Kids Experience Screen Printing, Monoprinting at Piedmont Arts Family Day

Artist Harrison Gardner shows onlookers who to make a screen print.

Families enjoyed learning new art forms at Piedmont Arts on Saturday during the museum's Print It! Printmaking Family Day.

Held in conjunction with the museum's blockbuster exhibition, Pulled, Pressed & Screened: Important American Prints, the event allowed families and community members to experiment with various printing processes.

Jesus and Juan Soto, sons of Jesus and Maricila Soto of Axton,printed their names in Egyptian hieroglyphs

"Unlike painting or drawing, printmaking is an art form many people haven't tried," said Bernadette Moore, Piedmont Arts' director of marketing, communications and design. "We wanted kids and parents to experience creating a print and learn that it isn't  intimidating or scary--it's actually really fun."

Olivia Scearce, daughter of Heidi Scearce 

of Ridgeway, shows the original 

monoprint she made on the press.

Local artists Harrison Gardner and Jessie Ward brought their printmaking expertise to the event by helping guests create their own artwork.

Gardner, a professional screen printer, created an original design, which he helped kids transfer onto handkerchiefs. 

Ward, a blacksmith and artist who has won several awards for her printmaking, set up a monoprinting station where she showed guests how to paint on a Plexiglas panel and run it through a press to create a one-of-a-kind printed image. 

"I love teaching kids about printmaking," said Ward. "The joy in their faces when they pull their own print is amazing. Having the knowledge  to create a print is its own reward."

For more information on upcoming Piedmont Arts Family Days, click here.