BOOKWORKS NEWSLETTER - June 2006
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| Welcome to the June 2006 edition of the BookWorks Newsletter, our monthly publication that features classes and events taking place at Asheville BookWorks. In addition to our newsletter, we hope you'll take a look at our MAY-SEPTEMBER 2006 CLASS CATALOG, featuring workshops taught by Daniel Essig, Sandy Webster, Shannon Brock, Annie Fain Liden and many more. We invite you to stop by our studio at 428 1/2 Haywood Road and grab your own letterpress printed copy of the catalog. You can also browse the May-September Class Catalog on-line by clicking on the Workshops link above. If you'd like to receive the catalog via mail, feel free to give us a call at (828) 255-8444, or send us your information via e-mail to info@ashevillebookworks.com. We're also happy to provide bundles of catalogs for you to distribute to anyone who might be interested in taking a class. Just let us know. We hope to see you this month at BookWorks! |
THE ART OF THE BOOK
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This is a new section of the BookWorks Newsletter where we will focus one-by-one on the variety of techniques engaged in the creation of artist books. From bookbinding to printmaking to typesetting to papermaking to letterpress printing, we will take an in-depth look at these processes, with an aim toward sharing their uses and versatility as methods for making rich, innovative book works.
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Featured Technique:
Letterpress Printing with Photopolymer Plates
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Photopolymer plates provide letterpress printers with the flexibility to translate all matter of imagery and text into workable, user-friendly relief surfaces for use on the letterpress. Photopolymer gives printers an exciting alternative to the relief surfaces that are traditionally used on the letterpress (lead type, wood type, woodblock, linoleum, etc.). Because photopolymer plates are made via a photographic process, using a negative to expose the plate (which hardens the polymer) and washing away the unexposed polymer to leave a positive relief surface, printers can easily use photopolymer plates to create high quality prints of photographs and/or digital images on the letterpress. When placed on an appropriate base in the bed or chase of a letterpress, the photopolymer plate is positioned "type-high", at the appropriate height for registering, inking and printing on the press. Photopolymer plates can also make registration much easier, as the plates can be placed in a variety of positions on the press and then easily adjusted.
There is a fair amount of debate in the letterpress printing community as to the pros and cons of printing with photopolymer plates. To enter into this dialogue, you can visit sites including Briar Press (www.briarpress.org) and the Book Arts Web (www.philobiblon.com). In addition to these sites, you can visit Boxcar Press (www.boxcarpress.com) for specific information regarding photopolymer plates and the requisite supplies for platemaking and printing on the letterpress. Regardless their merits and drawbacks, photopolymer provides yet another option for creating innovative, beautiful prints on the letterpress. You can explore their versatility by taking a class at BookWorks with our resident photopolymer expert, Featured Instructor Brandon Mise. |
CLASSES
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EVENTS
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Featured Instructor:
Brandon Mise
Brandon Mise is the founder and co-owner (with his wife and last month's Featured Instructor, Meighan Mise) of Blue Barnhouse, a letterpress, creative packaging and design studio located just around the corner from BookWorks. Brandon has an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and studied at the San Fracisco Center for the Book. His hand-bound magazine, Em Literary, is now in its fifth year and has earned him both the Peter Casey Alumni Award and the Compilation/Anthology Award at the DIY Book Festival. You can learn more about Brandon and his work at www.bluebarhouse.org and www.emliterary.org. Classes taught by Brandon at BookWorks this month include:
Photopolymer Intro
Vandercook Proof Press: August 8
Platen Press: June 27 & August 29
Tuesday evening
6:30 - 9:30 pm
This one-night class is a basic primer for students interested in printing with photopolymer plates on the letterpress. Students will participate in a hands-on letterpress printing demonstration, and will walk away with postcards designed by the instructor, Brandon Mise. This class will be held at Blue Barnhouse, just around the corner from BookWorks at 428-B Haywood Road.
$38
Photopolymer Letterpress I
June 14, 21 & 28, July 5, 12 & 19
Wednesday evenings
6:00 - 10:00 pm
Learn the basics of pulling quality prints on the letterpress using photopolymer plates. Explore maintenance, registration, inking and more. The class will begin with an introduction to Adobe Illustrator and its relationship to photopolymer plate production. Students will learn to print on both the Vandercook Proof and Platen Presses, eventually making plates and printing editions of their own work. Classes will be held at Blue Barnhouse, just around the corner from BookWorks at 428-B Haywood Road. Please arrive with designs in mind.
$225 + materials fee
Photopolymer Letterpress II
August 9, 16, 23 & 30, September 6 & 13
Thursday evenings
6:00 - 10:00 pm
Students in this class will gain a more extensive knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and its potential for use in creating 3-4 color print son the letterpress. We will learn multi-color registration techniques with photopolymer pates on both the Vandercook Proof and Platen Presses. Various styles of multi-colored prints will be explored, including overlapping colors, use of gradients, tight registration for multiple runs and photopolymer collage. Classes will be held at Blue Barnhouse, just around the corner from BookWorks at 428-B Haywood Road.
$255 + materials fee
Form Into Edition
September 7, 13, 21 & 28, October 5
Thursday evenings
6:00 - 9:00 pm
This five-week course provides a wonderful complement to Jennifer Brook's Content Into Form (see July Workshops). Students with a body of work and a general idea for a book form will learn the ins and outs of book editioning. We will explore the decision-making process that precedes editioning, prep an planning considerations, jigs and short cuts, and good binding habits, all with an eye toward consistent and uniform editions. Students will come away with an edition of 15 or more books. This course includes open studio time between classes.
$160 + materials fee
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Open Studio Hours
Monday evenings (except the first Monday of each month)
6:00 - 9:00 pm
BookWorks is now offering a regular schedule of Open Studio Hours for any student who attends a BookWorks class. Open Studio takes place every Monday evening, except the first Monday of each month, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. BookWorks Director Laurie Corral is on-hand during Open Studio to discuss projects and assist with equipment. Equipment available to students during Open Studio includes:
Jacques Board Shear
Guillotine Cutter
Standing Press
Backing Presses
Book Presses
Gold Stamping Tools
Foil Stamper
Drill Press
Corner Rounder
The fee for Open Studio is $18 per three-hour session.
Yee-Haw Industries Exhibition
Currently on Display
BookWorks is thrilled to host an exhibition of prints by our Knoxville, TN, neighbors and letterpress aficionados, Yee-Haw Industries. Yee-Haw is a working letterpress print shop, graphic design and artist studio, founded by Julie Belcher and Kevin Bradley in 1996. Yee-Haw specializes in original art-like products - from letterpress posters promoting special events, music acts and theatre shows, to handmade, woodcut, fine art prints. Their work is custom-to-order, designed, set, and pressed by hand. Yee-Haw's client list is vast and varied, ranging from the Asheville Art Museum and Chicago Poetry Center to Nylon Magazine and MTV2. For more information about Yee-Haw Industries, you can visit their website at www.yeehawindustries.com.
Join the BookWorks mailing list and be kept up-to-date on all the events at BookWorks throughout the year. |
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