Nomadic Print Cart/2014

Printmaking as a process is communal. The simplicity of the relief process can empower makers of any age. With limited arts programs available at many of the Chicago Public Schools and community arts organizations feeling the burden of a shrinking economy, I felt it was time to devise a way to bring the art of Print to the public. A portable print cart with a tabletop letterpress and recycled materials can be used to demonstrate basic relief and monoprint techniques at schools, libraries, and art centers.
 
The history of the broadside and print in Western, Hispanic, and Asian cultures can be taught alongside the physical processes. This information will be used as a jumping-off point for individual and group projects. Keeping in mind not only environmental, but economic concerns to make the process accessible to as large a group as possible prints will be made on reused materials such as Styrofoam dining trays, paper bags, newspapers, fabric, and cereal boxes. Students can also print with found materials. A range of artists will give workshops on repurposing these printed materials to make items ranging from cards to backpacks.