The Ink Zone

June, 2000 Number 93
The History of Printing

Len Carrick roped me into contributing to the annual Redwood Chapel calendar, and ever since I have been more than challenged to try to print something, letterpress, worthy of looking at for a whole month. Even being assigned February is no consolation prize. The task is still to design and print something, with the correct numbers and dates and stuff, that is worth looking at day after day, and good enough to wait a year or more to see. My first attempts were sad and I did not even know the rules. With 25 members I made the stupid assumption that 25 copies would be enough. I got some urgent correspondence in the mail asking for 375 more. By that time my forms were torn down and I was traveling to some swampy place to look for rocks.

Later attempts found me short of enough numbers to make the cornerstone part of the page-the calendar. Good old Len, never one to let me off the hook, printed the numbers for me and left it up to me to find something to print around them. This year he even loaned me the font so I might print the whole thing my self. Wonderful-now what?

The theme every year is something to do with printing-just make your month distinctive and fun. Well, for 2001 my month is December. I thought of trying to design a Santa printing want ads for reindeer recruits, Mrs. Clause printing To Do lists for forgetful elves, Elves printing labor meeting notices; lots of bizarre ideas and no talent to draw these visions.

In desperation, I asked a friend and respected collogue, with talent in everything possible, to consider drawing me something that I might use. The gift of a camera to his 12 year old daughter captured photos of my shop and their vacation in the south west portions of New Mexico.

Using black and white to learn the art of photography, Emily did a fine job finding interesting material. Rich saw these, as only artists can do, as more than photos; more as ideas to be put together. The resulting 8 1/2” by 11” pencil drawing is a masterpiece soon to be framed for my wall. The half tone cut, I think you will agree, is a glimpse of the history of communication though printing. Petroglyphs and my proof press are two of but a million steps from the earliest days to the way we communicate ideas and art to the world today

Thanks Rich for the best calendar idea yet.

G.E. McKelvey
GEM Press
9485 E. Conquistadores Dr.
Scottsdale, Arizona
85255-4345
gempress@qWEST.net
480 473-9320
Fax 480 473-8599