King Library Press carves out schedule for wood engraving events

The UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is carving out time to host the "Wood Engravers Network (WEN) Triennial Exhibition," opening November 4, at the Margaret I. King Library Building. A juried traveling exhibition sponsored by WEN, the exhibit features 60 prints by more than 50 artists from Belgium, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom. Wood engraving is a relief printmaking process like stamps, woodcuts and linoleum cuts. The raised, uncut surface receives ink and prints directly on paper.

The Wood Engravers Network, or WEN, is an international organization of printmakers especially interested in the fine art of wood engraving, a relief printmaking process of engraving designs with a burin on the end grain of wood, for printing. Founded in 1994, WEN pursues communications, encouragement and education in this historical yet contemporary relief medium.

Along with the WEN exhibition in the King Library lobby, two other exhibits opening Nov ember 4, are on display. Those exhibits and their locations are:

· “In Relief: Wood Engraving and Relief Printing,” featuring work of Kentucky printmakers and holdings of UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center, in the Great Hall of the King Library, and

· “Back Alley Press at the Lucille Little Fine Arts Library,” showcasing the work of printmaking students in the UK School of Art and Visual Studies, at Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

All three exhibits will run through Dec.16. Hours for viewing vary according to location.

A joint reception for the opening of the three exhibits will be held 5-6:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, in the King Library and the Little Library. All three exhibits and the reception are free and open to the public.

Later that evening, Joanne Price will give this year's King Library Press Fall Lecture and Workshop. Price's talk, “Out of Wood,” about the wood engravers' art form will begin 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, in the Great Hall of King Library. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Joanne Price, founder of Starpointe Studio in Bagdad, Kentucky, is president of WEN and an elected member of the Society of Wood Engravers. Her artwork is held in a number of public and private collections, including the Guangdong Museum of Art, in China; Minnesota Historical Society; Yale University; University of Colorado; University of Denver; Minnesota Center for the Book Arts; and at UK. Price teaches classes at her studio and has taught at Penland School of Crafts, University of Minnesota, Minnesota Center for the Book Arts, Highpoint Center for Printmaking (Minnesota) and the Morgan Papermaking Conservancy in Cleveland.

The events with Price will then continue with a workshop the following day at the King Library Press. The workshop will begin with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, followed by a collaborative linocut project led by Price at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served at noon, with the completion of the workshop in the afternoon. The entire workshop will be $45 a person, with a limit of 12 participants. Registration for the workshop with Price is highly recommended due to limited space.

The King Library Press, founded in 1956, is devoted to the tradition of fine printing and produces books and broadsides. Typesetting, printing and binding are all done at the press and there are opportunities for apprentices. The press is located in the King Library on the UK campus.

For more information on the exhibitions contact Gail Kennedy, of the UK Special Collections Research Center, at 859-227-2601. For more information about the King Library Press Fall Lecture and Workshop or to register for the workshop, contact Paul Holbrook, director of the King Library Press, at 859-608-9623.