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Pennies
Interesting background of pennies pressed into cement
You know the penny presses you find at national parks? Put in four quarters and a penny and it’ll spit out a squashed coin with a monument on it.
This summer Minnesota Artists Penny Press, a project helmed by Alyssa Baguss, will feature the works of four local artists in a penny press. Baguss works as the director for Silverwood Park, and is also an artist herself. She has had her work featured all over the Twin Cities, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
After working to support other artists creative endeavors through a project called Open Water, Baguss knew she wanted to continue to create ways for artists to showcase their work. One idea she came up with was penny presses. “I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to use it in an art project somehow,” Baguss says.
Turns out, one of the only penny press manufacturers in the country is also located in Little Canada. “It kind of felt like fate,” Baguss laughs. Upon further research, Baguss realized that there was a penny pressing network all across the nation. Collectors will travel to different locations to add certain pennies to their books, and to put local artist’s designs in the press is an exciting change of pace. “It allows people to become collectors of art for a very affordable price,” Baguss says.
Baguss says she is most excited about the access to contemporary art that the Minnesota Artists Penny Press will bring people. “Art is such a valuable thing in our culture to have and a lot of people don’t feel like it’s for them,” she says.
For the first round of pennies, the artists featured will be painters and printmakers Jennifer Davis, Kelly Abeln, Ruthann Godollei, and Julie Buffallohead. “They are brilliant,” Baguss says. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Details still need to be hammered out, but Baguss is hoping that the artists can be changed out seasonally, and that the number of penny presses will grow throughout the city. For right now, it’s just the one press that Baguss plans to travel around with this summer to fairs and festivals. “I can’t believe I get to own a penny press,” Baguss laughs.
Look for the penny press in early August when it makes its debut on the Twin Cities art scene.
