A road steamroller will spend Saturday afternoon in Riverhead pressing art instead of asphalt. East End Arts Council holds its first Steamroller Printmaking Festival on Saturday, November 7, from noon to 4 p.m., with free admission for all ages. If it rains, the festival moves to Sunday, November 8.

The festival is presented by East End Arts Council in partnership with the Riverhead Highway Department, which is where a steamroller comes in.

How a steamroller prints

In ordinary relief printmaking, an artist carves a design into a block, rolls ink across the raised surface, lays paper on top and applies pressure, usually with a hand press. At the festival, the pressure comes from the steamroller. Participating artists arrive with blocks they have already carved, East End Arts Council supplies the ink and the machine, and the steamroller rolls over each block and its paper to pull an oversized print outdoors, in full view of the crowd.

The council put out a call for printmakers from New York, the tri-state area and beyond, and the festival is open to individual artists, teams and groups. The scale of the blocks is the point: the prints come out far larger than anything a tabletop press can handle.

What else is on the program

Beyond watching the prints come off the road, visitors can try printmaking themselves, listen to music and browse local vendors. The vendors listed by East End Arts Council include AllOneVoice Typewriter Poetry, Ben & Jerry's, Panoramica, DJ_Spectre, The Mystic Collective and Right Now Marketing. There is also an artist talk, with spots reserved through the festival page.

The festival is built for families, first-time visitors and working artists alike, and no experience is needed to make a print.

Already set for next year

East End Arts Council has already put a second edition on the calendar: the 2nd Annual Steamroller Printmaking Festival is scheduled for October 23, 2027.

Printmaking workshops after the festival

For anyone who wants to keep going on a smaller scale, the council has four printmaking workshops on the calendar at its Art and Music School, 206 Griffing Avenue, Riverhead, each for ages 16 and up:

  • Linocut printmaking: Friday, November 13, 7 to 9 p.m. Carve, ink and print a linocut design.
  • Cyanotype printing: Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with artist Andrea Cote, making blue-toned prints with light, stencils, drawings and natural materials.
  • Monotype printmaking: Sunday, November 15, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., layering color and texture on a traditional printing press.
  • Etching: Sunday, December 6, 2 to 5 p.m., making drypoint prints from plexiglass plates.

Who runs it

East End Arts Council is the Riverhead-based arts nonprofit that runs an art and music school on Griffing Avenue and a gallery at 48 West Main Street, and it hosts community programs across the East End.

How to go

Saturday, November 7, noon to 4 p.m., in Riverhead; rain date Sunday, November 8. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. The festival page on the East End Arts Council site has the artist talk reservations and any day-of updates, and the council's office can be reached at 631-369-2171.

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