In early 2015, Chris Fritton, former Studio Director of the Western New York Book Arts Center, set out on an ambitious cross-country journey through US & Canada that has taken him to 45 states, 4 Canadian provinces, and over 135 letterpress printshops; he’s already traveled over 45,000 miles & made over 15,000 prints - but it doesn’t end there. The trip continues throughout 2017 and will eventually result in a book that features photos of all of the prints, printshops, and people he met. The project is called "The Itinerant Printer".
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Quick links
1. Presstival aka Whittington Press Open Days 2017 will take place on Saturday 2 September, beginning at 12pm. Image source.
2. Nordic Letterpress Collaboration - link
3. Bookbinders' Fair in Cologne. 22.10.2017, from 11pm. Check out the previous edition in BE.
4. Summer book sale! Follow the link for the full list & details!
Shakespeare's Sonnet n°38
Last year I got a chance to participate in a Sonnets 2016 project organized by Alexandra Franklin, coordinator of the Bodleian's Centre for the Study of the Book in Oxford, commemorating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death.
At the beginning of 2016, the Bodleian invited printers around the world to submit hand-printed copies of each of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets - a cycle of 154 short, 14-line poems first published in 1609, where William Shakespeare meditated on themes of love, death, and desire. Each printer had to choose sonnet and all 154 hand-printed works, in various languages, were added to the permanent collection and I'm proud to be amongst them.
Quick links
1. Prijs voor Grafiek. Centre de la Gravure et de l'Image imprimée, La Louvière (BE) - link
2. Print Fair on 20-22.10.17, during Design Manchester.
3. Printmaker and artist Valeria Brancaforte (IT/ES) will be giving a 3-day workshop during the International Graphic Design Week organized by AIAP in Rome. Get you ticket.
4. Call for submissions for The Mapc Journal (Mid America Print Council).
Deadline - 10 September, check out the guidelines.
(Vlek19) Aymeric De Tapol – Les Horizons, 2015, letterpress
Capturing the Music of Printmaking
Belgian printmaker David aka Dimitri Runkkari is creating fascinating letterpress printed LP record sleeves by using just brass rules, metal type, pieces of plastic and cork. David is one of the co-founders of Vlek, a music label from Brussels, and he’s the one who is responsible for the whole visual art direction of the label. Although you can listen to their music online they emphasize the importance of producing the physical releases.
"Having a physical object for each of our records acts like a business card – it’s a good way to get people’s attention" explains David. These are mostly limited edition runs, usually 300 copies, designed, letterpress or screen printed by David in-house.
Quick links
1. Letterpress Workers book is now available for sale. Check it out!
2. Okanagan Print Triennial. Deadline for the submission 08.09.17
3. 'Give & Take', call for Los Angeles Printmaking Society’s exhibition & exchange portfolio.
4. Griffo, the great gala of letters - curated by the association Francesco Griffo da Bologna, and created by Dina&Solomon, the multidisciplinary project in collaboration with many Italian and international partners and institutions, aims to tell and revive Griffo’s story and the awareness of the invaluable tool that accompanies our daily life.
Quick links
1. Into the Wild - 5-days letterpress workshop run by Edward Johansson of Ahvaland Press (FI) & Claudio Madella of Officina Tipografica Novepunti (IT). 16-21.08.17
2. Karel Martens: Motion exhibition at the Design Museum Gent (till 30.07.17)
3. Open call for independent publishers for the Fruit Exhibition in Bologna. 02-04.02.18
4. The new meets the old: making a QR code with a Monotype composition caster - link