20 Handmade Oddities from Cherokee Street, 12/5/09
St. Louis artists lit up Cherokee Street Saturday as part of the Cherokee Print League Holiday Sale. Here are some of the weirdest, most wonderful works spotted by photographer Jason Stoff.
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The Firecracker Press, an organizer of the Cherokee Print League’s sale, had Tasty Steer stickers available for purchase. It’s an educational piece.
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Dustin Lucas’ “Untitled City” print combines elements of photography, printmaking and graphic design to create a sense of vertigo.
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The subject of “Come On Pilgrim” by UMSL student Chris Perron looks familiar enough.
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Dan Wamhoff’s "You Can’t Hide From Yourself" series explores the layering of different printing techniques, watercolor and exploration of the self. Also, vermin.
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Sleepy Kitty is both a band and a graphic arts shop, and Paige Brubeck and Evan Sult are the proprietors. This particular screen-print is one of their fictional chimeras known as the Seaburro.
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Not all the art on display was purely visual – dedicated chapbook shop Stirrup Pants had their best and weirdest on display as well. Left to right: “A Plate of Chicken” by Matthew Hohrer, “Barf Manifesto” by Dodie Bellamy and “18: A Barrel of Herrings.”
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Josh Reingold was exhibiting primarily to represent the St. Louis art scene -- and his piece “Gaygun” plays up the retro-hip flavor.
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How often are robots depicted as peace-loving hippies? In Maggie Filla’s “Peace-Bot” lithograph, often. Maggie is an intern at the Firecracker Press.
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“St. Louis Style” indeed. Dan Zettwoch’s local interests and stylized illustrations immortalize St. Louis’ homegrown delights: brain sandwich, St. Paul sandwich, St. Louis style pizza, toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, Vess soda and frozen custard.
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“Slinger: St. Louis’ Most Famous Pile of Breakfast” shows Mad Magazine’s influence on Dan Zettwoch’s style.
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Steven J. Davis’ screen-printed series on the temptations of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle is influenced by his experience in the local music scene and urban restoration – not to mention his education at the University of Kansas.
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Matthew Elliot, an illustrator and designer formerly hailing from Chicago, shows off two of his medium-sized prints. Willem Dafoe and zombies everywhere should be proud.
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Travis Russell’s “Three Vipers” piece was printed locally at All Along Press.
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“Jericho!” by Steven Brien and Elysia Mann (operators of All Along Press) was originally used to promote a show for All Along Press artists – now, it primarily scares little girls.
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“Tweet Loudest” by Nick Smith is an example of letterpress printing. In Nick’s case, his press is literally in his backyard. Unseen is an embossed design with the word “tweet” in the lower left-hand corner.
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Two Tone Press’ Michelle Dreher was in town from Kansas City for the sale. This piece shows her is a block print, which is well-suited to her bold style.
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Michelle Dreher shows off her print “Sick & The Dead.” Surprisingly, this isn’t the only zombie print on display on Cherokee – or even in the building
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“Your Mom” indeed. Laura Mart has a fascination with the Virgin of Guadalupe, and prefers an irreverent style for making an impact.
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Nick Francel’s prints exhibited a somewhat grotesque sense of humor, delivered through detailed, high-contrast illustrations. And bowls of guts.
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Perhaps Nick Francel’s “Existence is Futile” print was conceived as a counterpoint to Maggie Filla’s “Peace-Bot,” or perhaps it was just a coincidence they were both for sale on Saturday.
