MTSU Book and Printing Arts and History
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Suminagashi Workshop
We had a Saturdays at Todd suminagashi workshop today and it was a great success. We had a full class of participants who made a variety of marbled papers. Select link above for photo highlights.
Image: Process image from Dr. Laura Cochrane's Suminagashi Saturdays At Todd Workshop, February 4, 2023.
Suminagashi
Suminagashi is a style of marbling from Japan and may be the earliest marbling technique. It involves floating ink on water in a tray and manipulating the ink to form patterns, before transferring the image to a sheet of paper. We will be hosting a suminagashi workshop at a Saturdays at Todd this month and […]
Image: Example of Sumainagashi with ink floating on water and showing some manipulation, February 2, 2023.
Happy Holidays!
To celebrate the holidays, we are highlighting a Christmas greeting made by Bruce Rogers in 1923 out of letterpress printer’s ornaments that is housed in the Department’s Teaching and Historical collection. As an homage, I made two holiday cards using printers ornaments, although they are digital greetings and were not printed.
Image: Homage to Christmas greeting made by Bruce Rogers in 1923 out of letterpress printer’s ornaments that is housed in the Department’s Teaching and Historical collection, December 22, 2022.
‘Twas the Night before Christmas
To celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday, we are highlighting a small publication of A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore, first published in 1837. The poem is better known by its first line, “‘Twas the night before Christmas.” This version was published in 1921 and was designed by Bruce Rogers for the Atlantic […]
Image: A color woodcut by Florence Wyman Ivins from the 1921 Atlantic Monthly Press poem's publication, December 20, 2022.
Get your zines!
One last post about MALA 6000. In addition to researching books in the Historical Collections, the students also made their own books in the form of zines, which are shown here. The assignment was to use an existing text and lay it out and illustrate it. The student used a simple format, with all the […]
Image: Zine retelling Aesop’s fable of the Lion and the Ass, by Sandra Flavin, December 9, 2022.
A Chapbook in Honor of William Edwin Rudge by Karen Brummer, MALA 6000 student
The Typophiles is a New York City organization, founded in the 1930s, which is devoted to the advocacy of fine typography. It’s name, typophiles, refers to those who loves printed matter and typography. In addition to hosting social events and lectures for its members, the group published books and other material, including chapbooks, such as this one, which is now housed in […]
Image: Typesetting and Composition Room, pre-press era, December 3, 2022.
The Baltimore Bibliophiles by Linda G. Hall, MALA 6000 Student
The images below are from a keepsake book printed for members of the Baltimore Bibliophiles in May of 1960. The coverboards are decorated with handmade marbled papers, made in England by Douglas Cockerell, the best known twentieth-century marbler. The pattern looks like the skin of a snake or a bird’s wing feathers. Marbling is a […]
Image: Marbling image from a 1960 keepsake book for members of the Baltimore Bibliophiles, December 3, 2022.
The Danish Aesop by Sandra Flavin, MALA 6000 student
The Danish Aesop is a book of fables written by Aesop, a Greek fabulist. It is not known if Aesop actually existed, although the writings of Aristotle and Phaedrus say he was born around 620 BCE in Phrygia. Aesop’s fables have been translated into many languages, and in The Danish Aesop, the fables are re-told by R. Broby-Johansen, a Danish historian, […]
Image: Illustration from The Danish Aesop, re-told by R. Broby-Johansen, an historian, communist activist, and writer. The illustrations throughout the book are by Mogens Zieler, a Danish painter, graphic designer, and illustrator, December 3, 2022.
Volumes on Ikebana (Japanese Flower Arranging) by Chelsea Able, MALA 6000 student
The book that I chose to discuss for this post is an unusual one. It may have listed the title and other details of the book, but it is in Japanese. While I studied Japanese in my undergrad program, it has been a while, and I only got to the fourth class for Japanese language. […]
Image: Color lithograph floral arrangement from “A Hundred Rules of Flower Arrangement," December 1, 2022.
MALA 6000: Experiencing Rare Books
MALA 6000 is a foundational course for MTSU’s Master’s of Arts in Liberal Arts. This semester, the seminar was organized on the theme of “Experience.” For the Art History block, which was taught by Laura Cochrane, the students got to handle and explore the rare books and other materials in the Department of Art and […]
Image: Rare book exampled from the Department of Art and Design’s Teaching and Historical Collections, November 30, 2022.
Bruce Rogers’s Utopia
This time, we are continuing our exploration of the work of the book designer, Bruce Rogers. In 1934, Rogers designed and published a translation of Thomas More’s Utopia for the Limited Editions Club of New York. For that, he printed 1500 signed and numbered copies. The next year, the book was accurately reproduced and issued […]
Image: 1934 book cover design, detail, Rogers designed and published a translation of Thomas More’s Utopia for the Limited Editions Club of New York, November 10, 2022.
Bruce Rogers: An ornamental printer
This week, the book we’ve chosen is a celebration of the renowned book designer and typographer, Bruce Rogers (1870-1957). Rogers worked for publishing houses, such as Riverside Press and Mount Vernon Press, and is best known for his Centaur Type. This book by Frederick Warde was published in 1925 and offers an overview of Rogers […]
Image: Joseph Conrad the Man, detail, Bruce Rogers, November 5, 2022
Course offering for spring 2023: Art History
An art history course next semester that will have an emphasis on book arts, printing, and letterpress is Northern Renaissance Art (ART 3860). Northern Renaissance Art looks at art in Germany, France, the Low Countries, and England from 1400-1600. This period in Europe saw the development of letterpress, intaglio, and relief printing, and was also […]
Image: Page detail, from the Calendar section of a Book of Hours made by the Limbourg Brothers for the Duke of Berry, c. 1412-1416, November 2, 2022
Course offerings for spring 2023: Book Arts and Letterpress
We have a number of book arts classes on offer for next semester. Kathleen O’Connell will be offering classes on Letterpress (ART 3770) and Book Arts (ART 3550 and ART 4110). ART 3770 Print Media: Letterpress (Tuesday and Thursday at 11:25 AM-2:25 PM) ART 3770 Print Media: Letterpress is taught by Kathleen O’Connell and is […]
Image: Book Arts example, Kathleen O"Connell, Instructor, November 2, 2022
Course offerings for spring 2023: Printmaking
If you are a student registering for classes for next semester, we have a lot of print arts classes on offer. In the print studio we have classes on Silkscreen and Digital Processes (ART 3015) and Lithography and Monotype (ART 3021), as well as Advanced Printmaking (ART 4130), all taught by Nick Satinover. ART 3015 […]
Image: Printmaking Student at work, Nick Satinover, Instructor, November 2, 2022
Celebrating the Scroll
The “Book of the Week” for this week is in a different format. The codex is what we usually think of when we think of a book today; but books bound together on one edge, with pages that can be turned, were only invented about 2000 years ago. Before that, a book may have been […]
Image: This example from the MTSU Art and Design Historical and Teaching Collection is a reproduction of a Roman scroll. It includes Book II of Virgil’s Aeneid and must be read by rolling the sheet from one page to the next, October 18, 2022
Book of the Week
This week, our “Book of the Week” is just two pages of a book. This hand-colored etching of a wren and its accompanying description are from William Lewin’s publication, The Birds of Great Britain, systematically arranged, accurately Engraved, and Painted from Nature,” which was published in London by J. Johnson in eight volumes, between 1795 […]
Image: The Birds of Great Britain, systematically arranged, accurately Engraved, and Painted from Nature, October 12, 2022
Book of the Week
This week, in honor of the Jewish High Holidays, the book we have chosen is Ben Shahn’s The Alphabet of Creation. Here, Shahn retells and illustrates a legend from the Sefer Ha-Zohar, a mystical text written in medieval Spain, that relates how God created the world through the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The book […]
Image: Ben Shahn’s The Alphabet of Creation, October 5, 2022
A Successful Marbling Workshop
We had a fun and productive Saturdays At Todd Marbling Workshop, with some great results.
Image: Examples of Marbled Paper created during Dr. Cochrane's workshop, Ocotber 1, 2022
Marbled papers in the Department of Art and Design historical collections
Below are images of marbled papers from our historical collections. Examples range from the early eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Web sites with more information on historical marble patterns: Decorated and Decorative Paper Collection Marbled Paper Patterns Payhembury Patterns Examples of marbling Marbled Paper Designs
Image: Book of the Week, September 30, 2022
Book of the Week
Each week, we will post a “Book of the Week” from one of our classes or collections in the Department of Art and Design, or from another collection in Middle Tennessee, or from our travels. This is the first! This week, in honor of the marbling workshop on Saturday, let us introduce a little French […]
Image: Book of the Week, September 25, 2022
On the Third Floor of Todd Hall
The Department of Art and Design galleries on the second floor of Todd Hall get a lot of visitors. Butwe also have artworks on view on the third floor, which houses our Book Arts, Letterpress, and Printmaking studios. Examples of student works are on the walls and there are small exhibitions in cases across […]
Image: Display of boxes and artists’ books from book arts classes taught by Kathleen O’Connell, September 10, 2022
Book and Print Art Classes: ART 3015 Print Media: Silkscreen and Digital Processes (fall 2022)
Art 3015 is a Print Media course taught by Nick Satinover. It is dedicated to the teaching and exploration of silkscreen printing and its relationship to digital processes. Rather than isolating silkscreen and digital as separate materials or methods, students examine the ways in which both are forms of technology and can be used for producing […]
Image: Silkscreen printing is probably the most visible form of printmaking in popular culture, September 9, 2022
Book and Print Arts Classes: ART 3770 Print Media: Letterpress (fall 2022)
ART 3770 Print Media: Letterpress is taught by Kathleen O’Connell and is an introduction to typesetting and printing. Students explore this media with a focus on craft and materials. During the course, students learn to operate a cylinder press; print using a broad range of printing techniques (historical to contemporary); identify the elements of typesetting; and […]
Image: Students explore this media with a focus on craft and materials, September 9, 2022
Paper Marbling Workshop, Oct. 1, 2022
Marbled paper is a traditional material for decorating book covers and end pages, but it is also used to decorate fabric or to be an artwork in its own right. Historical techniques for creating marbled paper can produce images that look like stone, feathers, or waves. You can join us for a paper marbling experience […]
Book and Print Arts Classes: ART 3960 The Art History of the Book (spring 2022)
ART 3960 is taught by Laura Cochrane and looks at the history of the book from the earliest writings on clay tablets to the modern and contemporary book, including digital books. The class looks at the history of book formats, discussing the shift from scrolls to codices; and from hand written texts and images to […]
Book and Print Arts Classes: ART 4890 Design History (fall 2022)
ART 4890 is an art history class taught by Laura Cochrane that focuses on the history of design since the Industrial Revolution. In the class, students investigate the history of Victorian design, the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, the Bauhaus school, the International Style, and Postmodern design. At the end of […]
