Beck Howson veteran

How long have you been printing?

1995

Describe your first encounter with letterpress

I wondered into a room full of type at university, when I was studying at undergraduate level, I ran back to the screen printing studio thinking I would like to experiment with type in the printing process.

Where did you learn?

I was lucky enough to complete a three year apprenticeship at The Winterbourne Press, University of Birmingham, UK. I would help clean and maintain the press and in return, received tuition from a trained printer.

Who was your most influential teacher?

I went to a traditional art school in the UK in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s, special times, special teachers who were all cool as...

What super power would you like to have?

Time travel.

Do you prefer to work alone or with others?

Collaborative work is always rewarding.

What do you most value in your friends?

Honesty, love, space, time.

When do your best ideas occur to you?

In the middle of the night when I should be asleep.

If you were to die and come back as a typeface, which would it be?

Futura, of course.

What tool do you use more often than any other?

A pencil.
Drawing is central to everything.

What books are currently on your nightstand?

Alphabet - Karel Tiege by Mel Gooding.
Documents of a Life/ Typography and Texts by Robin Kinross
Modern Typography by Robin Kinross
Motions by Karel Martens

If you could study with any printer throughout history, who would it be?

Leonard Jay, the Central, London and head of Birmingham school of printing, 1925-57 and Anthony Froshaug, LCC, Watford, Ulm, RCA.
Jan Tschichold Bauhaus, Penguin books.

When and where are you the happiest?

On a SUP board, on a surf board, in a kayak, in a boat, in the sea.

What is your greatest fear/worry?

Donnie Darko moments/ living in a parallel universe, and being unaware.

What do you think is useful about what you make?

I hope my PhD thesis and practice can contribute to the Letterpress community and the systems of practice I am developing can support students to achieve and develop their creative practices.

What’s your day job?

Lecturer in Graphic Communication, Lecturer in Masters- Visual Communication,
PhD student- Typography and Print education and practice.

Do you use any other techniques or media besides letterpress?

A combination of printing and typography design techniques and processes are centric to practice.