Archive of September, 2006

ArtOrg printed for the smaller event recently with a small steamroller, but as a part of the Northfield Dia de los Muertos Celebracion, ArtOrg needed a bigger steamroller for the 100-foot-long print. We acquired this roller and today it arrived via flat-bed truck out of Illinois. The manufacturer of the roller is Buffalo Springfield, and the rock-and-roll band of the same name actually was named after a similar machine. This machine weighs about 20,000 pounds and has 54-inch-wide drums. Special thanks to Taylor Truck Line Inc. of Northfield for shipping of the roller. ArtOrg experts are hard at work trying to pick a paint scheme for the new roller. Here is a short video of the roller being offloaded early this morning at Taylor.

ArtOrg, together with Carleton’s Cinema and Media Studies, will screen James Vculek’s new film “The Quietest Sound” on Wednesday. Carleton alum Catherine E. Johnson plays the lead role of Elizabeth whose child has been missing for over a week. The camera rolls for 75 minutes straight, drawing comparisons to Hitchcock’s “Rope”. The film was directed by James Vculek who will also be present at the screening. About one year ago we also screened Vculek’s “Two Harbors” which at the time of this writing has won six festival awards around the country.

James is teaching at 48-hour film class for ArtOrg in early 2007. Mark down this Wednesday, Sept. 27. The film will be shown at Carleton College Boliou Hall 104 at 7pm.

Watercolorist Howard Olson’s show opened this past Saturday, to a good crowd. Howard’s show is really beautiful, and we encourage you to visit the show. The hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 5 to 8pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4pm, or by appointment You will be pleased you did.

Howard’s show featured a fishing contest for the opening, and the grand prize of $75 was won by Cole Mitchem with a type of catfish. The fishing contest was sponsored by Randy Malecha of Willies Shoe Service at 517 Division Street in Northfield.

ArtOrg also opened a show at The Ole Store featuring prints we made with a steamroller at the last Minneapolis Institute of Art Family Day on September 10, 2006. Please visit the Ole Store and see some neat art to boot!

ArtOrg’s steamroller printing event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts went well today despite a day-long pall and presence of a rainy mist. Over 100 prints were made for mostly kids and a few adults. Review photosets of both the prints and the entire steamroller printing process here. Thanks to everyone who helped!

[Sept. 11 update: the Star Tribune, in the regular B-section, today had almost 1/2 page of two photos and text describing the event. “Little hands create their own masterpieces. Block printing and coloring, and music and dance were all part of Family Day at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on Sunday. Above: the Lynch family, of St. Anthony, waited patiently for the results of some family fun. From left were Joe, 5, John, Ethan, 3, and Maureen Lynch. Rick Swearer, center, from ArtOrg, a community arts organization in Northfield, Minn., peeled off the imprints…”]

ArtOrg will be printing with a small steamroller at the next Minneapolis Institute of Arts Family Day called “Sailing Into September” on Sunday, September 10 from 11 am to 4 pm. This event usually draws 2000 visitors, and we are setting up our printing activity to accommodate about 500 kids. That’s a bunch of kids!

We will be printing medium-sized, individual prints using non-conventional materials for the kids. Check the weather forecast here. We are also holding a class in Northfield on the school vacation days Thursday and Friday October 19 and 20 on block printing, and we may also incorporate steamroller printing into that class, as well.

This steamroller printing event, while large in number of prints, is not the biggest production this fall. We are renting a larger roller and attempting to complete a one-hundred-foot-long print with local and Minneapolis Latino artists in October. This print will be unveiled at the November First Northfield Dia de Los Muertos celebration at the Northfield Armory. The print incorporates some members of the popular Grupo Soap del Corazon such as Douglas Padilla, Xavier Tavera, and Luis Fitch.