Letterpress Research
Our
Contributors
Throughout this Letterpress Independent Study, there were three key figures that contributed to our research immensely! Megan Fowler, Founder of Brown Parcel Press, invited us out to her studio in Sparta, Georgia to see how a print is made from start to finish. Clemens Bak from Red Onion Press, drove down from Kennesaw, GA to look at our press in the GCSU Ina Dillard Russell library to examine its condition and see what we needed to get the press fully functional and ready to print! Kathy Garrou, from Atlanta Printmaker's Studio, agreed to an email interview which provided us with the make and model of all of the presses at APS, as well as images of the equipment at their studio in Hapeville, GA!
Megan Fowler (left) with her mother Gaelle Boling (right)
Megan Fowler of Brown Parcel Press
Megan Fowler, Founder of Brown Parcel Press, has been an invaluable contributor to this research project. She graciously allowed us to come out to her studio in Sparta, Georgia to see first-hand how her small business operates. With two presses and four hands, Megan and her mother, Gaelle, design, print, package, and ship thousands of cards and prints inspired by natural imagery and simple beauty. Scroll down to see her give a step-by-step demonstration on how to print on a Vandercook SP-20 Letterpress!
Clemens Bak of
Red Onion Press
Clemens Bak has had a 35 year career as an industrial engineer. He specialized in the design and manufacturing of die cutting and specialized printing equipment for an array of end users in the automotive and electronic market. In 2014, the Red Onion Press was created as a project of a local community arts organization. The non-profit organization existed from 2015 to 2021. The founders of the Red Onion Press were and are printmakers and in two cases, Clemens Bak and the late Hugh Mckay, trained and experienced commercial printers at an early age.
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We asked Clemens Bak to come to GCSU and look at our Chandler and Price located on the third floor of the Ina Dillard Russell library. His demo of the press and examination of its condition was vital in helping us get our press up and running!
Clemens Bak operating a Chandler and Price Press. Photo from Redonionpress.org
Photo from Atlantaprintmakersstudio.org
Kathy Garrou of Atlanta Printmakers Studio
According to the Atlanta Printmakers Studio website,
"The Atlanta Printmakers Studio (APS) was established to support the fine art of printmaking in metro Atlanta. Founders envisioned an organization that would provide a well-equipped printmaking studio for local artists as well as raise the awareness of printmaking as an art form. In August 2005 the incorporation papers were signed and in December 2006 APS’s 501c3 non-profit status was approved – Atlanta Printmakers Studio was founded."
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Interested in learning more about APS and their letterpresses and letterpress workshops, one of our researchers inquired about an interview. Kathy Garrou, Executive Director, responded the next day with amazing information on the APS studio, equipment, and mission centered around the education and preservation of printmaking.