Wooden shavings float gently onto the floor as a student’s heart is poured deeper and deeper into her empty carvings on a large wooden canvas, leaving a message for the UNF community to see.

Blocktoberfest is an exciting and emotional time for both UNF and FSCJ printmaking students who unite to showcase their talents on wooden canvases.

Sheila Goloborotko, an instructor at the University of North Florida, teaches Relief Printmaking. Over the last five years, students have spent their fall semesters forming groups, creating ideas, scaling those ideas and producing their own works of art.

This event is important to many printmaking students for more reasons than just their grade. It serves as an outlet for them to express what they feel and who they are via large wooden slabs.

“It’s an opportunity to work on a large scale. That is not something that we’re all able to have access to,” said John Stowe, a painting, drawing and printmaking senior. “I think for me it’s still this journey that I’m on. A lot of the work I’ve done so far and what I can use for my portfolio, it’s a way for all of us to explore who I am and the journey that I’ve taken to come.”

Blocktoberfest also draws the attention of Jacksonville community members. Many companies and printmaking artists find themselves visiting FSCJ while the carvings of students from both schools are printed onto a bed sheet.

According to Goloborotko, participants plan to unveil their intricate works of art at the Student Union in the near future. Continue following the story online at unfspinnaker.com for more information on when the public can view the art.

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