’s website at bearbear.co for more about their services, projects and upcoming events. Email them at heybearbear@gmail.com to get in touch.