The Intermediate Printmaking Exhibition at Waldo’s & Company. (Photo Cassidy Haines/The Gettysburgian)
By Cassidy Haines, Social Media Manager
On Friday, local non-profit art organization and coffee shop Waldo’s & Company, often known as Waldo’s, held a reception celebrating the opening of their art exhibition. This exhibition displays work from the Gettysburg College printmaking program. The reception went from 6 to 8 p.m., and the Intermediate Printmaking Exhibition will be on display for a month.
Waldo’s houses studios and classes for ceramics and painting, along with other forms of mixed media and printmaking. Known for its array of creative displays and extensive drink menu, it is also a popular spot among the Gettysburg College student population as well as the local community. Behind the counter serving drinks and greeting guests for the reception was Co-Founder and Creative Director of Waldo’s & Company Chris Lauer.
Speaking on Waldo’s, Lauer said, “The space is intended to make sure that low-income artists have access to equipment or things that are required for, say, printmaking.”
The accessibility Waldo’s provides for lower-income artists makes it an optimal space for student artists to collaborate and learn from other artists in the community.
When talking about the backstory of this event, Lauer said that a similar printmaking exhibition was held between Waldo’s and a Gettysburg College printmaking course last year, and Waldo’s decided to reach out again to collaborate.
“So as the next year came, we reconnected with the new professor. It’s really exciting to be able to feature Gettysburg College work in a studio that we care about,” Lauer said.
The Gettysburg student artists on display hail from Art and Art History Adjunct Instructor Zachary Clifford’s Intermediate Printmaking course. The students include Molly Cordray ’24, Grace Daihl ’24, Viviann Hoang ’26, Lizzy Kramer ’26, Maddie Krug ’24, Kati Rodgers ’24 and Emma Wylam ’24. On top of their work being featured in Waldo’s, some students are selling their pieces in the store.
Cordray, a psychology major with a studio art minor, has three of her works on display and on sale in the exhibition. Even though Intermediate Printmaking is not required for her minor, Cordray enjoys printmaking and decided to take the course.
“My first time printmaking was last semester, which was a little bit of a learning curve. It’s a shocking amount of manual labor, just in general, but it actually is such rewarding work, and I like doing it,” Cordray said. “Printmaking is now my favorite medium, but it wasn’t before; painting was, but then I took the printmaking class.”
Molly Cordray ’24 with her artwork. (Photo Cassidy Haines/The Gettysburgian)
The reception allowed the greater Gettysburg community to collaborate with the College in an appreciation of the arts and education of the arts. Regulars and newcomers filled the event by perusing the student artwork and sipping on Waldo’s coffee. Lauer also thanked everyone for coming and encouraged the student artists to introduce themselves to the audience and promote their work to the room.
Attendee Izzy Coupe ’26 commented, “I come to Waldo’s a lot because I like the atmosphere here, and I love it when they do different shows like this, especially for the college students because it brings together the liberal arts aspect of our college with the Gettysburg community.”
Coupe also appreciates the space that Waldo’s creates for young artists.
“I think it’s important to help younger artists grow and get involved in the art world and the public, which can be really difficult, but Waldo’s is able to help them do that,” she said.
The impact of Waldo’s showcase was expressed by Cordray: “Genuinely, [this showcase] is such an incredible experience for me because I come to Waldo’s a lot to do work, so having my art up on the walls of an actual printmaking shop is kind of incredible because I know that people I know come in here all the time and now will see my art and [I can] even sell it.”
Cordray was thankful for the opportunity this presented students.
“It’s such an incredible opportunity and I’m so lucky my professor, Zachary Clifford, let us do this exhibition and also for Waldo’s for letting us do it,” Cordray concluded.
