Lawrenceville’s
TugBoat Printshop pulled into Washington, D.C. this week to take part in the inaugural festivities.
The artists, Paul Roden and his wife Valerie Lueth, earned a coveted invitation to hang their work in the inaugural week exhibition,
Manifest Hope: DC Gallery, a diverse gathering of the nation’s most talented visual artists who provided artistic inspiration to the Obama campaign, such as the now famous iconic blue and red image of Obama's face by Shepard Fairey.
“Everyone here is walking on clouds,” intoned Roden on Monday. “For us to be not even 30 and showing alongside these huge names is really humbling.”
Jennifer Lopez was rumored to be dropping by too, he noted.
Tugboat creates beautiful woodcut prints that are sold at Indie craft fairs across the country and from their Pittsburgh studio. Last December, they received a call from the D.C. organizers inviting them to participate.
In honor of the “We Are One” theme, they created a sweeping topographical map of the United States, “America the Beautiful,” a nostalgic tribute to mapping techniques of the past with a nod to modern icons and images. Their work captures the rolling ranges of the Appalachians, the craggy peaks of the Rockies, rivers and railroad lines.
“We did a lot of research and dug through a lot of old maps,” said Roden. “The country is united, there are no state borders.”
The 24 x 32 inch print on display is in black and white, but the couple plan to create a limited number of colored prints to enhance the amber waves of grain and purple mountains. For more information on the print, click
here.
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Writer:
Deb SmitSource: Paul Roden, Tugboat Printshop
Image courtesy Tugboat Printshop