Art and commerce intersect at K-State’s new Spot Fire Press.
Linoleum: It’s not just for kitchen floors.
In the talented hands of K-State printmaking students, a humble block of linoleum — and other mediums like copper, wood and silk screen — are transformed to forge one-of-a-kind art pieces that are intricate, beautiful, sometimes humorous and always thought provoking.
Now this creativity is being commissioned as part of the newly formed Spot Fire Press.
First sparks
Spot Fire is a student-led publishing/printmaking collaboration that connects creativity to the bottom line by bridging art and commerce through partnerships with area organizations.
When the Flint Hills Discovery Center was looking to add custom T-shirts featuring Kansas native plants to its gift shop, Spot Fire stepped up. After several meetings about design, logistics and pricing, their creative spark had been ignited and it was time to get to work.
“I carved the plants as scientifically accurate as possible because that was important to their customers,” said Alexa Murray, visual communication design major and Spot Fire Press student editorial fellow. “Working with a client, I learned the importance of communication and receiving feedback. It was my favorite project by far.”
Catching fire
Aptly named for a fire started by an ember from a main blaze, Spot Fire is growing thanks to the dedication of more than 40 students and interest from community clients.
Spot Fire members operate much like a business development team with three student fellows acting as project managers. The team considers potential clients, brainstorms ideas and selects the projects they will take on. Faculty mentors remain in the background, providing guidance.
Coming from departments all over campus — art, agricultural and natural resources communications, English, landscape architecture — the Spot Fire team brings a range of talents to varied projects like these:
- A “zine” featuring creative writing and drawings about water conservation
- Poetry printed on seed-embedded bookmarks that can be planted
- Limited-edition notecards for K-State departments
- Apparel and gifts including aprons, T-shirts and canvas bags
Spot Fire’s hope is to use the profits generated from the group’s projects — and raised from donors (hint, hint) — to expand the group’s capabilities and bring on additional fellows from different majors.
Launched last fall thanks to an applied learning experiences grant, Spot Fire Press shares the talents of K-State students with the community, while students put their education to work in the real world.
Up next: vending machine art
A quirky project in the works will place mini-gallery vending machines around campus to expand public access to original art pieces. Instead of buying a Snickers, you could take home a piece of art.
“Whether it’s conscious or subconscious, there is a resurgence in the value of something you can touch and feel,” said art professor Jason Scuilla, area coordinator for printmaking and Spot Fire’s lead faculty mentor. “The value of something unique and handmade is an important part of printmaking.” With more inventive collaborations planned, student interest surging and dreams of vending machine art on the horizon, Spot Fire is well-positioned to spread like wildfire.
Full steam ahead
A professor rents a steamroller.
That’s not the beginning of a joke, but rather a recent eye-catching public art event by K-State’s printmaking department. The construction steamroller drove over 30- x 40-inch wood blocks featuring whimsical and detailed designs hand-carved by undergraduate students. The resulting limited-edition prints were exhibited at Switch Wicked Community Arts Studio in downtown Manhattan.
Watch the video of this impressive event.
