Back at the Word on the Street event I had the pleasure of meeting the artist Charles Mayrs, who is a writer, illustrator and photographer whose books are letterpress printed.
While it would not be possible to actually bring the machinery for letterpress and demonstrate the process, there was a nice variety work showing the results. Mayrs' work ranges from text to imagery and even maps. Viewers were encouraged to ask questions about the process and actually handle the work! This is an awesome and rare opportunity as these books are housed in the archives or rare book sections of libraries and require special permission for handling. Also they cost about $750-$1200 bucks a pop and are created in extremely limited editions.
Here are a couple of good videos from YouTube. I do not own the rights to any of these videos and they remain the property of the individual artists.
This first one is really informative about the whole process from making type to actually printing. However I do find the narration ill-fitting and overly intense.
This next one shows more about how to set the paper in place and create a guide for accurate alignment. I am surprised how fast the paper gets changed out and replaced with a new one.
One last video showing a much more heavily inked plate.
Now that we have seen some of the process, take a look at Charles' work.
In this first photo we see a mix of text and an image, with the page printed in black, red and yellow. As we can see from the videos there is only one color printed at a time, so this page is the sum of three different runs through the press. At first glance I totally assumed that the black would have been the first color printed. It looks to me like the black would be a great way to create a guideline for the other colors. It turns out that it was actually printed in red first, then yellow, then black last. Charles pointed out that the large red letter S as well as the red hair were printed at the same time.
Imagine these pages coming out of the press between stages. The first one would be only the large letter I and the negative space in the face and neck, separated by white spaces. Next the three yellow details in the nose and shoulders. Finally the black text and all the black lines that unify the image. What a magical feeling it must be to see the work come to life in this way.
To make things more complex, this next page boasts four colors.
In another publication Mayrs includes his stunning landscape photography. The photos are beautifully printed in luminous color and add to the feeling that the books are something special.
One book even contained a map pertinent to the story. The black details are letterpress printed. Afterwards Charles added tea stains and burnt edges to add to the aged and used feel of the piece. I love to mix up your media and do a lot of finishing after the first stage is complete. I always admire the various stages of detailing in artwork.
In other volumes more complex imagery starts to appear.
I was told that these images are a combination of black letterpress details and hand-colored finishing using Prismacolor pencil crayons. That means that each edition is really one of a kind!
And then things just get crazy. I love these amazing pieces! Again we are looking at a combo of black letterpress and hand applied pencil crayon. These are not prints, each piece is a unique iteration of the work.
I have to say the portrait of Charles it is pretty true to life. Wouldn't you say? Here he is in the flesh.
I am not sure whether the striped shirt is a coincidence or some kind of trademark. I guess the goatee is a new addition.
Hope you have enjoyed this little ditty about letterpress. Google some images or search YouTube to learn more if you are feeling inclined. You may get hooked.
xo
Laura
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