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Printmaking at MPC: Feel the Love

This past weekend there were two workshops/demos at Monterey Peninsula College (MPC), located on Fremont Street (at Aguajito Road) near the Hilton Hotel, in Monterey. This little-known resource in Monterey is a gem in the midst of our community!  How many of you out there have never set foot on this campus?!

Any county resident can enroll in any of a huge variety of courses at  minimal cost in tuition and student fees.  I am amazed at how inexpensive 60 hours of instruction per class can be!  The MPC print studio, a small part of this community college, is a haven for artists and neophytes like me who want to open their eyes to a new world—the art of making lovely one-of-a-kind art work or an edition of multiple copies—in a relaxing and inviting environment that supports you through each step.  As one newer student said in an email to all MPC Print Club members:

“This club, quite simply, is the most enjoyable group of people I have met in my life. When I try to explain to those outside the club why I so enjoy all things print-related, this is what I say: I have never worked with a group of people (and I have worked with a LOT of groups) who has such a great sense of humor, gets things done, has a great sense of humor, is so decisive, has a great sense of humor, is so embracing of all, has a great sense of humor, is so darn DEPENDABLE, has a great sense of humor, is so collaborative, and best of all, has a great sense of humor!!!! “

On Friday the class  in Relief Printmaking and members of the MPC Print Club attended a demonstration by Denese Sanders on Simultaneous Color Printing, aka Viscosity Rolls, a rather sophisticated printing process developed in the 1950’s to accomplish multi-colored printing without multiple times sending the paper through the printing press.  How fortunate we all were (about 40 students) to watch the step-by-step process!  Soon a video will be available on the Club website: www.mpcprintclub.org.  Go check it out!  If you are interested in becoming a print club member (NO FEE required), just inquire on the website.  I know I talked two friends into joining and now they are hooked.  Some of you will be too, I guarantee it! A members-only community website is also posted: www.mpcprintmakers.ning.com for members to post their prints and other information about what they are doing and what they are interested in.

For those of you who don’t want to make the plunge into a semester-long class, there are excellent workshops by the same instructors who teach the full-length courses.  One of these workshops was held last Saturday from 9:00-3:00 and others will be offered for two-day weekend instruction.  On Saturday we had loads of fun making cards , both all-purpose and Christmas cards, some of which will be sold at the MPC Holiday Sale coming up Tuesday, December 7 through Thursday, December 9, from 9:00 am-7:00 p.m.  If you have never been to this sale, by all means come and see the handmade jewelry and ceramics from local artists as well as from MPC instructors and students.  While you are at it, stop by our table with the big MPC Print Club banner to say hi, look at our cards, cookbook with reproductions of some of our prints, and beautiful hand-screened aprons which would make gorgeous presents!  Enjoy! We would love to give you a personal introduction to what we do and who we are.

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