“You’ve forgotten a lot,” Stuart said, walking over to the composing stone. Sigh.
Yes, I had.
I spent time with him today for a private lesson. (It seems I need a lot of lessons.) But this time I’m hoping it sticks. Three lines of type, the right spacers, and quoins and furniture placed correctly inside the chase.
Sweet!
I’ve been trying to gather what I need to print–to continue to learn–and to produce. I recently ordered a set of wood type from India off ebay. I wasn’t sure what I was getting, nor was I confident it would even arrive. It did. And today I tried printing for the first time.
Unfortunately, some of the letters aren’t cut well. But they are type high, and they’ll have to do for now. I am still missing quads and spacers. My lockup is pretty pathetic looking since I don’t have enough to fill in the spaces evenly.
I also realized today I should be locking my type up parallel to the roller. I’ve been placing it lengthwise so the roller moves across the type instead of “with” the time. I’ve got four hours to practice tomorrow so I’ll see if it makes a difference.
Some days are more frustrating than others.
If you are following along because you are interested in #letterpress, you’ll want to read this magazine produced in 2007. I am working my way through the issues.
When I tell people what I’m doing now, writing and learning to letterpress, I often get a quizzical look. I’m not sure if people doubt my writing ability or can’t figure out why I am knee-deep in ink, metal and wood type, and mineral spirits.
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“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. ~Thomas Merton
Ok, not quite aligned and too much ink. But I’m getting there.