Friday, March 12, 2010

Letterpress in Printmaking

Textures
From
Nature
Adding a simple texture as a background for a business card can turn something plain into something special. This particular business card was for a printmaking professor who wanted a natural texture that reflected their work. We used an image of a paper wasp nest debossed into heavy 100% cotton printmaking paper. Black type was letterpress printed on top of the texture completing the miniature work of art. The result was perfect for a fellow printmaker.



Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Hot Metal Typecasting


Today was session II of the Binghamton University Graphic Arts field trip. We spent lots of time & had some fun casting our names in typemetal. Who dosen't like to see their name in print?!

We also set up the Pearl 7 x 11 foot treadle press and everyone gave it a whirl printing this years "mind your P's & Q's" piece. I'm still sorting out all those mixed up lower case p,q,b's & d's.













Letterpress printing may not be for everyone, but I hope it gave you some insight into the the world of printing as it was before computers existed.




Even though I love my computer & couldn't live without it, there still is a lot to be said about working with your hands to produce a fine quality printed piece.