In support of the current exhibit up on display, Initial Impressions- Renaissance Capitals from the Maywald Collection at the University of Minnesota, Bill Moran ran a workshop Saturday, July 7th where students were given the opportunity to create their own ornamented letterforms. This exhibition of rare Renaissance initial capitals will be on display until September 30, 2018.
Using brayers, stencils, and resist techniques participants created their own decorated capital letters. They then explored masking techniques, pressure printing, and paper texture to embellish both inside and outside of their forms.
After a full day of printing ornamented letterforms, the gallery reception took place celebrating the Maywald's Collection of Rennaissance capitals. The collection, housed at the University of Minnesota, is comprised of over 6,000 printed book fragments that date from 1470 to 1690. Donated by Claus Maywald, the head librarian at the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany, the collection are examples of early decorative typography. The exhibit included enlarged versions of the capital letters, along with some original printed fragments.
At the gallery reception Bill Moran ran a discussion with those attending, engaging the audience in the material at hand. Bill revealed more about the initials, the history, and the process of cataloguing every one.