Meeting Mary Ann

Based in Cannon Falls, ArtOrg impacts individuals, both young and old, and communities through visual arts projects and events primarily centered in the print, with public art, commissioned work, and experiential-based education initiatives. It was on a Mia Guides outing that we met Mary Ann and learned about lithographic fine art printing. Our surprise - a limited edition print

specially created for us!

At the Sogn Valley Art Fair in 2024, which has been held the first weekend of October every year for the past 53 years, Deb Hegstrom met Dave Macheck, the original founder of ArtOrg. On September 13, 2025, Deb’s chance encounter resulted in a fabulous field trip to Cannon Falls for lucky Mia guides. The final details of this excursion were organized by Abbie Edens.

Upon arriving at ArtOrg Studios, we were met by Sully, a friendly sheep dog and the resident greeter, and by Dave Macheck, who provided us with explanations and history. Soon we gathered around the French Viorin lithography press, whose craftmanship allows for the exceptional reproduction of very fine details and nuances. On the wall near the press, we were excited to see an original of the confetti poster created by Toulouse-Lautrec for the Moulin Rouge, using this exact type of press. The print was slightly manipulated to include the current date, as well as the silhouette of a familiar sheep dog jumping on a dancer.

The press is named (you guessed it) “Mary Ann”. We watched as the master printer stood on his high platform, first lining up the final copies from a large stack, then feeding them into the rollers. The printing plate was carefully wiped down between each print and then retrieved by the “catcher” and stacked.  One stoppage occurred when lots of black ink unpredictably ruined a print. After a very thorough cleaning, the rollers were started up again and the run was completed.

Our group was then invited into the studio to learn about the interesting history of ArtOrg and about the rare and coveted presses that were once in the Mourlot Studio in Paris. ArtOrg acquired the press in 2023. Its goal is to print for today’s artists using the same equipment employed over 100 years ago. We watched a short clip from the 1952 film Moulin Rouge in which Toulouse-Lautrec is shown creating the first advertising poster he designed for the owner of the club. We also viewed short cuts from a 2006  reality show called Dirty Jobs and a 2012 black and white film, IDEM Paris, both showing such a press in operation.

The official program completed, we were encouraged to wander the premises on our own and were then treated to a delicious French picnic lunch. We thank Deb and Abbie for arranging this unique opportunity.