Across the Pond

January, 2017

I was very interested to learn as much as I could about letterpress printing as possible during my sabbatical time. And along with letterpress printing, came a deep dive into not just the history of printing, but typographic history, manufacturing, publishing, the dissemination of information, and so many other topics.

I have known some friends at the Glasgow School of Art for a number of years, and I also knew through previous visits to the school that they have a very impressive letterpress shop/studio. So, after many emails and much communication, I planned to visit Glasgow, Scotland and print at their facility for a few days. Much like my earlier visit to Hamilton (I was now learning), I would respond to the equipment and type and images that were available to me. Not quite the itinerant printer (who I came to know of through research), as I was not intending to visit so many places. But, the desire to learn from—and be inspired by and with others—was the same. It was at Glasgow that Edwin Pickstone advised me to “use less pressure and more ink”—advice that I hope I still hold onto, and practice today.

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