(By Lillian Gleeson ‘25 and Chris Timasonravichkit ’28, staff writers)
LVC students are learning old ways of doing things in the Process and Production Studio.
The Process and Production Studio is a “maker space” in the Humanities department that provides opportunities for students to learn various traditional skills, including weaving, knitting, spinning and operating the printing press, among others. The studio is funded by Elyse E. Rogers ‘76 whose namesake grant provides supplies for the studio.
LVC will host author Monica Prince in an upcoming event in the “Writing: A Life” series. In preparation for the event, students used a printing press to create commemorative postcards for the visit. As part of the printing process, students and faculty collaborated by choosing a quote from Prince’s work, typesetting the quote, mixing ink and printing text on the postcard.
“We learn about how Modern English came into being because of the printing press,” Tavi Stallings, English and creative writing major, said. “I think it’s important that we learn this process because we know that this is how we got to Modern English.”
Dr. Holly Wendt, associate professor of English & communications and creative writing, and Dr. Robert Machado, chair of humanities, professor and director of English, were the faculty advisers for the project.
“We’re interested in faculty-student collaboration, and this is an example of that, where we see ourselves as partners with students,” Machado said. “In this space and in our classrooms, we think about our students interests and goals, and how we can help further them.”
Wendt connected lessons learned in the classroom to practical skills in the studio.
“As somebody who is a medievalist who teaches about the history of literature and the history of printmaking, it’s a really great reminder to think about where knowledge has come from and to experience how labor intensive it is, even with this relatively modern kind of letterpress printing,” Wendt said. “Then, to imagine, a thousand years ago, all of this knowledge had to be copied by hand, so what does it tell you about how valuable people thought these words were to go through all that process?”
Students interested in becoming involved in the Process and Production Studio can visit Humanities 206A on Fridays, from 9 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Monica Prince, author of Roadmap, will visit campus on April 10 at 7 p.m. in the Bishop Library Atrium.
Learn more about Monica Prince and the “Writing: A Life” series here.