BUCKHANNON – When Tamarack put out a call for student artwork in West Virginia from those in grades K-12, the response was overwhelming.
This juried exhibition received more than 400 pieces, with each young artist hoping to have their creations featured in the “Power of Prints” exhibition.
On Tuesday, Buckhannon-Upshur High School Art Teacher Heidi Thompson made an exciting announcement. Of the 90 pieces selected for the final exhibit, nine pieces – yes, 10 percent of the pieces represented in the display – were created by students at B-UHS!
B-UHS students whose entries are included in the “Power of Prints” Exhibition, which opened Nov. 15, 2019 and runs through Jan. 6, 2020 include:
- Liberty Snyder with “Combo” and “Cycle”
- Sarah Cunningham with “Print, Print”
- Emily Reeves with “Out of the Jungle”
- Autumn Yoakum with “Wasted Time”
- Emily Adams with “Into the Mountains”
- Daniel Colthart with “Eden”
- Lillian Davis with “Shield #2”
- Austin Metz with “Four Horsemen”
Thompson said the B-UHS students whose artwork was selected are in a combination of advanced drawing and painting as well as advanced placement art and design classes.
“The students worked in the Lino Printmaking media to create these pieces,” Thompson said. “Lino Printing is a process which involves carving their own original idea into a type of stamp that is then inked and printed in a series of prints, each one sometimes being different from the next. Students also experimented with colored inks and various papers to create mixed media prints as well.”
Teaching this process is one that Thompson said she and the students both enjoy.
“I love teaching printmaking because it requires advanced planning and lots of problem solving,” she said. “You can create lots of prints from your one print plate. Students have to think in reverse, as their image will be printed backwards – just like a stamp. We learn about the history of printing and the various methods within the media. Students thoroughly enjoy printmaking as it allows them to work with a number of tools and materials they may not typically get to use.”
Tamarack, located in Beckley, was created with a vision of being “a vibrant cottage industry in West Virginia where jobs, market opportunities, training and educational resources abound for West Virginia’s artists, artisans, crafts people and food producers, and a rich cultural heritage and artisan skills and traditions are preserved and strengthened for future generations of West Virginians.”
The call for pieces from Tamarack said printmaking has had a huge impact on history around the world.
“It was one of the first ways to mass produce and share information around the world,” the call stated. “It gave access to more news, books, textiles and art. Printmaking dates back more than 5,000 years and since its start, people have developed all kinds of ways to do it. Some are very easy and some much harder but the basic concept of transferring an image from one surface to another remains the same. It’s used for everything from greeting cards to money. With printmaking, the possibilities are endless.”
