Students from the West Virginia University Printmaking Club will be selling handmade silkscreens, etchings, lithographs and relief prints at the Mountainlair on Thursday, Dec. 3, and Friday, Dec. 4, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A wide variety of images and processes will be available, with all items priced $25 or less.
“The club makes an effort to create quality handmade prints that are affordable on a student budget,” said Joseph Lupo, head of the printmaking program at WVU. “This is a special opportunity for students to buy local art, support the artistic endeavors of their fellow students and help fund the club’s upcoming conference trip.”
A majority of the work the club will be selling was created by a process known as silkscreen, or screen printing.
“It’s the same process that is used to create custom shirts and indie band posters,” said Jessica Poole, president of the WVU Student Printmaking Club.
Prints begin with an image, which can be hand drawn on paper or created on the computer. After the image is created, it is burned into the screen using light-sensitive emulsion. The resulting image created in the screen can be printed on variety of surfaces, including paper, wood and fabric.
“Each piece is different in term of who created them and their personal style and with printmaking,” said Poole. “These prints were created by hand by people studying a very process-oriented art form and love to create delicate and fun pieces of work.”
Benefits from the sale will help support the club’s travel to the Southern Graphics Council International Printmaking Conference in Portland, Oregon.
SGCI is one of the largest printmaking organizations in the world, attracting attendees from all over North America, the U.K., India, China and Australia. WVU students have attended the conference every year since 2004.
While at the conference, students will have an opportunity to display their own artwork in an “Open Portfolio” event.
“This is a valuable opportunity for students to show their prints to a large representation of the printmaking community and get feedback from professional printmakers and fellow printmaking students from around the world,” said Lupo.
Students will also get to attend panel discussions about current issues pertaining to printmaking and view demonstrations of the latest printmaking processes.
“The success of our print sales helps make this experience affordable and possible,” he said. “The students have been working hard all semester to create pieces to display and sell during this once-a-year sale.”
For more information on the Print Sale, contact Lupo at Joseph.Lupo@mail.wvu.edu or call 304-293-2703.
-WVU-
blu/11/23/15
CONTACT: David Welsh, WVU College of Creative Arts
304-293-3397; David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu
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