After wrapping up in Boca Raton, it was time to head North & West to Tampa. I had no idea what to expect; I’d only been to Southern Florida, and people kept telling me “the farther North you go, the farther South you get.” Ominous. But I took the overtures with a grain of salt – I knew from the start that not everywhere (and everyone) I visited would share my political or social values. At any rate, I reassured myself that I was headed to the Tampa Book Arts Studio at the University of Tampa, and if anything, I’d have a little refuge on campus.

Upon my arrival, I was greeted by Richard Mathews, professor, veteran printer, and Captain of the TBAS ship. Richard is a very interesting man – he walks fast, talks fast, and his rapidity belied a depth and breadth of knowledge that readily became apparent. Here was someone that had seen and done much more than me – but our interests dovetailed so wonderfully: artist’s books, FLUXUS, performative and avant-garde works, small press, and of course, printing. Richard got involved in printing decades ago when he ran a magazine called Konglomerati (also an art collective that shared the printing equipment), and since that time has been stewarding a massive amount of printing equipment. And when I say massive, for what I’d seen in the South so far, it wasn’t an exaggeration. Rounding the bend into the studio, which resides in a low-lying, unassuming building on the gorgeous UTampa campus, I encountered over 300 cases of foundry type, a working Intertype from 1925, a Monotype display caster, a Monotype composition caster, an electric Ludlow, two Chandler & Price platen presses, a Vandercook 4, a Vandercook 219AB, a Miehle Vertical, a Hoe Washington hand press c. 1865, and the coup de grâce: a Hoe Washington hand press from 1848 that belonged to esteemed artist J.J. Lankes. Lankes produced illustrations and woodcuts for the works of Robert Frost, among others. Here’s the kicker: EVERYTHING WORKS.
I wandered around stupefied, and was actually a little relieved when Richard and I retired to the office to discuss writing, books, and where my travels would take me next. Richard was careful to mention Carl Nudi, a retired printer who helped around the shop and kept most of the equipment running smoothly. Carl was a member of the International Typographical Union, and the more we talked about it, the more excited I got to meet him.

Flash forward to the following day, when I had my chance – I met Carl in the early afternoon, and we hit up a place on campus for lunch. We talked printing, history, tramp printers, and more as we walked through the drizzle (as an aside, I’d still been sorely disappointed by the weather in FL). When we got back to the shop, Carl showed me cases full of cuts that were rescued from the defunct M.A. Donohue & Co., a publisher that specialized in children’s books, some dating from the late 1800s. Richard and he had discussed it, and they thought they would be the perfect cuts to use for an Itinerant Printer project; they were definitely right. Just check out the pics.
Working on the Vandercook 219AB was a dream, and I used it to demonstrate letterpress for two classes before getting to work on a postcard and a poster. When I wasn’t working, I explored Tampa, which is having a bit of a downtown resurgence – they’re building a boardwalk along the river to connect a few museums and create an “arts corridor,” all of which is visible from the UTampa campus. I didn’t stay in downtown, however – I was more intrigued by Ybor City, traditionally the Latin Quarter, and one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tampa. I wasn’t disappointed – Ybor City had everything I’m always looking for: skate shops, music venues, great bars and restaurants with great beer. I’d almost forgotten that Tampa had a deep skate culture rooted in the annual Tampa Am contest held at the Skatepark of Tampa. Many of the bars and restaurants had decks hanging on the walls, or were playing skate videos on tvs behind the counter.

I spent more time with Carl over the next two days, and we got to be good friends, so I ventured to ask him about running a stanza on the Intertype with me for the final color on the postcard. He happily obliged. We spent our last day together working on that until late in the evening – the machine was acting up, and I got to see a great, belligerent, honest side of Carl as he cursed the machine while deftly and quickly repairing it. In the end, we cast a great poem together – a collaborative work based on the number of matrices in the Intertype (we kept running out of t’s so we discussed changes to the poem), Carl’s input, and my original lines. Carl and I said goodnight that evening, but don’t worry, he shows up later in this story too. This was definitely the highlight of the trip – I was sad to not get more time with Richard, but Tampa was a wonderful surprise, a learning experience, and a little victory.

After leaving Ft. Lauderdale, FL, (where, like Miami, they can turn anything/anywhere into a nightclub), I made my way north to Boca Raton, FL (where, like Beverly Hills, there are more luxury cars than there are people). Boca Raton is home to Florida Atlantic University, which has housed the Jaffe Center for Book Arts since 1998 – the JCBA hosts the 6,000 volume Arthur and Mata Jaffe Collection (primarily artist’s books), as well as a letterpress printshop featuring two Vandercooks, a Wesel hand press, a Potter proof press, and an assortment of metal type, wood type, and cuts. I’d been looking forward to this early stop because I have a few works in the Jaffe Collection, and I’d heard great things about Arthur Jaffe – that he was a tireless advocate for book arts and print, that he was spirited and joyful, full of humor and life. Unfortunately, I landed at a bittersweet time – just over a week after 93 year old Arthur passed away peacefully in his sleep. From what I’m told, he asked for a bowl of chocolate ice cream around 8-9pm, then quietly went to bed. I can’t think of a better way to go.

Upon my arrival I was greeted by Director John Cutrone, who humbly showed me around and then explained that the task for the rest of the day was to erect the “Contemplation Tent” that Arthur had requested in the event of his passing. The Contemplation Tent consisted of two dozen aluminum poles and 17 hand-sewn quilts – once the framework is put in place, the quilts are hung from the poles, creating a soft room that features a rolling landscape of myriad colors on the interior. The exterior is adorned with a more nebulous landscape, punctuated by the gesturing figures of people headed into the small slit that acts as a door. Only one instruction adorns the tent: Please Enter One at a Time. And when I say there’s only one instruction, I mean it. John and I, as well as Office Manager Eric Bush, along with students Brooke, Will, Charles, and Ilana, spent about 2 hours putting the small tent up, using logic to discern where the pieces went. Apparently Arthur wanted us to not only contemplate inside the tent once it was up, he wanted us to contemplate prior to that, and work as a team. And that we did. Until we realized it would probably have to come apart to be moved into the appropriate room.
Either way, I was honored to be a part of something that Arthur thought would be an integral part of his memorial, and it helped me learn a lot about the key people that keep JCBA running.

The following days I spent cleaning the shop, printing, and on Thursday, Feburary 5th, I gave a presentation about the history of itinerant printing and the early stages of the TIP project. We moved from the library to the printshop later in the evening, and I guided participants through the printing process, adding the last color to a 12 x 18 poster that featured maps of Boca Raton, clip art cuts, and dozens of signatures culled from local business letters. I loved that I was able to find things in the collection at JCBA that were representative of Boca Raton and Florida without being ham-handed about it.

In addition to printing, I got to experience JCBA’s “Real Mail Fridays,” an event staged in the late afternoon once a month on Friday – all manner of raw materials are provided to facilitate letter-writing, postcard making, and any other mode of correspondence art. Too perfect for the TIP project!

I was honored to spend time at the JCBA, and although I never got to meet the man himself, I hope that he’d appreciate the project’s spirit of adventure coupled with its desire to make printing and book arts a central component of community building.
Huge thanks to the entire team at JCBA: John, Eric, Will, Brooke, Ilana, Charles, and Seth. Check out the pics below to see more of the space, and get a peek of the fantastic Edward Gorey exhibition that was up while I was there – John explained to me that the show’s timeline was extended after Arthur’s passing because Gorey was one of his favorites.

I left Buffalo early on a chilly Monday morning – January 26th – and hopped a lucky non-stop flight to Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale airport. When I landed, it was 59 degrees and pouring rain. Talk about bringing the weather with you. Never fear for this intrepid traveler, however, fickle Florida soon revealed itself, the skies broke, and I got to soak up a little vitamin D.

I had initially wanted to start The Itinerant Printer tour in Miami, but I had a hard time finding letterpress shops that weren’t doing exclusively commercial work, so the first stop ended up being IS Projects in Ft. Lauderdale, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to kick off the project. IS Projects is run by Ingrid Schindall, a graduate of MICA (2012); she started her love affair with letterpress while acting as the coordinator of the Globe Collection at MICA. She’s a native of southern Florida, and returned after graduating with the intention of starting a space focused on letterpress printing and book arts. IS is located in the burgeoning Flagler Arts Technology Village (FAT), a small neighborhood with a concentration of galleries, studios, shared workspaces, and retail outlets. The space opened September 27th, 2014.

Her shop boasts a 30″ Challenge paper cutter from 1909, a Vandercook SP 15, a Craftsmen Superior 6″ x 10″, a C & P 10″ x 15″ with Kluge Feeder (that needs a little TLC), and a huge Praga etching press with a 32″ x 72″ bed. In addition to all the printing equipment, Ingrid has been able to dedicate one half the studio to bookbinding, and that area features a smaller Challenge 193 guillotine, a saddle stapler, a corner rounder, book presses, and an SAS leather skiver. She has a growing collection of wood type, metal type, and cuts as well.

The Itinerant Printer visit was synchronized with a FAT Village Art Walk that happens once a month – a wildly successful event that brings out thousands of people; they open all the studios, bands and djs play music, food trucks line the streets, and there’s also an artist market. Hundreds of people came through IS Projects that night to learn about IS Projects the TIP tour.

Ingrid is an amazing person – young, sanguine, optimistic, but simultaneously methodical, realistic, and patient. She’s pulled the space together with the help of family and friends, and she barters with other artists and craftspeople in town in order to build out the community that supports her space. She’s active in every aspect of the FAT Village community, and in a karmic way, it’s helping her space grow and blossom. Learn more about IS Projects here, check out Ingrid and her work here, and don’t forget to browse the gallery below for shots of the shop.

It’s been quite a journey already, and I haven’t even left my hometown (except to visit Cleveland and Rochester on test runs), but on January 26th, The Itinerant Printer journey begins (for real) in Miami, FL. If you want to know where I’m stopping and when, check out the proposed itinerary page!

I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has made this adventure possible: all of the Indiegogo supporters, as well as my friends and family who have donated their time and energy to ensure its success. I’d also like to acknowledge all of the corporate sponsors that are facilitating elements of the project: Legion Paper, Virgin Wood Type, Field Notes, Porridge Papers, Block Club, Oxford Pennant, Mailchimp, Pistachio Press, White Bicycle, Write Notepads Co., and Van Son Holland Inks. Everyone that I’ve worked with makes The Itinerant Printer possible, but more importantly, they’ve made me feel as though that support comes without having to shill for a business I don’t believe in.

That being said – check out this really great send off piece from Herschel Supply Co. about my gig posters and analog design, as well as a nod to The Itinerant Printer. They’ll be covering the project throughout the year at different intervals. It even comes with a playlist. Click on the pic below to check it out.

On December 30th, 2014, Sara Ali conducted a radio interview with me about The Itinerant Printer project, book arts, gig posters, and printing in general. It covers a lot of ground; I mean, it goes from GWAR to Richard Tuttle. Check it out here on Soundcloud! It’s about 30 minutes long, so pack a lunch.

A few hours from Buffalo down the shoreline of Lake Erie lies Cleveland, OH, another rust belt city with a long legacy of manufacturing and printing, and the eventual decline of both. Home to the Chandler & Price company (1881-1964), manufacturers of the infamously dangerous open platen press (as well as paper cutters, book presses, and other printing equipment), Cleveland played a pivotal role in the world of letterpress – and thanks to Zygote Press, artists today still have access to printing equipment in a shared studio space. I visited Zygote from December 21st-23rd, 2014.

The studio features a number of different etching presses, two Vandercook proofing presses, a full screen printing studio, and even a digital printing lab. The letterpress studio features thousands of cuts and ornaments (including an amazing copper cut of the original Chandler & Price factory), as well as a sizable collection of wood and metal type. Full shop access is granted to members for a reasonable fee.

Zygote Press was founded in 1996; in 2006 it moved from its original home in the Saint Clair-Superior neighborhood to its current location on East 30th St. Since its inception, it has been growing and changing, doing more and more to accommodate artists of all stripes, but in 2011 they developed ZPASS – Zygote Press Artists Share Space – a 1,500 square foot loft apartment 1 floor above the printmaking studio meant to house visiting artists, artists-in-residence, and other guests. Staying at ZPASS while I worked at Zygote was probably one of the coolest parts of the trip – being able to walk down the stairs 24 hours a day and print. Most recently, they’ve been developing a plan for what they call the Ink House – a satellite location where they’ll host more visiting artists. I’ll be headed back there in the Fall!

I want to extend thanks to everyone who made this test-run possible: Liz, Elizabeth, Wendy, Lindsay, and my outstanding roommate, Jacob Lang, who makes amazing work that you should check out on Instagram.

The Itinerant Printer project won’t officially kick off until 2015, but in the meantime I thought it would be wise to do few test runs at letterpress shops closer to home. Luckily, I had a few friends who were very accommodating – in this case, Mitch Cohen, the Printing and Book Arts Program Director at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education. What a mouthful – from here on out, we’ll call them PABA and GCA. I landed at GCA PABA on December 20th and spent the day.

The GCA started in 1970 as a community art space, and it was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in 1973. It’s housed in an amazing old brick firehouse (c. 1904-1905) and features a full letterpress studio, a paper making studio, a nascent screen printing studio, a pottery studio, and a fully functioning community darkroom. Members are provided access on a monthly basis for a modest fee, and different tiers designate different levels of access.

The space at GCA PABA is clean, well-lit, and fundamentally romantic – who doesn’t love the idea of a studio in a cool firehouse with exposed brick walls and 15 ft. ceilings full of Vandercook proofing presses, a Heidelberg, a C & P, and hundreds of drawers of metal and wood type? The studio is well-organized and well-appointed, and Mitch was his calm, cool, relaxed self when I enquired about using the space.

Perusing the collection that Mitch has acquired and curated since PABA was established in 2005 was exciting, but daunting. I quickly realized that I wanted to print hundreds of things, not just one. I realized my main task during The Itinerant Printer tour was not going to be printing; it was going to be choosing what to print. I decided to keep things simple and selected a number of lower-case gs from the more idiosyncratic drawers of wood type and laid them out in a forme. I pared that idea down even more, and simply went with two gs overprinted in 3 colors: yellow, purple, and fluorescent pink (how could I resist?).

The conversation was easy, the tone was light, Mitch and I had a beer (Genesee Cream Ale of course, my grandfather’s favorite, brewed in Rochester) – but what was really surprising, and worked just as I had hoped, was that other printers in town stopped by to visit. I was really excited to see that Geri McCormick and Matt Rieck from Virgin Wood Type stopped by, as well as my friend Chris Charles from Fly Rabbit Press – present in spirit (via text) was Amy Rau from Green Girl Press. Chat, print, sip, chat, print, sip. Geri was kind enough to bring me a few pieces of wood type (french stars and knickbocker birds, see below). A few hours passed, and I had the very first postcard for The Itinerant Printer project.

If you’re ever in Rochester, NY, hit up the PABA at GCA. It’s not to be missed – you’ll marvel at the wood type, the presses, and the building itself, and if you’re lucky, you’ll meet Mitch and a few of the locals.

I’ve wanted to do a few short test runs for TIP before the whole project really kicks off; I’d like contributors to get a sense of what kind of work I’ll be making, what shop visits will be like, and what kind of pics to expect from the road. I was lucky enough to find some amazing and accommodating people to help make it possible: Elizabeth Emery from Zygote Press in Cleveland, OH, and my friend Mitch Cohen from the Printing and Book Arts Center at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Educaton in Rochester, NY.

I’ll be in Rochester on Saturday cranking out some work using their amazing collection of wood type – excited to be working where many of my friends got their start printing (or continue to print) – Rachael Hetzel from Pistachio Press and Chris Charles from Fly Rabbit Press, as well as Geri McCormick from Virgin Wood Type.

Sunday until Tuesday, I’ll be in the grand metropolis of Cleveland, on the not-too-distant shores of Lake Erie. Zygote is a space that will be all new to me – so I’m excited to see what challenges await me. Until then – keep in mind this quote from John Edward Hicks Adventures of a Tramp Printer:

When I first envisioned The Itinerant Printer project, I knew that I’d have the opportunity to meet so many new people and see so many new places, but one thing that I didn’t envision is that it would bring me closer to old friends. I’ve been working for the past month and a half on a pitch video with my friend Nate Peracciny, who I’ve known for almost 20 years. We’re the kind of friends that don’t need to talk much (although Nate rarely stops talking) to understand one another, and it’s that kind of tacit trust that’s required when you give someone the creative license to manifest your vision visually. At times we bickered, but in the end, Nate put together a solid video that really expresses the motive, the goal, and the essence of the project, and for that, I’m really grateful.

Here’s to shooting the same skate sequence twenty times in a row; here’s to driving around country roads listening to Radar Love ten times in a row; here’s to repeating myself six ways to Sunday but saying it slightly different every time; here’s to the hours of footage left on the cutting room floor; and finally, here’s to laughing and joking our way through most of it.

In early November, I was lucky enough to visit the Hamilton Wood Type Museum for the annual Wayzgoose – an international gathering of printers, designers, typographers, and alphabet aficionados. It was the perfect place to launch The Itinerant Printer project, and since that weekend the itinerary has been growing every day. As it stands, there are close to 40 printshops and institutions on the schedule (with dates to be announced) and another 20-30 waiting in the wings. I’m confident that I’ll reach over 100 in short order, and as soon as I do, I’ll schedule dates and times.

The printing community has been so generous; many fellow printers are offering places to stay along the route as well as points of interest to seek out – I’m so very grateful to have their support! In many ways, although I didn’t print anything on this trip, I consider it the starting point for The Itinerant Printer adventure.

While I continue to build the itinerary, check out a few great pics from the Hamilton Wayzgoose!