Just got back from Letterpress Workers Summit in Milan, 4 days filled with the joy of meeting like-minded people, learning from printmakers from all over the world, visiting museums and being genuinely inspired by what I saw. Even though this year I arrived one day later, missed the first day of the event and the 'Type and Ink' PechaKucha night, I've enjoyed every bit of it. The theme of this LpW edition was 'Resist', so each day the printmakers (approx. 40) divided into groups of 3 or 4 were producing some irresistible pieces of printwork using wood type and proof presses provided by Novepunti.
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Open Days at the Arteveldehogeschool Campus Mariakerke. 24.06.2017
Last week, as the end of the academic year was approaching, many (art) schools and universities of the city Gent held their exhibitions & open days inviting new students to join in. Artevelde University College Gent (Arteveldehogeschool/ Campus Mariakerke - Graphic and Digital Media) opened up its doors on Saturday 24 of June offering various activities such as a brand new exhibition about letterpress printing + demonstration, lettering & 3D workshop and so much more.
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One More Type or Letterpress Workers 2017
As you probably already know the Letterpress Workers Summit (LpW) is an annual meeting of letterpress printers/designers from Europe and US. LpW is a short-term artistic residence, open to the public, where people work together on a common theme, sharing their knowledge and experience. LpW started in Milan in 2012 and is curated by Officina Tipografica Novepunti. Since 2014, it has been held at Leoncavallo S.p.a.
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Visiting the London College of Communication
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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