Goals:
- Discussion of “expressive typography.”
- Group project: Design and carry out a large piece practicing “expressive typography.”
- Individual project: small card of expressive typography.
- Document and write about your projects.
- Introduction to single-sheet books: maze books and concertina (Friday).
- Weekend homework: make dummies of these different models, and bring to class on Monday, July 15.
- This week, “Study Hall” will be available in the lab; between 11:00 and 12:30, you may attend the lab with at least one other class member to work on group or individual projects.
- Prints (2):
- Group Projects in “expressive typography” (2 groups; 1 group-project each)
- Individual “expressive typography” cards
Monday, July 8
Sixth class session. Meet in Chambers 1003. **Meet in Wall 148**
In-class quiz: type anatomy, composing tools, press anatomy, letterpress history (15 – 20 minutes; open note). Group discussion of “expressive typography” projects. By the end of the session, you and your group should know what you will do when we enter the lab tomorrow. We will work Tuesday – Thursday, and we will plan to clean on Friday. However, Friday can be a flex-day if needed. Plan for three days, with the cushion of a fourth!
**In lab, begin working on: your card of “expressive typography,” and contribute to your group’s “expressive” project.
Homework:
Viewing: Instead of reviewing/receiving images, this week you will create them:
Please record short videos and photos of your group work together. Start with your planning session in class on Monday: what is the initial idea? How did you decide on this? What problems do you imagine? This is an open-ended project, and it will evolve over time. In the evenings, after lab time, please review your images as a group and include short descriptive commentary. As a group, create and develop one document (to make final submission easier); the documentarian should not be responsible for maintaining this, since they are already taking pictures and video. As the project grows, your documentation will grow, and we will want to see these stories from start to finish!
Reading: Continue reviewing expressive examples.
Writing: See above; begin documenting/recording development of the group project:
At the conclusion of the project, we will consider “proposed” vs. “actual” projects as part of our discussion of the work. Be sure to document personal thoughts, group discussions, and all lab-work.
Group Work/Planning: Meet to finalize expressive plans and to review documentation of the day’s work.
Tuesday, July 9
Seventh class session. Meet in the Letterpress Lab (Wall 148). Continue assembling expressive forms. Move to the presses for at least two individual projects, and continue group-work as those individuals move to press. Pull at least 15 prints of those projects. Consider letters as images and icons, layers of color, and inking. Since we have two groups and two presses, you can build your work on the press, or on a galley as you see fit.
Homework:
Viewing, Reading, Writing, and Group Work/Planning: Continue reviewing your images and film; commenting on them, and reviewing/revising your group plans.
Wednesday, July 10
Eighth class session. Meet in the Letterpress Lab (Wall 148). Continue assembling expressive forms. Move to the presses for at least two individual projects, and continue group-work as those individuals move to press. Pull at least 15 prints of those projects. Consider letters as images and icons, layers of color, and inking. You should begin moving to the press today, if you haven’t already.
Homework:
Viewing, Reading, Writing, and Group Work/Planning: Continue reviewing your images and film; commenting on them, and reviewing/revising your group plans.
Thursday, July 11
Ninth class session. Meet in the Letterpress Lab (Wall 148). Press operation and ink handling for your group expressive forms. If you haven’t already, consider an “improvisational” element to your print: hand-ink (dabbing, wiping, etc.) or hand-bray some additional color for accent, or consider over-printing and deliberate mis-registering of prints. Pull at least 15 prints, if not more.
Homework:
Viewing, Reading, Writing, and Group Work/Planning: Continue reviewing your images and film; commenting on them, and reviewing/revising your group plans.
Friday, July 12
Tenth class session. Meet in the Letterpress Lab (Wall 148). Overflow and cleaning. Finish your edition. Put away supplies. Clean ink station.
Following up from week of work. If time, introduction of maze-book or concertina project, and mock-ups. Discussion of “cells” and “panels” in these forms, as well as images, letters, and background content. Examples of each will be available to review.
Homework:
Viewing, Reading, Writing: Finalize group commentary on your project. When possible, try to connect your work to our readings and/or the history of these practices or objects from Rare Books. The group-member maintaining the story should send a digital copy to me by Sunday night at 9 PM; preferably in Word with the images embedded and the film (if any) linked. With your permission, I will post this to the letterpress lab website, which we will use in our final exhibition.
Group Work/Planning: Experiment with copy-paper mock-ups: maze-books and concertina. Meet to discuss book-forms. Each group should make at least one “dummy” or “mock-up” of each form, each group should assign cells or panels, and each group should have content settled by the time we meet on Monday.
