Penland Printmaking and Letterpress Classes

Classes are open to serious students of all levels unless specified in course description; beginners welcome.

Susan Webster, Passageways #1, gelatin plate

monotype and ink, 16 x 16 in.

This workshop will offer a range of low-tech monoprint and monotype processes, most of which do not require a press. We will focus on making printing plates from commercial gelatin and then print with them in several ways: painting directly on the plate, subtractive and additive methods, and applying stencils. Other printing techniques will include simple relief, direct stencil, and monotype drawing. Students will be encouraged to combine printmaking methods and experiment. We will use water-based inks suitable for paper and fabric. All levels. Code 01x

Studio artist; teaching: Haystack (ME), Women’s Studio Workshop (NY), Oregon College of Art and Craft; exhibitions: Elizabeth A. Beland Gallery (MA), Manhattan Graphics Center (NYC).

Steve Miller, "Flock," by Billy Collins,

letterpress printed in three colors

on dampened handmade paper,

illustration by Jane Marshall, signed

by the poet, edition of 5, 11 x 16 in.

This is for people interested in the creative possibilities for combining type, original writing, images, paper, and simple bindings into cohesive objects. We will explore how paper, words/type, and image work in concert. Then we will move into personal projects using letterpress printing, mark-making processes, and metal type. Poet Mary Wehner will inspire and sharpen our wordsmithing. A partnership with Paul Wong’s papermaking class will add the visual and tactile aspects of handmade paper. Come with ideas and energy and we will make things happen. All levels. Code 01l

Steve: Professor and director of the book arts MFA program at University of Alabama; proprietor of Red Hydra Press.

Mary: poet, work featured in Zinkzine, Wisconsin Trails, The Writer, Red River Review, Arbor Vitea.

Dennis B. O'Neil, Take Your Dream

and Cut it in Two, water-based hybrid

screen print with oil-pigmented wax,

varied edition of 35, 15 x 11 in.

Dennis B. O’Neil - Woodcut to Screenprint: Traditional & Contemporary Approaches

This class will explore a variety of traditional and contemporary approaches to image making that feature the physicality of the woodcut and the immediacy and adaptability of the screen print. Students will learn how these two processes can work together and we will explore ways in which they have evolved to offer new technical and conceptual possibilities. All levels. Code 02x

Professor at Corcoran College of Art + Design (DC); director of Hand Print Workshop Inter-national (VA); collections: US Department of State (DC), The World Bank (DC), Ministry of Culture (Russia); Museum of Modern Art (NYC).

Barbara Tetenbaum and Julie Chen,

Glimpse, letterpress printed from

hand-set type, printer’s ornaments

and engravings, wood type and

polymer plates, 100 copies, 8 x 11 in

Barbara Tetenbaum - Intuition & Chance: A Playful Approach to Printing Books on the Vandercook

We will explore methods for freeing up the creation of letterpress-printed books using a combination of chance operations and idea-generating exercises to jump-start projects. Students will learn low-tech image techniques that allow for spontaneity while maintaining print quality: printing from shaped wire, flexible surfaces, and pressure printing. We will also cover handset type, registration, inking, and editioning, plus a look at edition binding. Some prior experience with letterpress, printmaking, or bookbinding required. Code 02l

Head of book arts department at Oregon College of Art and Craft; founder of Triangular Press; Sally Bishop Fellowship at Center for Book Arts (NYC), Oregon Arts Fellowship.

Phil Sanders, Black Eyed

Susan, drypoint, roulette, chine

collé, 8 x 5 in.

Dry point and spit bite are the most direct methods for achieving line and tone in an intaglio plate. This class will cover techniques for working and reworking a plate, maintenance of tools, preparation of materials, and an introduction to steel facing. The class will also include drawing and composition with graphite, pen and ink, and ink wash, working both inside and outside the studio. All levels. Code 03x

Director & master printer at Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (NYC); owner of PS Marlowe fine art publisher (NYC); teaching: Stanford University (NY), Frans Masereel Center (Belgium); collections: University of New Mexico Fine Arts Museum, Yale University Art Gallery (CT).

In this class on the basics of letterpress printing, we will cover the printer’s measurement system, proper terminology, and hand setting type. Students will print their own small or modest-sized projects. We will experiment with metal type, wood type, linoleum block carving, photopolymer platemaking, and using photo engravings. We will print with Vandercook and small table-top presses. Come with lots of ideas to work from. Beginning level. Code 03l

John: printer for over 50 years; teaching: University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, University of Iowa Center for the Book, University of Alabama.

Beth: studio ceramicist and printer; teaching: Arkansas Craft School, Arkansas Arts Center; represented by Freehand Gallery (Los Angeles).

John Horn, Untitled, letterpress print,

19 x 25 in.

Beth Lambert, Beautiful and Bright

Poster, letterpress and silkscreen,

11 x 14 in.

Laura Richens, The Seven Dreams of the

Blacksmith (text by Paja Faudree), monotype with

letterpress in handbound portfolio, 11 x 14 in.

Using nature as our inspiration, we will create works that integrate letterpress-printed text and imagery created through linocuts and woodcuts. Using the broadside form as well as the single-stitch signature and combining hand printing with press printing, we will explore the various ways that text and image can work together—through illustration, interpretation, and illumination. Text and image will alternate as launching-off points, inspiring their counterpart. All levels. Code 04l

Assistant professor and curator of Caroll Gallery, Tulane University (New Orleans); workshop teaching: Loyola University (New Orleans), Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans); exhibitions: Staple Goods Gallery (New Orleans), Bereznitsky Gallery (Berlin), Brooklyn Lyceum (NYC).

This class will explore many possibilities for the woodcut. We will build images by picking objects from our surroundings and taking them out of context to give them special meaning. We will work with reduction techniques, printing with the letterpress for registration. We will make images from several plates, playing with colors and changing the order of printing. We will create multiple layers with transparent colors. We may play with stencils. Students will learn the best ways to print from wood while never losing its special character. All levels. Code 05x

Professor at the Municipal Art School Kontich and Academy Merksem (Belgium); workshops: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; exhibitions: Antwerp Cultural Center, Galerie Link, PINSART (Belgium), Engramme, SNAP Gallery, Centre de Diffusion Presse Papier (Canada).

Ina Kaur, Shifting Circles, multi-plate

color etching and stencil, 24 x 18 in.

In this class we will explore technical and conceptual ideas relating to multiplicity in printmaking. The class will use multiple print matrices to create a vocabulary that will convey meaning and ideas visually. We will develop and use intaglio plates and will also explore the use of relief stamps, collographs, and stencils to achieve diverse effects and create multiple variables. All levels. Code 06x

Assistant professor at University of Tampa (FL); other teaching: Bowling Green State University (OH), Purdue University (IN); exhibitions: Mehrangarh Museum Trust Gallery (India), Foreman Gallery (NY); collections: Kohler Art Library (WI), Turku Art Museum (Finland), Zayed University (UAE).

Macy Chadwick, The Topography of Home, limited-

edition artist’s book, letterpress, pressure prints,

polymer plates, pochoir, 10-1/2 x 14 in.

We will combine a variety of image generation techniques on the letterpress to create richly layered book pages. We will begin with low-relief pressure printing to generate prints with atmospheric fields of color and texture. Responding to these first layers, we will add subsequent imagery and text with linoleum blocks, photopolymer plates, wood type, and metal type. Each student will come away with his or her own printed book in a variable edition. All levels. Code 06l

Studio artist; teaching: Academy of Art University (San Francisco), San Francisco Art Institute, Wells Book Arts Summer Institute (NY), San Francisco Center for the Book, The Press at Colorado College; work in collections in the US and abroad.

Flo Hatcher, Bordered Illusions,

monotype with pastel, 19 x 25 in.

Using multiple tools and plate surfaces, an extensive selection of nontoxic, water-based inks, and an assortment of archival papers, students will investigate traditional and innovative relief and intaglio processes to expand personal print imagery. Processes will include drypoint, mezzotint, linoleum block, woodcut, collograph, silk aquatint, carborundum prints, and the painterly monotype process. Enhancements include pochoir (stencil), chine collé, Pronto plates, and more. Experimentation encouraged; no experience necessary.

Studio artist; teaching: Creative Arts Workshop (CT), Southern Connecticut State University, Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CT), Cleveland Institute of Art (OH); collections: Ringling Museum of Art (FL), Indianapolis Museum of Art (IN).

Whether you work with handset type, photopolymer plates, or both, what matters is the end result. In this intensive workshop, students will delve into the intricacies of digital file preparation using found or original illustrations. And they will create curved, angled, and off-the-grid handset type designs. Students will exchange editioned prints that combine both techniques and leave armed with new (and old) tricks. Some computer or printing experience will be helpful but the class is open to all levels. Code 07l

Chandler: proprietor of Anagram Press; teaching: School of Visual Concepts (Seattle), University of Puget Sound (WA), Minnesota Center for Book Arts.

Jessica: proprietor of Springtide Press; manager of Elliot Press at Pacific Lutheran University (WA).

Chandler O'Leary, Alpenglow: Mt. Rainier from

Tipsoo Lake, hand-watercolored letterpress

print, 3-1/2 x 5-1/2 in.

Jessica Spring, Sheets, letterpress prints on

handmade abaca paper

Marguerite Jay Gignoux, Marco illustration, textile

collage, hand-dyed cotton, linen, machine-stitched,

57 x 45 in.

Marguerite Jay Gignoux & Susie Wilde - Pictures & Words: Writing & Illustrating for Children

In a class especially (but not only) for teachers, we will explore the magical world of writing and illustrating for children. We will invent and connect words with innovative mixed-media illustrations. This class includes playful writing explorations and imaginative surface design activities including printing, drawing, stitching, dyeing, and layering paper and fabric. We will discuss works by creators of children’s literature, the role of the book designer, and DIY publishing. All levels. Code 03tb

Marguerite: textile artist; teaching: Elon University (NC); public art: Duke Hospital (NC), North Carolina Museum of Art.

Susie: author; children’s book columnist; teacher; work featured in Children’s Book Review, and Learning.