Shasta College Hosts New Art Exhibit

Mel Blunt

Staff Writer

The Shasta College Art Gallery is currently hosting prints, available for purchase, from Hatch Show Prints. Art instructor John Harper first saw the company’s display of home-style American posters (owned by the Country Music Hall of Fame), in an airport years ago and has now been able to bring the show to Shasta’s campus.

He also was able to have Jim Sherraden, manager of Hatch Show Prints since 1984, come as a guest speaker in a presentation that took place on October 2nd. In addition, there was a workshop that took pace on October 3^rd and involved two graphic art instructors and 20 students from Chico State. “It is a show of graphic arts and fine arts. The more technology used, the more the hunger grows for hands-on [involvement].” says Harper.

The Hatch Show Print Company was founded in 1879 and they are the oldest working letterpress design shop. It is a Nashville-based company, so the letterpress posters featured Nashville stars and singers, though the company is not limited to Nashville. They have been known to advertise magicians, circuses, household products and beverages.

One of Sherraden’s goals when becoming manager of Hatch was to revive the company. He began printing with the company’s original woodblocks. The process involves overlay of border, touches and swaths from an ink brayer. Each individual print can not be exactly reproduced because of the process by which they are printed. The company has roughly 10,000 basswood and maple wood blocks they print from, along with photo plates and wood and metal type.

Hatch takes a customer’s text and designs a look that features the product, person or magazine’s characteristics. They normally use 1-3 different colors for the poster, keeping with the original Americana Hatch design.

All works in the gallery are for sale and the prices range from $10 to $800. The prints are to stay in the gallery until the show ends on November 9^th, and then the purchased ones can be picked up. So far, the show is a hit as it has brought in over $2,000 with 10% of the proceeds going to Shasta’s art department.

To buy a print, contact John Harper or Judy Sours in the 300 building from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. After 4 p.m., contact Laura Thomason. For more information on purchasing procedures, contact the Art Department at 225-4761.