OMG (wood block)

After spending winter (and if we’re going to be honest here, most of spring) cooped up inside, Chicagoans love few things more than enjoying the summer months at outdoor festivals. There’s the big ones like Pitchfork and Lollapolooza and the infamous Taste of Chicago, but some of the best ones are the smallest and most niche, like Printers Ball (presented by Spudnik Press), which I visited with my husband this past weekend.

Imagine walking into an event with a big ol’ steamroller going—it’s not fixing the parking lot but part of a live printing demonstration. Artists inked up wood blocks arranged them on the ground, covered them with a (fabric) sheet and a sheet of plywood and then steamrolled. It was pretty incredible and the results were pretty cool looking. I’d never seen anything like it before, and it definitely got my attention and made me excited for more.

Steamroller printing

Steamroller printing was just one of the many exhibitions and demonstrations at the event, which also included risograph, handmade pamphlets, and screenprinting. I wasn’t sure before we went if this was an event aimed mostly towards insiders of the printing community, but I was really excited to see how friendly and welcoming folks were and how eager artists were to explain the different processes to the uninitiated. My husband and I created our own risograph prints, which was pretty fun and something I was completely unaware of existing before Printers Ball (I’m pretty much a noob when it comes to this stuff). Apparently Spudnik Press offers classes on this fun and fabulous machine, which I might have to check out in addition to their letterpress classes that I want to get into after having my first taste of letterpress in my class this summer.

Husband and wife risographs–can you guess which is which?

Besides the demonstrations the book/print fair was also pretty cool (but I always love a good bookfair) and I picked up a couple chaps and a new collection from Chicago’s Featherproof books. We only intended to swing by Printers Ball for a couple hours and check it out, but ended up staying all afternoon to hang out, browse, and learn. I guess you could say that my visually artistic side has been reawakened a bit thanks to the class I’m taking this summer that allows me to blend art, design, and writing and has given me a chance to do a little work at the book and paper studios. I was really excited to see how so many amazing artists combined the two in their work at Printers Ball and I’m inspired to try and bring more of it into my own work.

The offerings of the Book Butcher!