Closing reception to be held in celebration of Base Camp Printing exhibit Thurs., Oct. 6

On Thursday, October 6, a closing reception will be held in celebration of the Base Camp Printing exhibit currently displayed in the J.D. Brooks Gallery in Wallman Hall on the campus of Fairmont State University. The free reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the J.D. Brooks Gallery, and members of the campus and surrounding communities are encouraged to attend. 

Base Camp Printing is comprised of two co-owners, sisters Emily and Betsy Sokolosky. The Sokoloskys are Charleston natives who run their printing business on the city’s east side. Emily initially established Base Camp Printing in May of 2016 and was joined by her older sister Betsy later that fall.  

Base Camp Printing’s work explores themes of consumerism, West Virginia culture and activism. All pieces printed by Base Camp are created by an old-school printing press using traditional methods of setting type and hand-carving linoleum. The Sokoloskys use this method to create prints varying in size, in addition to items including buttons, cards, stickers and more.  

“I was interested in having Base Camp Printing at Fairmont State because they were this interesting balance between traditional art printmaking and the way that they utilize old school linoleum print and letter press techniques,” said Fairmont State University Assistant Professor of Art, Kylie Ford. “I brought them in because I wanted to give our students a template of what being printmakers in West Virginia looks like, and because most of our students are female, I really wanted to give them an example of an awesome artistic female entrepreneur success story.”  

The Base Camp Printing exhibit premiered on campus in early August, and will conclude on Friday, October 7. For more information, visit www.basecampprinting.co. 

Base Camp PrintingReceptionKylie FordEmily SokoloskyBetsy Sokolosy