The true joy of owning a printing press is being able to make posters of the fun and clever things people say. In this case, Katie provided the text inadvertently in her newsletter. She was writing about goldfinches and her mowing her lawn. It was in a paragraph all on its own.
Immediately I knew I wanted to make a poster with the quote. I emailed Katie to request permission (she said it was okay, yippee!!).
Shortly afterwards, I was cleaning up ink from printing a set of greeting cards and knew I had the right combination of colours for this print. I quickly set up the text in the Stephenson Blake proofing press using three wood founts, and some metal type. I knew I wanted the printing to have a bit of "mess" to it. The first two lines are inked "cleanly", then the third line ("in the") has a layer of yellow ink deposited, then the roller with pink ink was used. This process lifts some of the yellow ink, and leaves dapples of pink. With a loaded roller, the "mess" is rolled out. This is mostly pink with fragments of yellow letters. Unlike "in the", this is bigger, blockier colours that almost verge on camouflage. Finally, to clean the roller of any remaining deposits, the colour is rolled out on a blank sheet of paper, forming the background for later prints. This process is very time-consuming, but I love the effects. Every print is a little unique, although they definitely belong to the same family.
To identify each print, I've used my vintage typewriter to add a credit to Princetown Press, and the numbering for the edition. Extremely unorthodox, but a bit of fun none-the-less.
Details
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Quote: There is magic in the mess.
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Quote attribution: Katie Treggiden, author-journalist and environmentalist
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Size: A4 (210mm x 297mm)
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Paper: British, recycled paper 120gsm.
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Ink: Hawthorn Print Makers (claret, and a custom blend heavily featuring Tangerine)
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Type faces: Penny Farthing, wood fount cut in the UK by Type High Design; an unknown vintage wood fount; and a scramble of wood type for "mess". Katie's name is set in 24pt Perpetua (metal type).
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Press: Stephenson Blake galley proofing press (1960s)
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Finishing: Press credit and numbering on a Canadian-made vintage Underwood typewriter.
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Edition size: 10 white; 10 printed background (numbered 1-10 for each of the two variations). Half of the print run was supplied to Katie.
