Brother to the Rescue & No Loose Ends

Happy New Year to all! As I have graduated from Pittsburg State University and have become a resident of Colorado, I wanted to share a last bit on the letterpresses at the PSU Art Department.

At the letterpress dedication, the Vandercook Universal I was fully cleaned up however, the trip was not working. It was actually working in the opposite way it should have been. During the dedication, my brother was brainstorming with Nico (PSU professor) about the problem. The next thing I knew, they were taking it apart and found that the timing on the carriage was off. The day before I graduated, my brother and I took about 45 minutes where he adjusted the trip's gear until I was able to tell him that it was in the proper position. Viola, it was 100% functional! It was such a sweet moment to finish my last "assignment" with my big brother at my side. 

The next morning, day of graduation, I met with Portico, who will be taking on the letterpresses, and gave her a quick demo on how the Universal works. It was such a huge relief to know that my work was complete, there were no loose ends that would have to be translated via Skype/Facetime. (Of course I will a phone call away for any questions/problems that present themselves in the future)

I am also thrilled to learn that there will be several PSU Art students who are each taking letterpress independent study courses this spring semester. It is overwhelming to realize the support and excitement that has been put forth because of my interest in letterpress. It is so bittersweet to leave those presses, but so comforting to know they have a new life ahead of them. 

Thank you, Beau!

Celebration!

This Tuesday, December 8, the PSU Department of Art hosted a celebration and dedication for the newly named "Cat Jepson Letterpress Studio." It is a humbling honor to have such a space named after me. I am so excited to see where those newly restored presses take students in the future!

Here is a link to the local news story:
http://www.fourstateshomepage.com/news/psu-printing-press-revival

The following is a brief story about how this all was made possible!

DEDICATION and CELEBRATION
The Cat Jepson Fine Art Printmaking Letterpress Studio

The PSU Department of Art had for many years one abandoned letterpress housed in the printmaking lab originally delivered to the campus in 1928. It had fallen into disrepair and was covered with a coat of garish blue paint that attempted to hide the rust beneath it.  Most letterpress machines sat in similar conditions as the 1980’s and 1990’s discarded them as irrelevant in the age of off-set printing and computer technology. Since then, according to a recent article in The Economist the letterpress is now enjoying a worldwide renaissance. Etsy, the online craft store boasts 35,000 letterpress artists. Briar Press, an online hub for all activity related to the letterpress enjoys 70,000 members. 3,500 of those have letterpress studios. In 2012 Ms. Jepson, was taking Bowman’s printmaking course and she became interested in the abandoned letterpress. Jepson expressed an interest in undertaking as an independent study the restoration of the abandoned press, which she did. Mr. Randy Roberts, Dean of the Axe Library had two letterpress units slated for donation to the local history museum that were discovered by Ms. Jepson in February of 2015. When Mr. Roberts learned of Ms. Jepson’s restorative efforts on the Vandercook he made these two available to the Department of Art.  Aided by the assistance of Tonya Pentola’s very able crew of Daniel Ingram, Cody McCloud, Dennis Sellegren, Keith Shively, Jeff Peternell, Rob Hunt, and Dale Lucchi who masterminded and engineered how to get the presses to their new home. These two new-old presses have been restored through the generous support of Dr. Pawan Kahol and the Office of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education with a $3000 Research Grant.  These pieces of equipment worth well over $50,000.00 on the “letterpress” market now enjoy a new life.   Students from the Fall 2015 Printmaking, Bookarts, Papermaking and Letterpress class have enjoyed inaugural experiences while Ms. Jepson led everyone through a two-week workshop.  Ms. Jepson’s instruction have been captured on video, however her legacy will live on with each new student who discovers the magic of metal type tracing human interaction with paper and ink to transform the world with image and These restoration projects are made possible by a host of supporters near and far. Ms. Jepson and S. Portico Bowman wish to thank: Rhona McBain, former PSU Department of Art Chair, for approving the original restoration and providing seed budget money from the Art Department for materials needed, Dean Randy Roberts for the donation of the second and third press, Dr. Pawan Kahol, Office of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, Bob Atkins, director of Skylab Letterpress, for his wealth of knowledge during Cat’s 2014 summer internship, Ben Jones from Hammerpress in regards to his guidance on how to restore the press, Brent’s Electric and Nico Prelogar for help with the electrical and mechanical repairs on the Universal. Doug Younger, Associate Professor, Graphics and Imaging Technologies at PSU for the donation of furniture, others parts and much support, Hunter Morrison, from PSU’s Wood Technology program for cutting wooden furniture and creating the lock up bars, plans for furniture storage units, Fritz Klinke  from NA Graphics for helping Cat with the tympan and mylar paper required for packing the cylinder, and numerous aspects of the advanced restorations. Mr. Klinke also provided Cat with a digital copy of the original PSU receipt and press directions when it first came to campus in 1942. We also wish to thank Marty White, Department of Art Administrative Assistant for helping us buy antique letterpress equipment on Ebay!

Photo credit: PSU Department of Art

Restoration = Complete!

I have completed the final restoration, the Vandercook Universal I is completely reassembled! The only thing left is to make any roller and packing adjustments and PRINT.

Next Tuesday, December 8, from 11-1 pm will be a celebration. I will have all three presses prepped so attendees can print. Feel free to stop by and ask any questions you may have.

Rust free bed

Almost ready for reassembly

DONE!

Teaching & Light at the End of the Tunnel

Over the past month, a LOT has happened with the letterpresses!

To start off, I was able to get the same automotive professor, who attached the gear, to come back and check out the bearing issue that I was having with the Universal I. In less than 2 hours, he was able to get them where they needed to be!

The next large step was teaching letterpress. In mid-November, I taught a two week workshop on letterpress to the printmaking course, as well as passed on my knowledge to the professor so that she can teach it in the future. It was such a neat time, to actually have a class using these presses that I have spent so much time with. A dream come true!

The print on the left is student work, the other two were from my demos.

Here are a few pictures from when my "students" (usually classmates) were applying what they learned from my lectures and demos. SO exciting. 

I am still vigilantly working to finish up the Vandercook Universal I. Mainly what is left is dismantling, scrubbing, wiping, and reassembling every little bit. I have until next Tuesday, December 8 to get the last touches done. That day next week will be a celebration to show any visitors the working presses, and of course to do some printing!

This cleaner and California Wash plus a tooth brush have been critical in the clean up. SO CLOSE!

New Gear!

As you can see, the Vandercook Universal now has a new gear! I was afraid that the gear was too small to fit onto the stud but we were able to have an automotive contact through PSU look at it. He was confident that it's the right gear, and viola he got it on. It just needs to have the hole for the pin drilled out and lubrication then it should work like a charm.

I am still a bit stumped with the cylinder not rolling back past the ink drum. I was working with the cylinder bearings and had no luck. I talked with Fritz Klinke from NA Graphics, he gave tips on just how to adjust the bearings. After this conversation, I feel more confident that this is in fact the problem and have a better idea of how to adjust them.

New Parts, New Life

As many orders have been placed, I have received nearly all of them! That means we now have almost everything needed to get the presses in use when I teach next week. 

Here is the broken acrylic gear that I managed to get off and the new metal one that will soon be put on. 

A few of the new items- leading and brand new type

I prepped the two proof presses to be painted and have a sample area painted with the "clear" gloss, hopefully when I return to it after it dries, it will actually be clear.

Presses in the News

Pittsburg State University's newspaper, The Collegio recently ran an article featuring this restoration! A huge thank you to Gretchen Burns for telling the story of these presses.

Restored presses moved to new home

Gretchen Burns reporter - Mikaleigh Wilson photographer

When Cat Jepson created her class and work schedules last spring to prepare for the fall, she had to schedule time that allowed her to get dirty, greasy and use muscle power.

Jepson is taking an independent-study course where she is restoring two letterpresses that sat in the basement of Axe Library.

She began her career at Pittsburg State University as a business major before becoming a biology major. It wasn’t until the fall of 2012 that Jepson found her true passion and changed her major to art.

During the fall of 2012, Jepson took the Printmaking and Paper Arts course in the art department and fell in love with all aspects of printing and officially changed her degree.

“Between that fall and the following fall, I became interested in letterpress printing and discovered a letterpress in the (printmaking) studio,” said Jepson, senior in art.

Last fall, Jepson restored a letterpress that had sat in the printmaking studio of Porter Hall for years. Jepson worked through her previous independent study as an extension and personal exploration of art instructor Portico Bowman’s printmaking course.

“I found out we had a press that wasn’t being used and I was like, ‘Can I fix it?’” she said, laughing. “My goal for fixing up these presses isn’t just for my own use. My hope is that they can be used in classes some day again.”

She submitted a proposal to the chair of the art department.

During spring 2014, she successfully restored the Vandercook No. 2 Proof Press successfully, even stripping the paint down to metal and putting a new topcoat of clear paint.

During the summer of 2014, Jepson interned at Skylab Letterpress, where she learned about and assisted with all aspects of commercial/production letterpress.

“The beauty of how I’ve approached college is that with art, you can do anything,” Jepson said.

When she returned to PSU that fall, she used her knowledge of the letterpress to embark on an independent study so that she could use the press and experiment. An open-to-the-public celebration was held in the department so that Jepson could talk about her journey with the letterpress and give a demo to those who attended.

The following spring, her boyfriend texted her a picture of two letterpresses sitting in an unused room on the backside of Axe Library. She and Bowman contacted Library Dean Randy Roberts, who told the women that the presses had sat in that room since the 1990s and granted them permission to bring them back to life.

Jepson attended and participated in the Research Colloquium where she presented her letterpress research, documenting the steps she had taken and what she had learned.

Bowman submitted grant proposals to Pittsburg State University, citing an article from The Economist website that showed letterpress printing was making a comeback.

On the website Etsy, there are 33,154 different letterpress artists alone who sell their wares and pieces.

According to the article, ‘The renaissance of printing well pressed,’ computers pushed cast-iron presses and drawers of lead type to storerooms, where they sat until taken to scrap metal yards and dump sites.

“I like how the author of this article said that younger people are becoming more aware of letterpress because they are facing ‘digital fatigue,’ and want to get their hands dirty in a hands-on experience,” Bowman said. “This is a form of art that most people had forgotten about in order to become one with the digital world.”

The grants were accepted through Pitt State from the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies as a form of continuing Bowman’s research. Two grants were awarded, $2,000 to repair the presses, and $1,000 to Jepson for her time and effort.

Once Jepson restores the two letterpresses that have been moved from the Axe to the second floor of Porter Hall, she will teach a two-week class on letterpress to the printmaking students in November. She will film herself doing the tutorials so that they may be used for later classes after she graduates.

“The letterpress can attract a lot more students than just printmakers,” said Bowman. “We could get illustration students, drawing and even graphic information technology students interested in this.”

Here's a link to the article on the Collegio website:
http://www.psucollegio.com/news/restored-presses-moved-to-new-home/article_55d2328a-7343-11e5-9a33-4bfbbb9120f3.html

Progress and more to come

The restoration process is slowing plugging along. I have taken apart the Vandercook Universal and am still stumped as to what the main problem is in regards to the cylinder not revolving all the way back past the ink drum. I know there is a piece broken on this gear that assists with the trip but I am not convinced that is what's causing all of the problems. Tomorrow morning I will be meeting with a few electricians who are going to look over the motor to see what they can do!

I have found some neat "accidental" art within the skeleton of the Vandercook Universal after many years of use. Quite pleasant surprises!

The Potter is coming together nicely, I recently removed a lot of the deep rust. This one just needs a clear rust prevention coat, some oil, and packing and it will be ready to go!

I am gradually getting parts ordered for the presses, after the electrician meeting tomorrow, I feel that there will be a better understanding as how the rest of the restorations will proceed.

The Eagles Have Landed!

This marks my final semester at Pittsburg State University and I will be concluding my college career in a rewarding way! For a little background, in the spring of 2014 I managed to restore a Vandercook No. 2 Proof Press and more recently found two more unused letterpresses on campus. My advisor applied for grants to fund the restoration of these two "new" presses in which we were fully funded. With the help of these intuitive and gracious individuals, our "eagles" landed this week!

  

Alongside the Vandercook No. 2 Proof Press, we now have a Potter Proof Press and a Vandercook Universal. I hope to have these fully restored by the beginning of November as I will be teaching a two week workshop in the current printmaking course.

Stay tuned for updates on the restoration! To read more about the first restoration that I completed, click on the "Letterpress" tab to view all of the blog posts. Enjoy! 

Letterpress Restoration: Days 11-14 (Completion)

Through the last few weeks, extra hours were put into the completion of the letterpress restoration. It is DONE!

These two are directly after I finished stripping the paint off of the cylinder. The name plate actually exists!

A special THANK YOU to Doug Younger from PSU's Graphics department for donating a large amount of wooden furniture and oil.

Another special THANK YOU to NA Graphics who sent an image of the original shipping information and directions. How neat that PSU was the original owner back in 1928! I also look forward to opening the box of tympan and various cylinder packing paper that is on its way in the mail.

Here is an old image of the press being used at PSU, my guess, in the 50's. SO much history in this press.

Last but not least, the completed letter press! I so look forward to printing on it yet again on the PSU campus come fall. Stay tuned!

Letterpress Restoration: Days 9 & 10

I am getting extremely close to being finished with the paint stripping. Today, I finished up the base as you can see in the second image! There's still a bit on the bed (top picture) and the cylinder. Only a few more weeks to work, looks like it will wrap up quite nicely. On the side, I am working on getting tympan paper, ink, oil, furniture, and a few other items. I am considering having wooden furniture made as it would be much more cost effective than to buy furniture.

 

 

 

Letterpress Restoration: Days 7 & 8

I was able to have a few classmates remove the top of the press so I could clean the space below it. I hope to have the remaining paint removed by the end of next week. The next steps will include removing any rust, reassembling the press, and gathering any materials needed to print with it! It has been a slow process getting this press cleaned as only a few hours are available each week to work on it, but it is definitely coming along.

 

 

Letterpress Restoration: Days 5 & 6

Paint removal has been the primary focus over the last few sessions. I have found that under the layer of blue there is a layer of black as well. It is taking about three processes of applying the stripper, letting it sit for 30 minutes, and stripping. There still is paint left on the front shelves but on the sides I just need to clear off a few spots. It is a slow process but I am definitely making progress!

Letterpress Restoration: Days 3 & 4

After running into issues with finding a way to-safely-remove the cylinder and having a bout of sickness... The cylinder is finally OFF! 

Here I am building the frame onto a media cart where the cylinder was rolled onto...

The look of excitement that it is finally happening AND the look of pure fear that it would not work out...

Annnd the look of complete relief that it WORKED! Quite the "WHEW" moment...

Last Friday (3/7), I was able to have a solid chunk of time to work on the press. As you can see below, the citristrip is working perfectly in removing the blue paint and the naval jelly is working beautifully as it removed virtually all of the rust from the two tracks on the right.