Printmaking is taking over Boyd Hill Nature Preserve (3010 31st St S) this Saturday for a free afternoon of experimenting and getting a little inky.
Print Party at the Preserve returns November 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more than a dozen local printmakers and artists leading hands-on activities in screen printing, letterpress, papermaking, cyanotype, block printing, and more. There’s even a steamroller in the mix, and you don’t need any printmaking experience to join in.
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Press, print, repeat
Part of the fun is how many ways you can print something of your own. Wearable art is definitely on the table: 5801 Print House will help visitors screen-print souvenir t-shirts, while More Love Studio is bringing block printing to clothing. Or, swap fabric for paper and pull your own poster with Alleyway Screen Print, make a mini zine with Abby Knauff, or see what happens when LEGOs meet letterpress with CJ Southern Illustration & Design.
And there are plenty of other techniques to explore. Hi Heidi Design will introduce visitors to linocut printing, while Saumitra Chandratreya will use sunlight instead of ink to create cyanotype tote bags. There’s also experimental papermaking with Haley Smith and puzzle block printing with Standard Action Press.
A few artists will give visitors a closer look at how their processes work. Holly Bird and Rebekah Lazaridis will demonstrate etching and mezzotint, and Cheri Marks will put the preserve’s historic on-site print shop to work with letterpress printing. Watch, learn, experiment, and you might even walk away with something you created yourself.
Think bigger
A big feature of the day is “Big Prints,” happening from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Instead of a traditional printing press, artists will use a giant steamroller to print large-scale woodblocks live. It’s a rare chance to see printmaking supersized, and probably not something you’ll come across any other Saturday afternoon.
The whole event takes place outside at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, which feels perfectly timed with the cooler weather lately. With so much hands-on art and so many techniques to explore, Print Party offers plenty to do, whether you spend the day making, enjoying the outdoors, or finding out what happens when ink meets a heavy piece of machinery.
Time to party
Print Party runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 14, at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve (enter through Gate 4). The event and activities are free, though organizers recommend bringing cash or Venmo for food and to shop with participating artists. There’s also something extra for early arrivals: the first 100 people through the ticket booth starting at 11 a.m. will receive free event swag.
Follow Print St. Pete on Instagram for a peek at what’s planned for Saturday, or visit the event website for more information.
