Moving Days: Part Three

Photograph by Alina Ryabovolova. Carl Mario Nudi (left), TBAS Letterpress Coordinator, at the Vandercook 4 with Nathan Deuel (right).

It was a sticky summer day not that long ago when the necessity of moving the Tampa Book Arts Studio became apparent. The nuances of the move had seemed daunting when laid out on blueprint paper and tiny measuring-tape-markings blocked out on an empty stone floor. And for weeks, as this move progressed, it was the slog of many to endure – and many to whom we are all grateful. Though now on a grey Florida winter afternoon and after at least a hundred-tons of precise pushes, pulls, and slight nudges – it is safe to say that the new Tampa Books Arts Studio has been reborn at 214 North Boulevard, Tampa, Florida.

Tested already during an inaugural MFA event, the new studio surpassed expectations as it handled a class load of over 30 creative writing students, all drawn for a taste of the mechanical lore of the letterpress crafts. The goal of the visit was to create an original keepsake for each student, which featured a fitting quote from a guest-MFA author, Francine Prose. The production process tied together several kinds of printing and techniques. For example, the deep green palms as seen below were printed on an 1848 Hoe Washington hand press that once belonged to J.J.Lankes (Lankes is the noted American woodcut artist who illustrated books by Robert Frost and other literary figures). The large type was hand-set and cast on a Ludlow Typograph and printed in black ink on a hand-turned Vandercook 4 press. The small type was handset in Kennerley Italic,  cast as individual letters on our Monotype sorts caster.

Colophon: This keepsake in celebration of the first residency of the University of Tampa MFA in Creative Writing, with Francine Prose as a guest author, was printed by students in the inaugural class during their visit to the Tampa Book Arts Studio, January 11, 2012.

To describe the event, it would be right to say simply that it was as it should have been: An event filled with fellowship and promise. New writers. Old writers. Old machines. Fresh ink.