Block Party Steamroller Printing

THE LARGEST STEAMROLLER PRINTING EVENT IN THE COUNTRY RETURNS TO THE FOUNDRY ART CENTRE
June 13, 11am – 5pm

Join the Foundry Art Centre for the biggest steamroller printing event in the country and get ready for an art event like no other!

The Foundry Art Centre is proud to announce its 6th Annual Block Party – The Steamroller Print Event, a free, full-day festival for the whole family. Block Party features interactive art projects, printmaking demonstrations, music, heavy machinery, a print fair, tattooing, food and drinks, and last, but not least, the party’s main event: STEAMROLLER PRINTING!

The Block Party epitomizes the Foundry’s mission to engage the community through the arts. Not only that, but it does it in a BIG way, centering on a unique and over-the-top method of printmaking using steamrollers. Large-scale images by national artists, art collectives, and print shops are carved on 3ftx4ft and 4ftx5ft woodblocks. Kansas City-based Twin Hound Print Shop and their team of inkers then roll ink onto these blocks, fabric is laid on top, and then the whole thing is run over with a steamroller, squishing the ink from the woodblock to the canvas. The completed works of art are then taken to the Foundry’s Grand Hall for display and available for purchase.

This year’s woodblock artists include Dennis Yi Adams, Natashna Anderson, Central Print, Cullen Curtis, Darkstina, Iris Gibson, Brian Lathan, Killer Napkins, Samantha Mendoza, Emmett Merrill, Emily Mohler, and the St. Louis Veterans Administration – Creative Arts, Recreational Therapy, & Whole Health.

In addition to the giant blocks, a batch of small blocks will be printed with the steamroller. These smaller blocks will be carved by over 20 novice printmakers and community members.

Along with the steamroller prints, the Foundry’s Block Party will feature interactive art demonstrations by Craft Alliance and MADE Makerspace; music by Dirty River Records; food trucks; the Foundry bar; and a chance to paint a St. Charles Public Works Snow Plow!

Indoors, visitors are invited to shop the print fair by makers and printers from throughout the Midwest; get steamroller-inspired flash tattoos by tattoo artists with Alchemy Tattoo Collective; experience the Off the Block print show in the Main Galleries, and visit with studio artists on the Mezzanine.

The Foundry Art Centre would like to thank our growing list of sponsors and partners at Missouri Arts Council, Honda of Frontenac, Fischer & Frichtel, Rosemann & Associates, Blick Art Materials, The Home Depot, Speedball, Black’s Carpet Discount, Twin Hound Print Shop, Craft Alliance, and MADE Makerspace, and St. Charles Public Works for their invaluable support.

For more information, please visit us at foundryartcentre.org, or email Jessica Mannisi, director of exhibitions at [email protected].

About the Foundry Art Centre
As a vibrant home to the arts, the Foundry Art Centre raises awareness and appreciation of the arts throughout the region. Alive with activity, the Centre’s programming reinforces the importance of the arts and helps ensure that arts and culture remain vital. Artists, patrons, young people and the community at large continually find new ways to interact at this unique facility.