bookish lady

A fun season of letterpress classes is about to begin at Pyramid Atlantic!  There’s still time to sign up here.

Letterpress for Graphic Designers

Saturday, September 18 from 10am-4pm plus one 4-hour individual appointment
Instructors: Moira McCauley and Julia Louie
Graphic designers– Learn how to use photopolymer technology to print your own designs with letterpress! A one-day small group session covers the basics of designing for photopolymer and operating a Vandercook press. Then enjoy individualized attention as you print with a photopolymer plate of your own design during a one-on-one session. Requirement: firm grounding in Adobe Illustrator.
Tuition: $270 (plus the cost of a polymer plate)

Letterpressed Posters with Wood Type
Saturday and Sunday, October 9 and 10, 10am-4pm
Instructor: Moira McCauley
Do you love the vintage look of posters by Hatch Show Print or Yee-Haw Industries?  Try designing and printing your own limited edition letterpress posters in this class with our newly expanded collection of wood and metal type.
Tuition: $300

Introduction to Tabletop Letterpress 

Saturday, October 16, 10am-4pm
Instructor: Melanie Karlins
Have you ever fantasized about having a small letterpress in your home? Try out this small group workshop for beginners who want to try printing on a tabletop platen press. The class will cover how to set metal type, use a Chandler & Price Pilot tabletop platen press, troubleshoot, and clean up and maintain the press. Each participant will print a few lines of text of their own choosing on business card
to postcard-sized paper.
Tuition: $130

Vandercook Maintenance with Paul Moxon
(This is not up on the website yet–email gschermerhorn AT pyramid-atlantic DOT org to register!)
Sunday, October 17, 10am-4pm
Instructor: Paul Moxon
Vandercook guru Paul Moxon is coming to Pyramid to provide his excellent in-depth review of the parts and functions of the Vandercook taking you beyond cranking the press and into the mechanical what and why essential for troubleshooting. Learn all the points of maintenance, lubrication and cleaning and become familiar with the differences between models. Whether you use studio presses, own your own press or are thinking of buying one, this workshop will provide excellent direction for your future press work, so bring your questions, press photos and/or broken parts. Paul will also share examples from his collection of Vandercook literature.
Tuition: $150

Letterpressed Holiday Cards
Saturday, November 13 from 10am-4pm
Instructor: Letterpress Staff
Make your own holiday cards and come away with letterpress skills too!  In this small group workshop, you will design a holiday card using metal type and print up to 30 cards on a Vandercook press. (Bring whatever cards you’d like!) Suitable for beginners.
Tuition: $130

And a sneak preview: This one’s not up on Pyramid’s website but it’s definitely happening!

Letterpressed Wedding Invitations
Date(s): Two Saturdays, Jan 8 and 22 plus one 4-hour individual appointment
Instructors: Nancy Bratton and Moira McCauley
Thinking of making your own invitations for a wedding or commitment ceremony?  During group sessions, you will work with a graphic designer to develop an invitation or save-the-date card, troubleshoot your design, and learn how to print photopolymer plates on a Vandercook press.  Then enjoy individualized attention as you print your invitations during a one-on-one session.
Tuition: $375 per individual or $425 per couple plus the cost of a polymer plate and your own paper or other materials.

More Spring classes tentatively scheduled:
Make Your Own Valentines with Hand Papermaking and Letterpress
Intro to Letterpress
The Next Step: Using Photopolymer on the Vandercooks (Prereq.: Intro to Letterpress)

Stay tuned in here for more classes on letterpress, printmaking, book arts, and papermaking at Pyramid Atlantic.

My excuse for not blogging more this summer: I spent most of it in Paris, relishing the time away from my laptop.  The Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits was probably my favorite new discovery.  I had just finished the second book of Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu (en anglais, bien sûr!), so I checked out the temporary exhibit on him.  There was a fun map that showed links between real people in Proust’s life and characters in the novel.  (Fun fact: Baron de Charlus was inspired by Oscar Wilde.)

There was plenty to love in the permanent collection as well.  Cuneiform writing on tablets, a handwritten account of the sinking of the Titanic (possibly by the lady who inspired the James Cameron movie, but I wouldn’t know because it’s the only film I’ve ever walked out of!), letters between many of the important monarchs in French and European history, artifacts from WWII, tiny missives sent via carrier pigeon, postal art, and papers from some of the foremost artists, scientists, and thinkers of the past few centuries: Freud, Darwin, Mozart, etc.

Turing’s Enigma machine and Edison’s lightbulb in a handy carrying case:

I loved the section on composers.  Puccini’s scores were lovely to look at.  I liked Berlioz’s frenetic composition style too:

I wish I could remember more. I did write down a bit of a letter by Hemingway:

“It’s funny though how literary people hate fishing and shooting. They also hate kidding. If you kid that means you can’t really be any good because they wouldn’t kid because that would mean a loss of their dignity.”

Ok, so here’s the backstory.  Lithuanians love Zappa!  In 1995 a bust of the man was placed in the Vilnius city center.  Recently some Lithuanians decided to bestow the city of Baltimore, birthplace of the musician, with a matching bust.  It will be dedicated on September 19, the 15th anniversary of Zappa’s testimony on Capitol Hill in favor of free expression by recording artists, according to this article.

My printing buddy (and Baltimorean) Steve Cole produced this letterpress poster for the occasion:

Want one?  You can find them in my shop.

Want to know how to make cool posters like this?  Try my Letterpressed Posters with Wood Type class on October 9 & 10!

I also received my (letterpressed!) ILSSA membership materials back in June.  So fun!

I went away for the summer and now that I’m back I can’t wait to get more involved with their projects.

This is a resource library, kept on paper.  I’m still deciding which of my favorite resources I’d like to submit.

It’s about time I caught you up on what I’ve been up to this summer!  In June, I headed to Massachusetts with Julia and Leslie for a class with Vandercook guru Paul Moxon at the Museum of Printing in North Andover.  The topic was “Letterpress Finesse,” so we messed around with makeready, ink additives, paper choice, etc. to fine-tune our printing techniques.

I adore the folks at the Museum, a few of whom I met last year when I took Paul’s excellent Vandercook maintenance class (which will be coming to Pyramid in October if all goes as planned!)

The best part is just poking around in their collection!  I highly recommend a visit.  The tiny town of North Andover is about 40 minutes north of Boston.

Dave, a printer from Mass, and I look on as Paul diagnoses a problem with the eccentric on this Vandercook.  What you see behind us is a tiny fraction of the museum’s collection!

Beautiful platen press!  Love the flywheel and treadle.

The Museum has technology from just about every period of printing throughout history–even Macintoshes that could have come from my elementary school library! The typewriters are a favorite.

I just joined the Union of Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts, which I found out about from my friend Anthony.

They’re giving a talk in NY on May 18, which it pained me to realize I cannot attend, argh!

I collaborated with Anthony of Dirty Pictures to make these limited edition letterpress posters for the Fenton Street Market.  We experimented by carving Anthony’s drawing of an intrepid cyclist out of balsa wood and printing with that.  Here are his excellent photos of the process:

Carving and printing the balsa wood image

Type and the balsa wood on the Vandercook

Rolling off the press…

We ended up doing a large two-color edition (213) and a small three-color edition (20).  I’ll make them available in the shop soon, but you can also purchase them at the market (along with bikes, antiques, crafts, freshly cooked doughnuts, and more)!  Anthony and I will probably appear there ourselves one of these days…I’ll keep you posted.

I just returned from a month in Paris, where one of my favorite places to go was the Musée de Cluny, the National Museum of the Middle Ages.  I liked these fancy books:

and especially these leather book cases:

Several classes are coming up at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring, MD in the next few months.  Here’s a list.  Register online here.  Note the wedding invitations class begins soon so if you’re interested, sign up now!

Introduction to Letterpress, weeknights
2 Wednesdays, May 12 + 26, 6-9pm
A small group workshop for beginners who want an introduction to
traditional printing. The workshop will cover how to set metal type,
how to use a Vandercook press, how to troubleshoot to get good prints,
how to clean up and maintain the presses, and some information about
how to use digital technology in combination with letterpress. Each
participant will print a few lines of text of their own choosing on
postcard to poster-sized paper.
Tuition: $130

Introduction to the Tabletop Letterpress
Saturday, June 5, 10am-4pm
Have you ever fantasized about having a small letterpress in your
home? Try out this small group workshop for beginners who want to try
printing on a tabletop platen press. The class will cover how to set
metal type, use a Chandler & Price Pilot tabletop platen press,
troubleshoot, and clean up and maintain the press. Each participant
will print a few lines of text of their own choosing on business card
to postcard-sized paper.
Tuition: $130

Vandercook Review and Practice Day
Sunday, June 13, open from 10am-4pm, show up at any time and stay for
as long as you like
Has it been awhile since you used the Vandercook?  Want to review
typesetting and printing on the Vandercook before you come back to
rent the studio independently?  This open-house style class is open to
anyone who has learned how to use a Vandercook at Pyramid or elsewhere
and just needs to refresh their knowledge.  Experienced printers will
be on hand to assist.
Fee: $30

The Next Step: Using Photopolymer on the Vandercooks
Saturday June 19, 10am-4pm
Are you familiar with printing metal type, but want to learn how to
expand your practice using photopolymer?  A one-day small group
session covers the basics of designing and creating Illustrator files
for photopolymer and ordering the appropriate kind of plate.  You will
also practice printing photopolymer plates on our Vandercooks.
Suitable for students who have taken Intro to Letterpress.
Tuition: $100

Letterpressed Wedding Invitations
2 Sundays, April 25 and May 30, 10am-4pm plus one 4-hour individual
appointment completed by June 30
Thinking of making your own invitations or save-the-date cards for a
wedding or commitment ceremony?  During two group sessions, work with
a graphic designer and a printer to develop your design, get feedback
on presentation and paper, prepare your design for production, and
learn how to print photopolymer plates on a Vandercook press.
Finally, enjoy individualized attention as you print your invitations
during a one-on-one session.  Elaborate designs may require extra
sessions (not included).  Suitable for beginners.
Instructors: Nancy Bratton and Moira McCauley
Tuition: $410 per individual or $460 per couple, + the cost of a
polymer plate and your own paper

I’ve been helping my friend Leslie develop her idea for a pop-up shadowbox.  We began with these photos of a Victorian aquarium pop-up:

Here are some of our early prototypes:

I’ll post some of our later versions soon.