Printmaking at Island Press

As part of their artist-in-residence experience, Forsyth Grade 5 art classes walked across the street to Bixby Hall at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University. Fifth graders visited Island Press, the printmaking workshop at the University, where this year’s Nicholas Aaron Aitken Artist-in-Residence, Tom Reed [pictured above], works as Master Printer.  
 

The students were fortunate to visit with Washington University visiting artist Dario Robleto [pictured above] and see his printmaking project in progress. He is making prints using lost heartbeat recordings from the 19th century, and he transforms these artifacts from the vast inventory of humanity’s collective past into contemporary prints. The fifth graders participated in the process and had the opportunity to see the large-scale printing press in action.
 

Established in 2010, Forsyth’s Nicholas Aaron Aitken Artist-in-Residence Program provides a unique visual arts opportunity – one seldom found in elementary school – for Forsyth fifth grade art students to work with a visiting artist for a concentrated period of collaboration. This year, fifth graders are working with Washington University printmaker Tom Reed on a large-scale multimedia project involving printmaking, collage, and collaborative assemblage. Each artist-in-residence brings a new project with exposure to new media, processes, and perspectives.

– Ellen DeFilippo, Forsyth School Art Teacher | Photos: Ellen DeFilippo