On Saturday, I attended a workshop on letterpress printing at the Museum of Printing History. We were a group of five students and one instructor, all women. In short, it was a delightful and inspiring day. After the introductions, we quickly slipped into conversation, and it was like putting on a favorite old pair of jeans – we were comfortable, without restriction, and willing to share creative vulnerabilities. Kind of like showing your knee through a hole and not feeling exposed.
Our instructor, Suzanne, had/has a tremendous enthusiasm for letterpress. She has been teaching at the museum for many years and is currently pursuing a MFA at the University of Houston. She provided us with many take-home resources, and she was very helpful with all of us first-timers.
The museum is an amazing place, and I’m surprised that I’ve driven past it for several decades without having visited. Out of nowhere, it surfaced on my radar from two directions. My friend Andis Applewhite is part of a show of a newly formed Houston printmakers group. And then, my friend Kilby invited me to attend the workshop. Life is just that way.
Larger than one would expect, the museum has a small, well-lit gallery in the front and a uniquely stocked gift shop. It has large exhibit spaces for traveling shows and has a permanent collection showcasing the history of printing. It has many old and interesting pieces of equipment, and it houses resident printmakers and bookbinders.
But back to the ladies who letterpress. Here’s my shout out to the gals – Brenda, Ceci, Sarah, Molly, Kilby, and Suzanne. You all are fun! Our goal for the day was to create business cards, but we decided on calling cards. It allowed us more flexibility in terms of size, and we were a bit more creative with color and lettering.
In a dark room with wood floors and low ceilings, surrounded by really old letterpress machines, we dispersed to select our fonts. Kennerly and Park Avenue for me. We were using lead type, although the museum does have wood fonts as well, and were reminded that we should wash our hands and not lick our fingers. Selecting and setting type provides a new appreciation for the days of old when books like the Bible were set by hand. Spacing is tricky, and the letters are laid out upside down.
It took a bit longer than expected, but we laid out our cards and began to print. We used black and one additional color. Suzanne inked the black press for us, and then we used another for the various colors. Ceci was up first. We were a true assembly line as you’ll see from the photos below. In many, we are blurred from moving around because we were busy inking, cranking, stacking, and passing. There are a few also of us hunting for fonts.
This creative group of women was truly inspiring. I learned a lot about letterpress, but I also learned that we are companions in our artistic walks, sharing the same desires, the same impediments, and the same love for all things that afford us expression. I believe the universe conspires, and I think it did so on Saturday. It was successful.
