Radically Retired

Steamroller Blues?

Written by

Terry

in

,

I’m out of sync with my regular post times this week.

This is a busy week, so today will be my only post.

On Saturday, we made the two hour drive to Kingsville, TX to take in the Ranch Hand Festival.

This was our third trip to the festival and our second trip there with good friends from home who winter in a park near here.

One of the demonstrations that was new to all of us was the one by TAMUK (Texas A & M University Kingsville) arts department Javelina Printing Club.

Their printing press was a steamroller! My feature photo is a screenshot from a movie I found about them on Facebook – not my own.

The process: Designs are carved into a block of wood, and then ink is rolled over the whole slab.

This is a clip from a movie I shot

Once this step is complete, the slab is laid face up on the ground and a large sheet of paper placed over it, and then thick matting is layered on top of all.

The steamroller then drives over and backs up over the lot.

And voila!

This is my own photo of the finished print being lifted off the ground

It was fun and interesting to witness this unique process!

There were many prints done over the course of the day, and this was apparently their 12th year at the Ranch Hand festival.

Google Image

I don’t know how we missed it on previous visits, but am happy we found it this time!

Comments

16 responses to “Steamroller Blues?”

  1. Darryl B Avatar
    Darryl B

    That’s wild! So cool 😎 I wonder who had that idea…I would think the board would be flattened thinner than cardboard. 😮

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Terry Avatar
      Terry

      It was definitely very cool to watch, Darryl. After we got home that day, I googled the process and learned that steamroller printing happens in a few cities throughout the USA. The carved and inked board looked to be at least 3/4” plywood. On the ground, they had other wood slabs on all four sides – sort of like a frame – for the inked one to set in. Maybe that helped prevent the flattening, as you suggested.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Forestwood Avatar
    Forestwood

    I have tried this years ago on a very small scale. I can see how it would be fun and a little bit addictive. I love that a whole festival has been devoted to this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Terry Avatar
      Terry

      Interesting that you’ve done something similar, Amanda. This demonstration is only a small part of the festival which is actually an annual celebration of King Ranch – a massive and famous ranching operation near Kingsville, TX.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Edward Ortiz Avatar
    Edward Ortiz

    Nice print! Thank you for sharing photos from the festival.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Terry Avatar
      Terry

      I’m happy you liked it. This was just one very tiny part of the festival, Edward, but it was definitely interesting.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Edward Ortiz Avatar
        Edward Ortiz

        I’ve never seen that type of festival, so it was nice to see the photos. Thank you.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Terry Avatar
        Terry

        I’ll soon be making another post about the festival and what it’s actually all about, Edward.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Edward Ortiz Avatar
        Edward Ortiz

        Cool! Looking forward to it.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. A Creative Spirit Avatar
    A Creative Spirit

    This reminds me of when I was a child and we used to carve designs into lino, add ink and then apply pressure to print. Using a seteam roller is amusing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. thesimlux Avatar
    thesimlux

    Love the craft! Working with hands is good for the soul. It’s how we evolved. We need to get back to the human touch and connection. Happy Thanksgiving!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Terry Avatar
      Terry

      It’s definitely a unique and interesting art form! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. Dwight Hyde Avatar
    Dwight Hyde

    Pretty neat! Thanks for sharing😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Terry Avatar
      Terry

      I’m happy you enjoyed the share! Have a fab evening!

      Like

      Reply
  7. explorenewness Avatar
    explorenewness

    Nice finished result! Are you going to try your hand at printmaking now?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Terry Avatar
      Terry

      No I’m not, Lenore … as I don’t own a steamroller nor do I know anyone who does, lol. Have a fab evening!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Thanks for stopping by to read and comment!

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