Workshop Fee (includes materials fee): $800
Click here to apply for a 50% scholarship

Masks are no longer required for workshops, though anyone is welcome to wear one if they wish.

Cylinder Core Certificate Program

The handfed cylinder proof press, also known as the Vandercook press, has a special place in both print history and in teaching book arts. Immediate and accessible, yet nuanced and specific, it is the press that introduced many of us to letterpress.

The four class Cylinder Core Certificate Program allows students to move quickly through the press basics while also addressing relief printing in general. Students who finish the four core classes are qualified to rent press time as well as move on to more advanced classes and techniques.

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Cylinder Core 1 :: Experience Letterpress! 

Learn about the process and practice of setting type, mixing inks and pulling impressions. Students will design and print a small edition of a folded greeting card while learning the basics of press operation.

Cylinder Core 2 :: Power of the Broadside

Build your letterpress skills: learn advanced justification, typesetting, and composition. Put it all together to print an 8 x 10" broadside of your own design.

Cylinder Core 3 :: Posterized

Get more acquainted with the press: learn about packing, roller height, and make-ready. Once you've got everything set up you'll run an edition of your own 12 x 15" poster.

Cylinder Core 4 :: Digital into Analog

All those fancy letterpress wedding invitations are printed from digital designs turned into polymer plates. You'll learn how to print with premade plates and walk away with a stationary suite: a coordinated set of cards, letter sheets, and envelopes.

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Materials to Bring: All tools and materials will be provided.

Workshop Fee (includes materials fee): $800

Date & Time: Tuesday-Friday, October 1-4, 2024 :: 9:30am-5:30pm

Location: 375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103

NOTE: Please read over the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class. Registration will close approximately three days prior to the start date of the workshop to allow the instructor time to prep materials for class. We recommend you not wait to register, as workshops that don't meet our minimum enrollment will be canceled, sometimes as much as a week in advance.
 

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About the Instructor | Thea Sizemore (she/her)

Thea Sizemore has been a letterpress printer, artist and instructor for over 20 years. She holds BFA in printmaking with emphasis on bookarts from the California College of the Arts with additional studies at Cleveland Institute of Art.

As founder of Kavamore Press, a custom letterpress and design studio in South Berkeley, Thea works with private clients and various artists to create ephemera for projects including some for the Carpenter Center for the Arts at Harvard, The Guggenheim and the SFMOMA. In recent years, Thea's personal work has focused on projects that use the power of print to connect and engage community including a mail art project called “Social Media Snail Mail”, an ongoing series of free letterpress posters and public printing protest events. To view more of her work, visit kavamorepress.com

Past Student Reviews:

“Amazing facility, friendly and helpful staff, expert instructor, community focused, all around exceptional. Thea is the print queen!!”

“The depth of learning through the different projects. Every day presented a new and exciting challenge, and the learning would build from day to day. Thea was engaged, attentive, and such a pleasure to learn from. She kept us inspired and honest about what was realistic to accomplish.” 

“Thea was extremely helpful, patient in teaching and answered all questions and provided extra resources. The structure of the course was challenging but well paced. Loved the entire experience!”

“Everything! It was so informative and Thea was a wonderful teacher! I feel that I learned all the basics to get me printing and I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in letterpress.”