Printing Bristol’s Heritage

A new project by one of SPS’s member technicians, Charlotte Biszewski.

The project involves the recent culminating force of letterpress which seems to be organically growing into my life.
I have begun helping out at Spike Print Studio with both Angie Butler’s Book Arts course and Nick hands letterpress workshop; these have both been massive learning opportunities and I am finally feeling like a slightly more competent, slightly less bodged-job printer.

Spike Print Studio has a very large, very powerful Vandercook press, Automatic, one of only 3 in the country and concreted to the floor.
I have taken on the job of giving it life, cleaning down the press, definitely not an easy task, but very rewarding!
Check out the before and after- that was 9 years of ink build up!

As one of Bristol’s largest industries in the 1960s there were hundreds- put out of work by developments in the print technology. I would like to meet with them, interview, show that print is not dead (well not yet).
It would be an opportunity to develop networks, run workshops between all the studios in Bristol, the remember Bristol’s printing heritage and promote the education of this practice amongst younger and enthusiastic printmakers.

So I request this- pass on this message, if you’d like to be involved then get in contact.