Celebrating the Work of 2026 Visiting Artist Sarah Matthews
On Saturday, September 19, 2026, a good bit of glue was spilled in the print shop, courtesy of instructor Sarah Matthews, 2026 Hatch Show Print Visiting Artist.
Sarah is a printmaker and book artist, as can be seen in her work now on exhibit in Haley Gallery. She spread the joy of book arts and the versatility of the flag book structure to eight inventive makers from all over the country (Maryland, New York and Massachusetts!), and from right in our own neck of the woods. It was an inspiring three hours to start the weekend.
Starting with a “dummy” or practice book and using cut up bits of makeready prints from the print shop’s process of letterpress printing created opportunities for the students to explore the ways in which the books can be assembled. Attempting a second book, using even more of the “accidental art” that comes from the makeready prints gave students a chance to hone their handiness with a bone folder and color theory.
The flag book structure lends itself to delighting viewers with tactile and interactive sculptures as well as delivering important ideas and messages beautifully.
The body of work, *uter(us), created during Sarah’s residency at Hatch Show Print
“examines women’s health through the language of medicine, exploring the words and phrases physicians and nurses use when speaking to patients. It also addresses critical issues including period poverty, the maternal mortality crisis, the pink tax, and reproductive healthcare,”
as explained by Sarah in her artist statement.
As Visiting Artist, Sarah spent a week working in the print shop to make the artwork. Working in the shop afforded her access to the tools the designer-printers use every day, an incredibly large collection of wood type with large fonts (sets) of type in different sizes, and printing presses that could accommodate large pieces of paper. Senior Designer-Printer Cory Wasnewsky lent his expertise on press to bring the more complex print work to fruition, and with shop manager Celene Aubry pitching in, multiple presses kept humming throughout Sarah’s time in the shop.
In addition to exploring the collection of printing blocks in the shop, Sarah brought along a set of her own printing blocks created especially for the residency. These were layered with imagery from the shop’s blocks and wood type to produce over fifty prints and artists books, all on view in person in Haley Gallery and on the web site virtually: https://www.haleygallerynashville.com/collections/sarah-matthews-uterus.
Celebrating the Visiting Artist program at Hatch Show Print, Celene comments,
“Sarah’s work encompasses both the historical practicality of a poster and the contemporary expression many artists leverage letterpress printing to accomplish. The posters share information and draw viewers’ attention to the importance of maternal health in a format that you cannot just ‘scroll past’ and the artist books turn flat paper into beautiful sculptures with moving messages.
“Her time in the shop making work and interacting with both the staff and visitors who saw her making the work and have been able to see the show is exactly what I hope for with this program: It is inspiring to see how other makers work in this great old print shop that carries on a commercial process, and the stories they tell with the work invites interaction with audiences who might not have realized this shop that started in the late nineteenth century is still putting ink on paper in the twenty-first century right here in Nashville.”
Take a few minutes to stop in and see the work for yourself, now on view in Haley Gallery through November 13.