Today was the last day of our letterpress workshop–and it sure was fun getting to spend four full days together doign letterpress. Josh really enjoyed learning a new skill and I liked getting focused back on something I really am enthusiastic about, but have been too busy to make time for lately. (The big downside of letterpress is that it’s not something you can just go do at the drop of a hat. You have to travel to the press, plan out your work, etc… Not like sewing and screenprinting, which you can can anywhere, anytime.) I didn’t get to print today (long story), although I did get some more type set, and a linoleum block carved up. Josh, however, did the bulk of his printing using a process that enables simple two-color registration called “skeleton printing.” I can’t explaint this very well, but basically you slide type in and out of your press bed so that you get perfect registration. It’s extremely simple, yet not something I would have been able to figure out in a million years on my own. Josh’s postcard project was a two-color print with cascading letters based on the Negro League All-Star game in 1935. It turned out absolutely beautifully.
Josh's locked up type for his baseball project.
Josh operating the press.
Locked up type from Josh's project.
The first color on Josh's postcards--check out the names, they're awesome.
Both colors printed on fawn-colored paper.
And another--you can really see how the type cascades across the paper.
Detail of this beautiful type called Prisma.
Josh should probably write about this some more, but he radically changed the nature of his project over the four days. He started out trying to create a linoleum cut print about the demise of the economy of Dayton, Ohio, but he found that it was making him stressed out and frustrated. He then switched to this baseball-themed project and it really took off. I think that really speaks to the importance of thinking about how the subject will make you feel while your working on your creation, doesn’t it?
~Sarah
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ho.lee.smokes.
That is *gor*geous.
Wow.
I think this is so cool that you guys did this. I just love y’all!
I’m sure it’s in an earlier post that this workshop was 4 days IN A ROW, but it didn’t really sink in till last night that you posted about this every single day! I guess I was thinking it was four sessions, a week apart or something. This is really condensed and probably very intense. I can see feeling stressed out as Josh did about the project not materializing as he envisioned, and the ensuing creative magic with Plan B.
How cool is this whole letterpress thing? When will we get to see Sarah’s project?