Inking Community: Turning T-Shirts into Public Art
The 2025 Designs
Every July, the Marietta Main Street Public Art Committee brings color, creativity, and community spirit to downtown with its annual live t-shirt printing fundraiser during First Friday. Held on the Armory Lawn from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., this hands-on experience invites attendees to pick out a shirt and watch as it’s printed in real time using locally carved linocut blocks.
It’s a fundraiser with flair—and a mission.
“We have a variety of sizes, styles, and colors of high-quality t-shirts in adult and kids sizes,” explained Bobby Rosenstock, owner of Just A Jar Design + Press and the fundraiser coordinator. “You pick your t-shirt, pick from one of the seven linoleum blocks that were carved by different artists from the community. And then we print the shirt while you wait. It costs $20 and 100% of the proceeds go toward future public art projects. It’s a really fun event, and a great way to support the arts in our community.”
Each shirt printed directly supports creative placemaking in downtown Marietta. Over the years, funds raised by the committee have helped bring vibrant projects to life, including the Post Street Mural Gallery, the Rooted in Kindness mural at Front and Butler Streets, and the Ohio River Mural beneath the Putnam Street Bridge.
What makes this event special isn’t just the shirts—it’s the people behind them. Each year, the Public Art Committee taps a team of talented artists and volunteers to design and carve brand-new linoleum blocks just for this event. 2025 participants include Mason Beuhring, Amanda Detlor, Bobby Rosenstock, Nate Shahan, Andy Hall, Sarah Arnold, and Alix Northrup. Each artist was given full creative freedom to explore their own ideas and style.
“The designs are totally up to the artist,” said Rosenstock, who also preps and test prints the blocks ahead of time to make sure they’re press-ready. The result is a diverse selection of hand-carved artwork.
Volunteers, including many of the artists themselves, will be on site during the event to help run the press and keep things flowing smoothly.
“This is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Bobby. “I get to wheel one of my printing presses across the street, a group of amazing artists from the community donate their time in creating these linocuts, and many of them help out during the printing event. It’s just a super fun, unique event that brings people together to celebrate art in the community.”
The t-shirt printing fundraiser has become a signature moment for the Public Art Committee—not only because it’s fun and interactive, but because it directly supports the long-term vision of arts access and engagement downtown.
“Over the past ten years, the Public Art Committee has witnessed the impact of public art on our community firsthand,” said Sarah Arnold, co-chair of the committee. “We’re proud to have invested and leveraged tens of thousands of dollars through meaningful public art projects that enhance and enrich our downtown community.”
And people do engage. Each year, the fundraiser draws a steady stream of supporters, many returning year after year to collect new designs. The event has become so popular that certain sizes and colors of shirts often sell out before the night is through.
That’s part of the magic: the fundraiser isn’t just a way to support art—it is an expression of art. The act of choosing a shirt, meeting the artist, and watching your design come to life on a printing press is a rare opportunity to experience creativity in motion.
Join in the fun during July First Friday from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. Shirts are $20 each and all proceeds go directly toward future public art projects in downtown Marietta. Come for the shirt, stay for the experience—and help turn every print into a public masterpiece.
This year, I carved a pretzel snake! Come on down to the armory Friday and grab a tee!
