At the start of the summer 2019, I had the privilege to study abroad in Italy for 3 weeks. I can’t begin to put into words what an experience it was. If I had the opportunity (and no other worldly responsibilities) I would go back in a heartbeat.
With our professor Jeff Abshear as our guide, we learned the skills and techniques used to create book arts such as hand setting type, intaglio printing, book binding, and wood cut printing while using hand mechanized large format printers and Vandercook Presses.
Study Abroad in Italy
Our first stop was the Florence School of Fine Arts where we worked with Melania, Charlie, and their assistant Antonia to create posters using large format letter press techniques.We were split into group of 3 or 2 and were to think of a creative composition to create with the printing presses. We thought of printing an iconic symbol of Florence, Michelangelo's David, and having wood type circumferencing his head. I worked with Sarah and Hana to create these posters.
Photo Credit:Jeff Abshear, Vicki Cook, Hana Holmgren, Kristin Theys
Florence
Cornuda
Cornuda is a small town in northern Italy that is home to our second studio named Tipo Teca. They are a typography and printing museum that holds a vast array of printing presses and hand type dating back to the 1700's. They also hold workshops where guest instructors can hold classes.
Our guest instructor, Lucio, helped us conceptualize and produce our book in only three days. We made Postcards from Italy by using linocut printing blocks and hand set lead type. We hand carved the block with any image we saw fit, and accompanied the picture with a poem or story we wrote. With Lucio to guide us, we printed our images and paragraphs using a mechanized press. The pages and book covers were then hand bound by us.
"The art of printing and publishing texts or images preserves solemn rituals, which transform a simple book into a special object. Controlling all parts of this process, both creative and practical, means being able to define the book’s appearance." – Lucio Passerini
Photo Credit:Jeff Abshear, Vicki Cook, Hana Holmgren, Kristin Theys
Our third and final studio was at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice. Here Jeff showed us intaglio, or dry point, etching and how to apply ink to our etching for printing.
We were able to create any sort of picture we wanted. Since the plates we were using were about the same size as our journals, we started our compositions by sketching in the journal first, then transferring the image to our plates. What was nice with intaglio etching is that we were able to be much more detailed compared to our linocut carvings. We were also able to incorporate colors by either printing a second layer with just colored ink, or using a technique called chine colle which was laying tissue paper with glue onto the intaglio plate and then running it through a press.
Photo Credit:Jeff Abshear, Vicki Cook, Hana Holmgren, Kristin Theys
Venice
Culture
It was an extreme privilege to be able to study abroad in Italy. I only hope I can go back and once again, walk the same paths, experience the art, and taste the food I did when I was there.
To celebrate our adventures in Italy, we are having an exhibition during Septembers Kalamazoo Art Hop showcasing all of our work. I created a poster to advertise the event.
Art Hop
A Parting Note from Charlie
