- [Group] It's "The Infinite Art Hunt"!

(funky upbeat music) (trumpet horn blowing) (bright string music) (Ty sighs) (bright string music) - Ty, are you grumpy?

Did somebody swap out your watercolor lids?

Did I swap out your watercolor lids?

Because it definitely wasn't me.

- I'm grumpy because I can't get this gunk off my shoe.

My sneaker art is ruined.

- Did you walk through that gunk lot?

That sort of park next to my house?

- Yeah?

- Not a good move.

It swallowed my lunch.

(flies buzzing) - Uh, is that what that smell is?

- It's supposed to be a peanut butter and jelly but now it kind of smells like Grandma Tilly's tuna surprise and a bandaid.

Could be good, though.

- Okay.

No, first that lunch cannot be saved.

And second, most parks don't have bandaid-slash-tuna-smelling gunk.

What we're dealing with is an abandoned lot - Abandoned who's it?

- An abandoned lot.

A small area of land that is usually uncared for.

So people illegally leave their trash there and poor innocent footwear has to pay the price.

- So people are leaving trash there?

Kind of like a reverse thief?

That's diabolical.

- My sneaker art is ruined.

- Well, maybe a printmaking art hunt will make you feel better.

Grandma Tilly's supposed to leave a message any- (digital frame chirping) (digital paint whooshing) - Hi Freddy and Ty.

I was just getting ready to do some body printing.

All you need is a trampoline, a big sheet of paper and a lot of paint.

Ha!

I'm excited for your first printmaking adventure.

I was thinking about the long tradition of using printmaking to bring important messages to the public.

Art and words together are a powerful combination.

The right message at the right time can change the world or your dinner plans.

(Grandma Tilly chuckles) At Cecil B. Moore Library, you'll see their printmaking exhibit and meet my friend, Rod Jones.

Rod Jones is an artist who works with all types of materials, including printmaking.

Rod uses his art to raise awareness of community issues.

With art, he can draw attention to a problem or issue that needs help.

Ha!

Rod and I met while bird watching.

Great artist, terrible Robin call.

(Grandma Tilly chuckles) You should take Hildegard and help him out with his new project.

Have fun and let me know what you think of Dox Thrash.

(digital frame chirping) - Rod sounds pretty cool, but what's a doxsish?

- No clue.

- There's only one way to find out.

We get Hildegard and let's meet Rod.

To the art hunt!

(paper crumpling) (upbeat music) (metal crunching) (gunk squishing) (audience gasps) (sheep bleating) (eerie upbeat music) (Ty gulping) (paper crumpling) (bright upbeat music) - Hey y'all.

- Hey, I'm Freddie.

This is Ty and this is Hildegard.

Grandma Tilly sent us to help out today.

- Ah, Grandma Tilly, the good bird caller.

I remember.

- So what are you up to today?

- Well today we're doing a project for the community.

This is a different printmaking technique called screen printing.

- Wait, we're playing with ink in a library.

I like your style, Rod.

- Oh, I can only assume that you have full body protective gear, you know, to protect one's delicate fibers of couture.

Ha!

Yes?

- Well maybe you can do something a little less messy with our head librarian, Eric.

- Oh, perfetto!

- Ty and I don't mind getting our hands messy.

- My shoes are a lost cause, anyway.

- Well, let me show you.

(glass shattering) (deep bass music) (funky bass music) (paint whooshing) Cool, so this setup here, actually before the screen had anything on it, it was a a blank screen that I coated with this green stuff.

And then I printed out that design and put it in an exposure unit and that's how the design ended up on the screen.

- Cool.

- And so now we wash it out and I think we're ready to print.

So we're gonna see how some of these prints go.

And we print by pushing this ink that I'm gonna put on the screen through it.

Because what the exposure unit does is burn these holes into that green film that you saw.

And so hopefully those holes are cleaned out and we pull up some good prints.

So nice firm pressure all in front of the ink.

Nice and slow, firm down.

And you know you got a good print when you don't see almost any of the shiny acrylic on the design anymore.

And once you get past the image, go ahead, tap it off.

Set it to the side like so.

Pull up the screen.

Yes.

So you can put the tape right there.

- [Freddie] Alright.

Whoa!

- Wow!

- That's awesome.

- Yeah, this one actually turned out really good.

- Great!

- Good job.

- Yes.

Simple.

And then after you get done pulling the screen down take this ink and just push it back.

(screen screeching) Push it back down the screen.

- Alright.

- Alright.

Go ahead and grab yourself a sheet of paper.

- You got this, Ty.

- Looks simple enough.

- All right, this one squeegee be right there.

- So we put the white under.

- [Rod] Yep.

Line it up nice.

Nice and lined up.

- Put that down.

- Set that down.

- [Ty] We can just use that gunk right here?

- [Rod] Yep, yep.

Perfect.

- Firm placement.

- All right.

- Nice and slow.

Yeah, that's gonna be nice.

Oh, that's a good one, Ty.

Tap it off.

- Tap it off.

- Set it to the side.

Perfect.

Mm-hmm.

Pull this paper off.

And there you go.

- [Freddie] Nice.

- [Rod] Perfection.

- That's awesome.

- Perfection.

- Good job.

- It looks so good.

(screen screeching) - Okay.

Cool, I can do this.

- Making prints.

Nice registration.

- Okay, - Set that.

Maybe move that.

Yep, perfect.

Lay it down.

Hand you the screen.

- Hold.

- Nice frame pressure.

Slow and steady.

Nice.

Oh, that's gonna look good, too.

Nice.

- All right.

- Nice little tap.

Tap it off a little bit.

- Tap, tap, tap.

- Raise it up.

Perfect.

- Nice!

- Neat!

- What is this poster?

- Rod?

What is Dox Thrash?

Is it big?

It sounds big.

- Well, let me show you Dox Thrash.

(bright upbeat music) (paint scribbling) (deep chime rings) Welcome, welcome, welcome.

This is our art exhibit dedicated to the revolutionary American printmaker, Dox Thrash - Secret art exhibit?

I almost forgot!

- [Rod] Dox Thrash was a black printmaker who lived in the Sharswood section of Philadelphia, probably about a hundred years ago.

He used his art to share images from his hometown of Griffin, Georgia and portraits of his friends in Philadelphia.

But when Dox Thrash wasn't happy with the way printmaking showed tones of Black and brown skin, he invented a whole new printmaking technique.

Now, his work is some of the best survivor artwork featuring everyday Black people during that time.

(upbeat bass music) - So he invented a whole new printmaking process?

- Dox Thrash, very cool guy and a very cool name.

Seems like something you would only say when you're doing something awesome.

Dox Thrash.

- This is the house that he lived in 100 years ago.

This is the lot we're trying to save.

- Uh, I think it's a little too late to save that house, Rod.

Did he have another house?

- This is the one.

And we're gonna remake it just like Dox did.

It could be a community space for gardening, art lessons, or whatever the community neighborhood needs it to be.

- You know, my community could use something like that.

- You could have a place like that, if you fixed the gunk lot.

- You think I could clean the whole lot by myself?

I can see it in my mind.

Dox Thrash.

It's beautiful, but I can't clean the whole thing on my own.

- Well, you have your community to help you.

Uncle Mars, Hildegard and me!

We'll all help!

- Really?

- Sure thing.

That lot has claimed the lunch and the shoe.

Enough is enough.

- You're right.

If Dox Thrash could change his community, even before the internet, then I can clean up the gunk lot.

We've gotta get a plan.

Where's Hildegard?

(dreamy harp music) (heroic adventure music) - I'm up here.

Huh, I can hear everything from up here.

I, I can help with the gunk lot.

I do not choose the wall.

I do not choose the wall!

(Hildegard sighs) Wah!

Oh.

(bright bumbling music) (funky upbeat music) (funky upbeat music continues) (funky upbeat music continues) (funky upbeat music continues) (paint whooshing) - Hello Art Amigos.

So much has happened.

First, we learned everything about printmaking.

Well, mostly everything.

You can use big machines or normal things in your house.

We learned about Dox Thrash, who used his voice to support his community and his art to share about the lives of Black Americans.

And Rod Jones showed us a super cool old timey print press that Dox Thrash would've used.

And we learned about screen printing which was a little messy and super fun.

And I used everything I learned to make super awesome signs and they totally went viral, which in my neighborhood means Miss Lola at the corner store told everybody.

A lot of people didn't like the gunk lot which is why everyone cleaned it up.

And now we're turning it into a community garden.

Ooh, or a waterpark.

Still deciding.

Anyway, we totally changed the world.

All thanks to the power of art and working together.

I think Dox Thrash would be pretty proud of me.

I'm pretty proud of myself, too.

Until next time, Dox Thrash!

(paint whooshing) (birds chirping) (water rushing) (paint whooshing)