Long-Distance Letterpress: Printing Hope

Learning about letterpress printing when you can’t take an in-person class is definitely a challenge. But, until we can figure out how to deliver a 1,000 lb. Vandercook to you via the internet, we’ve got a better idea. Come take an SVC long-distance letterpress workshop, where you’ll pick up skills and a big dose of inspiration from some of the brightest stars in letterpress, and then receive a copy of the class project via snail mail. When the world is turned upside-down, explaining the how of printing isn’t always as important as examining the why. Brad Vetter’s most recent work is proof: in quarantine and MacGyvering with the materials at hand, he created a poster that raised thousands of dollars for nonprofits and small businesses in and around his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

$50 registration here.

In this workshop, you’ll transport yourself to Brad Vetter’s Louisville studio where he’ll walk you through some of the experimental techniques he uses to print amazing things with everyday objects. Then you’ll put heads and hearts together with your classmates to collaboratively design a poster carrying a message of hope — the perfect antidote to the anxiety all of us are feeling. Whether you’re a letterpress printer specifically or a creative of any stripe, you’ll come away with new insights about:

• Printing with purpose in a time of crisis
• Finding meaning in your work
• Experimental techniques for printing letterpress posters
• The printed word as a catalyst for sharing ideas & community engagement
• The relevance of letterpress in the 21st Century and during a pandemic