This weeklong letterpress workhop teaches high-school students the basics of letterpress, culminating with the production of a collective book of students’ original prose and poetry. Participating high schoolers will learn how to read a pica ruler, set type, design pages, mix ink, do makeready, pull proofs, make corrections, manage kiss-off and paper grain, distribute type and spacing, cut and wax thread, and sew a pamphlet-stitch book. Students will work alone or in teams of two on the cover, colophon, text, title page, and half title page. Each student will also design and print his or her own work on one of the pages in the book. Finally, the class will bind the prints in a simple single signature. At the end of the High School Letterpress Weeklong, everyone will take home five copies of the class book.

Materials to Bring: Notebook, pencil, prose, poetry or imagery that students wish to work with in the printing process.

Date & Time: Monday-Friday, June 15-19, 2015 | 9:30am  – 5:30pm

Workshop + Materials fee: $650

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

Note: Please read over the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class

About the Instructor | Mary Laird

Mary Laird, MFA University of Wisconsin at Madison, has been printing letterpress as Quelquefois Press since 1969. View a video of Mary Laird https://vimeo.com/65888412

Past Student Reviews

“Mary is an excellent teacher: kind, patient, knowledgeable, and fun!

“Mary is fun to be around and helped make the learning process not stressful”

“Mary was so helpful and kind. She was attentive and patient- couldn't have had a better teacher”

“I appreciated that Mary was easy going because it helped me relax about not being perfect”