Idaho State University’s Pinyon Jay Press hosted visiting artist Jessica Spring on Thursday, September 29, 2016.

The Pinyon Jay Press in Pocatello, Idaho, is a collaborative venture between the James E. Rogers Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion, the Department of English and Philosophy, and the Department of Art. Housed in the VisComm Experimental Lab in the Liberal Arts Building of Idaho State University, it provides faculty and students the opportunity to learn the art of fine letterpress printing.

Jessica Spring learned to set real metal type in 1989 and has been a letterpress printer ever since, most recently inventing Daredevil Furniture to help other printers set type in circles, curves and angles. Her work at Springtide Press—artist books, broadsides and ephemera—is included in collections around the country and abroad. She also collaborates on the Dead Feminists broadside series with illustrator Chandler O’Leary. Spring has an MFA from Columbia College and teaches letterpress printing and book arts.

Spring’s visit will include two events:  a letterpress workshop and a juror’s talk at the Type, Paper, Scissors: A Broadside Exhibit at the Transition Gallery.

--Thursday, Sept. 29, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: Daredevil Letterpress Workshop, LA 139 Pinyon Jay Press

  6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Opening of “Type, Paper, Scissors” Broadside Exhibit with Juror’s remarks, Transition Gallery, Pond Student Union.    

All events were open to the public. The Daredevil Letterpress Workshop has limited space.

Spring’s visit was supported by a generous grant from the F.M. , Anne G., and Beverly B. Bistline Foundation Fund, the James E. Rogers Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion, and the Department of Art and the Idaho State University Library.

Idaho State University’s Pinyon Jay Press hosted visiting artist Kerri Cushman on March 2 and 3, 2016. Cushman is a sculptural book artist and avid papermaker with an affinity for letterpress, and a professor at Longwood  University in Virginia.

The Pinyon Jay Press is a collaborative venture between ISU’s Department of Communication, Media and Persuasion, the Department of English and Philosophy and the Department of Art. The press is housed in the VisComm Experimental Lab in the Liberal Arts Building. It provides faculty and students the opportunity to learn the art of fine letterpress printing and to explore various forms of expression that involve image, text or a combination of the two.

Cushman obtained an MFA in Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts from Columbia College in Chicago. As a professor, she teaches papermaking, bookbinding and letterpress printing. She is known for her exquisitely crafted work and her pieces have been exhibited internationally. Her work can be viewed at www.kerricushman.com.

Cushman’s visit included three events:  a papermaking open house, an artist’s talk, and a letterpress workshop.

--March 2, 1:00-3:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building room 407: Papermaking Open House. Attendees will be able to drop in and participate in demonstrations of embossed handmade paper.

--March 2, 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Fine Art Building room 401: Cushman Artist’s Talk.

--March 3, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. in Liberal Arts room 139:  Good Impressions Letterpress Workshop.

All events were open to the public. The papermaking open house and artist talk were free of charge. The Good Impressions Letterpress Workshop had limited space.

Cushman’s visit was supported by a generous grant from the Idaho State University Cultural Events Committee, the James E. Rogers Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion, the Department of Art and Pinyon Jay Press.

Mary Laird, master letterpress printer and acclaimed book artist, led two workshops at the Pinyon Jay Press in October of 2013. Ms. Laird, M.A. in Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin and proprietor of Quelquefois Press since 1969, teaches at and serves as board member for the San Francisco Center for the Book. In her workshop “Letterpress Book in a Day! An Edition of Thirty to Forty Chapbooks,” ISU students and community artists collaborated on a group theme and learned to set type, mix ink, read a pica ruler, and sew a pamphlet-stitch book. A follow-up master class instructed students in advanced typesetting, dry and damp paper preparation, ink mixing, multiple-color registration, and press mechanics.