Now with the public workshops, Fuchs wants to share the magic of letterpress more broadly. MSU has the largest collection of metal type in all of Montana-over 400 cases. It was only after being hired at MSU that Fuchs realized the letterpress opportunities available to her and her students. “I had no idea what she was doing,” Fuchs said, “but I knew I wanted to do it that well one day.” Most of the terminology used in InDesign like leading (space between lines of text) and even document units and increments like pica comes from the historic craft of letterpress design.”įuchs became interested in letterpress while studying with Ellen Knudson in graduate school at the University of Florida. “In a world where InDesign exists, people are starving to know more and to understand, through personal experience, concepts about design terminology and origin,” she told me. She’s the assistant professor in graphic design at Montana State University’s School of Art which is offering these public workshops in letterpress printing. If you’re like me and you think this sort of thing is cool, you don’t need to be convinced and if you don’t, you’re probably not going to be.īut I asked Ashely Fuchs anyway. The conversation here could begin and end with the word fun. The real question is why they show up in the first place, why in the age of InDesign there’d be any reason to. One shows up to a class like this expecting to learn both what they are expecting to learn and what they don’t know to expect. But quoting from the handout I got at the workshop I can tell you that it is “a way to showcase a typeface and all of its character for both artistic and informational purposes.” In the case of our workshop, the specimen page we made featured six fonts and mysterious text of our own creation that mentioned lasers, refrigerators, Surrealism, and improvisation and for some reason was written partly in Latin. Did I even know what a specimen page is? I did not. I did not know that the print I would leave with would be what is called a specimen page. I did not know that I would be quizzed on the history of the English alphabet and spend much of the rest of the day chagrined at my failure on that quiz. I did not know the importance of checking my type case to make sure that I drew an s from the s compartment and not one of the st ligatures mixed in. And I knew that if all went well I’d walk away two hours later with a handmade print of some kind.īeyond that, I did not know the level of creative energy that would be asked of me, the way that a week later my brain would still be storming with lines fitted to the theme of Synthetic Chaos. I knew that at some point ink would have to become involved. I knew that I would be setting (and, let’s be honest, very likely spilling or otherwise messing up) type. Streetcorner Letterpress provides a fun and accessible experience that, when paired with visiting your event, will create a lasting impression (pun totally intended).I sort of knew what to expect when I showed up at MSU’s printmaking studio last week for Letterpress Print Night. Streetcorner Letterpress requires active facilitation by staff. Whether prints are taken home, framed, put on the fridge, or mailed to a friend, they are souvenirs from your event worth saving. The unique letterpresses draw a curious crowd, who are then invited to print their own postcards with images and colors customized to your event theme. These 100-year-old letterpresses produce 4×6 postcard-style prints with the push of a lever, and can be operated by people of any age or ability. Streetcorner Letterpress is an interactive project designed for public or private events. These prints will be created on 100-year-old letterpresses, making each card its own unique, tactile keepsakes for event attendees.Īdd-ons and variations are available to customize the experience at your event. We’ll work with you to create artful designs that can be souvenirs, interactive prompts to engage your audience, or mailable postcards. Taking COVID into consideration, we have pivoted to offer custom, pre-printed cards and a pop-up, interactive display to bring letterpress prints to events. COVID changes- Streetcorner Letterpress has been an interactive printing experience that offers custom designs and letterpress printing at events.
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