This little archway with an iron gate is the ONE architectural detail on the whole building, and it was badly damaged by 100 years of water and ice. Local stone masons made the repair using a process that seemed like dentistry, only bigger. I’m hoping this will last another hundred years.
There was a flurry of activity in the printshop recently — Todd-from-Jeddo came to print Christmas cards for his store Jeddo Mill, and Jennifer-from-Buffalo came to be his lovely assistant. And check out my 80-year old mother printing her own Christmas cards, too! She drew a picture, cut a linoleum block, and printed an edition of 60.
Champe was a sport to come to faraway Medina to be the first Artist In Residence. Conditions were a little rough, but she was intrepid and most helpful with getting things up and running. In just a couple of days, she banged out four sets of prints and had time to cook up some corn and okra. I told her that she has set a high standard for future Artists in Residence.
It’s been a long time since my last post, so there’s a lot of progress to report. The printshop works, mostly, and I’m almost done with fixing up the living quarters. AND the printshop has had its first Artist In Residence (more on that in another post).
Here’s metal-artist-cousin-Matt again (did I mention he’s single?), working his magic on the Vandercook’s feed board. Turns out that bad black paint job was covering up some rusty spots that were missing the factory paint. The feed board especially was looking lumpy and sad. Now, as I told Matt, every time I slide a piece of paper over this new paint job it will make me happy.
Today brought some surprises, both delightful and sobering. First, my talented cousin Matt ground the nastiness off that old bathtub and off an encrusted shelf from the Vandercook. The plan was to paint them both, but the exposed metal was so darn pretty that paint seemed a disservice. So instead they both got the clear Rustoleum treatment. The shelf had been bent in what must have been an unfortunate forklift attempt, but I pounded it straight and it looks good. The second excavation was to remove the paneling from front room upstairs — another job for versatile Matt. That revealed layers of peeling and disintegrating paint, plaster, stucco, and grout. The paneling must have been put up to cover up a problem, but I think it also exacerbated it by trapping moisture. It looks a mess, and will need some repair, but I kind of like the way the stripped walls look. Matt says it looks Tuscan. No offense to Tuscany.
I’m feeling very encouraged about how the printshop is coming along. There have been trips to Home Depot, borrowed shop-vacs and power washers, and lots of generous helpers showing up to help sweep and mop (thank you Smacks and Newtons!). The broken crank on the Vandercook is fixed, thanks to a talented welder named Ross Temple at Maheny Welding. Contractor Steve demolished the bathroom and pulled out the old radiators. And John and Mike dug an old clawfoot bathtub out of a snow drift for me and loaded it into my truck, where it sits right now. I need to sand the rust off the tub and replace two of the feet, but otherwise it’s a great old tub. Lots left to do before it’s a functioning printshop, but I’m starting to see how great it’s going to be — and I’m getting excited about it.
It’s official!
Yesterday I closed on the building, so now the big project begins of fixing it up. The table in that first photo is 27′ long — perfect for a bindery. Or maybe silkscreening. The bottom shows the spanking new Vandercook Uni-I AB and Rembrandt etching press. First up: turn the men’s and women’s half baths into a single full bathroom. Lots if scraping and painting, too.
My sister Sue found this little beauty for me on Craigslist for $50. She and her sainted husband Mike fetched it in their mighty pickup, even though it weighs roughly 1000 lbs. It’s a C&P New Style 8×12, serial number B50098, which, thanks to Green Dolphin Press, I now know was built in 1911. I’m not sure if all the necessary parts are there, but at a glance I can see that it needs new rollers and a chase. Luckily for me, the manual and parts list are available online from Boxcar Press.
A couple of years ago, I lost this Challenge proof press to a mud slide. Since then I’ve wandered proof-press-less through life. I still had a couple of platen presses stashed here and there (more on that later), but not where they could play nicely together. But now things are looking up. In November, I was lucky to adopt a Vandercook Uni-I and a Rembrandt etching press in the same week that I made an offer on a potential-printshop building. With luck, that real estate deal will close this next week. Fingers are crossed. Details will follow.