After years of talk and no action, this week I finally jumped into letterpress printing, at an evening class offered at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, here in Halifax. I'd been surrounded by the necessary equipment & expertise at my old job, but had never actually gone so far as to line up ink and page on my own. Trying new things isn't really my gig, but occasionally I want something badly enough to push through the awkward, woodsy stage that has to come first.
Luckily I am in very good company in this particular class. Lots of poetic talk about the importance of printed material and the dissemination of ideas, but visible trepidation in the presence of a machine that will actually allow us to participate in the making of said material. "This pedal? And do I keep my foot on it? Oh. Okay, so no. This handle? Now?" These are my people.
Above is the result of the first evening. The image itself is of course not mine but one of the gems housed in the college basement, along with many drawers of type (wooden and metal) and various cuts, lots of them nautically themed, this being a nautical sort of province. These teeth came from a drawer labelled "Health." My project partner and I now have to decide if we want to incorporate this into our poster assignment or if we'll strike out on a new path. I'm inclined to stick with the teeth, myself, if we can find a bit of text (a toothy quote or short poem) to accompany it. Ideas?
