Loyola’s Diboll Gallery is showing a collaborative collection of printmaking publications and projects finished at Marais Press at University of Louisiana at Lafayette by students, their professor Brian Kelly and artists from around the world.

Featuring works from the past 16 years, Marais Press is coordinated by Brian Kelly, professor of printmaking at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Full of printmaking equipment new and old, the facility merges traditional techniques as well as digital ones, inviting prominent printmakers and artists that collaborate with students in printmaking and visual arts.

“These collaborations allow students the unique opportunity to assist professional artists in the execution and production of published prints, allowing them the opportunity to work closely with different modes of artistic inquiry, problem solving and visualizing alongside master printers and visiting artists,” Kelly said.

Including prints from major printmaking processes such as lithography, intaglio, woodcut and silkscreen, as well as non-traditional and digital prints, artists visiting Marais Press would work with Kelly and his students on a variety of projects.

“I strongly believe in a formal class setting. A student must be involved in an environment that stresses both quality and dedication,” Kelly said.

With artists from around the country aiding in the process and Kelly working with students, Kelly feels that “good teaching ultimately comes from being a good example.”

Kelly’s goals for approaching printmaking in the classroom are to expose students to more efficient techniques, teach them to safely navigate studios and to have confident students graduate with a broader understanding of techniques and of their creative ability.

“You cannot effectively teach what you do not know or do,” Kelly said. “Confidence, assuredness and growth in my work translate into the same qualities in my teaching.”

Kelly arrived at Marais Press in 1999, eight years after it was established, and from then on he was determined to bring life back to the organization.

Marais Press’s mission is to raise funds for student art scholarships by selling prints, encouraging experimentation and attracting professional artists and the public through contact with other artists and their art, Kelly said.

The Diboll Gallery will be hosting an opening reception for the collection on Nov. 3 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., which is free and open to the public. The gallery is located on the fourth floor of Monroe Library.