Years ago, Roxie Castro figured out how to escape the everyday grind: printmaking.

Since then, she has become the session leader for The Creamery Art Center’s printmaking group, encouraging her students to experiment to create something new.

The group meets every Monday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at The Creamery across from Hammons Field, at 411 N. Sherman. The class is free to join, but you must be a member of the Springfield Regional Arts Council (SRAC). You can become a member for $25 and participate in workshops and shows at The Creamery.

The Creamery provides most materials, but there is a $2 charge for using its ink. You not only get to use the supplies, but you also get the opportunity to have your work put in a show at The Creamery’s gallery.

How exactly did you get started printmaking?

I was taking a basic design class, and printmaking became part of the tools we used to do that. I liked it so much – and we only did one project with it – I went to the art supply store and there was this little, old guy that worked there. It was quite a time. He was very happy to help me find the right tools and get started. So, I started doing it on my own…

Probably about 30 years ago, my hands started hurting, and I didn’t want to do the heavy carving. So, I kind of gave it up for a while and went to other things. When they started coming out with the linoleum plates that are softer, and easier to carve, I went back to it…

The way the images print, kind of takes it away from me about what my image is going to look like. I like to just go with it, you know? The serendipity of how it will come out. And so when I’m carving … sometimes I come up with new ways to go, and I really enjoy getting the line just so… You can get lost in carving. It’s like a meditation. Yeah, all of it; it’s like meditation… I can see the image coming through, and it just feels right… I like the presence of mistakes the hand brings to it instead of the machine.

What led you to this group?

Well, I had been doing printmaking while trying to do things on my own, raising kids, trying to have relationships, and all of that stuff. I wasn’t fully invested in doing art, but when I came back here (to Springfield), I just really wanted to spend more time doing that…

It started with an ad on the radio for studio spaces with The Creamery — Storefront Studios is what they called it. I called, and I wanted to get a space, and they had one and I took it. Very shortly after that, there was an “Artist’s Way” class (by Julia Cameron), and she writes a lot about how to become unblocked as an artist. So, I just really feel good about everything I picked up from there, and the associations I’ve made now in town. I just know so many people, and it’s not that I’m a major artist, it’s that I’m involved in the art community. I find in that a way to express more joy.

What made you stay with the printmaking group?

I volunteered here, at The Creamery, to do Free Art Days. The children would come in for on a Saturday… and we’d just make art with them. I loved doing that with the kids, but I wanted to do my own art, too. I found ways by joining the SRAC and I found that there were shows I could contribute to… And so through the Julia Cameron class, I think it made a big difference in keeping me here. Then being part of the shows, and volunteering for different things in the SRAC. I just felt like I found a home for pursuing art.

Can you tell me what a typical session is like?

A typical session is we have our individual projects we’re working on. We all sort of talk about what we’re doing, then we carve, or sketch, or print.

What is one of your favorite memories from a session?

Oh, each one of our people has done some really great things. One member is an art teacher in Nixa, and she comes to our class a little bit late because she has to drop her daughter off. She has explored the process called Chine-collé, which is a print on top of colored papers on top of regular paper. It’s like Chinese collage…

Chine-collé has a character that, you know, really stands out. Like, a sunset is really pretty because it has a lot of glowing color… When a member did the feather with Chine-collé, that was just so adorable and just a small little print.

Here’s another memory. A member did a print. Well, first of all she didn’t want to gouge. It was awkward to her to cut the blocks, and she was afraid she was going to hurt her hand. So what she did, is she just kept scratching at the surface. Well, when it was all done, she printed it, and it didn’t come out like we wanted it to. So, I suggested she treat it like an etching. With an etching, you cut lines into the surface and you put ink on it. Then you wipe everything off except the ink in the cuts. So, she did, and it came out. I think that’s the best part of our group — that we can experiment and find new ways to do these processes.

Do you teach or lead any other sessions?

No, and actually, I really make it clear that I’m not the teacher. We’re exploring techniques, and we all bring in different printouts… and we share those techniques with each other… I did printmaking since I was 19 in junior college, and I’m 68 now, so I have found this to be the best way to keep at it because we come once a week, we share what we’re doing, and we continue working on our project. So, it gives us accountability; it gives us encouragement to keep on going.