Caroline Hanson’s Mini Prints Highlight Appalachian Culture

Tucked away in a picturesque corner of Bath County, you’ll find the art studio of Caroline Hanson, who’s creating unforgettable mini prints of some of her favorite things reflecting her Appalachian home.  A degree in fine art from the School of Art Institute of Chicago helped hone her love of sculpture, which in turn influenced her carving skills to create the templates that produce her whimsical prints.  She explains how she got into the print making business.

“My grandmother was a career artist and she handed down this beautiful printing press when she downsized into a retirement home,” said Hanson. “And she made this opportunity for me to become a print maker, it kind of just landed in my lap.”

She’s been a full-time print maker for about 2 years now. All though she’s lived and traveled in other parts of the county, Bath has always called her back.  Her parents purchased the old Chestnut farm when she was 10 years old. She says her mountain home is her primary influence on her mini print designs.

“I try to focus on a theme of Appalachian iconography and I pull images of folklore and different objects that people identify with and stories,” she said, “and that’s where I get the root of the majority of my art.”

And she distributes her mini prints in a unique way – with a vending machine specifically made to distribute artwork.  She says the idea is not new, but using it has allowed her to make her prints accessible to a wide variety of art lovers.  A grant from the West Virginia Dept of Culture, Arts and History allowed her to purchase three of the vending machines.

“Most people have four quarters that they can put into a machine to get a hand-printed limited edition signed and editioned piece of art that they can take home, and it’s a little bit of a game, you can collect them all,” she said.

“So you put the four quarters in here, and then you push in and out pops your mini print through this little vertical slit on the top.  It’s in a cardboard sleeve and you open it up and your mini-print is sitting there, signed, editioned and titled.”

Hanson says it’s been a thriving project. She created 1800 prints for the first series that are almost sold out.  The second series is 12 prints and she will have 150 of each print available.  One vending machine will be at the Wild Bean in Lewisburg and another at Rivertown, located in the old Richardson’s building in Marlinton. The third one travels with her to various events and festivals.

Creating the prints shows off her fine sculpting skills.  She uses a professional print making linoleum called battleship gray and uses chisels to meticulously carve an image using a technique called subtractive carving.  She carves out what will appear white on the final mirror image.  She applies ink to a glass plate….[sound of rolling out ink]…then uses another tool to roll the ink on to the carved linoleum. Then it’s time to print.

“So you push your paper down on top of the linoleum, and then I have a print making felt that I put on top that helps distribute the weight for the press…[sound of print press moving]…then you pull the print making felt back and then you have the image of the print.”

The second series of prints will feature Mill Point, salt rising bread, a cider press, a fiddle, butter beans, trillium, American Chestnut, a quilt, a wooley bugger fly, a steam engine, a paw paw, and a rattlesnake.

And with just a little change in your pocket, you can collect them all.