Poet and printmaker Shelley Getten is on a library tour, sharing her craft at free events over the next two weeks.
Getten came to printmaking through poetry. She was part of an environmental poetry group in the twin cities. The group happened to sponsor a class in printmaking which Getten enrolled in. Once she started with printmaking, she never stopped. For Getten, the poems and the printmaking lend themselves to each other.
The format of the library presentations revolves around a reading of her poetry from her book Of Cows and Crows followed by a demonstration of the printmaking process. Getten has found that the audience is often interested in writing their own poetry and learning how to make their own prints. She provides a complete handout of all the art supplies she uses. There is also a description of drafting and transferring the block print image, as well as carving the block and making the final print.
Getten will be in Duluth during the last week of April. She will be at the West Duluth Library on April 28th at 10:00 am. That same afternoon, she will be at the Two Harbors Library at 3:30 pm. On April 30th, she will be at the Mount Royal Library at 3:30 pm. Also, on the 30th, she will be at the main library in downtown Duluth at 6:00 pm.
The events are sponsored by Arrowhead Library System, was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. More information about the events and Getten's work can be found on her website.
You can hear Community Connection every Tuesday and Thursday at 8am on Northland Morning.
