High School Letterpress Workshop

 Registration is closed for this event

June 20th, 2016 9:30 AM

  • Instructor: Mary Laird
  • Workshop Type: Printing
  • Workshop Status: Closed
  • Workshop Start: June 20th, 2016 9:30 AM
  • Workshop End: June 24th, 2016 5:30 PM
  • Sessions: 5

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.

Workshop + Materials Fee: $650.00

Date & Time: Monday-Friday, June 20-24, 2016 :: 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 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THIS WORKSHOP.


About the Instructor | Mary Laird

Mary Risala Laird, MFA printmaking, University of Wisconsin, Madison, has been doing letterpress books since 1969 as Quelquefois Press. She partnered in Perishable Press Limited editions from 1969-84. Ms. Laird has taught letterpress at San Francisco State University, Kala Institute in Berkeley, Naropa University, and at the San Francisco Center for the Book as well as workshops in Utah, Idaho, Colorado and Washington state. For fifteen years she worked with the entire 7th grade class as a guest artist, making handmade journals. Her focus in printing is poetry. She binds the editions she prints.  Her work is in many collections across the country, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, Library of Congress, UW Madison, the British Library, Yale, University of Washington, and UC Santa Cruz. She has three grown children, lives in Berkeley with her husband John Malork, and is a member of the Sufi community. Currently she serves as a board member at the San Francisco Center for the Book.


Past Student Reviews:

"Loved this class! Mary was fantastic."

"Very enthusiastic and helpful! Good at conveying knowledge."

"Mary is so charmingly enthusiastic and supportive it makes everything fly beautifully!" 

375 Rhode Island St
San Francisco, CA 94103-5133
United States