Renowned artist Jay Ryan of The Bird Machine in Chicago will be at Ohio Northern working with printmaking students on Thursday, according to the ONU Department of Art and Design Facebook page.

He will also conduct a workshop and discuss his work while on campus.

Ryan learned about screenprinting from Steve Walters at Screwball Press in late 1995, where they worked together until 1999, at which point he started The Bird Machine print shop in the basement of his apartment building.

The business grew slowly and organically, with the gradual addition of printing assistants and an office manager. For five years, the print shop occupied a commercial space in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago, before settling into a permanent home in quiet Skokie.

Ryan established a reputation for hand-drawn text and a computer-free design process. His prints aim to attain the same goals as other concert posters, but using raccoons and toasters instead of skulls, breasts, and hot rods.

Ryan now draws and prints daily, and often travels to conferences and universities to show and speak about his work.