As the holidays were approaching and studying for finals compounded with the preparation of gifts for friends and family, the best way to spend your study breaks is through printing holiday cards.
In the basements of several residential colleges, there are studios dedicated to printmaking. I went to the Davenport printing press in time for their holiday card making event. There I learned how to use the classical printing press machinery and crafted a nice selection of holiday cards.
The printing press room is available to students of all residential colleges and hosts various events and workshops. The event that I went to, the printing press holiday workshop, was particularly memorable and was open to people of all experiences. And for this event in particular, there were two trained student staff who helped teach us how to use each of the machines and allowed us to use their premade holiday designs.
Student staff member demonstrating how to use a printing press for mass-production
Work table with scrap paper and finished products
My friends and I creating an assembly line to speed up the printing process
These events are a great opportunity to meet other students over a free and unique activity that is difficult to experience elsewhere. Since I had such a great experience there, I plan on going for weekly workshops next semester where I can learn to use all the different types of printing presses and create my own designs.
Other students at different stations in the room with all sorts of machinery
