WAUKESHA – At its gathering in April, the Bad Water Bookclub will hold an exhibit of prints by Cheryl Olson-Sklar and demonstration of printmaking techniques at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. Olson-Sklar also will discuss her printmaking. Artists are invited to bring their books in progress to show as well. Events will be held in the Fine Arts Center on Sunday, April 9, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on campus at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha. It is open to the public at no charge. Refreshments will be served.When she moved her studio and lost the space for a lithographic press but added an intaglio press, Olson-Sklar experimented with new techniques (Toray/waterless lithography), which stimulated her creative senses. She has adapted commercial printing industry materials in making photo-polymer plates and builds her prints with textures and colors competing to express ideas drawn from diverse sources. “The collected information, removed from the original place and reorganized into a collaged and layered print, defines my own logic and sense of color,” she summarizes.Book artists expand the idea of what a book can be. They combine elaborate, frequently sequential images into a single but multi-paneled piece to convey an idea through images. Their books are difficult to exhibit since they need to be handled to be viewed, but handling damages them. Generally they are produced in small editions of maybe 25 or fewer copies.Founded in Milwaukee in 1993, the book club takes its name from the cryptosporidium scare that shrouded the city in April of that year. Membership includes both artists, some of national stature, and appreciators and is open to anyone interested in the subject. Most are from the Metropolitan area, but the club is national in scope. This is its first big event to be held in Waukesha.
UW-Waukesha professor of art Stephanie Copoulos-Selle is organizing the gathering.
