The next day after visiting St Bride Wayzgoose and being overwhelmed by what I saw I had one more day, or to be more precise a half-day, left in London. And as my train was leaving only at 18 o'clock I headed to the London College of Communication (LCC) to visit the printmaking department I heard so much about and where Christian Granados, a letterpress technician, was kind enough to make some time free to guide me around.
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St Bride Foundation Wayzgoose 2017
Last weekend I travelled to London to visit St Bride Foundation Wayzgoose for the first time. In case you are wondering what the term Wayzgoose stands for, here is an explanation - it was an entertainment given by a master printer to his workmen each year on St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August). It marked the traditional end of summer and the start of the season of working by candlelight. Later, the word came to refer to an annual outing and dinner for the staff of a printing works or the printers on a newspaper. Although traditionally held in August it has no fixed date these days.
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Trip to Barcelona. Part II. BunkerType
(visited in January) read the first part - Trip to Barcelona. Part I. Lauren Press.
After a short coffee break me and Arcangela Regis (Lauren Press) jumped into the BCN tube heading to our next stop - BunkerType, a letterpress studio run by Jesús Morentin. Just in case you are wondering why is it called BunkerType, here is the answer: well, actually it is situated in a cellar (bunker), that is where the name comes from.
In 2009 , Jesús Morentin, a graphic designer with over 15 years of experience, started a project that involved the restoration of ancient printing presses and research on printing techniques. Jesús is interested in concepts and experiments, is involved in various collective exhibitions and doesn't accept any commercial printing jobs. "I am not a printer, I just enjoy printing", explains Jesús. Currently, he is teaching in several schools in Barcelona such as the School of Design ESDi, Elisava, BAU etc.
Bookbinders' Fair. Sint- Niklaas, Belgium
Each year the city of Sint-Niklaas (BE) is hosting a Bookbinders' Fair, an annual gathering of bookbinders, book and paper restorers, paper artists, calligraphers etc. It is aiming to attract both professionals and amateurs. The participants, coming from the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and France, present a wide range of products, from paper, leather and parchment to various bookbinding accessories, tools for calligraphy and books (on books).
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The program of Drukdrukdruk graphic arts festival is online. 06-07.05.2017
In one of my previous posts I've mentioned Drukdrukdruk graphic arts festival organised by KUNSTWERKT during the weekend of 6 & 7th of May. During this weekend more than 50 printmaking artists/studio's, museums and art schools in Flanders and Brussels will be reflecting the full spectrum of graphic techniques including screen printing, lino, litho, etching, monotype, letterpress printing and will be offering an activity, such as demonstration, guided tour, workshop, etc.
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Trip to Barcelona. Part I. Lauren Press
A few weeks ago, I decided to travel to Barcelona from cold and gray Ghent to enjoy some sunshine and explore the beautiful architecture of the city. And although it was raining the whole week I managed to have a great time and meet befriended letterpress printers/designers Arcangela Regis (Lauren Press) and Jesús Morentin (Bunkertype) who were kind enough to make some time free in their busy schedules and let me into their studios in Barcelona.
Read MoreTouch of Genius, Sam Scarpulla
Lightning Guitar, a graphic novel in 34 linocuts by Sam Scarpulla
Last Sunday I attended an exhibition of the artist Sam Scarpulla (Ghent, BE), who presented his recent work, the 'Lightning Guitar', a graphic novel consisting from 34 large square linocut illustrations.
Mounted in transparent frames and exhibited in a row on the rough brick wall at the Kapow headquarters in Ghent the large black and white prints formed a striking contrast with the venue. I arrived just in time when Sam Scarpulla enthusiastically led the group of visitors explaining the (partially autobiographical) story behind the novel. 'Lightning Guitar' graphic novel is about the career and the road to success of a guitarist with all associated challenges, ambitions, failures, self-destruction and love. Each of these 34 illustrations was carefully cut by Sam out of lino and printed on Albion or Columbian handpress by Erik Desmyter at the Iron Handpress Studio and published by Sous-Sol Editions in Ghent.