Saturday, April 20th saw Portland Museum’s backyard spilled over with creativity like ink on woodblock. CeLOUbrate Print was the brainchild of artist and educator Erica Lewis, or EVPL, who sought to revive steamroller printing at Portland Museum, a once annual activity organized by fellow artist and educator Rachel Singel. Thanks to Erica’s dedication alongside collaboration from Printed Zine and of course us at Portland Museum, Rachel Single was once again able to steer the steamroller and make a mark on Louisville’s printmaking community and beyond. And these were far from the event’s only participants! Read on below to learn more about the many offerings from CeLOUbrate Print and see some fantastic photos by Sergio Cabrera of Momentos Photography, who also provided the video recap linked above.
STEAMROLLER!
This hulking piece of machinery brought printmakers from all across Louisville to Portland Museum for the chance to print from their woodblocks too large for typical means and methods. Independent artists and students from UofL’s Hite Art institute formed lines all throughout the day to see their larger-than-life creations printed onto fabric.
Check out Terri & David Sierra there with their prints and blocks. Wow! Behind them you can see a collection of other prints hanging to dry, and some of the volunteers who spent the day inking blocks to prep them for the steamroller. This hard work was handled by generous and passionate UofL students alongside Lewis’s family who traveled from out of state to help!
TRAVELING WORKSHOPS!
We wanted CeLOUbrate Print to be an opportunity for new people to experience the joys of printmaking, and Erica Lewis had the perfect plan to welcome new people into the fold. Leading up to the event Lewis hosted and provided woodblock carving materials to fourteen different free workshops at fourteen different locations all around the city. Click the button below to see every location and more photos:
The square blocks provided at the workshops were chosen in order to create some patchwork prints by inking then laying out blocks in a grid. If somebody couldn’t think of a design idea we recommended making a letter!
WALK-UP WORKSHOPS!
Not one artist or studio is an island, and in that spirit CeLOUbrate Print assembled a large collection of printmaking creatives and organizations to provide FREE WORKSHOPS for visitors! The steamroller not enough for you? Well no worries, we had a backyard full of activities:
- Letterpress printing at Beechgrove Press
- Screenprinting with Squallis Puppeteers
- Cyanotype and papermaking with UofL Hite Institute students
- Zinemaking with Printed Zine, Junior Jr., and Newton Finnigan
- Button-making with KMAC
- Lego printing with Louisville Visual Art
- Clay stamping with Hand to Hand
- Monotype with A Place to Print
- Veggie printmaking with EVPL
- Jigsaw woodcuts with Georgetown College students
TABLING CREATIVES!
Much like last 2023’s Paperview Zinefest CeLOUbrate Print featured a wide-array of tabling organizations and creatives selling print art and craft to curious visitors. Alongside sharing their art many of these artists took the opportunity to share their process through demonstrations and conversation!
- STEAM Exchange
- Raw Art Prints
- Portland Anchor
- Grotesk Press
- Jenna Tipton
- Preston Arts Center
- Angel Sprouting
- David Wischer
- Al Sheets
- Momentos Photography
- Wildflower Collective
- Parchment Possum
- Gasoline Press
SHOP TALK EXHIBITION!
Opening alongside CeLOUbrate Print was new, print-focused exhibition: Shop Talk. In celebration of Portland’s port-town history, where traveling creatives would pass through and interact with resident artists, some of Louisville’s finest local printers were displayed alongside out-of-town “print pals.” Don’t miss your chance to see work from twenty-six different printmakers of diverse technique, subject, and perspective! The exhibit is on display until the end of September.
FOOD AND DRINK
CeLOUbrate Print was a Portland Museum all-star event for refreshments! Returning from 2023’s Portland Art and Heritage Fair were barbeque pros Haitian Exotica, and returning from that year’s Holiday Bazaar were the beer brewing beasts at Kyros Brewing!
LIVE MUSIC
Returning to Portland Museum to provide instrumental music throughout our backyard was Jane Haliday and he band Swing 39′!
READ MORE!
Want even more on CeLOUbrate Print? Check out the links below for more photos and writeups:
Colonel Jethro’s black and white photography and writeup of CeLOUbrate Print
UofL helps roll out a new canvas for local art makers with CeLOUbrate Print at UofL News
CeLOUbrate Print event recap on The Printed Journal
Curious about CeLOUbrate Print’s 2023 predecessor Paperview Zinefest? Read on below:
Paperview Zinefest (2023) event recap on The Printed Journal
Paperview Zinefest (2023) event writeup by Portland Museum
SPONSORS!
We are so grateful for the support of our neighborhood community, our museum visitors, and of course our funding sponsors. Without you all this event would not have been possible!
