TYPE NERD: A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE PRESS AT CC

CC Student Cameron Boyd made this short film about The Press at CC in the documentary film class in Block 5 of this year. He was shooting during one of our quiet times, but really managed to capture the look & feel of our well-loved studio.


TYPE NERD from Cameron Boyd on Vimeo.

NEW FILM ABOUT THE PRESS

One of our student apprentices, Demetria Humphries, just made this great short documentary about The Press at Colorado College. It's got printing, talking about printing, and more printing! And some books! What more could you want in a film?

PEOPLE OF THE PRESS: LUCY HOLTSNIDER

Name: Lucille Marie Holtsnider

Year of graduation: 2011

Major/Minor: Art Studio major, minor in Sustainable Deviance in the Southwest

Where are you from? Littleton, CO

How long have you been working at the Press? 25 years

Briefly describe what you do at the Press:
My time at the Press is primarily spent designing and printing posters. In addition, I am currently working on my thesis exhibition. My show will be a collection of letterpress prints and other treasures.

What brought you to the Press?
I was drawn to the Press by the good-looking, educated people who congregate there to drink coffee and discuss their plans for world domination.

What keeps you coming back?
The coffee.

How has working at the Press enhanced your overall education at Colorado College?
My experience at Colorado College was profoundly enhanced by the Press. I was lucky to discover this superior art form early on in my time at CC during my sophomore year. I had grown frustrated with media such as painting which required little technical skill in comparison to letterpress. A rhinoceros in a zoo can paint a picture, but only the most clever of humans can properly register a two-color polymer plate.

How would you like to see the Press grow and change in the future?
In the future I would like to see the Press acquire a pet. Preferably a small mammal, such as a baby baboon or a lynx. Letterpress can be an extremely frustrating hobby, and having an animal present would be a calming and fun addition to our family.

PEOPLE OF THE PRESS: TARYN WIENS

Name: Taryn Wiens

Year of graduation: 2014

Major/Minor: Studio Art/ Museum Studies

Where are you from? All over (Oregon most recently)

How long have you been working at the Press? Since fall 2010

Briefly describe what you do at the Press:
I print posters, help with workshops, and do personal printing and book binding projects.

What brought you to the Press?
Book Arts/Letterpress summer class (highly recommend it!)

What keeps you coming back?
The awesome crew that works here, a need for inky hands, a desire to continuously learn more about bookmaking and letter-pressing, and the beautiful dualistic nature in the practicality and pointlessness of it all.

How has working at the Press enhanced your overall education at Colorado College?
It’s one thing you can learn at CC that is not purely conceptual. It’s like the shop class that I never had. To do real things with your own hands is so satisfying.

How would you like to see the Press grow and change in the future?
I’d love to a) see more students get involved...it’s such an amazing resource but too many people don’t know about it and b) see it produce more quality artistic works and make a really strong name for itself in the larger letterpress community which of course depends on a), student involvement.

PEOPLE OF THE PRESS: ELEANOR ANDERSON

Name: Eleanor “Bone-saw” Anderson

Year of graduation: 2012

Major/Minor: Studio Art, Minor in the Book

Where are you from? Cleveland Heights, OH

How long have you been working at the Press? 3 years

Briefly describe what you do at the Press:
I primarily make posters, books, and other ephemera and have recently started a press with Lucy Holtsnider called Iron Cupcake Press. A lot of the time I drink coffee, listen to Andrew Bird, and think about what to do next.

What brought you to the Press?
When I was a freshman I saw all the posters around campus and had to learn how and where they were made. Then I took a class called Basic Graphics and made my first poster for the Aspen bike trip (6 colors, with a broken leg I might add)

What keeps you coming back?
The smell of solvents in the morning, all the sharp equipment, definitely setting type… oh and, the people!

How has working at the Press enhanced your overall education at Colorado College?
I want to work as a letterpress printer after college, so working at the press has not only provided me with the technical skills needed for this, but also turned me on to a community of interesting people, working all over the country, geeking out over the same thing.

How would you like to see the Press grow and change in the future?
In a manner similar to Danish astronomy icon Tycho Brahe, I would like the Press to gain feudal power over an island, commission its own castle complete with paper mill and printing press and become the unrivaled authority on subjects such as taming tigers, bedtime stories and dinosaur management.

PEOPLE OF THE PRESS: BECCA LEVI

Name: Rebecca Levi

Year of graduation: 2011

Major/Minor: Art Studio (Environmental Issues)

Where are you from? Boston, Massachusetts

How long have you been working at the Press? Since mid-junior year.

Briefly describe what you do at the Press:
I print posters for the Sound of Colorado College Student Radio station events, including student band and visiting artist live shows. I have also done various editions for CC Farm club events and opportunities, and other CC events.

What brought you to the Press?
A love for workmanship and craft. Immediately I was fascinated by the intimate relationship between a printer and her work. I had done many other forms of printmaking before, but letterpress presented a whole new world of understanding. The technical aspects and true sense of patience that letterpress demands are challenging and continually fascinating to me. The sense of respect that I have for other printers and the community that I feel I am now more a part of is also something I think brought me to the Press, and will keep me printing for the rest of my life.

What keeps you coming back?
What I said above sums it up pretty well...but besides the passion and fascinations, there’s always the deadlines.

How has working at the Press enhanced your overall education at Colorado College?
Time spent at the Press allows me to use my hands in a way that most classes do not. Though I am an art major, and am working with my hands a lot, there is a meditative and calming aspect to letterpress printing that has allowed me to be a more aware student and member of the CC community. However, I must say that printing can also be stressful--yet without those moments of stress I would have less appreciation for times of calmness and would probably get a lot less done. Letterpress has taught me about time management, stress management, working with other people to meet a deadline, learning how to be a better teacher and mentor, and learning how to work in harmony with the other printers in a small(ish) space.

How would you like to see the Press grow and change in the future?
I would love to see the Press grow to be something that the whole CC community knows about. Much of the time, people don’t know that the posters they see are letterpressed by hand, and it would be great to spread that basis of knowledge about the medium throughout the campus--not only so the printers can be more recognized--but so that we can share this awesome tradition with others who value hand made things. I am really looking forward to seeing the apprenticeship program flourish, and am loving seeing the classwork that gets done at the press. It would be super cool to see students hanging out at the Press that aren’t just printers...students who want a nice place to do work or hang out with a printer-friend. Mostly, I would like to see the press integrated into the CC students database of cool places on campus, because it really is one of the raddest places to be.