When we think of the tools we use to create art, no doubt what comes to mind are pencils, paint brushes, canvas, a pottery wheel, an endless array of tools we can hold in our hands. But a steam roller? This first-ever event for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA), The South Street Print Fest, celebrates the art of printmaking and welcomes the community to witness how a large steam roller can be used as a printing press to produce vibrant, large-scale prints from relief carvings. Deb Mattson, head of 2-D Media at the KIA, tells us about the event.
“2-D Media includes printmaking, drawing, and painting,” says Mattson. “Our steam roller event is an event where we can show the public more about printmaking, and the attention-draw is the big asphalt roller that we will use as a printing press. Participants will be carving wood blocks on plywood—three feet by six feet of plywood, some will be smaller—and then the asphalt roller will be the printing press.”
Participants will ink up the wood blocks to print on fabric and the steam roller will apply the needed pressure to print the carvings onto the fabric. Wood blocks should be carved ahead of time, ready to bring to the event. The ink used will be oil-based and so will take longer to dry. The prints will be hung up to dry inside the KIA building, to be picked up later by participants.
“Because the paints are oil-based, they take longer to dry but are more durable and waterproof,” Mattson says. “If people are intending to print a banner or a flag, it’s something that they can have out of doors.”
The South Street Print Fest: The KIA’s Steamroller Printmaking Event, takes place on Saturday, September 28, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the South Street parking lot, north of the KIA building. The event is planned rain or shine. The event is part of the ongoing 100th year anniversary of the KIA.
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