Printmakers Descending Upon Missouri for the Mid America Print Council 2012 Biennial Conference

On November 1-3. 2012,  the little college town of Cape Girardeau, in southeastern Missouri, will be host to a whole bunch of artists with inked up hands as the Mid America Print Council (MAPC) Biennial Conference takes place.  MAPC  is heading back to its small college town roots to the River Campus at Missouri at Southeast Missouri State University, the only public institution in Missouri to have its own separate arts campus. Very cool, indeed.

Cape Girardeau is centrally located two hours south of St. Louis and three hours north of Memphis. It's neighbor is the great Mississippi River and the drive is quite breath-taking in the fall.

There will be the usual range of activities, panel discussions, demonstrations by some of the best printmakers around, exhibitions and exchanges of some mighty fine prints, and a special lecture, exhibition and award ceremony for MAPC's Outstanding Printmaker James D. Butler, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Illinois State University. I am proud to say he was my professor in graduate school, and this is a well-deserved honor for a devoted teacher and artist/innovator in the field of printmaking.

James D. Butler drawing on a litho stone

So, my inked up friends, now is the time to get registered for the conference, grab a few printmakers and caravan down to Cape Girardeau. It's rumored that there are special activities, (although camel rides like the one pictured below may not be on the sanctioned list), one never knows what a group of printmakers on the loose can conjure up, but there is some pretty stiff competition expected for the conference favorite Bowling Night. 

You can see all the conference information and details at http://www.midamericaprintcouncil.org/. Please contact Kristin Powers Nowlin, Conference Director, with any questions at kpnowlin@semo.edu

Mid America Print Council Fall 2011 Member's Show at Benedictine University opens Oct.15

This year's Mid America Print Council Fall member's show will take place at Benedictine University, in Lisle, Illinois, starting October 15 - January 6. Assistant Professor of Art, Andrew DeCaen, from University of North Texas was asked to jury the competition, and ultimately selected 44 prints from 34 artists from 21 states across the US.
These works represent some of the Very BEST printmakers working today.

I have taken the liberty to select a few from the exhibition to give you a preview of its coming attractions. There will be a reception for the public on Saturday,. Oct.15m, 2-4pm in Kindlon hall, 2nd floor. Additionally, another exhibition of local printmakers will be featured on the first floor directly below the MAPC show. It is called "That's Inked UP!", and includes printmakers from neighboring College of DuPage, and a few guest artists. Please make the trip out to Lisle, and take a look at some of these fine works of art.

You can learn more about MAPC by checking out their website at http://www.midamericaprintcouncil.org/

Mid America Print Council Fall 2011 Member's Competition opens October 15 at Benedictine University

Benedictine University is hosting the Fall 2011 Mid America Print Council Members' Competition, starting October 15 through January 6.

Assistant Professor of Art, Andrew DeCaen, from University of North Texas was invited to be this year's juror. He selected 44 images from 34 artists from 21 states nationwide. The range and breadth of the images selected represents some of THE BEST printmakers working in the United States today.

There will be a public opening reception on Saturday, October 15, from 2-4pm, on the 2nd floor of Kindlon Hall. Admission is Free. For more information regarding the exhibition, contact Teresa Parker, at tparker@ben.edu