Freedom of the Press

This past summer I made a homemade press using a car bottlejack, assembling some pieces of wood and metal–not without spending hours walking in circles in the black hole that can be Home Depot–and expending a little sawing sweat. I’m very proud of this DIY project (care of an article in the intermittantly useful magazine Readymade.) I’ve done a couple basic linoleum prints just trying it out but I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and really start squishing things. I’ve contemplated all things around my home that could be pressed…a soda can, apples into cider!, grapes into wine!…well, that’s a stretch), handbound books pressed together,…or the mother of all printing adventures…old school letterpress.

I took a mini 2-day workshop in the Letterpress studio at Columbia College recently. Their presses are probably from the 1920’s and were manufactured by a company named Vandercook. I learned such cute terms as quoin and quoin keys and composing sticks and arranging furniture around your type. I knew I was in the right place when someone went to the trouble of making a rubbing of Vandercook’s grave in a nearyby cemetery and then displaying it on the studio wall. Letterpress and Gravestones: my passions collide!

This relatively new process (to me) was invented (at least in the West) by good ole Gutenburg in the 1500s using a wine press similar to the one I have. Long live the freedom of the press! Sweet sweet mass produced prints for the masses. So if you see some antique letterpress equipment in a local store or you’re trying to get it off your hands, let me help you! Calling all letterpress equipment!

I am slowly acquiring my own letterpress equipment in my own space and I’ll keep you updated on this crazy project!

 

Clearing screen (and green) space

In the purging frenzy that originated from the clotheswap, I felt the need to rid myself of other things…such as the old college laptop-a cheeseburger of a laptop, says my friend-sitting in my closet. It was a hand-me-down from my sister in 2001.

Good ole, Windows 95!

It even has a floppy disc drive!

After some shallow internet research, I have learned there is a drop off site in Chicago specifically for recycling your old computers and other hazardous items. I did, indeed, just say recycling and Chicago in the same sentence. I haven’t recycled it yet so maybe there is a nerd who wants to adopt this computer from me? They have strange hours:

The facility is located at 1150 N. North Branch Street, which is two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street. The facility is open for drop-offs on the following days:

• Tuesday (7:00am – 12:00pm)
• Thursday (2:00pm- 7:00pm)
• The first Saturday of every month (8:00am – 3:00pm)

I am going to try and work around these strange hours and give a complete update on the recycling experience. Presently, a friend is helping transfer old files into my new computer via the internet connection that is still possible on this machine.

Before Mozilla married Firefox:

¡Viva my Sophomore Art History essays!

Also, at a later date, I hope to interview my father about his KAYPRO 10 (a green screen!) that is still in use for his business. (Whadya say, Pop?) Anyone up for a little time travel to 1983? If it ain’t broke…