The 2nd Annual Southwest Print Fiesta! is nearly upon us! This unique event will be held on Labor Day weekend, September 1-3, in historic downtown Silver City. One of the main draws of the event is the Silver Steamroller Street Printing.

The Mimbres Region Arts Council extended an invitation to artists and artist teams to carve a large scale, 36" x 36", lino block for printing via a 3,000 pound steamroller. The popularity of this event definitely increased from last year, as over 20 applications were received. Through a selective screening process, 5 finalists were chosen as this year's Silver Steamroller Street Printing artists. Keep reading for a brief introduction of these amazing artists.

• Dr. Linda Brett, from Mesa, Arizona, has been a graphic designer and artist since 1984. She is currently an elementary school teacher and studio artist who occasionally shows her art. Her preferred media is printmaking, artist books, watercolor and graphite.
• Manda Clair Jost, from Silver City, New Mexico, is a biology professor at WNMU who also does printmaking in relief, intaglio, lithography, and serigraph. She maintains a home print studio in Silver City and recently completed new print works at CasaPlan in Valparaíso, Chile.
• Michael Kimball, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is an artist in love with the city. He is best known for his paintings and prints of urban landscapes that seem to inhabit the worlds of both representation and abstraction simultaneously.
• Collette Marie, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, is a professional artist, illustrator and designer with a BFA in Graphic Design and Photography from New Mexico State University. She had a solo exhibition at the NM Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in 2015. Her art is inspired by New Mexico's wildlife and landscapes of the Chihuahuan desert.
• Sean Wells, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, is an award-winning 5th generation Juried member of the Spanish Colonial Artist Society. In addition to his Day of the Dead themed artwork, his art has received both national and international awards. He was also named "Best Visual Artist" in 2016 by Albuquerque the Magazine.

Each of these artists were asked to fill out and submit an application along with a brief proposal or sketch of their idea for the steamroller printing event. Now that the finalists have been notified of their selection, they will begin the process of carving their lino printing blocks for the event.

The steamroller prints will be printed in an edition of four, with one print going to the artist, one archival for future exhibitions and one as a sponsor benefit. The last print will be for a fund raising raffle.

This year, the Southwest Print Fiesta Artisan Market will be held on the corner of Market Street and Bullard Street on Saturday, September 2 from 10 am – 5 pm. Be sure to come down and watch the mesmerizing live demonstrations and see what each of these artist has created specifically for the Southwest Print Fiesta!

For more information about the Southwest Print Fiesta! visit www.southwestprintfiesta.org, or contact MRAC, located in the Wells Fargo Bank building, 1201 Pope St. Tue-Fri, 9-4, email eventcoordinator@mimbresarts.org, or call 575.538.2505.