Gallery Coordinator Erin Ritchie said Sampson’s talk will cover his career, practice and life as an artist. For the workshop portion, Ritchie said there will be opportunities for audience participation and instruction.
“He’s going to bring in one of his homemade presses and do a demo, and the audience can participate and try printmaking,” Ritchie said.
Ritchie said she is glad the gallery chose to display Sampson’s work because of his prestige in the art world as well as his vibrant lifestyle and called him an amazing artist.
“He has been making art for like 70 years,” Ritchie said. “He actually hung next to Andy Warhol back in the day, he did design work for GM and he was on the Today show. Now he’s just cruising around Bloomington on his bike with his homemade press.”
Ritchie said this sort of interactive event is a first for the Blueline.
“Normally it’s just an artist talk, but it’ll be cool and you can see how prints are made,” Ritchie said. “A lot of people don’t know the process, so it’ll be a good opportunity to see the process and get interested.”
Ritchie said she is most looking forward to seeing Sampson doing what he loves.
“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how he makes his prints,” Ritchie said. “I’ve been working with artists and printmakers for years and I’ve still never seen what the process looks like. I’m (also) excited to see Jim in his element because he’s such an amazing artist.”
Ritchie said she thinks people should come out to see the talk and demo so they can socialize and see a type of craft they possibly have not experienced before.
“It’s a good experience because you get to meet new people, like-minded individuals,” Ritchie said. “You get to meet Jim and he’s awesome, super interesting to talk to. It’s free, which is always good, and you get to see what printmaking looks like and get more into that.”
Ritchie said the overall goal is to bring awareness to this art form and introduce the type of art awareness the Blueline emphasizes.
“Blueline is all about supporting the arts in the community and providing a cool space for people to collaborate and communicate with each other,” Ritchie said. “It’ll be a really great night.”
