Polk County News
16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 14, 2015
Drive By Press visits WOU
Organization shows off old technology to new generation
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Taylor
McClure carefully guides the
teal T-shirt and wooden
block under the massive
roller on a press at Western
Oregon University.
The roller has to be com-
pletely level or the print
won’t turn out right.
He pauses, picking up a
massive wrench fabricated
specially for this homemade
press, adjusting the roller
before turning the giant
crank to complete the
process.
On the other side, Mc-
Clure carefully lifts the
wooden block to reveal an
embossed black print of a
lizard.
“It’s pretty cool,” said
Megan Leach, third-year
student at WOU. She
brought the teal colored
shirt for the project.
McClure and Kate Dedlow
brought Drive By Press to
Western’s campus on Thurs-
day for a day of outreach
and education about the art
of print making. Printing T-
shirts is a way the organiza-
SCHOOL NOTES
Falls City homecoming week starts
FALLS CITY — Homecoming week begins Monday at Falls
City High School, with several events throughout the week,
ending with the annual homecoming dance on Saturday.
Activities kick of on Oct. 22 with a bonire at 7 p.m.
On Oct. 23, the Mountaineers take on Alsea in the homecom-
ing football game. Oct. 26 concludes homecoming week with a
game of “Community laser tag” in the high school gym at 6
p.m., followed by the dance at 8 p.m.
Admission for laser tag is $3 per game or $5 for an unlimited
pass. Tickets for the football game cost $5 for adults and $4 for
students.
For more information, 503-787-3521.
DHS celebrates homecoming week
DALLAS — Dallas High School is celebrating homecoming
this week with a number of events at the school.
Wednesday (today) in the annual powder puf football game
at 7 p.m. at Gallaspy Stadium at the high school, 1250 Holman
Ave.
Friday the Dragon football team takes the ield against Cres-
cent Valley at 7 p.m. at Gallaspy Stadium. Saturday is the home-
coming dance.
Admission for powder puf is $4 and Friday’s night’s game is
$5 for adults and $4 students.
For more information: 503-623-8336.
Lyle Elementary to host movie night
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Taylor McClure shows off a finished T-shirt to Western Oregon student Megan Leach. A
third-year student, Leach bought the shirt to participate in the printing press project.
tion can make some money,
as well as spread the word
about prints.
“It’s really old technology
and doesn’t require water or
electricity,” McClure ex-
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Kate Dedlow applies oil relief ink to a wooden block
which will be used to create a unique T-shirt. Drive By
Press visited WOU’s campus on Thursday afternoon.
plained, “so it’s easy to take
on the road.”
The wooden blocks are
durable under the 2,000
pounds of pressure applied
by the press, so long as they
stay dry.
The event had been
planned in the sculpture
garden behind the art build-
ing at WOU, but with the
spotty rain on Thursday, Mc-
Clure and Dedlow didn’t
take any chances.
Rather than use Drive By
Press’ portable unit, they
used the one in the art
building.
“Every press we use is to-
tally different,” McClure
said. “This one is made by
hand. It’s been a little bit of a
learning curve. I’m going to
name it Sasquatch.”
By the end of the three
hours, and roughly 40 T-
shirts made, McClure had
figured out the tricks of the
old machine.
Drive By Press is a nation-
al traveling organization
with headquarters in New
York City and Los Angeles. It
promotes the practice and
appreciation of printmaking
as an art form.
During its visit to Western,
McClure and Dedlow pre-
sented a lecture on the his-
tory of printmaking and
shared a traveling portfolio
of original contemporary
prints.
The goals of the organiza-
tion is to enable students to
gain an understanding of
printmaking today, as well
as the themes and subject
matter used by contempo-
rary artists; to familiarize
students with the most pop-
ular and most recognizable
works from print history;
and to expose students to
the origins and evolution of
printmaking technology
from the earliest woodcuts
to contemporary fine art
print publishing.
For more information
about Drive By Press: drive-
bypress.com.
DALLAS — Lyle Elementary School in Dallas will host “Movie
Night” Friday, showing “Home.”
The movie will be shown in the gym at the school, 185 SW
Levens St. at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but snacks will be for sale.
Proceeds from the sale of refreshments beneit the Lyle Parent-
Teacher Club.
For more information: 503-623-8367.
WOU named standout institution
MONMOUTH — Western Oregon University has been recog-
nized as one of 36 standout institutions in America and the only
university or college in Oregon singled out for successfully edu-
cating students who received a federal Pell Grant.
The Education Trust, a national education advocacy organiza-
tion, released the report, “The Pell Partnership: Ensuring a Shared
Responsibility for Low-income Student Success,” which focused
on how efective schools are at graduating students with the
greatest inancial need.
The trust studied graduation rates at more than 1,100 public
and private nonproit institutions in the U.S. and found that WOU
was one of the few institutions that is 10 percentage points
above the average rate of their peers.