This past weekend I helped out a friend of mine, Michael Smoot, for his demo during the Mid
American Print Conference in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. After the long 13 hour trip from Atlanta, the
printmaking goodness was well worth the trip. Printmakers from the surrounding areas converged for
demonstrations on techniques, intaglio, monoprinting and digital transfer on yupo, and even lithography
on wood. Panels on issues concerning contemporary printmaking and discussions surrounding the
theme of the “Entrepreneurial Printmaker” were scheduled throughout the day. Professional shops,
like Firecracker Press out of St. Louis set up their wares like posters, t-shirts, and printed notebooks
and students showed their work during open portfolio. Major printmaking suppliers like McCains,
Gamblin, and Takach displayed various tools, inks, and papers. On Friday night all the local art galleries
held openings, displaying prints from the conference and some local artists, including some beautiful
woodcuts printed on fabric. As I returned from the openings, Smoot was still diligently working on his
demo. The next day he had a great response from conference attenders interested in how he built
his own press with materials found at a hardware store for under $300. The weekend ended with
another long drive, some barbecue, and a mind full of new possibilities for how to make prints and keep
printmaking relative.
-This post by 1st year DPP Grad Lauren Peterson
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