SOMERS - Each one is no larger than 18 inches in any direction. Yet all of the 123 original prints that make up the 22nd Parkside National Small Print Exhibition offer much beyond their two dimensions.

Emotion, texture, imagination and technical innovation - along with more color than one might expect - are found throughout this exhibition of work by artists from across the country, which is currently on display in the Communication Arts Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 900 Wood Road, Somers. You will also find a variety of printmaking techniques - from lithography and intaglio to wood engraving and silk screening - along with a wide range of subject matter.

All of it is made available to viewers here in southeastern Wisconsin thanks to the hard work of Douglas DeVinny, a professor of art at UW-Parkside. Since 1986, when he received a small start-up grant to organize a national juried print exhibition, DeVinny has been directing this show which attracts submissions from 300-350 artists annually and draws viewers from throughout Wisconsin and northern Illinois to the Parkside campus.

And, after two decades of hiring outside jurors to select the works for the show, DeVinny decided to throw his own hat into the ring for the first time with this show. A working artist who has taught printmaking at UW-Parkside for 30 years, DeVinny said that jurying a show can be a very daunting experience for an artist.

"You feel a sense of responsibility to other artists," he said. "I know how hard I work to make something work and I know every artist gives that same thing to their pieces."

Opportunity knocks

While not easy, jurying the National Small Print Exhibition is something DeVinny has wanted to experience and, since this is his last year at the university (he will retire at the end of the school year), he decided to give it a shot.

"After watching people you respect do the show for so many years, you get the itch," he said.

What DeVinny found among the more than 600 submissions for this show was a nice balance of work designed to give viewers an idea of what is going on in contemporary American print-making.

"There are always new people with fresh ideas and you also get to see how returning artists change and develop new ideas over time," he said.

Among the artists showing are several from Racine County, including Richard Berns, whose work viewers may recognize from his showing in this year's Watercolor Wisconsin exhibit. Also included are Edwin Kalke of Racine, and former Racine resident Margaret Suchland, who now lives in Arizona. They are among more than a dozen Wisconsin artists, as well as printmakers from 30 other states.

One of the things DeVinny said he is most proud of about the National Small Print Show is its role in helping to create an audience for prints in southeastern Wisconsin. As an educator, his original intent in organizing it was to offer another resource for students to learn about printmaking. In the end, the show turned out to be a useful resource for the community as well, he said.

"At the opening reception this year, so many people came up to me and told me what an enriching experience the show has been for them through the years and how it has helped them come to appreciate printmaking," he said.

What's next?

What will happen to the Parkside National Small Print Exhibition after DeVinny's departure remains to be seen. He is hoping that someone will be willing to "take up the mantle of responsibility" so that the show, which is one of only three of its kind at universities throughout the Midwest, can continue.

There may even be the opportunity, he said, for the show to eventually expand into the new, much larger and climate-controlled art gallery that is planned as part of the $34 million addition/remodeling project of the Communication Arts Building, scheduled to open in 2011.

"I'm excited about seeing that new space," he said.

DeVinny is also looking forward to retirement. While he hasn't lost his passion or desire for teaching, he is excited for the coming opportunity to spend more time producing his own work. His role as an administrator at UW-Parkside in recent years, as well as the death of his youngest daughter, Alex DeVinny in 2006, have slowed his studio production, he said.

"Honestly, my muse died with my daughter," DeVinny said. "I'm hoping to get back into the studio and get back to work. My wife and I are also hoping to be able to spend some time together."

When asked what he will miss about his work at the university, DeVinny's response was "That's easy. The students. It is the students who have kept everybody young and alive. They are always challenging me."

Teaching at UW-Parkside has been very much a growing experience, DeVinny said.

"I have become a better teacher and a better artist because of what I've been doing here."

If You Go

WHAT: Parkside National Small Print Exhibition

WHEN: Through Feb. 19. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays

WHERE: Communication Arts Gallery in the Communication Arts Building at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 900 Wood Road, Somers

COST: Free admission. Prints are available for sale and a portion of the price for each print goes to UW-Parkside art scholarships.

INFO: Call (262) 595-2581 or go to http://www.uwp.edu/departments/art