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Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Debby Stratford to Demonstrate Linoleum Block Printmaking at Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
On Saturday, September 6, Debby Stratford of Louisville will demonstrate linoleum block printmaking by cutting images into linoleum blocks from 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Debby Stratford got a degree in art education from Edinboro State College and went on to teach art in the public schools of PA. Her father, an ornamental iron artisan, moved to Louisville in 1977 to set up a metal shop and Debby and her husband moved there too. In Louisville Debby taught elementary art and studied with printmaker John Whitesel at the University of Louisville, receiving her Masters of Art in Teaching degree in the 1980’s.
Debby has always created artwork – beginning in first grade. She states, “I taught art to my classmates in second grade and I fell in love with printmaking in high school. My philosophy has always been that to teach art, you have to make art. So, for years, I have been teaching in the daytime and printing during breaks from school.”
Printmaking is the result of marks made into a surface. That surface can be metal, stone, wood, and linoleum, cardboard or even Styrofoam. Printmakers refer to the surface as a plate. A relief print like Debby makes – is created by carving into or gouging out the surface of a linoleum block. The surface is covered with ink using a brayer or roller. Paper is laid on the surface and pressed by hand or a printing press. The resulting prints are usually numbered in an edition. Debby says that because she draws directly on the gray linoleum surface, rather than transferring a prepared image with carbon paper, her prints look like drawings.
Original prints by Debby Stratford can regularly be found at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, located at 975 Walnut Meadow Road, just off Interstate 75 at exit 77 (Berea). The Center’s exhibits, shopping, and travel information areas are all open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the café from 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. The Center currently features works by more than 650 artisans from over 100 counties from all across the Commonwealth. For more information call 859-985-5448 or visit the Center’s web site at www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov
The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is an agency in the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet.
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