My space

My space., a photo by KozoStudio on Flickr.

Inside KOZO Studio. Furniture, type cabinets, cuts and stuff!

"Let Go"

Student letterpress print from LEGO., a photo by KozoStudio on Flickr.

Student letterpress print from LEGO plate in the ABCs of Letterpress class.

Fun with LEGO.

Student work from ABCs of Letterress class. LEGO letterpress print., a photo by KozoStudio on Flickr.

Student work from ABCs of Letterress class. LEGO letterpress print.

More LEGO.

More LEGO., a photo by KozoStudio on Flickr.

One of the ABCs of Letterpress students setting LEGO pieces for printing.

Some Scenes

These are some photos from two of the classes I teach. The first two sets are from the January ABCs of Letterpress class and the third is from the Intro. to Book Binding workshop.

Great photo

Storm Trooper letterpress printing from "Cool People Printing"

Paul Moxon workshops at OCADU

Yay! Finally! I've wanted to take one of Paul Moxon's workshops for a long time, but as with many other letterpress oriented events... it's always in the US and I don't drive! But now he is coming north to teach some workshops at OCADU. If you own a Vandercook and live in the area you should look into this. I've already signed up!

Workshop Dates:

Workshop #1: Vandercook Maintenance – Saturday May 5 & Sunday May 6

Workshop #2: Proof Press Finesse – Monday May 7 & Tuesday May 8

Workshop #3: Proof Press Finesse – Thursday May 10 & Friday May 11

Workshop Time & Place:

Workshops will run from approx. 10 am - 4 or 5 pm each day. Exact times will be clarified shortly. All workshops will take place in OCAD U's Letterpress Studio: room 384, 100 McCaul Street.

Workshop Descriptions:

Workshop #1 – Vandercook Maintenance

An in-depth review of the parts and functions of the Vandercook. Learn all the points of

maintenance, lubrication and cleaning. This workshop takes you beyond cranking the press and into the

mechanical what and why essential for troubleshooting. The instructor will explain the differences between various models, so bring your questions, press photos and/or broken parts. Whether you use studio presses, own your own press or are thinking of buying one, this workshop will provide excellent direction for your future presswork. The instructor will also share examples from his collection of Vandercook literature.

Workshops #2 & #3 – Proof Press Finesse

Improve the technical quality of your presswork in this problem-solving workshop. With a focus on production

printing using a Vandercook, we will delve into the minutiae of makeready, imposition, lockup and the adjustment of

form rollers to obtain proper inking and impression. Other topics include choosing paper and inks, prepress for halftone image production, and using photopolymer plates. Bravely bring examples of your worst printing to be critiqued in class. 

Instructor Bio:

Paul Moxon (MFA, MLIS) is an authority on the history and maintenance of Vandercook proof presses. He

maintains the website and blog http://vandercookpress.info and teaches workshops throughout the U.S. & Canada. 

He publishes limited edition books and broadsides under the imprint Fameorshame Press. His work is included in

several public and private collections; examples can be seen online at http://fameorshame.com. Paul is editor of

the American Printing History Association Newsletter.

To Attend (a) Workshop(s):

Space in each individual workshop is limited to 12 participants. Registration fees for students, alumni & the general public will be $225 per workshop (each workshop is 2 days). The fee is payable by cheque or money order only, made out to 'Printmaking Awards,' mailed or dropped off at OCAD U, to my attention. If dropping off, please come to room 382 at 100 McCaul Street between 9 am - 9 pm on Weekdays, or between noon - 6 pm on Saturdays.

If you are interested, please let me know, via email, as soon as possible. Please indicate the dates of the workshop(s) you would like to attend. Spaces will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis: your workshop space(s) will be saved once you have paid the corresponding fee(s). Reasonable time-frames will be considered for individuals having to mail payment from outside of Toronto.

Best regards,

Nicholas Shick
Technician, Printmaking Department


t 416.977.6000 x 268
e nshick@faculty.ocadu.ca  <-- note address change


O C A D   U N I V E R S I T Y
100 McCaul Street, Toronto, Canada 
M5T 1W1  www.ocadu.ca

Pics!

A-ha!
Here are some photos from the paper making workshop several weeks ago, as well as from the book binding and letterpress workshops that are ongoing... I had to get people to remind me to take photos!
Next week we start sewing our text blocks together in the book binding workshop and on Tuesday everyone (fingers crossed) in the ABCs of Letterpress class will be printing their one colour broadside on the Vandercook SP15 and learning how that press works.

A freshly pulled sheet of white cotton.

Andrew is adding some found suburban detritus to his pulp before making his sheets.

Andrew's sheet with suburban detritus inclusions (Oo! that sounds  so pretentious!)

Dan peeling his sheets off the felts after pressing. He pulled such nice thin white sheets of
paper that he found using some newsprint pressed onto the damp sheet was helpful in pulling it off the felts for drying.

Andrew laying his cover on his accordion book while Sophie watches.

Cori looking happy with her wee accordion book.

The beginning of Dana's broadside.

Checking out the wood type and metal type before composing broadsides.

Sheila is going to try to set some rules on angles!!

Kerning the wood type.

A Luddite at Heart

Well,  January has started with a crazy rush of workshops and classes...at least for me it's a crazy rush! I LOVE passing on what I know about different aspects of the book arts and watching people get "addicted". Kind of evil of me to be a pusher... but I like the thrill I see in other peoples eyes!
The internet is still not part of my daily thought process. I guess I'm still very much a luddite at heart. I keep forgetting to take pictures!! I had  a wonderful western paper making workshop with Dan and Andrew two weeks ago. I forgot to take photos until close to the end! Sunday's letterpress workshop I brought my camera and totally forgot to take photos of Karen, Vanessa and Lindsey doing their thing! And on Saturday I had part one of four for a book binding workshop and once again forgot to take photos of Sophie, Cori and Andrew's work until the end!
Today is part two of seven for the ABCs of Letterpress class...I have my camera and I will really try to remember to take some photos. I've put the camera on the work table so that I don't forget!
The other thing is that I have to remember to upload?/download? the photos from my camera to the computer!! It was suggested that I get an iPhone because they take great photos, I can immediately post them and I can carry it with me everywhere. I'm thinking about it. Not too keen on the whole idea of carrying a cell phone and texting, though. So far I have been able to pretty much resist that piece of equipment except for when I was pregnant with my son 3 years ago. Being a bit of a luddite, I like having times of people not being able to reach me. It's very peaceful that way!
Oops! 5:44 pm! I better start getting ready for my letterpress class. If I remember to take photos you'll see them soon!

Play date at the studio

These photos were taken at my studio a few weeks ago. They are by a friend who was visiting. 

I don't often talk about the loss of our son in this space, but my studio was the setting for a small get together of other Infant Loss parents. They were at the studio to create holiday ornaments for our "missing" children. Since this is a difficult time of year for most of us I thought that having an informal get together to decorate the heart ornaments would be a good way to not feel so alone and isolated with our emotions as well as create something for our babies (whenever I get together with other infant loss parents I sort of view it as a play date for our son, Kai... we parents down here on earth getting together and talking about our children and our children up there past the clouds getting together to play). 

Like the ornaments I made to give away last year, these were made of paper pulp that I cast in heart moulds. I set each child's name and birth/death date in the little mini Showcard press in 14 pt. Bernhardt type. I printed their names on some handmade paper and then we attached them to the fronts of our decorated heart ornaments. The woman that took the photos is also an infant loss parent. I think it's a blessing that I can use my creative knowledge and my studio for gathering such as this. Thank you Valerie for the beautiful photos of my studio and all the support over the past almost three years.

clockwise starting at the top left: my hands setting type on the mini Showcard press,   two children's names set and ready to proof, a tray of type ornaments, some wood type.