Over two days during the last week of classes, members of Print Media held a sale and a raffle in the lobby of the Visual Arts Building.

By selling donated art works for prices ranging from $30 for student work and small format faculty work to $50 for large format faculty work, they raised $5,300 to help buy a large vacuum table, a one-arm squeegee for the screen printing studio, plus several large screens and a storage rack for the screens.

“People were eager to purchase high quality art by well established artists at such incredibly low prices,” said Lyne Bastien, technician in the Print Media unit of the Studio Arts Department. “We sold close to 200 prints, and raising $5,300 was beyond our expectations!”

She explained: “Our list of capital requests, consisting of several emergency repairs and renovation of equipment, far exceeds what remains of our current capital allocation. The purchase of the screen printing equipment had been postponed for a number of years, but it had become evident that this vacuum table was much needed.

“Encouraging advanced students’ repeated requests for large format printing was a strong motivation. This unit is also part of a requirement for a future conversion to UV inks in screen printing, which is the professional system for printing digital imagery in screen because it facilitates higher resolution.”

The members of the department did a little brainstorming, and came up with the idea of the sale and raffle. Posters announcing the event went up, and students as well as faculty were asked to donate their prints. Much of the next weekend was spent planning, and calls were made to invite friends and business acquaintances.

“With much determination, several students donated their work,” Bastien said. “Many prints were taken from the Print Media archives, and faculty members gave large quantities of their prints — and a success it was!”

Bastien expressed her gratitude to everyone who pitched in. “In these times of cutbacks, reduced spending and dampened spirits, this event was a wonderful opportunity for all those involved in the process to witness what energy and determination can accomplish.”

Carole Houpert won a monotype by Lyne Bastien, and Lise Van der Knaap received a woodcut by Bonnie Baxter. The Encadrex prize for framing at a retail value of $150 went to Catherine Desilets, and Tracy Gartner was selected for the prize of 50 sheets of hand-made paper donated to Print Media by John Topelco.