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Pyramid Atlantic letterpress workshops—spots still available in the winter session!
We also offer private instruction, open studio happy hours, and certification to experienced printers who can rent press time independently. Email for more information: [email protected]
Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, Maryland, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit contemporary arts center dedicated to the creation and appreciation of hand papermaking, printmaking, and the art of the book. The mission of Pyramid Atlantic is to promote and nurture artistic excellence through imaginative programming in the visual arts for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
To sign up for letterpress workshops:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/letterpress-workshops-tickets-12936877549
Introduction to the Vandercook, Sunday, January 25, 10am-4pm
Get started with letterpress! This workshop will cover the basics of letterpress printing with handsetting type for printing on a Vandercook flatbed cylinder press (Universal 1 and 4T). You will learn about setting type, lock-up, make-ready, printing, and cleaning the press. Each participant will set a few lines of text of their choosing and print a small edition. ($140 or $126 for Pyramid members)
Introduction to the Tabletop, Sunday, February 8, 10am-4pm
Have you ever fantasized about having a small letterpress in your home? This workshop will cover the basics of letterpress printing with lead type on a Chandler & Price Pilot tabletop platen press. Students will learn how to set lead type, operate, troubleshoot, clean, and maintain the press. Each participant will hand set a few lines of text of their own choosing and print a small edition. ($140 or $126 for Pyramid members)
White Line Design, Sunday, February 22, 10am-4pm
In this workshop, students will turn a black & white design of their choice into a “white-line” photopolymer plate. During the plate-exposure process, the dark line of an illustration results in a white line on a solid background. This is an easy way to add original touches to your letterpress work and the most direct way to hand-make photopolymer without the extra step of creating negatives. Each student will also set a simple slogan or caption in wood type and print it with their plate. We will get both Vandercook presses running and print two colors. Everyone will print enough 4x6 postcards to swap with fellow students and take home a small edition. ($140 or $126 for Pyramid members)
Short is Beautiful: Haiku, Tanka & Free Verse
(offered in partnership with the Writer’s Center, Bethesda, Maryland)
Date & Time: Saturdays January 31, February 7, 14, and 21, 10am-12pm, and Saturday February 28, 10am-4pm
In this five-week course, you’ll spend the first four weeks at The Writer’s Center writing and refining short poems, focusing on the Japanese forms of haiku and tanka, as well as American free verse. We’ll study and practice the challenges and simplicity of short poems by reading Japanese masters (Basho, Issa, Buson, Komanchi, Shikibu) as well as free verse poems by modern masters of brevity (Williams, Ryan, Clifton, Levertov, Dickinson). By the final session, students will have revised one poem for printing. The fifth session will meet at Pyramid Atlantic for an extended class with letterpress instructors Lauren Emeritz and Laura Kinneberg who will teach students to typeset their poems. At the end of class, students will take home printed handmade broadsides of their finished work. This is part of the “Ready, Set Type!” workshop series and is co-sponsored by The Writer’s Center and Pyramid Atlantic. Register for the workshop through the Writer’s Center: www.writer.org Tuition for 5-Saturday course: $360
